Despite being nominated for three Oscars in the last dozen years, The Big C star Laura Linney may not make the strongest initial impression from her roles because she’s often working in subdued roles with much more visible actors, like Jim Carrey in The Truman Show or Bill Murray in the upcoming Hyde Park on Hudson. But Linney finally gets to flex her comedic muscles in The Details, and she spoke to the Los Angeles Times about her role in the film and how she approaches comedy.
In The Details, Linney plays against type as a wacky neighbor. As for how she prepared for the role, she says, “With everything, at least for me, it always tends to come from the script. And it was interesting because originally the role was conceived in a very different way. My brain just sort of turned on and went crazy as I was reading it for the first time, and it was just one of those things that just came to me.”
When asked why she hasn’t done more comedic roles as an actress, Linney replies, “I don’t know. The Big C is classified as a comedy. It has an undertow to it that’s deeper. But with comedy I find you have to be very, very specific. And a lot of things that are written comedically are not specific, and it’s hard to find material and people who will allow you to do that sort of work. So I don’t know.”
The Details will be released in theaters and video-on-demand on November 2
