Though she grew up in Massachusetts, Elizabeth Perkins finished out her senior year of high school in Chicago. “I was kicked out of boarding school and came out there to live with my dad. I actually graduated from what was at the time Robert A. Waller High School, which is now Lincoln Park High School,” she said.
It was during career day that she learned about the Goodman School of Drama, which shortly thereafter became part of DePaul University, from which she graduated in 1981. It was during her college years that she became friends with a number of actors in the burgeoning theater scene, including Steppenwolf ensemble members Jeff Perry, Gary Sinise, John Malkovich and her now-former husband Terry Kinney, with whom she is still close.
“They’re still some of my best friends,” she said. “It’s a testament to those times that everybody is still really tight.”
This month she can be seen in two entirely different kinds of projects.
One is the Fox sitcom “The Moodys Christmas” (set in Chicago but shot in Montreal). “It’s a realistic look at a very chaotic family, with all the tension that tends to bring,” Perkins said, “which I think is more relatable than the saccharine everything-is-perfect, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care. I mean, I’m the star of the remake of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ (from 1994), so we’re sort of the direct opposite of that. And it’s got Denis Leary and Jay Baruchel, so that sets the tone right there. I play the mom and I’m putting a great deal of effort into the holiday and nobody’s appreciating it, so I just begin drinking. And it sort of progresses to where I’ve polished off several bottles of wine.”
The other show is a new series is from Apple called “Truth Be Told,” starring Octavia Spencer as a true crime podcast host and Aaron Paul as a man convicted of a crime he did not commit. “I play his mother, who has been desperately trying to get him out of prison for the last 18 years.”
Perkins’ career on screen began just a few years after DePaul with “About Last Night …” and then kicked into high gear with a starring role opposite Tom Hanks in “Big.” Not long after that she was up for another starring role in a big studio movie — a role she would ultimately not get. That’s the story that came to mind when she was asked to share a worst moment in her career.
“It’s so funny because the minute I heard that you were going to ask me that question — boom — I was right back there.”
My worst moment …
“I was at a meeting at Warner Bros. for a movie with Mel Gibson. I don’t want to say what the movie was — it must have been around 1993, so I was 31 or 32, somewhere in there. And it was like, ‘Oh, they want you for the lead in this movie.’ And I went in and I was nervous. It was Mel Gibson, the director and the producer.
“And I’m talking to the director and I’m talking to Mel and it’s all going really well. And the producer was sitting behind me and to my left, which was weird — he was back there instead of sitting with me and Mel and the director.
“And all of a sudden there was a break in the conversation and the producer whispered really loudly to the director: ‘No (expletive) way.’
“Everybody heard. The director heard it. Mel Gibson heard it. I heard it.
“So we’re all sitting there like, uh … oh. This is really bad. (Laughs) This is so awkward. And I went, ‘OK then. Well. Um. I guess it’s a no.’
“The director was like a deer in the headlights. Mel was like a deer in the headlights. I was like a deer in headlights. And nobody’s saying anything — we’re all in so much shock — the words are just hanging in the air. And the producer was still behind me. To this day I’ve never mentioned his name because I hated him so much for that moment.
“And then the director said, ‘Yeah, I guess that’s a no.’
“Mel Gibson was just frozen. His face was like, he was so embarrassed. Here I am at Warner Bros. in this massive director’s office and what do I do?
“So I said, ‘Should I just leave?’ And Mel goes, ‘Yeah, I think you should just leave. I think you should get up and just leave.’ So, I did. I got up and I didn’t even say goodbye and I walked out. And I got in the elevator and walked out to the parking lot and when I got in my car I just burst into tears.
“I was incredibly hurt. And then that turned to anger. It was literally the most awkward situation I’ve ever been in. And it was for a major movie at a major studio with a major star. I’ll just never forget that. And it was so obviously about me because there were only four of us in the room! So it was literally one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.
“And I never heard a word from any one of them again. Ever.
“Ultimately, I don’t think it was a big loss for me.”
What happens in a meeting versus an audition?
“Well, they pretend that they’re talking about the script and they pretend that they’re talking about the character and they pretend that they know about your career, but what they’re actually doing is — well, back then anyway, things have changed, thank God — but back then it was like, ‘We need to see her in person to make sure we think she’s cute.’
“That’s absolutely 100% used to be what it was. And obviously I didn’t fit the bill.
“Actresses used to talk about this a lot, because it was: ‘Would you (sleep with) her?’ And that’s what taking a meeting was about. And as we all know now, things are really changing on that level. As someone who has been around since the mid-’80s, I’ve seen huge changes and I’m so grateful for it.”
It’s odd the producer couldn’t wait until Perkins left before expressing his opinion.
“And nobody said, ‘I’m so sorry,’ or threw him out of the room. They just were like, ‘I guess you should go.’ (Laughs) No phone call to apologize later, nothing.
“As an actor, you’re just sort of putting yourself out there. It’s not like you have a product other than yourself that you’re selling. Your product is yourself. So you’re laying yourself on the line. And when you’re rejected so aggressively like that — like, right to your face somebody says, ‘You’re awful.’ I wasn’t even auditioning, it was just a meeting! I was just sitting there.”
The takeaway …
“That Hollywood’s full of (jerks)! No, just kidding.
“My takeaway was that you can get through anything. I went on to have a brilliant career after that. And the movie kind of tanked and wasn’t any good. And look what’s happened to Mel Gibson, so there’s that.
“One single event does not define you. And I think it actually made me stronger. I’m an incredibly strong person, I don’t get knocked down very easily, but you always know that every time you walk through the door you’re being judged. And you either have the backbone for that and the internal defense for that, or you don’t.
“So I didn’t let it sway me at all, obviously. I mean, I’m 59 and I’m still working and I’m grateful. I think I’ve always had a very clear perspective of what my industry is and I’ve never let it define who I am or take anything from me. I’m very grounded.
“I was angry that he felt he could do that in the middle of a meeting more than, ‘Oh, I’m not good enough.’ This industry is so random and filled with a lot of crap that if you take this stuff personally you can’t survive, it’s too soul-sucking. You can’t take it personally.
“And it made my resolve even stronger. So instead of it beating me down, it gave me energy.”
