Judith Light (‘Julia,’ ‘Shining Vale’) on how her characters ‘butt up against the patriarchy’ and deal with illness with ‘humor’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I went about working on her because Chris Keyser and Daniel Goldfarb, who wrote the script, wrote that character with such perfection and in such detail… I just walked into her and was able to put on her skin,” shares Judith Light about her recurring role on the Max series “Julia.” For two seasons, the Emmy-winning actress portrayed the real-life figure Blanche Knopf, one of the founders of the legendary Knopf publishing house. The show shined a light on this “very, very, very famous but unknown, unacknowledged character” and demonstrated how she “was butt up against the patriarchy.” The actress stresses that, oddly enough, “Blanche wanted nothing to do with these cookbooks,” referring to the blockbuster works of Julia Child; however, “it was actually the money from the cookbooks that kept Knopf really, really going.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
In the second season of “Julia,” Blanche struggles to come to terms with a diagnosis that she received at the end of the first season, namely, that she is losing her eyesight. “The irony of her that is so amazing is that for a person who was about reading and her life’s work was about reading, she was going blind,” reflects Light. The actress tapped into Blanche’s emotional state as she was torn between being “very independent” but “underneath, there is this terror and this vulnerability and real worry and tenderness.” Many of the two-time Tony Award winner’s scenes were shared with Fiona Glascott as Child’s real cookbook editor Judith Jones, who tried to help Knopf navigate her illness. The actress calls her scene partner an “extraordinary actress” and says Keyser and Goldfarb were “watching what Fiona and I were doing together and they started creating the dynamics” of Blanche and Judith’s relationship.
WATCH ‘Julia’ season 2 trailer: Julia Child charms France and the White House
Light is at the center of one of the most extraordinary scenes of the second season of “Julia.” Set at a party celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Knopf publishing house, Alfred Knopf gives a speech in which he does not acknowledge the contributions of his wife and co-founder. Judith Jones then delivers a speech of her own in which she focuses solely on Blanche’s pivotal role at the company, all while Light as Blanche looks on in astonishment and gratitude and the entire room stands to toast her. The Emmy winner is able to communicate so much about Blanche’s emotions though she has no dialogue in the scene at all. “When you are steeped in a character, when a character is so beautifully written and created and when you have great actors around you, for me it infuses me with what I am to do and what I am not to do,” reflects the actress about why she knew instinctually how to approach this crucial moment for Blanche.
Blanche has one scene opposite the show’s title character in season two, via the telephone, as Julia Child celebrates her first Emmy nomination for her program “The French Chef” and Blanche speaks with her to congratulate her. Light calls series star Sarah Lancashire “incredible” as well as “present and generous and available.” The two had acted opposite one another in person in a scene in the first season in the episode “Foie Gras,” so the Tony champ “knew what it was going to be when we had the phone call.” Though “Julia” was not picked up for a third season, the performer shares that she hopes the show would have gone “further into Blanche’s blindness, her reliance on Judith” and “the humor” that Keyser and Goldfarb would have used to explore their continuing relationship.
WATCH our exclusive video interview with Courtney Cox, ‘Shining Vale’ season one
The prolific Light also recurred on the second season of “Shining Vale” on Starz this past year, playing Joan, the mother of Courtney Cox’s Pat. “She’s a total confection, absolutely,” says the actress about the delicious character, continuing, “She’s like a petit four that somebody put the fondant icing on and they just slapped it on and threw it around.” Though the show and her character can be hilarious, the actress observes the important topics it also grappled with, saying that “women and mental illness” are the layers “underneath the confection.” She marvels at how co-creator Jeff Astrov designed “a horror comedy drama,” remarking, “I don’t know how you do that, that’s a triple somersault if I ever saw one.” The actress describes playing the character and starring opposite the “stunning” Cox as “a complete blast.”
In January, Light won her first Primetime Emmy Award for her guest-starring role on Peacock’s “Poker Face” for the episode “Time of the Monkey.” This was her first victory after four past nominations; she has two Daytime Emmys for “One Life to Live.” The reigning champ is still in disbelief that she won, especially given “the women who were in that category,” referring to Taraji P. Henson, Quinta Brunson and the others. “Grateful doesn’t even begin to articulate it,” comments the actress, who gives kudos to series creator Rian Johnson, star Natasha Lyonne, her fellow guest star S. Epatha Merkerson and writers Wyatt Cain and Charlie Peppers. “I still don’t believe it,” she humbly declares.
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