Catherine Curtin – Beauty Mark

By: Kelly Kearney

Q) You have a new film coming out called Beauty Mark. Tell the fans a little bit about the film and how your character Ruth Ann fits in.

Catherine: I fell in love with the film as soon as I read the script. I remember reading it and thinking it was the most beautiful script I had ever read; literally, top in my list. I thought Ruth Ann was just one of the most incredible characters to play. I think Ruth Ann is this complicated chick who tried really hard to put her life together and wasn’t successful in terms of worldly goods, but I think she’s tried to keep moving forward as a soul on this planet. She needs to gather her strength and courage to create a better life for her and family. I do think she has an arch of growth in the film. I think she gets a little bit better. What I like about her is she’s a survivor. She struggles, she goes for it and she’s trying. I really like that about her.

Q) Ruth Ann is kind of a disaster and not really the poster girl for motherhood. Being that this is a very different part for you, where or from whom did you pull inspiration from for this role?

Catherine: For any of the roles I do, I usually pull inspiration from my own life and experiences. I have an 11-year-old and I certainly hope I’m a much better mother than Ruth Ann, but all of us go through rough times in our lives and it’s something that doesn’t leave you. I remember one of my grandfathers went to work in the garment district when he was like fourteen years old and lived through The Great Depression and WWI and WW2. I remember meeting him as a kid. I was very little and he was quite elderly and he was kind of rough around the edges and a curmudgeon. My father had told me that he had grown up kind of hard and I think experiences in life change and mold people. I grew up very different having grown up in New York City with a very wonderful family and great schools, but everyone in life has their knocks. No one goes through life without experiencing some of what life has to dish out. I certainly have had mine over the years and I try to draw from those experiences, those challenges and the depths of those pains and joys and try and pull them all together for any character I might play. I love to explore a character that has been through a lot. It’s very meaningful to me. I think the definition of art, is giving people a look at what happens to us all and how we’re able to conquer it or how we aren’t able to conquer it or how our lives can change, literally, forever by something that’s happened. I think we are all so much more fragile than we think and maybe that’s why we all watch and bond over all these amazing TV shows and movies, because they’re stories about us.

Q) The film really focuses on the desperation of poverty and the trauma of sexual abuse. Was there anything you learned from playing Ruth Ann that you will take with you to other projects or maybe something that will stay with you personally, throughout your life?

Catherine:  That’s a really great question! I think what I’ve learned from Ruth Ann is that she’s a woman who fights back, no matter what happens or how wrong she might be, she’s fighter. She has a sense that this shouldn’t be happening, but keeps moving forward. That’s a challenge in life that I’ve always been a fan of and wanted to emulate every day of my own life. I really try to grow and change in positive ways and keep moving forward. Making Ruth Ann a fighter and making her a listener, as she’s gathering up knowledge and confronting truths, that is something that I’ve learned and will take with me from playing her. Definitely her spirit and her willingness to fight. The truth about what poverty and abuse do, the statistical data, it’s out there. The more we discuss it and get the word out, the more we take that data to a legislative body and say this is the truth, about how these kinds of situations really keep people from being able to move forward in their lives, the better for all of us. That’s what I love about this film so much. The choices my daughter makes to get us out of this situation we are in are very compromised, but she’s using that evil to make good. I think it’s one of the most touching heartbreaking things in this movie and it kills me every time I think about it. The end of this movie is phenomenally powerful. This girl has to overcome the very real abuse she went through and turns it around and uses it to her advantage. She faces it down in order for her to get a home for her child and family. She has an incredible willingness to conquer and the movie has such a deep ending. I am a total fan of this film.

Q) What was it like working with Harris Doran?

Catherine: Oh, I hope he wouldn’t mind me saying this but he is yummy, so yummy. [laughing]! He’s very sweet and charming and I think a lot in this movie very much comes from his own experiences and thoughts on these things. People he’s encountered in his life. So, it’s a personal story for him and I think we felt that on set. He’s kind and gentle and generous and very supportive as a director, which is really the only kind of director I’m any good with. He listens and is smart and was able to say, “Hey, you’re not listening here,” and then say, “That was really working.” He has a great critical eye and can look at the footage and know when we can move on. I felt very confident with Harris and his direction and I was very grateful for that.

Q) I love the chemistry and comedy between Wanda and O’Neil on “Orange is the New Black.” Now those two crazy kids are expecting a baby! When I think Wanda Bell, I don’t think maternal instincts so what kind of parents do you imagine they will be?

Catherine: Well, I don’t know and I do hope that “Orange” comes back and investigates that one day because that would be super fun if they did. So many interviews I’ve done and people I’ve connected with about the show think Bell and O’Neil should do a sitcom! I just love these two because they are such an awesomely mismatched couple. They’re codependence is amazing and frighteningly wonderful. I don’t know what kind of parents they would be, but I can tell you I think Wanda would be fierce. She would protect that child like nobody’s business. There would definitely be a growth curve for her in understanding how to be a great mom, but I think for any mom there is that growth curve. I do believe very strongly that she wouldn’t allow her kid to be bullied, that she would fiercely protect them and probably make sure they get to school on time and know which friends her child plays with. Whether or not she is good with the emotional development of her child, which she might even need help with herself, I think she would be a fierce protector. I think kids understand the flaws of their parents. As long as children feel loved by them, kids can forgive their them for not being perfect.

Q) Besides “Orange” you also star in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and the upcoming season of “Stranger Things,” basically the Netflix trifecta. What’s it like working for Netflix as opposed to say network television?

Catherine: I love Netflix! Netflix seems to know that I exist and wants to be one of my employers and, for that, I am incredibly grateful. Anyone who wants to employ me I love! [laughing] I feel like working on some of the Netflix shows I’ve done it’s like working on an indie film set as opposed to an ABC or an NBC or a network set. It can be a more intimate way to work. That said, Netflix has tons of money to throw at any show to create the best product. It’s why they have such amazing shows; because they spare no cost in making wonderful things. Their whole thing for me (at least the shows I have worked on) is that they want a lot of creativity, integrity and imagination in their shows and while I think they do have that on other networks, that’s at the top of their list at Netflix. It’s less of a beauty or who’s-who game and more of what’s the most creative and imaginative way to tell a story. I am very grateful for the intensity of storytelling that is “Orange is the New Black” or “Stranger Things.” I think “Stranger Things” is one of the fiercest shows on TV and right up there with any of the greats. I am so grateful for being a part of “Orange is the New Black” and “Stranger Things.” And I love being a part of HBO’s “Insecure.” I love where TV is going and I think we are in a golden age of television. I am humbled and so proud to be working on all these incredible shows and I am in awe of the talent their smart storytelling.  We truly are in a time of just such fertile and a golden age of storytelling.

Q) A busy career makes for a happy actress, but what do you do in your downtime to decompress from your hectic schedule?

Catherine: Yeah… I don’t decompress. [laughs] I mean, when my head hits the pillow at night I am out, like out, out…But, no, I don’t decompress. I work. I’m kind of a workaholic and can’t always keep up with the press and some of the marketing aspects of the job because I’m shooting all the time. I am just so happy to be working as much as I am and my rest time is actually my work time. The most relaxed that I am is when I have a job coming up. To me, that is the utopia; its heaven. I also have a child and a husband and home where I should probably pick up some of these Legos one day. But I am very lucky to have wonderful friends so many mom friends who I made from my son’s school. I live in New York City, in the West Village, and I try to remind myself every day that this is as good as it gets. To be a working actor in New York and a mom with a son who’s going to a new public middle school next year, there are so many things I fell blessed by.  I’m eternally grateful and anything more than that, if there are dishes in the sink, eh…what can you do? There are dishes in the sink. My life is full and I’m humbled to be where I am, working and telling stories that people enjoy.

Q) With 72 acting roles under your belt, which would you say was the hardest role you’ve played and which was the most fun?

Catherine: Boy, that is a really good question!  Hmmm…I don’t know if any of them have been exceptionally hard or any of them have been that fun, I love them all. I think it’s not so much the role, but the fact I’m much more of a community-based actress, I love an ensemble. I come from a theater background so for me it’s about the overall experience and the community of doing a film or TV show. It’s about the director and my fellow actors and I’ve always loved the roles I’ve played because of it. I don’t think there’s a role that I wouldn’t love to play and no story I wouldn’t love to be in because everything I have ever done or script I’ve read. Even if they’re imperfect, it’s always an adventure. I’m fascinated by the human condition and being able to venture into the soul and mind of a character. Yes, there have been times I may have loved the cast or the director better than I have at other times, but I’m always super grateful regardless.  There’s this director on “Orange,” everyone knows him, his name is Gus and I won’t say his last name because its Greek and I will totally say it wrong, but everyone in New York knows him as Gus (Constantine Makris). He’s directed like a million episodes of everything and he’s phenomenal. He gave me this one direction with Joel [Marsh Garland] where I thought Joel and I were supposed to be in trouble, but during the shoot Gus said, “Touch his elbow on this line.” I thought, “Touch his elbow on this line? Ok.” So, I touched his elbow and suddenly the scene turned from one where Joel and I fretted about being in trouble to one where Joel and I were romantically going to get through this together. It was all through his direction and it was so cool. To me, that is the greatest revelation and greatest moment that could happen with a script and a director on set. Something that happens in rehearsal or on set that you will remember, changing everything you thought you knew about a scene or your character. These are the times that are most memorable for me and really stay with me forever. So, it’s not any one role, but those particular moments that I will never forget.

Q) Without spoiling anything, can you tell the fans a little bit about your role in “Stranger Things” and what we can expect from the new season?

Catherine: Can I just tell you, I did ADR for this yesterday and I saw my hair and it is AMAZING! My hair is a character all its own, it’s stunning to me. I thought, “O. M.G.!  I couldn’t have more perfect hair!” I know I can tell you that without getting into trouble. I’m telling you the hair is stunning. I mean, I don’t have to say anything or do anything, I just have to have that hair. I guess I’m in six episodes and I think they shot something like eight or nine and I’m so psyched for it. I was reading the finale on the plane and I was heartbroken because I didn’t want to read it, I wanted to see it. I was like, “Ugh, I really have to read this? I want to see it! I don’t want the spoilers and now I need to know what’s going to happen.” I’ll tell you, where they’re going with Season Two, it is really great and I can’t wait to see where it’s going from there.

Q) Besides the famous Netflix trifecta, are there any shows you would love to work on?

Catherine: I love “Big Little Lies.” I’m super into that show and totally love it. There’s so many that I don’t even know where to begin. I love “The Handmaid’s Tale.” I just binged watched that until 6AM on Hulu until I was blurry eyed and wandering around in a daze, drinking way too much coffee and wanting more! There are just so many that I would love to be in, but I really love the existential quest of not knowing where I’m going to be working next. I like the idea that I don’t know what’s next for me, maybe that’s why I am an actor. I like to be surprised and, hopefully, when I get to that set it’s going to be an amazing experience and I’ll get to work with amazing people. I just want to keep going and doing what I’m doing, moving forward and being a part of what anyone wants to give me.

Q) Besides the film Beauty Mark, the series “Orange is the New Black” and the upcoming season of “Stranger Things,” are there any other future projects for you that the fans can keep an eye out for?

Catherine: Oh cool, thanks! Yes, the HBO show “Insecure” and I’m about to shoot a film called When We Grow Up in August that I just loved the script. I loved it so much, I kind of went after it myself and fought for it. I really loved it. It seemed so fun so we will see how that ends up. I have a horror film out that is totally bloody and scary called Camera Obscura that I think is great and totally a lot of fun. I have another film Crazy Famous that was fun that I did some work in. Oh! I have a web series coming out that I am deeply, deeply, in love with called “Parking Spot.” Hopefully, that’s going to be rearing its ugly head soon and in a very big way. It’s truly the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, I love it. I’ve also got another film called Cut, Shoot, Kill that should be released in August. So, there’s lots of stuff floating around and I hope I’m doing them service by talking about them correctly. [laughs] Other than that, I look forward to seeing what comes around the corner that I can be a part of. So, we will see.