IN CONVERSATION WITH MARY NEELY

interview JANA LETONJA

Mary Neely is a bold, multi-hyphenate voice in film, TV, and digital culture - an actor, writer, director, and producer with a knack for turning chaos into comedy and raw emotion into unforgettable stories. She first captured widespread attention with her viral pandemic-era musical videos, and being named “Best Theater of 2020” by The New York Times and The Washington Post. Now, she stars in and co-wrote the offbeat indie comedy ‘Or Something’, which pemiered this August, and is set to appear in ‘Swiped’, premiering at TIFF, and the Bob Odenkirk-led remake of ‘The Room’. 

You first caught the world’s attention during the pandemic with your musical videos, which were praised by theater legends like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Looking back, how did that moment shape your creative path?

It shaped my whole life. Those videos inspired me to move to New York, they’re how I made ‘Or Something’, they validated my skillset which gave me the confidence I needed at the time to keep going. Now, they serve as a very concrete reminder that the best work is always what is the most fun for you to do regardless of any external pressures.

Being named “Best Theater of 2020” by The New York Times and The Washington Post is no small feat, especially for videos made at home. How unexpected was that kind of response?

Is there a word that conveys something being more than unexpected? Dumbfounding? Yes, I made them at home, but I also shot them on my iPhone with zero gear. I didn’t even own a tripod at the time, and I only used costumes and props I already had in my apartment. When I started making them, no one was paying attention except my parents and maybe two of my friends, so it’s insane that the most well-known theater critics in the world even saw what I did, let alone say I was “the best” of anything. It’s still so meaningful to me. 

Let’s talk about ‘Or Something’, which you co-wrote, co-produced, and star in. What drew you to telling this particular story?

I had always wanted to make an indie film in New York City that felt like Tom Noonan’s ‘What Happened Was’ or Louis Malle’s ‘My Dinner with Andre’, or Scorsese’s ‘After Hours’ with an execution style similar to the lofi Mumblecore movement of the early 2000s. When Kareem Rahma and I met at a rooftop comedy show in Brooklyn right after I moved from LA, we immediately had chemistry that fit into this sentiment. The two of us proceeded with a mutual understanding that we wanted to make a film about strangers who open up to each other over the course of a day, which can sometimes feel more intimate than talking with someone you’ve known for years. Kareem and I would meet up, choose topics and talk, then transcribe our conversations. Coming out of the lockdown, I think we both wanted to be as honest as possible, contradicting the isolation we had all just endured. 

The film has such a raw, offbeat vibe and was shot in just six days. What was that whirlwind production experience like?

It was totally insane and so fun and hard, and only possible with a second unit. Our crew was incredible and sacrificed so much for us, always making sure we were safe and on time. We didn’t have any trailers, everything was very run and gun. If Kareem didn’t have his car, we wouldn’t have even had a holding area most of the time. One of the best things about making films in New York is that it’s very feasible to shoot without permits, which is exactly what we did, and the city welcomed us with open arms. I think there was only one woman on the subway who made a slightly aggravated noise when we asked her to move to a different seat. 

The film explores a surreal day in the lives of two aimless New Yorkers. Did any of it pull from real life or shared millennial/Gen Z absurdity?

All the dialogue between Olivia and Amir, me and Kareem’s characters, are pulled from our real lives. The stories and topics are all our own, though some of my opinions have changed since we wrote and shot the film. It feels like watching a time capsule of a former self. That specifically is interesting to me because it has seemed like a tentpole of millennial/Gen Z identity is an expectation of beliefs being fixed or unchangeable. There was a moment where I felt uncomfortable thinking about how my thoughts were being immortalized, I am afflicted by my generation’s fear of saying the “wrong” thing publicly. It was a freeing process to let go and realize I’ll probably keep changing my mind about porn and/or plastic surgery. 

We’ll also soon be seeing you in ‘Swiped’, premiering at TIFF. What can you share about your role in that project?

I play a woman in tech who is talked over a lot and tasked with doing undesirable work she is overqualified for, but there is a happy ending I swear. 

And then there’s the Bob Odenkirk-led remake of ‘The Room’. How did that even come together, and what was it like being part of such an iconic cult-film reimagining?

A friend of mine, named Brando Crawford, is the mad genius behind it. He runs an organization called Acting for a Cause where he raises money for charities by having well-known actors do readings and recreations of classic film scripts. Brando came and saw a play I was doing in New York and that’s when he told me his next recreation would be ‘The Room’ with Bob Odenkirk as Johnny and Greg Sestero making an undisclosed cameo. I essentially got down on my hands and knees in a Bushwick warehouse begging to be a part of it, but it worked. I got a text from him a few weeks later saying I could be the iconic Florist. The shoot was so fun because we came up with new backstory and I got to lustfully look into Bob’s eyes. 

From ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’ to ‘Valley Girl’ and ‘Law & Order: SVU’, you’ve had an incredibly diverse career. How do you choose your roles?

If I’m being totally honest, they’ve all chosen me. In the future, I’d love to be able to choose. I love history, I’ve always wanted to do period pieces. I love dark comedies, Martin McDonagh is one of my favorite writers. I have family in France and speak French, so getting to do projects with European filmmakers is also really exciting to think about. A few years ago, I read Lily King’s novel ‘Writers and Lovers’ and have kept re-reading it. Things like this.

What stories are you most passionate about creating when you’re behind the camera?

Stories that focus on people, mainly women (sometimes only women), who say one thing, but mean another, and are trying really hard to say the thing they actually mean. My favorite kind of tension is watching someone wanting to uphold a certain set of values and having a very hard time doing that. 

As a multi-hyphenate who writes, acts, directs, and produces, how do you balance all of those creative hats, and which role feels most like “home” to you?

Acting is my first love. Everything else was initially in service of my acting career, but then I built a foundation based on all these different things I learned how to do just because no one else was there to do them for me. It’s like that meme “I accidentally became important at work” but I did it to myself. 

You seem to thrive in spaces that blend humor, honesty, and a little bit of chaos. How would you describe your voice as an artist today?

I am constantly desperately trying to feel tethered and at peace. It’s not going very well. 

CREDITS

photography EM MONFORTE