Highlights
- Andy Samberg took a leap out of his comfort zone when he accepted a dramatic role in the film “Lee” alongside Kate Winslet.
- Despite his reservations, Samberg couldn’t turn down the opportunity to work with someone he admired and respected like Winslet.
- Samberg’s performance in “Lee” has been praised for its nuance and depth, showing a different side of the actor compared to his comedic roles.
Andy Samberg is known for his comedic talent. In the days before YouTube stars were a thing, Samberg was putting videos out on the platform with a couple of friends to showcase his comedic timing and ability to write. When making videos with just a smartphone became more widespread, Samberg’s videos began to go viral and Samberg gained an online following.
Shortly thereafter, he was cast in Saturday Night Live, where he would be sued for a skit he did with Rihanna. This is where Samberg really got to hone his craft in both the areas of acting and writing, which was then parlayed into Brooklyn Nine-Nine. A show that was not only fun to work on but one that Samburg was emotional about when Brooklyn Nine-Nine came to an end.
It looked like every project that Samberg touched, turned to comedic gold.
As comfortable as Samberg was with his prowess for all things comedy when it came to playing a more dramatic role, there was no level of comfort. Samberg was not sure that he could do a role in this arena justice. But when Samberg was cast in a dramatic role, as nervous as he was, he just “couldn’t say no” to Kate Winslet. Samberg then pushed himself professionally further than he ever had and was proud of the work he accomplished on the big screen.
Andy Samberg’s First Dramatic Role Was ‘Lee’
Looking at Samberg’s resume, it is chock full of comedic roles. This all changed when he was cast in Lee, a film that was incredible to tell despite hard days on the set due to the subject matter.
Lee is about Lee Miller who was a model in the 1920s. The title character, played by Winslet, eventually moved on from modeling to become a fashion photographer in Paris. Little did she know that her love for photography would lead her to become one of the few women war correspondents during World War II.
It was a meeting with David Scherman, played by Samberg, that would take her photographs to the next level. This is because Miller was not afraid to take pictures of the horror of what was happening during the war while working as a war correspondent for Vogue.
The two would not only have a professional but romantic relationship. They would also go on to take one of the most controversial pictures of the twentieth century, which was taking a bath in Adolph Hitler’s bathtub to wash the dirt of Dachau off their bodies.
If it sounds like the roles of Scherman and Lee are dramatic, that is because they are. The story takes place in the midst of the Second World War where the two photographers took pictures of everything from items in Hitler’s apartment to dead SS soldiers, and the atrocities that happened at concentration camps, all of which was a big stretch for Samberg by his own admission.
“A big part of the draw for me outside of the fact that I was really drawn to playing this real person, David Scherman, and the script, was getting to work with Kate Winslet, who is someone that I just really admire and I know has an incredible work ethic and a consistent high quality of work,” Samberg explained.
He went on to say, “So when they asked if I’d be interested in that, that was, for me, a big reason I was willing to give it a shot and sort of go out of my comfort zone.”
While Samberg had his reservations about whether he could pull off a dramatic role, Winslet knew that Samberg was the right one to play Scherman. As such, she personally made sure that Samberg got cast in the role.
Kate Winslet Was Responsible For Getting Andy Samberg Cast In Film
Whenever an actor moves from a genre that they are comfortable in to challenge themselves in another, there is going to be trepidation with doing so. While Samberg may not have thought that he was the right person to play Scherman in Lee, Winslet did and made sure that Samberg got cast in the film, ensuring that Samberg felt comfortable from the time filming began to when it ended.
“She’s incredible. I knew this [movie] would be of a certain quality, no matter what, because of her,” Samberg explained.
According to Vogue, Winslet “helped coordinate Samberg’s flights to set in order to minimize his time away from his young children in LA.”
“She said: ‘We’re going to make it happen for you, don’t worry,’ Samberg said. “She was just thorough—somehow able to sway the creative flow of things in a positive way.”
It was because of the reputation she had for being a consummate professional on set and the fact that Winslet is an amazing actor that when Samberg was having second thoughts about starring in his first drama, he could not turn down the opportunity to work with Winlset.
Andy Samberg “Couldn’t Say No” To Kate Winslet
While Samberg had not truly considered trying to be cast in a role that was well outside his comfort zone before Lee, once Winslet asked Samberg to be in it, there was no way that he was going to turn Winslet down.
“I couldn’t say no to acting opposite Kate Winslet,” Samberg explained to Vogue.
Fortunately for Samberg, while there were aspects of filming that her knew would be “emotional and intense” specifically because he had “a lot of family in the Holocaust,” he did not turn down the role. This is because he is already receiving rave reviews for his portrayal of Scherman in Lee.
“Outside of Kate Winslet’s magnetic performance, the biggest surprise of the film is Andy Samberg, who plays a supporting role as Lee’s partner on the field, David Scherman,” critic Rafael Cordero said.
“This is not the same Samberg that led Hot Rod or singing about inappropriate affairs with The Lonely Island – this Samberg is eloquent, quiet and nuanced in his performance – a constant in the manic inconsistencies of Lee’s life. He brings Lee down from the challenging highs of her adrenaline fueled purpose and keeps her rooted in a familiar stability, an anchor of hope and fellowship.”
While there is always talk of Winslet getting an Oscar nomination when she works on period pieces, despite the fact that she chooses roles that are “soul searching” instead of award-winning, could the same be said for Samberg as a result of taking a role he was not quite comfortable in portraying when he first signed on to the film? Only time will tell.
Source: NewsFinale
