Misty Green is a walking, talking chaos agent. A semi-working actor living in Los Angeles, she’s the kind of woman who will sleep with your husband and squat in his pied-à-terre, go out partying the night before an important audition, and cheerfully drive drunk. Whether she’s just flaky and irresponsible or actually a (mostly) functioning addict is hard to say. Yet the doe-eyed Rosalind Eleazar gives that character a tragic, tender spirit in Misty Green, Chris Rock’s first directed feature in over a decade.
The film, out today from A24, opens with a problem: the widow of Misty’s former lover, played with bite by Amy Landecker, is kicking her out of the apartment he gave Misty, giving her a week to leave. During the two women’s confrontation, an Emmy for best supporting actress inscribed with Misty’s name is visible on a shelf. “Is that you?” the widow asks her in disbelief.
Misty Green plays as a kind of indictment of the Hollywood machine. Despite her past success, Misty has to do self-tapes, demoralizing auditions, and the occasional singing gig just like every other struggling actor, all while trying to find a new home and look after her schizophrenic brother, Jay (an arresting Daniel Kaluuya). She’s also got a temper and has left several projects on less than happy terms.
Talking to Eleazar—perhaps best known lately for her work on Apple TV’s Slow Horses—you get the sense that punching a fellow cast member isn’t an issue she’s encountered on set; where Misty is brash and brassy, Eleazar is soft-spoken and thoughtful. Still, the Ghanaian-British actress has a lot of empathy for her character, identifying her self-destructive patterns as a wounded cry for help.
In the library of A24’s glassy offices in New York, over a spread of popcorn, Doritos, and Sour Patch Kids, Vogue chatted with Eleazar about fashion, working with Chris Rock, and the loathsome but inevitable process of auditioning over Zoom.
Vogue: Thank you for making the time to chat. It seems like you’ve been everywhere lately.
Rosalind Eleazar: I was in New York last Thursday, then Paris on Friday and Saturday, and then Sunday I was filming Slow Horses, and then I flew into New York on Monday.
I went to a New York Film Festival screening of Misty Green last week and in the Q&A afterward, you mentioned that in your second audition for the film, you had been given a note about Misty’s appearance, so you had your hair and makeup done. How would you describe Misty’s style?
That note was great for me because she does care how people perceive her, and she has an idea of who she is, which might not be the same as what other people think. But Misty’s outfits were so important to me and to our brilliant costume designer, Neishea Lemle. We hilariously had both made mood boards on Pinterest about what we thought the character should wear, and when we met for the first time, we shared our mood boards, and we pretty much had the same images. It was mad because that doesn’t always happen. Often the designer comes in with an idea and it can be quite different to how you imagined. And what you put on really affects how you move and how you feel. It was really important that she was in boots for pretty much the whole film. I do think she enjoys being desired and what she wears facilitates that. She hates being weighed down by anything, so it was important that the clothing felt light.
What were your first impressions after reading the script?
I thought the writing was extraordinary. When I finished reading it, my first reaction was, like, “My God, no.” And anything that I am petrified of, I remember I have to take it or at least have to explore trying to get it. My body was like, I’m not gonna be able to do this. And that’s when you know that’s what you need to do. [Chris Rock] wrote a really complicated woman and she is difficult to get on board with. She is incredibly self-destructive and has mental-health issues and is a fufunctioning addict, and there are so many layers to her that I’m still figuring her out. She fascinated me as a person, and I was desperate to express something with her.
What was your relationship to Chris Rock before joining the project? He feels like a very American stand-up figure.
Even in the UK, he’s a comedy icon. But my favorite thing he’s done is his documentary Good Hair. He looked at everything about Black hair in our society and how it’s perceived. During my first Zoom with him, when he came on the call, I was like, “Hi, Chris Rock… Did I just say both your names?”
Eleazar and Chris Rock on the set of Misty Green.
Photo: Courtesy of A24
Did you give input or notes on Misty once you started working with Chris? And what is the most Misty thing about you?
Chris has this expression: “My movie, your character.” He’s written the character, and then it’s up to me to fill it out and give it flesh. And what’s the most Misty thing about me? I think she’s not a victim. Do you know what I mean? She can complain about things, but I don’t think she’s a victim. She’s a survivor, and I’d like to think I have a bit of that. I don’t dwell on things too much.
A lot of this role involves you singing. I read that you haven’t really sung since childhood. How was it?
Yeah, I sang when I was at school and then stopped for whatever reason. It was amazing to get back into singing and take singing lessons again. I had singing lessons almost every day while I was in Los Angeles, and those moments were really important to the character, because it’s sort of the first time you see her without any armor, and it’s quite a pure moment. She’s quite simple. And it was really nice reconnecting with my own voice. I remembered what I loved about it and how exposing it is. You can’t hide when you’re singing—not the way you can with acting. There’s something really vulnerable about it, like an energy transfer.
So will you be in a musical any time soon?
I doubt it. Let’s strike that—maybe.
Misty Green is both an ode to and a condemnation of Los Angeles. Had you spent much time there before shooting?
Not a whole bunch. And then I basically lived in LA for a month and tried to do everything that Misty did. Not everything [laughs], but I was just trying to immerse myself and absorb as much as I could. When you’re walking around, you get ideas for things. And I was going to the gym because obviously that’s important to Misty.
I was going to ask if you actually went to Equinox.
I went there every day and took classes there. One day this woman came into this class, and she was wearing heels and sunglasses, and I just loved it. I thought that could suit Misty, and that’s why she wears sunglasses in her workout classes. That’s the thing: When you’re out and about you notice things, and that’s part of our job. You’ve gotta bank all these different humans that you meet. I’ll probably bank a bit of you today.
I also want to ask about the self-tape and auditioning scenes, because that is both a part of the film and a part of what you had to do to get the role. You spoke in the Q&A after my screening about it being a rigorous audition process. Do you see that as a necessary trial for every role, or is there another way?
It’s quite meta. I really hope that at 60 years old I’m not still self-taping. I think that would be really soul-destroying. I think there comes a point where you’ve got enough of a body of work that there has to be some level of trust. I was hearing Colman Domingo speak about that—that he put a stop to it. And I know it’s still part and parcel now. I just hope we get to a point where actors could go back into the room, because I think that it’s really important. There’s something about feeling someone in front of you.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
Misty Green is nNow in theaters.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs Rosalind Eleazar on How Misty Green Was Made
1 Who is Rosalind Eleazar
Shes a British actress known for TV and film roles like Slow Horses The Personal History of David Copperfield and Anatomy of a Scandal
2 What is Misty Green
Its a film starring Rosalind Eleazar in the title role written and directed by Nicole Pott
3 What is Misty Green about
It follows Misty Green a struggling actress in London who gets caught up in a world of crime and deception Its a dark characterdriven drama
4 How did Rosalind Eleazar get the role of Misty
She was cast by writerdirector Nicole Pott who wrote the part with her in mind after they worked together previously
5 What makes Misty Green different from other crime dramas
It focuses on character and moral choices rather than action and its told from a womans point of view
6 How long did it take to make the film
From development through shooting and editing the process took roughly two to three years Principal photography was much shorter around a few weeks
7 Where was Misty Green filmed
Mostly on location in London using real streets and locations to keep the story grounded
8 What was Rosalind Eleazars preparation for the role
She worked closely with the director on the script built a detailed backstory for Misty and explored the characters emotional and physical life
9 Did she do her own stunts
She performed many of her own physical scenes with a stunt team handling anything dangerous
10 What was the hardest part of playing Misty
Balancing Mistys toughness with her vulnerability showing both without making her feel like a stereotype
11 How did she get into character on set
She used music quiet time before scenes and stayed in Mistys headspace between takes when needed
12 Was the role emotionally demanding
Yes The subject matter is dark so she relied on downtime support from the cast and crew and stepping away between scenes
13 How did the director and cast work together
It was collaborative Nicole P