OnlyOnAOL: Welcome to the 'Jungle,' Lola Kirke
BY DONNA FREYDKIN
The Golden Globes were full of OMG moments, but perhaps none more than "Mozart in the Jungle" winning best comedy, and its star Gael Garcia Bernal nabbing the best actor prize, seeming from left field. The Amazon series, about the behind-the-scenes antics at a fictional symphony, co-stars Lola Kirke as an aspiring oboist who becomes entangled with the orchestra's brash maestro (Bernal) -- and explores her feelings for him. The second season is now available.
In person, Kirke is the epitome of cool confidence. She broke out as the crafty grifter who robs Amazing Amy in David Fincher's 2014's hit "Gone Girl," and played an unsettled college student in Noah Baumbach's "Mistress America."
The Bard College graduate's personal life itself reads like a screenplay: her sister is "Girls" star Jemima Kirke, her dad was the drummer for Bad Company, and her cousin is superstar cobbler Charlotte Olympia. And her best pal, since childhood, is Hannah Dunne, who also costars with her in "Mozart."
"We've been friends since we were two. It's surreal and so bizarre working with her. Lots of little girls want to grow up to be actresses. It's the combination of your favorite pastime, which is playing, and money, which you're told you need to have to survive in the world," says Kirke. "So it seems like the greatest stroke of fortune to actualize that alongside her."
How did she wind up in "Mozart"? She was a fan of the show's brain trust: Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola, Paul Weitz and Alex Timbers. And she was curious about the on-demand streaming format.
"What attracted me was the people who were creating it. This was a while ago and it was a green time for this medium. I was really curious about this style of viewing. And of course, the content of the show is fascinating. As somebody who's wanted to be an actor since I was very young, there are some parallels between me and Hailey," says Kirke.
Kirke has plans to work on a project with sister Jemima. She's starting a free arts camp in Port-au-Prince next summer. And she's getting used to the attention focused on her, which started with "Gone Girl." She began getting recognized, even though she looks barely like herself in the film.
"We shot 'Mistress America' first. 'Gone Girl' we shot and six months later, it was in movie theaters. It was the first time people started caring about me," she says. "I took a train from New York to Sundance. We make an adventure out of everything. And a ticket agent in Schenectady, New York, told me I was in 'Gone Girl.' He was like 80. It was weird."
And now for the most vital question of the day: How many pairs of Charlotte Olympia heels does she own?
"I own one pair of one pair of Charlotte Olympia shoes that she very kindly gave to me. She also gave me a clutch. I'd like to have more. She gave me a movie-clapper clutch. It's good stuff," says Kirke.
