Lukewarm off the presses! In a theater article at the New York Times a week ago about the new play Rasheeda Speaking starring Tonya Pinkins, her co-star, the two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest made a statement that quickly raised eyebrows that she didn't have enough work to pay her rent. It came when the actresses discussed the difficulties of finding good roles, which is surely depressing when you're basically a genius. (Tonya Pinkins, for what it's worth, gave one of the all time best theatrical performances I've ever seen in the musical Caroline or Change a decade ago. Idina Menzel winning her Tony was basically as ridiculous as say Benigni taking the one that shoulda gone to Norton or McKellen.)
Photograph by Damon Winter
Ms. Wiest said that she finds it difficult to find enough work to pay her rent. “I have to move out of my apartment soon,” she said.
Ms. Pinkins, a positive and proactive sort of woman, works on cultivating relationships with young writers, encouraging them to create roles for her. She’s also begun to direct more and has plans to write a film.
“I’m always having to reinvent myself,” she said.
Ms. Wiest, by contrast, isn’t such a go-getter. “I think that if it’s meant to happen, it will happen,” she said. “Which is I guess a real sign of stupidity.”
My initial reaction was horror since I think Wiest is one of the finest actresses of all time. That was quickly followed by a less charitable reflex "well, god. why haven't you bought a place with all your previous movie/tv money?" and "how far above her means is she living?" That's not a nice thing to think or say but if you're going to be THAT talented and then slum it on a two year Law & Order role, surely you were in it for the money; TV regulars make a lot of that. What's more, famous actors don't do too badly on stage either and Wiest isn't exactly lacking for work there. She's fairly regularly in something. I last saw her in "The Forest" in 2010 and she was amazingly funny.
So what gives?
Dianne Wiest in The Humbling (2014)Now her reps say her quote was taken out of context and she's not about to be homeless. Whew.
May all of this strange real estate drama only serve to remind people that no two time acting winner in the history of the Academy Awards (other than Meryl Streep) has ever demonstrated as much range between his or her two winning roles. How can you typecast THAT? Weist can do anything. Calling all writer/directors: if you want your movies to be better, write something incredibly good for an underused giant. It worked for Paul Weitz with Lily Tomlin this year and it's kind of insane that only Woody Allen ever seemed to fully harness the range of Dianne Weist's gift.
She can currently be seen in a tiny film called The Humbling, an Al Pacino vehicle that got one of those stupid one week qualifier releases last year despite zero in the way of profile, only to open regular a few weeks later. I wasn't the hugest fan of the film but she's great in her two scenes. And this happens practically every time someone casts her. (See also: Rabbit Hole, Synecdoche New York) WAKE UP, FILMMAKERS AND CASTING DIRECTORS.