For all of Misty Green’s self-destruction, Rosalind Eleazar sees her as a survivor.
In A24’s drama, written and directed by Chris Rock, Eleazar stars as Misty, an Emmy-winning actress still stuck auditioning for small, stereotyped roles while she supports herself and her brother, played by Daniel Kaluuya. Eleazar spoke with BLK Cinema about Rock’s approach to the character, what the film says about Black actresses in Hollywood, the roles she turns down, building Misty’s bond with Kaluuya and what she took from the character.
Rosalind Eleazar on Chris Rock’s ‘Misty Green’ script
Eleazar said one of her first conversations with Rock focused on Misty’s upbringing.
“One of the early conversations we spoke about was Misty’s relationship, or lack of relationship, with her father,” Eleazar said. “That was one of the main things we discussed, her relationship with her father and her relationship with her mother, and how much that informed who she is as an adult. That was really important to me to flesh out, because basically anything, unfortunately or fortunately, that happens in your childhood is a pretty good indicator of how you’ll develop.”
She said the script’s tone caught her off guard.
“Honestly, it was just an honor. I love that he was doing something different, and when I read the script, I was expecting it to be a comedy, and I got to the penultimate page and went, oh, right. I’ll be put through the wringer with this one,” Eleazar said. “The thing I was most amazed at was how fearlessly he wrote Misty. He didn’t hold back, and I appreciate that he wasn’t afraid to write such a contradictory and flawed female character.”
What ‘Misty Green’ says about Black actresses in Hollywood
Eleazar said the film stands apart from other Hollywood stories because it addresses money.
“There are lots of films about Hollywood, but this also discussed the money side of things. She actually needs money. She has to support her brother, she has to support herself, and just because you’ve won an Emmy doesn’t mean that your trajectory continues,” Eleazar said. “She’s still having to audition for these highly stereotyped, tiny roles, right? There still isn’t a plethora of roles, particularly for Black women.”
“But what I also liked about the film is that this wasn’t just about, oh, the industry is just terrible to Misty. It’s also about personal responsibility and the fact that her biggest obstacle is herself,” she continued. “I think Chris found that balance between how cruel the industry can be and also what’s going on in Misty’s personal life that maybe she could address herself.”
Why Rosalind Eleazar says no to certain roles
Asked whether playing Misty changed how she thinks about ambition, Eleazar pointed to the power of turning work down.
“I’m really, really proud of the work I’ve done, and I’m proud of some of the roles that I’ve said no to,” Eleazar said. “One of the only things of power that you have is to say no to certain characters or roles that have come my way that I feel are reinforcing a stereotype that I don’t like. That might mean that I work a little bit less, but it aligns with my moral compass, let’s say.”
She said she hopes she never reaches Misty’s breaking point.
“Misty’s journey, she’s reacting and railing against the industry. She is fighting it,” Eleazar said. “That is obviously a place that I hope I will never get to, where I hate being in this industry so much that I am reacting the way that she does. If I ever get to that point, hopefully I’ll check out and leave, because I don’t think it is a healthy space. I don’t hate the industry. I think it’s fricking hard, but I don’t hate it.”
The meaning behind ‘One Night Only’ in ‘Misty Green’
Misty’s performance of “One Night Only” from Dreamgirls is one of the film’s key moments, and Eleazar said she and Rock wanted it stripped down.
“It was important in those moments, to me and to Chris, that they felt quite simple, that she wasn’t entertaining,” Eleazar said. “There’s a purity in that moment where it all falls away, and she’s just singing it. She’s not entertaining, which is a different thing.”
“To me, that’s the moment where you can access her in a way that’s sometimes difficult, because she’s quite impenetrable, isn’t she?” she continued. “In that moment, you almost see her like a child again. She’s just a little girl that loves music.”
Rosalind Eleazar on building Misty’s bond with Daniel Kaluuya
Eleazar said she and Kaluuya built the siblings’ history off set, then let the preparation go once cameras rolled.
“We would just take walks around LA together and flesh out our story. He would come up with something that would color our background, that would make me think about something, and it’d be just this constant exchange and flow of information. When I got home from set, we would FaceTime and talk more,” Eleazar said.
“When you work with such a brilliant actor like Daniel, you get to a stage where you just really trust each other, so then when it got to actually filming, you throw away all of that preparation and just play with each other,” she continued. “I’ve always said it’s like jumping off a cliff with someone, and you know you’re gonna land on your feet. There’s a safety net. It’s a dream when you can work with someone that’s as alive as Daniel. You almost don’t need to act.”
What Rosalind Eleazar took from Misty
Eleazar said Misty’s resilience is what stayed with her.
“Even though I’m playing a very self-destructive character, I think she’s a real survivor. She doesn’t become a victim of her circumstance. She doesn’t have a safety net to fall back on, so she’s constantly having to move forward,” Eleazar said. “She loses her home, and she’s living in her car, and she’s got nowhere to go, but she’ll just go the next day, she’ll wash herself in the bathroom, and she carries on moving forward. For all her faults, she does have that incredible quality about her.”
“She’s been working in the industry since she was 9 years old. She’s supported her family since she was 9 years old,” she added. “That’s a ridiculous amount of responsibility that she shouldn’t have at 9 years old, even looking after her brother. But I find that part of her admirable.”
Featured image photo credit: A24
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