Elisabeth Moss reminisced about her time filming the 1999 movie Girl, Interrupted in a recent interview. Moss, who was around 15 or 16 years old at the time, played the character Polly “Torch” Clark in the film. The movie also starred Winona Ryder, Clea DuVall, Jared Leto, Brittany Murphy, and Angelina Jolie, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lisa Rowe. Moss described the filming experience as being like being dropped into The Wizard of Oz, with Ryder and Jolie being described as being in two different camps on set.
Moss explained that there were two groups on set, one led by Winona Ryder and the other by Angelina Jolie. Moss found herself in Ryder’s camp and was intimidated by the Jolie camp, feeling like she would never fit in with the “cool girls.” Years later, Moss described Jolie as lovely but admitted that she never brought up the two camps conversation with her, feeling like she wouldn’t understand what it was all about. Moss also discussed how the face prosthetics she wore for her role took around three hours to apply every morning and how people on set actually thought she was a burn victim in real life because of how realistic the prosthetics were.
Moss reflected on the experience of wearing the face prosthetics, stating that she would often forget she was wearing them and would even go out in public with Winona Ryder, who had become a good friend. This led to people on set believing that Moss was actually a burn victim, as the crew did such a good job of making the prosthetics look realistic. Moss mentioned that at the time, she was not famous, so nobody knew who she was, which contributed to the crew’s belief that the burn marks were real. It took a while for everyone to realize that it was just part of her character’s appearance in the movie.
In discussing her time on the set of Girl, Interrupted, Moss highlighted the power dynamics that played out even after filming had wrapped. She shared how the two camps led by Ryder and Jolie influenced her experience on set and how intimidating it was to be around such established actresses at a young age. Despite feeling intimidated at the time, Moss mentioned that she later found Jolie to be lovely and friendly. Moss’s reflections offered a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes dynamics of a highly acclaimed film and shed light on the challenges and experiences she faced as a young actress on set. Overall, Moss’s experience working on Girl, Interrupted was a formative one that shaped her perspective on the industry and provided valuable insights into the world of filmmaking.
