It’s a very busy time for Carrie Coon. Earlier this year, she was in Thailand filming the highly anticipated third season of Mike White’s “The White Lotus.” And, after landing her first Emmy nomination for season two, she is currently shooting the third season of “The Gilded Age.” Somewhere in between, she’s been promoting her role in Azazel Jacobs‘s “His Three Daughters.” Which, after debuting at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, has finally been released on Netflix and is officially one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2024.
Oh, and she’s done this all while raising two small kids.
READ MORE: ‘His Three Daughters’ Review: Natasha Lyonne is riveting in Azazel Jacobs’ sibling drama
Set mostly in a real three-bedroom Manhattan apartment, the drama finds three sisters coming to grips with the imminent death of their father in hospice home care. Christina (Elizabeth Olsen), has traveled from the West Coast and is trying to play peacekeeper between an increasingly frustrated Katie (Coon) and their adopted sister, Rachel (Natasha Lyonne). There are long-festering wounds and misunderstandings that may or may not get resolved over their relatively short reunion.
All three actresses are utterly superb, delivering some of the best performances of their careers. And, yet, as you’ll soon discover, Coon truly believes she could have done better. That she could get another “crack” at it. We did our best to convince her she smashed it, but we’re not completely sure we won her over.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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The Playlist: When Azazel came to you with this project, what made you say yes?
Carrie Coon: Well, firstly, it was that it was Aza (Jacobs) because my husband, as you probably know, did two movies with Aza. He was in “The Lovers” and “French Exit.” So, Aza and Diaz [Jacobs], his partner who also did the costumes, had become friends of ours, and Tracy loved working with Aza and Aza and I had never spoken much about my work. I didn’t know what he thought of me as an actor, so it just never came up in conversation. And so I was incredibly flattered when he reached out and said he had written something with me in mind. And as soon as I told Tracy Azas driving up to our house with a script in hand, he said, “Well, you’re doing it.” I said, “Well, yeah, of course, I’m doing it. I’ll read it.” So he hand-delivered it and drove it up to our house in Westchester. And I was just so flattered because I love his work.
When you read the script though, what surprised you the most about it?
Well, I don’t dunno if this was surprising necessarily, but what struck me about it was how specific the relationships were and how much he was so clear in his plan for shooting it. Basically, the form of the movie followed its function. So, when you’re introduced to the sisters in those opening monologues, you are introduced to stereotypes of these women. And then, as their point of view about each other starts getting complicated, as this vigil continues, the audience’s perspective on the sisters gets complicated. So what’s happening to the sisters’ mirrors? What is happening to the audience? And I’ve been working in TV almost exclusively, not exclusively, but primarily for a number of years now. And TV moves really quickly, and there’s a lot of arbitrariness in TV just because of the nature of the beast. It’s supposed to look like film, but it’s shot quickly. We’re turning out scripts sometimes and not every decision can be considered. And it was such a pleasure to understand that what I was handed was being so carefully wrought and so thoughtfully shepherded into existence.
The movie is not based on Jacobs’ real life. These are characters he created, but throughout the script, and when you watch the movie, there are all these little teardrops of hints of who these people are. Do you remember reading, thinking, “Oh, this is who Katie is. This is how I know who this character is.”?
What I loved when I read it, is she’s obviously relentless at the beginning. Relentless. And Aza directed those monologues that she gives to her sister with that pace and that alacrity. That’s exactly how those speeches are written. Almost breathlessly.
Oh.
She’s very confrontational when you first meet her, but then there’s a moment after the sisters have had the blowup and they’re having their conversation that Christina has set up authentically to apologize to one another. And she says to Rachel, and I’m paraphrasing myself, but she says something like, “But you already had a dad. He was our dad. You already had a dad, and he was our dad.” It’s so juvenile, it’s so stunted, it’s so childish and childlike and wounded. And what you come to understand in that moment is just how emotionally immature she is. And so there she is masquerading as this responsible eldest child, but just like every other person in any family, she’s carrying around damage she’s sustained as a very little person. And just my heart broke for her at that moment. And it sort of recast all of her interactions as someone who’s doing the best she can with what little she’s been given or with the limited work she’s done on herself thus far in her life. And I just had a lot of compassion for her.
How did you recognize the dynamics of the three of them throughout the film? Did you feel by the end they would have grown closer?
I feel that there’s an opening for the possibility that those relationships will continue. How much they deepen is an open question. But I have four siblings. I have three brothers and a sister. I’m the middle of five. We have not gone through the death of our parents, but I’ve seen my partner go through the death of his mother with his brothers. And isn’t it true that when you go home, you default to the person, the role that you play in your family? And what happens, of course, is you can’t see your siblings outside of that projection. It’s very difficult to acknowledge any kind of growth or development. They’re always going to be the 12-year-old that you grew up with, the brother who was the person who irritated you the most, or the little brother you babysat, or the sister you fought with or rescued, whatever it is.

It’s very hard to change our perception of those people because it’s all storytelling and we have to let go of our stories. And I think what starts to happen to those sisters at the end of the film is that those stories are loosening, right? They’re starting to understand that the truth is somewhere in the middle, and it’s not just my point of view and your point of view, that the reality lives somewhere in between people and you can never be totally objective about it. And so you have to acknowledge that your point of view is not entirely accurate. I think there’s a reason why eyewitness testimony is notoriously warped, often false, and easily suggestible. Our memories are not accurate.
Oh, no, they are not. I know Azazel shot this on film on an indie budget Did you feel as though you had time on set to work through each scene or do multiple takes?
No, I would say that Aza genuinely loves and respects actors, and he’s always moved by what actors are doing. And so he always protected our time. We knew we had a limited amount of time, but he also was trying to shoot it in order. So, for example, we weren’t shooting that argument until near the end of the shoot where it should be placed in the story. He was very thoughtful about the schedule, and I never felt we would move on from something if Aza wasn’t satisfied. But because it was so specific and because he had it scored almost like music, he thought of it like an orchestra. He knew exactly what he was looking for rhythmically often and tonally. And because he knew what he wanted, we were able to be very efficient. And because by virtue of all signing on to do the thing, knew what we were getting into and we knew what kind of actors we were working with because no one who doesn’t love that material is going to sign on in earnest with the careers that we all have right now. And we’re all, thankfully we’ve been quite busy. It’s really hard to carve out three weeks to do an independent film. And so the fact that it came together is just a testament to Aza’s vision. I think we know the gig, we understand we have three weeks to get it done, but we also understood that Aza would never ever end the day without getting what he needed from us. It’s always very satisfying in that way. It’s just when you’re doing it with David Fincher, you get a hundred takes when you’re doing it with Aza, you get 10.
But did you want a hundred takes? That’s the question.
No, [Laughs.] don’t think we did because I think because there’s something electrifying about working with Elizabeth and Natasha because we’re all in really pivotal moments in some ways in our careers. Natasha is at the apex of her producing, writing, and directing. Because of what Marvel has afforded her, Lizzie’s been able to choose really interesting films with filmmakers that she wants to champion. And so she’s working in a producorial capacity right now trying to get these really interesting movies made and things she’s passionate about. I think we haven’t even seen the tip of what Elizabeth is capable of. And so there’s something gratifying about meeting other women in this moment, in their careers and their lives. And so it just would just fill me up every day. And the bar was really high.
I don’t mean to keep asking about the process, but I have one last question about it. You’ve done a ton of stage work and not only does the film begin with you, but the first shot is your character with a lengthy monologue. There is no cutting away. Did that make you nervous or do you just default to, “Oh, it’s just like the stage. I’ll just memorize it and be fine”?
Well, I was nervous because we were shooting in order. I was the first person to go on camera in this mildly experimental film we were embarking on. And I was intimidated by my co-stars because I respect them so much. And so when you’re shot out of the gate like that, you don’t want people to say, “I thought I knew who this actor was. And now, actually, they’re not rising to the occasion.” I mean, of course, that’s the fear I need. Any reasonable person who cares what they’re doing will have [some fear]. My husband says I have ice water in my veins, but I really did care. And because I have two small children, and because it came together so quickly, I felt underprepared in a way that I like to be very prepared. That’s what theater teaches you.

I would’ve liked to have a slightly tighter grip on those lines before we went into this film. And because of the nature of my home life right now, I just didn’t have the same kind of time I usually have to prepare. And so I always felt like I was not rising to the occasion because I was so in awe of what Natasha and Lizzie can bring, which is Natasha is relentlessly truthful. If it feels false to her, she’s going to do it again. And Lizzie, there isn’t a false note in her. She’s not capable of it. I’m used to doing theater where there are some days where you don’t have it, and you have to get by technically. I don’t know that I was holding myself necessarily to that same standard in a way I’ve been doing TV for a while. And so to be invited to say that was bull***t, and you know, have to do that again, even if it feels good enough to somebody else, to reconnect with your inner arbiter of taste and hold your own feet to the fire was kind of what the movie was asking. And it’s hard work. It’s not easy to be good at this stuff, and you don’t always feel satisfied at the end of the day.
By the way, all humbleness aside, can you watch the film and at least be satisfied with your own performance in the film?
Oh, I mean, that’s a hard one. A lot of actors say I don’t watch myself, right? Well, I believe it’s actually my responsibility to watch myself. I think that’s how we get better. And I feel that that’s how I learn what my habits are, good or bad. And so for me, I will always have something to criticize, but I can also step back and appreciate the movie. I mean, I’m also serving Aza’s vision. It felt like Lizzie has said, “It felt like we were making a home movie for Aza.” It was an exercise of love for Aza and it didn’t matter if anybody ever saw it. We were just relentlessly in pursuit of the thing that Aza was making together. And it was so private and it was so sacred, and it was so safe that it didn’t matter how it landed in the world. Well, now it’s landing in the world. I can’t help but think I would’ve liked one more crack at that one.
See, again, the humbleness. You are fantastic, though.
I so appreciate you saying that. I mean, if we thought we nailed it, we’d probably quit. You know what I mean? So there’s always got to be something you’re looking for. Again, because I respect so much the work that Natasha and Lizzie have done and are doing I just felt a little behind. I just don’t have the same kind of time to get ready for things that I did before I had children. And so it’s just that thing as a mom, you just never feel like you’re going to do anything well at this time of life, maybe when my kids are older. So, thank you for that.
In the context of how you’re feeling about being able to prepare, does the Emmy nomination for “The Gilded Age” mean more now than it maybe it would have five years ago?
That’s a really interesting question. I hadn’t thought about it that way because it’s such an ensemble show, and it relies so heavily on the other elements. We were acknowledged for production design and costumes. The makeup is actually quite beautifully period and accurate and subtle. We didn’t get that nomination, but it’s so important to the show and those sets, it’s just everything. So many elements have to come together to make a period piece that it does feel almost like the team award. And I mean it when I say there’s no Bertha without George [Morgan Spector], so it doesn’t feel like something I’m able to do without all of those people around me. It just wouldn’t be possible. And there are days when I show up where I have to have that structure around me and people have to get me over the finish line because I don’t have the same kind of time to prepare for work that I used to have. And so to me, it just feels like all these people carried me over this line. And I just feel like my first question to my agent was, “Well, who got bumped?” I snuck in there. It probably sounds like I’m ringing this humble bell, but it is just part of my Midwestern upbringing. We will just never be good enough. No one in my family is ever going to compliment me. They’re just going to say the one thing I probably didn’t do. Well, that’s not true, of course. They are very proud and they love me very much. And my parents were there that day, which was really, really fun for them to be in my house when I got that phone call. Yes. It’s kind of unbelievable that I haven’t been just thrown out for being a total hack at this point when I feel like I’m not living up to my own standards of preparation for work. Does that make sense?
It does.
But again, it feels like people are going to say she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s not ready. But that’s not what happens. Instead, they’re like, “Emmy nominations!” It’s a little confusing.
Well, listen considering you are a key element in having people on the edge of their seats about who is going to show up to the Opera at the end of las season, I would say you’re being quite humble.
Well, thank you. I mean, she’s a marvelous character to play. She’s great fun to play, and I really do have a great time. I won’t lie. It’s wonderful. It’s fun to play the bad guy.
Wait, do you think Bertha is the bad guy?
In some ways, what she is is an antagonist. True. But no, of course. No. She’s the hero for me. She’s the hero of every story. And she will not quit, which I so admire about her. She’ll never stop. I just find that extraordinary, and it’s a wonderful invitation to step into that energy.
It is. And I won’t keep you, but do you know why I think she’s the hero? When Americans watch that show, we root for the nouveau riche like the Russells because that’s who we want to be.
So, right. It’s the American dream, isn’t it?
It doesn’t matter that she’s rich. Her adversaries are the people who are Nepo babies who have inherited their wealth. I think more people think she’s a hero than you think she is.
I mean, that’s a really interesting point of view, and I think you’re right. They do represent sort of that real possibility. And Bertha herself believes that she has earned it in a meritocracy. She believes that she deserves everything she’s getting because she has all the qualities of a person who deserves to be successful in the world. Right. And that the world is just giving her her due.
Well, listen, before I let you go, I do have one last question for you. I spoke to your “White Lotus” co-star Walton Goggins last month, and I asked him to describe the new season in a few words and he described it as a “seismic conscious” event. And with three seconds to think about it, what word or three words would you use to describe the upcoming season?
Orgiastic spiritual chaos. Take that, Walton Goggins.
I think you topped him. [Laughs.]
“His Three Daughters” is now available on Netflix worldwide.