Mar 14
Chloë Sevigny Describes Being a 'Flirt' with 'Capote Vs. The Swans' Co-Star Tom Hollander
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
"Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans" star Chloë Sevigny opened up about the gaffe she feared she might have committed with co-star Tom Hollander, who plays Truman Capote in the just-concluded series.
"It was her first time meeting Hollander," Variety detailed, "but she had been a fan of his devilish turn as a murderous homosexual expat on 'The White Lotus.'"
Perhaps because of that earlier role, as well as his casting in "Feud," Sevigny thought the "Pride and Prejudice" star really was gay.
"I was like, 'He's my new gay best friend,' until I realized that he had a wife and kids," Sevigny recounted. "And I was like, 'Oh no!'"
"I'd been pushing up against him," the "Kids" actor added. "He must have been like, 'She's the biggest flirt I've ever encountered in my life.'"
Hollander put her fears to rest. "I didn't feel she was flirting with me," he told Variety.
"One of the wonderful things about 'Feud' was, because I was playing a gay man, the relationships with all the ladies in the cast benefited," Hollander went on to add. "There was none of the tension that there can be in the straight environment.... Here I was essentially playing the gay best friend, so it created this relaxed environment where we were all having fun."
As impressive as his acting is in the role, Hollander let on that he was an admirer of Sevigny. "There's a no-nonsense streetwise-ness to her," he told the entertainment outlet. "But then she breaks out with this laugh, and you realize there's a goofiness to her that's very appealing."
Variety noted that Sevigny plays C.Z. Guest in the series, which prolific out producer Ryan Murphy created and executive produced.
Guest, recalled the site, was "the high society doyenne who became Truman Capote's confidant and remained his defender even after he was ostracized over an excerpt from his novel 'Answered Prayers,' a scabrous account of the jet set that appeared in Esquire."
Of course, it helped that Guest's secrets weren't among those Capote spilled in the roman a clef, something that Sevigny pointed out in comments to the magazine.
"It was easier for her to stay loyal," she said. "Truman didn't throw her under the bus."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
