Greta Lee knows the feeling of breaking out a little late. The Los Angeles native, who studied theater at Northwestern University and stood out with supporting roles in hit shows like Girls and Russian Doll over the first decade-plus of her career, was a kind of comic utility player onscreen until her transfixing dramatic turn in Past Lives. That Oscar-nominated movie, directed by new A24 favorite Celine Song, hit theaters a few months after Lee had turned 40 in 2023, going on to net her a Golden Globe nomination and wide critical acclaim.
Past Lives ushered in a new chapter for Lee: She earned an Emmy nom for her role in Apple’s blockbuster series The Morning Show, took on key roles in massive Disney projects like Tron: Ares and Toy Story 5, and — perhaps the highest marker of status in Hollywood these days — played herself in an episode of The Studio.
With more notoriety comes more choice, and so it’s notable that Lee’s next big project is Late Fame, a scrappy indie helmed by critic-turned-filmmaker Kent Jones (Diane) that Magnolia Pictures will put out in select theaters Aug. 7. If Lee’s new era has been characterized by nuanced, subtle performances, this movie signals a hell of a zag: She plays Gloria, a working actress hunting for gigs who develops a complex bond with Ed Saxberger (Willem Dafoe), a postal worker and former poet whose writing is rediscovered by a group of eccentric younger artists in New York. The collective seems to operate out of time, Gloria foremost among them: Lee portrays her with the haughty glamour of a bygone era’s iconic diva, while laced with the timeless melancholy of an artist desperate for recognition.
