Carrie Coon Has Only Been ‘Scared’ of Two Actors: ‘I Was Nervous, and I Don’t Get Nervous’

Since 2012, when she broke onto Broadway with “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” Carrie Coon has shared the stage (theatrical and sound) with a formidable number of acting icons. In “The Post,” she stood opposite Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep (while being directed by some nerd named Steven Spielberg). Then there’s “Widows” with Viola Davis, “The Nest” next to Jude Law, two “Ghostbusters” movies alongside Bill Murray, and, this critic would argue, “The Leftovers,” across from the incomparable Ann Dowd. Soon, she’ll be traveling back to “The Gilded Age” where she’ll thrust and parry with none other than Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald.

There are plenty more Oscar, Emmy, and Tony winners to add to the list — and more to come in the years ahead — but for all the praise Coon heaps on her cherished co-stars, she said there were only two times when she was “scared to act” because of her scene partner.

“I was nervous,” Coon said. “And I don’t get nervous.”

In a recent Q&A for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation in New York, Coon explained how to find the right time to discuss the craft of acting with her fellow cast members.

“I do want to have those conversations, but I also recognize when it’s appropriate to have those conversations,” Coon said. “Sometimes the opportunity doesn’t necessarily present itself, and you learn a lot just by being there with them — by doing [a scene] with them.”

Two such instances arose from sheer nerves.

“I’ve been scared to act two times,” Coon said. “The first time was with David Thewlis. I mean, he’s just extraordinary, and I was terrified. And I’ll say, I was probably not very impressive. He was word-perfect on every single take, and I was nervous.”

The scene they share is a pivotal one. Coon and Thewlis starred in the third season of “Fargo,” FX’s Emmy-winning anthology series from Noah Hawley, and their characters don’t meet until the last scene in the last episode. Without getting into spoilers, their discussion is pivotal to appreciating the season’s message, and despite Coon’s reservations about her performance, the Emmy nomination she received for her work should probably dispel any doubts.

“It was the last thing we shot on our last day,” Coon said. “I was really intimidated by David, but I loved watching him. He was very alive.”

Coon repeated that, typically, she doesn’t get nervous, but she’s always liked actors who make the audience feel uneasy.

“When Amy Morton teaches at Steppenwolf — teaching the Meisner technique, which is all about [being] present in the moment — her thing is like, ‘Kill, fuck, or fly,'” Coon said. “In any given moment, nobody should be able to know if you’re going to kill, fuck, or fly next. That’s really exciting. The most exciting actors we watch are the ones where we don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

Which circles back to the second time Coon was scared to act.

“The other time was during ‘Strange Weather,’ a small indie film I did with Holly Hunter, who was the epitome of kill, fuck, or fly,” Coon said. “You have no idea what she’s going to do. She takes it very seriously, but she does not take herself too seriously. The work is absolutely sacred. And she’s very playful, but there are moments where you’re like, ‘Oh no, she’s going to kill me.'”

Coon described Hunter’s work as “absolutely electrifying,” while again worrying her own contributions to the scene couldn’t live up to her co-star’s.

“I had to do an eight-page scene in a hotel room, and I was so scared that she’d think I was bad,” Coon said. “I didn’t want Holly Hunter to think I was bad. I wanted her to think I was equal to her, and so every time I messed up, I was like, ‘Oh no.'”

Coon can next be seen conquering her fears in “Lake George,” opposite Shea Whigham. Next year, she’ll lead “The White Lotus” Season 3, with Walton Goggins and Michelle Monaghan. If she was at all nervous with any of these esteemed actors, history indicates you won’t be able to tell — not until she tells you.