In a heartfelt interview with Newsweek about the highly anticipated film The Last Showgirl, actors Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka lavished praise on their co-star Pamela Anderson.
The 57-year-old actor has earned widespread acclaim for her role in the poignant film, culminating in her first-ever Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama. Anderson's nomination recognizes her powerful portrayal of Shelly, a former Las Vegas showgirl grappling with an uncertain future when her long-running show Le Razzle Dazzle abruptly closes after 30 years.
Directed by Gia Coppola, Anderson was joined by a stellar cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Shelly's wise and fiercely loyal best friend Annette; Dave Bautista as stage manager Eddie; Billie Lourd as Shelly's daughter Hannah and Shipka and Song as dancers Jodie and Mary-Anne.
With a blend of vulnerability, grit and glamour, Anderson brings depth to the character in a performance that has resonated deeply with audiences and critics alike. Song and Shipka told Newsweek that they learned a lot from Anderson, as well as Curtis.
"Pam would just set the bar so high and the standard so high every day on set because she was just so prepared and she really pushed everyone to follow along on this crazy journey and be uncomfortable, be vulnerable, but we are all in such a safe space," Song explained.
Unable to imagine any contemporary actor for the role of Shelly, Coppola approached Anderson after watching the documentary Pamela, A Love Story on Netflix. Anderson had expressed interest in wanting to express herself as an actor, so eagerly took on the role.
Once Anderson was onboard, Coppola spoke to Curtis about playing Annette. Coppola thought the chances of Curtis signing on to the project were slim, as she had just won the Academy Award for Everything Everywhere All at Once—but the actor responded quickly and enthusiastically.
Curtis delivers a standout performance that complements Anderson's, with the two women's chemistry anchoring the film. Song called both actors "incredible women."
"Everything, every expectation that you could ever have of them, they will exceed it. And that's what was so impressive for me," she said.
"On a personal level, on a professional level, it's like you'll never meet kinder, more real, gentle, beautiful, talented, hardworking women who have stayed so true to themselves. And Jamie, the way that she works, she's such a fierce leader and so effortless in the way that she conducts herself on a set. She can play outrageous characters and it feels so utterly natural and effortless. It's insane, I don't know how she does it."
Song added: "It's like, they're just incredible women that I'm so grateful to know."
Shipka shared similar sentiments during the junket, adding that she could "talk about them all day." She told Newsweek that she learned "completely different, wonderful things from both" of the stars.
"There's different things that I took away from Jamie and the way that she led the set and how free she was and just how beautifully embodied she is as a person. And she has such integrity and I think she's so wonderful," she explained.
"And Pam and her fearlessness and her vulnerability. I could go on and on but I think what's really extraordinary is that when I think about the lessons that I learned from both of them, they're just an entirely different list of things, which is so magnificent. They're such individual, fearless, gorgeous, women—they're amazing."
While Anderson and Curtis are legends, Shipka and Song are iconic in their own right. Both child stars, the women have been acting for decades, with Shipka's credits including Mad Men, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Riverdale. Song's credits include the Disney comedy franchise The Suite Life, The Social Network and New Girl.
The two stars bonded instantly when they met ahead of filming. When asked if they think they formed a connection because of their similar career history, they said this was one of many reasons.
"I feel like we did, but I feel like it was almost more of a, I don't know, I feel like we have so many similarities that we will occasionally go, 'Oh wait, is that a child actor thing? Was that why we're both doing this right now, we're acting this sort of way?'" Shipka said, to which Song added: "Or are we just like-minded people?"
Shipka continued, "Or we're just like-minded and who's to ever say? I mean, we connected right away—day one, right away."
"And maybe the child actor thing, but I have a feeling it's just because Kiernan is awesome," Song chimed in, looking fondly at her co-star.
Shipka added: "And Brenda's awesome, so there's that."
Shipka said she was drawn to the project thanks to the impressive cast and the fact that Coppola was directing. Coppola and Shipka had been trying for some time to find a project together and their schedules finally aligned for The Last Showgirl.
When Shipka read the "amazing script," she knew that Anderson, Curtis and Lourd were already attached to the project, which motivated her even more to be a part of the film.
"Gia is, I think, such a brilliant, thoughtful director. The cast was unbelievably exciting and got more and more exciting the more cast announcements that there were," she explained.
"And day one, I knew Pam was involved, and that was incredibly thrilling and I knew that Jamie Lee was involved ... the answer is everything [drew me to the project]."
While Song didn't know Coppola before meeting her to discuss the role of Mary-Anne, a woman who's become disheartened by her dreams, her understanding of the character was clear from the beginning.
The actor said the script "hit so close to home" and she was moved by seeing four generations of women at a crossroads in their lives. Song told Newsweek she was "desperate" to be in the film and would have been "devastated" if she didn't make it.
"I feel like I could connect with every single character in a different kind of way. And then I met with Gia and I just fell in love with her. She's such a brilliant filmmaker, but also such a wonderful human being," she said.
"I was so desperate to be in this movie and I'm so grateful that she allowed me on this journey because it's been such an incredible experience, how could you not want to be a part of this project? I've said this before and I'll say it again, it was a movie that I was desperate to be in and devastated if I wasn't gonna be in it, but I would be in line to see it."
Song highlighted how unique the film is, pointing out that not many projects like this are made anymore. Without independent movies, stories like the ones in The Last Showgirl are often not told.
"It's why I'm so grateful independent movies still exist, they get to tell very small specific stories that, sometimes, in this crazy big studio world, they don't get to be told. So to see this beautiful story that's very specific but so meaningful it's all I ever want to do, so I'm just so grateful to be on this journey," she continued.
"I hope that audiences walk away feeling something, because I think that's something that I love about the movie experience. It's like when you walk away from a movie and you're still thinking about it, or it evokes something from you, whether it's anger, happiness, sadness, whatever it is, that's what we do.
"We're making projects to help people through something, to entertain them, whatever it is, so I hope they just walk away and they feel something."
Shipka added: "One of the things I love about this movie is that I think you can take away a lot of different things depending on where you are in your own life and I love those kinds of movies that really hit in different ways depending on how you feel as a viewer.
"I think this movie has so much human story pulsating through the whole thing that I just hope people feel moved and connected to it, and I think you can walk away feeling a lot of different ways depending on how you feel walking into it."
The Last Showgirl hits theaters nationwide on January 10.
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