Yahoo News A Jane Lynch Interview About Lego Turns Philosophical
Jane Lynch is a work-obsessed CEO whose eyes get opened to the benefits of play thanks to six adventurous children who bring fun and color to a monotonous workplace. No, that is not the premise of a new Hollywood blockbuster, but a short brand film that is part of Danish toy company Lego Group’s Play Is Your Superpower campaign.
Lego says it is the brand’s “first-ever fully playable brand film, which celebrates the heroes that can emerge in a world that has forgotten how to play.” Indeed, the five-minute story contains clues that can be used to solve puzzles and unlock minifigures that can be personalized.
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Lynch brings her humor and star power to the film, but she is not the only Hollywood name with a key role in the production. The film was directed by cinematographer, screenwriter and director Ellen Kuras, best known for her work on the Oscar-winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The director of photography is Rachel Morrison, one of the first female DPs for a big-budget superhero movie, Black Panther. And the designer and art director is David Lee, whose credits include Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith and Batman Begins.
And then there are the young stars enlightening Lynch’s CEO on the merits of play. After all, the campaign draws its insights from a recent global study that found that, on average, children are spending just 2 percent of their week, equivalent to seven hours, playing, with 32 percent spending less than three hours each week enjoying play. “This current play deficit is a cause for concern for experts given the crucial role of play in shaping a child’s cognitive abilities, overall well-being, and most importantly, in them having fun,” Lego states.
Lynch talked to The Hollywood Reporter via Zoom from her home in Montecito, California, about how acting allows her to play for a living, her early Lego memories and the benefits of the simple life.
Did you have any Lego experience or connection with Lego prior to this, and how surprising was it for you to get contacted about taking on the role in this brand film?
It came out of the blue, but I played with Lego bricks as a kid. I remember we had a bunch of them. I know we had one, that would have been in the ’60s, that was a midcentury-modern home with the low roof, and it had a garage and a car in it. That was great fun. So, I love them. And I love the idea of play.
I mean, my life has been about play. When someone asks me, “Do you like to work?”, I say, “Well, it’s not really work for me. It’s play.” I’ll say I’m going to work. But for me, it’s play. It’s like playing house. It’s playing pretend, and I think it’s kept me young and vital. Play is a great thing. So I was just thrilled to hear that they were going to do this, and I loved the movie. I love the idea of this kind of robotic workplace that is kind of dull. I think they were all in navy blue. I like that instead of just black. They were all in navy blue, and then it exploded with color when the kids were given a chance.
How difficult was it for you to get into robotic corporate mode? Did you have to do any research for that?
I play pretend, so I just pretend. It’s all easy. I was blessed with an imagination, so I can imagine what it’s like. I’ve had to play someone who had schizophrenia in Criminal Minds, and for that, I talked to a therapist who is actually a friend of my sister’s who dealt with that a lot. But I’m a human being. I can go deep and can usually imagine what would it be like to be this person. I didn’t have to do any research.
Do you play any games if you ever find free time?
I don’t play. I’m the host of a game show. [The Weakest Link.] I have been the host of two game shows. [The other is Hollywood Game Night.] I love hosting play. I like games, but I don’t usually play them at home. I’m really not that busy. I walk. I live in a really small rural town and I know all of my neighbors and I’m living kind of a simple life. So for me, that’s my play, being social. I have a friend in from Chicago and I’m showing her my life here, and she said, “Oh my God, this is so much more simple.” For me, simple brings a lot of joy. And then there’s a lot of play in there that occurs naturally.
How was work on the Lego film? Did you ad-lib any lines?
This script was great. I don’t know if I did or not. I usually do. I’ll add something. But I mean, it was really well done: a great script, great director, great kids.
How different is working with kids from working with grown-ups and Hollywood stars?
There’s a simplicity with kids. There’s an openness, and they are still so close to play. So it’s easy for them to let go and be goofy. The director was great to just let them be who they were. I like working with kids because you can get into that play mode with them. Working with actors who are my age, they are in a play business, but the great thing about kids is that there’s an innocence that, of course, we lose once we become adults. But the great thing about acting is you can get to go back to that simplicity. “Let’s pretend I’m a CEO. And I have this tough assistant who’s my enforcer. And then there’s this little kid.” That’s a lot of fun.
It lines up with what Lego wanted: Let’s play. We’re getting so robotic. And especially with AI coming up, which is a wonderful thing. But we will experience its shadow side, I’m sure. So we are having a reminder to play. In the film, everything in my office was made of Lego bricks: my phone, the things on my desk, my cat. So, Lego is also a toy for adults. They can build these really cool things like starships and chairs. It’s a pretty amazing product, and they’ve gone really far with it. I looked up Lego, and Lego in Danish means, “Play well.” You can create something that you see in your own mind’s eye or you can create something that they set out for you. And that’s what’s so fun about it.
The story plays out in a corporate-looking building. Where did you shoot the brand film?
It was a big building in Prague where we did everything. That was lovely, too. I had never been to Prague before. It’s gorgeous.
Could we see you in future Lego projects?
I have no idea. But I’d be open to it, for sure.
Not to get too philosophical, but did you ever think about how important the idea of fun and play is at a time when I often hear people complaining that there is so much bad news in the world?
That’s a good question, because I think of nothing but. What I’ve done in response to it is, I’ve simplified my life. There’s a lot going on, and believe me, I keep my eye on it. I was just listening to a doom and gloom podcast before I hooked on to Zoom. But I have simplified my life. I live in a little town, and most of my day is play. So I’m kind of living in two worlds. This world is where I have my home and my neighbors and my book club, and the ocean is right over there. That’s far more real to me than some of the macabre things going on with the world. And I think that’s where we’re going as a society, hopefully. I think we have a choice.
We talk about society as a monolith. But I think it’s probably going to break off: Some people are going to get more simple and be more respectful of our resources because the planet will survive. We are talking about, “Oh, poor Earth.” You know what? Earth snaps back like that. We won’t. So it’s up to us to simplify our own life. I know a lot of people don’t even think in those terms, but hopefully, it’ll become some kind of great way forward, and included in that will be play. I consider myself a farmer because I weed my garden, and I put bird seed in the feeder, and I love doing that. It’s not a lot of work, it’s not a heavy burden, but it keeps things really simple. And I love nothing more than to sit over here and watch the birds chowing down on the food provided. [That is me talking] about my simple life and purity of just living in the moment.
I may take your thoughts as motivation to not focus as much on results in my life but enjoy more play time and the simple pleasures …
Play is play for its own sake, it’s not for a result. That’s what’s great about it. Kids don’t think, “When I play today, what am I going to get out of it?” They just enjoy themselves and they are in the moment. It’s harder for us as we get older. We are culturally conditioned, and playing sometimes feels to some people like it’s a waste of time, or they feel guilty about it. But especially with this film, I hope that it might get some people inspired.
This interview was edited for space and clarity.
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