Add Cape Fear to your watchlist
In Apple TV’s drama Cape Fear, Juliette Lewis has just completed a character arc that is, like the Southern Gothic thriller itself, a little intense. The Los Angeles-born actor was an unadvertised addition to the cast. She plays Crystal, who stalks exoneree Max Cady, played by Javier Bardem. It’s quite the callback to the role that made her, in which she played Danielle, the teenager taunted by Robert De Niro’s Cady in Martin Scorsese’s classic 1991 film. Then only 18, Lewis was Oscar-nominated for her performance.
Cape Fear series creator Nick Antosca said he always wanted you to be in his remake. Was that to bless it, to give it good juju?
Oh, that’s cute! But I’d like to think it’s because he’s smart. He came to me in 2019. He had very different ideas then of what the Cape Fear series might look like. Then he got the blessing of Scorsese and Steven Spielberg [executive producers], and came back to me. But it was after Javier and Amy Adams had been cast, so when I read it, I thought, “Did he forget about me?” But he said, “Well, listen…” Then he offered me Crystal.
We first fully meet your character in a graphic scene in a blood-red cigar humidor, with Max Cady calling Crystal a “disgusting, sick, delusional freak”. How was it filming that with Javier?
It’s inspiring when you’re working with people who are creating a strong visual sense. That cigar humidor in and of itself is symbolic – one’s own contained hell, and that’s what those two characters live in. I thought, anything to play with Javier will be exciting and electric.
The scene in the 1991 movie, where Cady toys with Danielle, is a cinematic classic. What are your memories of shooting that?
I knew it was the scene. Marty told me later that it was a nine-minute scene and that is so rare. It was a tango, a cat and mouse game. I was aware of all the dimensions, playing innocent. Then she figures out he’s a bad guy, and then he gains her trust. I was an introvert and had raw instincts and Marty knew how to capture that. I was treated as an equal with utter respect. That built my confidence, so I could go toe-to-toe with De Niro.
You dropped out of school at 15 and filed for emancipation from your parents. What does that tell us about your ambitions in your teens?
That was just a legal thing. My parents helped me get the legal language for my resumé, just so I could work. I knew that acting was what I wanted to do.
What advice would the current Juliette give 18-year-old Juliette about the business?
Develop a practice that cultivates a connection to self. For me, that’s nature. And being with people that are not in the business. Most of my friends are not in showbusiness.
You did a few violent movies in your teens and early 20s: Cape Fear, Kalifornia, Natural Born Killers, From Dust till Dawn. What drew you to such tough material?
I know! I call it the high-stakes genre. I do these conventions, fan expos, and it’s so sweet to see people’s reactions to things I’ve done. I learnt about the “Final Girl” – I’m a Final Girl, meaning the one who survives. I got lucky because at the time parts were so thinly drawn. You’re either a pretty girl that the lead guy wants to be with. Or you’re doing the movies I got to do, which were adventurous and wild.
You starred in Yellowjackets, which brought a new level of fandom. What are interactions with younger fans, women in particular, like?
I was shocked by that reaction. It was post-pandemic, filming in Canada. And I felt my character didn’t have a lot of words, so I worked off her behaviour and what the writers gave me: “She’s a struggling addict, obsessed about a past relationship and full of regret.” It’s lovely to have young girls – and guys – know me in a new way, and know nothing of my history.
Can we look forward to more music from Juliette Lewis and the Licks?
Gosh, I love my band so much. But they’re all in other bands. It’s nearly impossible to get five people in a room together. Anyway, I wrote something and I’ll probably end up acting in it, directing, scoring some of it. So there will be more music to come from me, just in a different way.
Can you tell us anything more about that project?
Hmm… It’s an exaggeration of themes that I went through. Visually it’ll be slightly psychedelic and fun. It’s the inside of my mind having gone through something particular. A lot of Juliette-ness will be in this movie!
To end on Cape Fear: how do you feel about Crystal’s character arc, and is it a nice, full-circle moment for you and your Cape Fear journey?
The character arc is Shakespearean. It’s guttural, it’s visceral. But oh my gosh, when I went on the set and saw “Cape Fear” on the call sheet and then on my dressing room, it was a trip. It really did put me back in a place that was wonderful for me.
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