Krysta Rodriguez
as
Liza Minelli
in
Netflix series
HALSTON
Photography
Aingeru Zorita
Fashion
Lotte Elisa Agullo-Collins
Krysta Rodriguez, American actor, is like an electric current dancing through the entertainment industry. She made her acting debut in theatre and has since moved fluidly between TV, film, and stage. With a passion for beautifying, she also has an equally charged presence in fashion and interior design with her former ChemoCouture blog and recent jump into interior design with CURATED by Krysta Rodriguez. Her role as Liza Minnelli in Netflix’s HALSTON has gained critical acclaim as she portrays Minnelli’s magnetic stage presence with her “Liza with A Z” introductory performance while also showing Minnelli and Halston’s more intimate moments of friendship as they laugh about not being able to carve a turkey. Her performance is as grandiose as it is honest, and we look forward to seeing more from her. Rodriguez talks to us about her role as Minnelli, childhood memories, and what’s next for her!
Bodysuit & Duster – Dries Van Noten SS 24 knit bodysuit & chiffon duster, Necklace – Jeannie Kim
You got your start in theatre and have been in several shows from Good Vibrations, The Boy Friend, Spring Awakening, and A Chorus Line to The Addams Family, What We’re Up Against, and Hercules among many others. Theatre shows seem to be very focused on camaraderie and developing characters together as a cast which is a format I am sure you are used to. How has the global pandemic affected you professionally as this dynamic has really changed?
Initially, I was very concerned about this. In general, television shows and movies tend to be less communal, with everyone shooting at different times and everybody having their own spaces. It’s not harder to build camaraderie, necessarily, but it’s not as immediate sometimes. Then with Covid, I thought it might end up being a very isolating experience, with literal layers between you and other people on the cast and crew. But I was happily surprised that it didn’t seem to hinder us at all, and in fact, made us work harder to find that bond we needed to play such a tight knit group. I think we were all really thrilled to just be back at work and around people. We got used to it really quickly. Every time we got to take our masks off it was such a joy to see our friend’s faces again!
You began a new venture in producing in 2019 with A Dresser and then again in 2020 with You Were Always. What prompted you to step behind the camera?
When you’re an actor, most people want to know if you also write or direct. Truthfully, I just never had the urge to do either! Actors sometimes want a way to have control in a very unsettling business and I was also looking for that, but I didn’t feel drawn to those other disciplines. For the longest time, I didn’t even really know what a producer did outside of financing so when that job sort of came into focus for me it felt like a natural fit. I think my strength as an actor lies in critical analysis of work and also sharpening ideas that are brought to me. I am less interested in creating from scratch; I’m much more at home when editing and refining work in a group. So, when I was presented with these two very unique short films, it felt like a great time to test out my talents there and I really enjoyed it!
Coat – Kenzo AW 25 satin trenchcoat, Earrings – Ming Yu Wang
You often note that you have known that you wanted to work in the entertainment industry from a very young age and have even experienced pivotal moments of realization relative to your own career after viewing several Broadway shows. Have you always felt a magnetic pull toward your career? What drives your professional decisions?
Yes, as soon as I knew this was a career, I pursued it with everything I had. Even at 6 years old, we had career day at school (which looking back is so absurd!) and I came dressed as a “singer.” I didn’t even really know what that meant at the time. My point of reference for singing was pop music or church, and neither of those felt right. I never wanted to be famous or very well known when I dreamt of performing. So, when I came to New York and saw a ton of Broadway shows, I watched the actors come out and sign autographs for very enthusiastic fans and then put their hats on and disappear into the sea of Times Square and I thought “this is what I didn’t know I was looking for.” It felt more about the work than the acclaim. Nowadays, I aim for projects where the women are at least in the action and not on the sides. They don’t have to be the stars of the show, but they have to be participating in the conflict in some way. So many times, I have gotten the audition for the “long-suffering wife/girlfriend” who waits on the side for something to happen. When I see that now, I won’t even engage in the project anymore. I’ve set that boundary pretty firmly.
Nowhere is your passion for beautifying displayed so well as in your ChemoCouture blog, where you candidly documented and shared your battle with cancer, and chose to shine light and beauty in a dark place. You drew a lot of inspiration for your role as Liza Minnelli in HALSTON by referencing Minnelli’s quote “My mother sang about victims. I sing about survivors,” and in many ways ChemoCouture is an ode to surviving. Do you feel that your resilience makes you kindred spirits with Liza Minnelli in a way, and did this help you in your portrayal?
It absolutely did. There just wasn’t any other way to approach it for me. It would have been a death sentence to try to be Liza Minnelli on her best day. No one else in the world is the performer that she is. So, I had to tap into what I understood about her and that’s her tenacity. I never felt particularly strong while going through cancer. You don’t live your life acting as a survivor. You survive because that’s all you know how to do. I viewed her life as a continuous string of acts of survival. You make the choice to keep moving and that’s all you can do.
Bodysuit & Duster – Dries Van Noten SS 24 knit bodysuit & chiffon duster, Necklace – Jeannie Kim
Top & Skirt – Collina Strada SS 42 silk crop top & skirt, Earrings – Le Sel, Belt – Anita Berisha
On that same subject of your passion for beautifying, you very recently started your own interior design business, CURATED by Krysta Rodriguez, congratulations! Can you talk a little bit about how this came about for you and what you are most excited about in this endeavor?
Yes, thank you! I’m very excited about this. Designing felt like a dream that I couldn’t have imagined being realized a year ago. When HALSTON stopped filming for Covid I had a rare opportunity to assess what else I love doing. My family has been renovating homes since I was born, and I am constantly walking into rooms and redesigning them in my head. It’s effortless and subconscious most of the time. I could have kept it as a hobby, but no one knew when the entertainment business might come back. At the same time, people were looking at their homes differently during quarantine, so I was able to throw myself into projects right away. That’s how Curated was born. Then, suddenly HALSTON returned, and I wasn’t sure if I could pursue both, but I just kept at it. What I realized is how similar the two jobs are. I love inhabiting a space like I do a role. I immerse myself in it and take on a new character in each unique project. Then you let it go and can move on somewhere else and challenge yourself in a new way. It’s really thrilling. Ultimately, I’d love to take it “on the road” and sort of live nomadically all over the world and design wherever I am.
HALSTON explores the process of creating the Halston perfume and the fact that our sense of smell is most closely related with our memories. If you could bottle three scents, what would they be and what memories do they evoke?
Magnolia trees: I grew up with one in my yard and that smell is instantly comforting to me.
The smell of sautéed garlic: I love beautiful meals and this smell always signifies something great is coming.
The theater: there is a smell that only exists backstage at a theater. I can’t pinpoint it- it’s probably dust and paint. That smell reminds me of discovering theater as a kid. The excitement of going to rehearsal and seeing your friends and being someone new for the night.
Minnelli is famous for knowing how to present a song and you seem to have an equal talent as evidenced in your phenomenal performance of “Liza With A Z” in your opening scene in HALSTON which immediately puts the audience in your pocket. You are not doing an imitation of Minnelli, but are performing in your own right. How difficult was it to portray Liza Minnelli without becoming a caricature of her?
In some ways, it wasn’t difficult at all. I’m not facile with impressions, so I was never worried I would get too over the top somehow. I was more worried about not getting the nuances of her right, the things that people want to see from her and know so well. You can only do so much while honoring the realities of the scene and the relationship with your scene partner. I had a team of people who guided me as far as I could go and then I tried to forget it all and just show up and be present.
The HALSTON set had to transform through the decades and there were many little details that transported viewers to that point in time, notably the Andy Warhol Liza Minnelli portraits on the walls in the last few episodes. Were there any specific points in filming when you really felt completely immersed in the world of Liza and Halston?
I loved the scenes where I got to shoot in “my” apartment. I spent a lot of time in other people’s spaces and on stage. But to get to be in a robe, barefoot on my shag rug or lying in my bed, I really felt like I was moving through my own space. It felt uniquely mine and hers at the same time.
Dress – Proenza Schouler SS 5 ribbed knit dress, Earrings – Annie Costello Brown, Boots – Iceberg PF white boots
Your version of Liza Minnelli was meant to showcase Minnelli at her best. How would you describe her at her best? How did you come to understand this?
She was always her best. She loves performing. I think I would venture to say she has to perform. Her work ethic is unparalleled. She knew that performing is telling a story. It’s not just about how high you sing or kick. It’s about conveying a real emotion to an audience, and I think she does that better than anyone.
Your scenes with Ewan McGregor often portrayed Liza and Halston in more intimate settings which is a version of Minnelli that you could really only surmise. If you had gotten the opportunity to sit down with Minnelli, what would you have liked to ask her to fill in those gaps?
I would love to know their sense of humor together. The things that made them laugh and the people they gossiped about. I have a “Halston” in my life and we speak to each other in a way that I don’t speak with anyone else. There’s such a joy in conversing with an equal who knows everything about you. That’s the stuff I’d love to ask about.
Dress – Proenza Schouler SS 5 ribbed knit dress, Earrings – Annie Costello Brown, Boots – Iceberg PF white boots
Since you are also passionate about fashion and interior design, do you have any interesting stories to share about costuming or set design that you witnessed while working on HALSTON?
Seeing our costumer, Jeriana San Juan, be a real life Halston was a treat I will cherish. She is so hardworking and passionate about getting it right. She truly channeled him in so many ways. One time, I got added to a scene very quickly and there wasn’t a costume for me. She immediately draped a sparkly piece of fabric around me and created the most fabulous dress. It evoked Halston perfectly because it was effortless and beautiful at the same time. It was one of my favorite pieces I wore!
What can we look forward to next from you?
I’m headed to Portland to shoot a new pilot which I would love to turn into my next full-time job! Also, there is definitely more designing on the horizon. I have a family home in Kansas that I have big plans for!
Photography
Aingeru Zorita
Interview
Tessa Swantek
Fashion
Lotte Elisa Agullo-Collins
Make-up
Yui Ishibashi @Defacto Inc
Hair
Fernando Torrent
@LatelierNy
Web Layout
Victoria Smith
Thank you
Imprint PR & Netflix
View the trailer to “Halston” here:
