Gayle Rankin

Photographer Pamela Neal

Creative Director Deborah Ferguson

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Gayle Rankin was born outside of Glasgow, Scotland and was the first Scot to attend The Juilliard School in New York City. Rankin began her career in theater, debuting on Broadway as Fraulein Kost alongside Alan Cumming and Sienna Miller in the 2004 revival of “Cabaret.” Since then, she has appeared in a number of productions, including “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Hamlet.” In 2012, Rankin made her foray into film and television. She currently plays Sheila the She-Wolf in Netflix’s hit series “GLOW.” Her most recent movie “Her Smell” debuts this Friday, April 12.

Interview by Sydney Nash

You spent the first 16 years of your life in Scotland, your home. Tell me what it was like to grow up there and how it’s informed your career.

I had a really idyllic childhood. I grew up just outside of Glasgow, which basically means, you leave the city and immediately there’s only fields and cows and small villages. I grew up in beautiful nature with my mum and dad and older sister. At a time where it was safe and common to be allowed to just go and play outside or in the woods for hours on end. It definitely moulded me into a really imaginative person. I was also surrounded by a lot of funny, brave people in Scotland. It’s just part of the culture. I’m proud of those qualities and where I came from for encouraging them.

You were also famously the first Scot to attend Juilliard. What was that like for you and did you ever feel any pressure in being “the first?”

I don’t think I knew that I was when I happened! I was quite naïve when I auditioned for Juilliard and just felt very lucky and intimidated to be accepted.

What was your first introduction to performance?

My grandparents and my mum would always watch old movies and old musicals when I was young and so I used to watch them a lot. I was fascinated with Judy Garland, Sophia Loren, Doris Day. I was very attracted to music and song too and very classic but singular styles of performance, jazz, Ella Fitzgerald, from quite young.

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You started your career in theater and made your Broadway debut in the Cabaret revival (led by Alan Cumming), going on to star opposite the The Public Theater’s production of Hamlet. Tell me how your background in live performance has informed your work in TV and film.

I definitely approach film and television from a theatrical perspective, i also don’t imagine them to be that different, I try to work on film and tv as live as theatre is. I create a character and work towards living through the scenes of their life in real time and for me the only difference is that sometimes you have to repeat those moments over and over again and the size of the space or inclusion of an audience changes the energy of the performance. But theatre has allowed me to be able to really be in the moment and alive in whatever I am approaching. Because you have to be. It’s all really happening.

Having worked in both theater and film, do you have a preference? What distinguishes the two?

I don’t necessarily have a preference. Theatre is extremely important to me in a different way than film and TV is. I feel at home onstage as an actor and that’s an amazing feeling but I also love the challenge of trying to feel as at home in front of the camera as I do on stage. They are both thrilling and hard. I think they are different in terms of how you take care of yourself and you work. Film and TV, the way I aspire to work on it, requires so much focus in a different way than theatre does to stay in the moment every single time. Theatre, you have the amazing gift of the moment being exactly what the moment is. Because, again, it’s just happening. Which you could also say about film too.

What’s your favorite audition song?

[I] Like Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” (laughs). Or Brandi Carslile. Or “Secret Love” from Calamity Jane. I’ll pretty much go anywhere.

Is there any one role you see as having the most influence over the direction of your career? If so, what role and how is it distinguished from the rest?

There isn’t really one role. I have met a lot of collaborators who have informed my career significantly. People that inspire me and open worlds up to me and have given me opportunities that have given me a lot of strength and momentum as an assist. Sam Gold and Brian Mertes, they cast me as Ophelia (Hamlet) and Nina (The Seagull) and those two directors and projects really inspired me to explore my ability to be a more collaborative actor and the roles opened up things in me creatively that has been a through line in my work and my interest. The exploration of the complex female psyche.

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You play Sheila the She-Wolf in Netflix’s hit show GLOW, which just finished filming its third season. Tell me what it’s like to work with an (almost) all-female cast. Is the experience any different than your other projects?

I’ve had the luck to get to work on several very female heavy projects. I did an all female production of The Taming of the Shrew and a few films that have had a lot of women involved. I think it’s wonderful. It’s nice to have a lot of women around to be supportive and have a short hand about the female experience. But I have also had great experiences on projects that are not helmed by women and have many wonderful men involved.

Sheila the She-Wolf is one of the many women wrestlers in GLOW, all of which adopt a bigger-than-life persona for their audience. In a way, Sheila’s “character” is the most honest and reflective of who she is in her personal life. What was it like to prepare for this role, and how did you get into Sheila’s head?

I knew I needed to spend some time with a real wolf, first of all, to really understand why I/she connected with that species so fully. And that was very clear to me, there is a depth, a magic and simultaneously a simplicity and complete mystery about how a wolf moves through the world and I can relate to wanting to live that way. So I started there and just kept learning things about her as the episodes went along. And even I was surprised. But I always knew she had a lot of depth and a lot of love.

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Your new film Her Smell just premiered at SXSW, in which you play the drummer Ali. What initially drew you to this project and character?

Alex Ross Perry, the director/writer wrote a pretty mind blowing script. It read to be a a Shakespeare play on a acid trip. It’s wild and poetic and scary and soft and deep. Full of complicated women and I really wanted to be a part of that.

Music is well within your comfort zone (with your history on Broadway), but the movie tackles a whole different genre: punk. How did your musical background help prepare you for this role?

I love music. It really inspires me. I listened to a lot of the music from the 90’s. Riot grrl stuff in particular and really found a performance art aspect to it and that was inspiring. What these girls were doing in the 90’s was really expressionistic and it felt natural for me to want to step into that mind set and be a part of that.

Did you have to learn the drums for this role? Any natural talent?

I did. It was very intimidating and took a lot of work. I guess I have rhythm so that helped. But it was a lot of practice.

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You’ve worked with some amazing co-stars (including Alison Brie, Elizabeth Moss and Oscar Issac). Is there any one actor/actress whose work inspires you?

Mark Rylance is consistently inspiring to me.

You’re set to star in the new movie Blow the Man Down. Any insight you can give us into your new project?

It’s another really female driven independent film about a murder in a small town in Maine. It was such a great experience working with such seasoned and generous actresses, Margot Martindale and June Squib and so many other women. I learned so much.

What’s the next step for you? Tell us what you’re most looking forward to in the next year.

I’m looking for the next job. I’d love to do something period. A little farther back than the 80’s haha. I’m trying to pursue a couple of passion projects for the theatre, some classic plays potentially.