Why Jennifer Jason Leigh Loves Acting for Television

Why she loves acting for television

Leigh thinks the small screen can be realer than the big screen — a more intimate place for a story to unfold, especially a spooky one like Lisey’s. “There’s something very immersive about watching something scary from your own living room that’s different than watching it in a theater with a lot of other people,” she says. “It feels more personal in a way. It feels like it’s in your house.”

Scary movie night at Jennifer Jason Leigh’s house

If Leigh were going to have friends’ scary movie night at her house, she knows exactly what would — and wouldn’t — be on the bill. “I’m proud of a lot of movies I made, but I would not have a bunch of friends over and have a little film festival of myself.” Instead, she’d go for The Shining and The Exorcist. “That would be a great double bill. Then there’s Dead Ringers, add Rosemary’s Baby in there. Those movies frighten me in a fun way, where something like Zodiac frightens me in a way I feel really unsafe. It’s a different thing. They just get your brain working in this whole other way. They’re opening these worlds you hadn’t known existed — where Zodiac feels random and real and dangerous and part of our society.”

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The Netflix binge that got her through quarantine

Leigh found TV [and exercise] “a lifesaver” during lockdown. She and her 11-year-old son, Rohmer, “binged everything,” she admits. “Six seasons of Schitt’s Creek, and it felt way too short. We were watching Mythic Quest, a pandemic episode that I found to be really inspiring and just so beautifully done. To see a show that was actually reflecting what we were all going through, I really appreciated that.”

Speaking of Netflix …

This summer, Leigh returns to the fourth and final season of Netflix’s Atypical, as the mom of a teenager with autism. What’s next? “I’ve just never been a careerist,” she says. “I’ve always just hoped to keep working, and I have.”