A multi-faceted performer who has amassed a career across film, television and stage that has spanned over four decades, Lou Diamond Phillips is an industry legend. But in speaking to our Peter Gray to celebrate the release of his new film, Et Tu – a dark comedic thriller about an unhappy director watching his awful play get away from him during rehearsals, as well as fighting the feeling that his wife is having an affair with his leading man, who turns to the theatre’s mysterious janitor in order to “clean up” a few of his issues – the actor is still very much in his discovery period as a creative, noting that “there are still challenging roles out there for me.”
As Et Tu arrives in theatres and on Digital in the United States, Phillips spoke about the inspiration he found in bringing his character to life, building a dynamic with his co-star, and what this film provided him that he hadn’t experienced prior.
Your character, Brent, this director, is forced to endure his own artistic failure. How did you tap into that intersection of ego, humiliation, paranoia. Did it remind you of any moments in your career where self doubt crept in at all?
Oh, my gosh. There’s all kinds, so much to pull from in this. Not only as a performer, but as a director myself. As a writer. As someone who’s had relationships in the industry. I mean, the jealousy and the comparing yourself to someone else. And that thinking of, “Is someone doing better than I am?” It all resonates in Brent’s fevered mind (and) it’s all brought into sharp focus by, like you said, his anger.
First of all, he’s doing Julius Caesar in regional theatre when he probably has Broadway aspirations. And the really handsome young hunk who got the role through nepotism, who’s probably schtuping his wife, you know? That jealousy, that anger kind of creeps in there, and it all feeds who this guy is. And while I have, thankfully, never worked with anybody quite as intense as Brent, there are people that I’ve worked with that are larger than life, that are intimidating, that have presence. It’s funny, some of the delivery and the articulation, reminded me of Jeff Goldblum or Christopher Walken and, of course, Jack (Nicholson) in the The Shining. Here’s this guy who’s slowly losing his marbles. There were a lot of touchstones going into this that were so much fun.
One of the great things in this film is your character’s relationship with “The Janitor.” It feels very Shakespearean. It’s very sinister, but very funny. How did you and Malcolm (McDowell) approach building that strange dynamic that you had?
It’s so funny, man, because this was such a low budget and a 15-day shoot, mind you, so there wasn’t a lot of rehearsal. I didn’t get to meet Malcolm until we were on set together. And we had one rehearsal. The first (scene) that you see with us is the one on stage, where he’s mopping, and it’s a five page scene. And Max (Tzannes, writer/director) was doing these really long takes, and only two, maybe three at most, without a whole lot of coverage. So literally what you’re seeing there is…nothing was built. It just was. I mean, we got lucky, because Malcolm and I had instant chemistry and an instant affinity for one another. I respected and admired that man’s career for a long, long time, and he was very gracious and very kind to me, and was aware of my work as well. We had a very easy working relationship.
I think what’s kind of wonderful is that it wasn’t labored. We’re literally just batting it back and forth, and that rhythm, that interplay, really just came about naturally. That’s one of the things in us doing our homework and knowing our lines, and being present and ready. You just let it flow.
I think there’s always this assumption that, regardless of budget, there’s always going to be time for actors to meet or rehearse beforehand. Hearing stories like that, and looking at your body of work, was there something that this film, or this role as Brett, allowed you to do something as an actor that you hadn’t done before at all?
You know, that’s kind of an earmark of what I’m looking for these days, and I’m thrilled that I continue to find it, and that is something I haven’t done, or something that’s challenging, knowing that this was a limited budget and that there would be a huge support system. There’s long-ass monologues (in this), like the story I tell in the bathroom, that’s two takes with a camera pushing in. So it had to be perfect every time. And that’s always fun, you know, you take off your Hollywood glamour pants, and put on your acting-class head, and that’s always a real treat for me to get back and do something that has some purity to it and is foundational.
The thing about Brent was, you know, coming up with this look was very important. The glasses and the kind of Tim Burton-esque hair, I have to say the wardrobe supervisor was right there with me and was doing stuff that was just a touch flamboyant. Just a little not typical, you know? I wanted him to be sort of instantly identifiable. Like, “Oh, this guy thinks he’s an artist.” So everybody was on the same page with developing this guy. And that was an absolute joy.
Going off this film and its challenges, is there an artistic hill that you’d still really like to climb? A story, a collaborator, a passion project that you’re still trying to really make happen?
Oh, there’s a few. I’m coming out in a series for HBO called The Chair Company that’ll be out in October with Tom Robinson. And that was an entirely different process. Incredibly gratifying, but also very different, in the respect that Tim and his (writing) partner, Zach Kanin, came from SNL (where) they rewrite constantly. They’re trying new things. I mean, I can do a scene a dozen different ways and I’ll usually leave set knowing how it’s going to be cut. In this, I don’t know. You just have to be so fluid. You just have to roll with it. And that’s a wonderful tight rope to walk.
I have a couple of projects that I’m attached to as director. I would like to be doing larger films. There’s independent things that I want to keep doing. There are still challenging roles out there for me. I have a movie called Keep Quiet that’s opening up the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. It’s a Native American project. Beautiful film. It’s very much like Training Day. Again, a fantastic cast and a wonderful director and writer, Vincent Grashaw, who is just, you know, a gloves-off, gritty, tough filmmaker. I never try to project too much, because it’s the things that have come down the pike, like Et Tu, that are total surprises and just little gems.
Et Tu is screening in select theatres and available in Digital in the United States from July 25th, 2025.
