{"id":340969,"date":"2026-09-08T19:02:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T19:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/340969\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T19:02:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T19:02:42","slug":"julia-garner-on-moving-back-to-new-york-that-madonna-biopic-and-her-riskiest-role-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/340969\/","title":{"rendered":"Julia Garner on Moving Back to New York, That Madonna Biopic, and Her Riskiest Role Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated10 min read<\/p>\n

Nestled in a leather dining booth at Little Dom\u2019s, perhaps the New Yorkiest Italian bistro in Los Angeles, Julia Garner succinctly explains the difference between her hometown and her home here: \u201cA friend told me, \u2018New York is fun hell. And L.A. is sad heaven.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Garner, the shape-shifting star of Ozark, Inventing Anna, Weapons, and the new Netflix series The Altruists, casts her piercing blue eyes toward a photo of Ava Gardner on the restaurant wall, one of the classic stars Garner grew up watching on TV with her family in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. As her own star rose, she moved to L.A. six years ago. But now she\u2019s having second thoughts. \u201cIn New York, you have to think so fast that you\u2019re forced to be present,\u201d says Garner, dressed Cali-casual in jeans and a striped long-sleeved tee. \u201cHere, you don\u2019t have a sense of time so much. The weather\u2019s the same. There are no seasons. So you, like, daydream more\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only, daydreaming by the pool is not her jam. \u201cWe burn,\u201d she says, laughing as she touches her pale arms. \u201cI really should be a vampire, because I\u2019m, like, allergic to the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StudioAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Coat, Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda. Heels, Mati\u00e8res F\u00e9cales for Christian Louboutin.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the restless New York striver energy that seems coiled inside her, ready to spring like her signature blond curls. Garner admits that she does not like to sit still, and doesn\u2019t take many days off anyway. \u201cSince January, I\u2019ve been working almost every day,\u201d she says, smiling and not at all complaining. \u201cThe more time goes on, I just kind of want to push it even more, and more, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over lunch, Garner even seems restless with being herself. At moments when she speaks, I hear hints of the crass Missouri twang of Ozark\u2019s Ruth Langmore, a role for which she won three Emmys, and the lurid Russo-Euro patois of Inventing Anna\u2019s grifting fake heiress Anna Delvey, which launched a million memes. The actress, 32, has been burning up the screen for half her life, in one transformative, go-for-broke performance after another. She debuted at 16 as a cult initiate in Martha Marcy May Marlene, then played another cult member, then a cannibal, and then, in a move that most actors would never dare, the employee of a lecherous movie producer boss in The Assistant. When she finally did a mainstream blockbuster in Fantastic Four: First Steps, she was unrecognizable as the metal-skinned alien Silver Surfer, and immediately followed it up with Zach Cregger\u2019s wild horror hit Weapons, as a teacher accused of being a child-murdering witch. In the last year, she wrapped The Altruists in Vancouver, shot an arc on The Studio in Venice with her new bestie Madonna (more on that later), then hurried to shoot the film Tyrant with Charlize Theron and Demi Moore\u2014and developed yet another upcoming series, Apple TV\u2019s Guilty Creatures, via her own production company.<\/p>\n

\"Julia\"JuliaAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Dress, Rahul Mishra Couture. Heels, Mati\u00e8res F\u00e9cales for Christian Louboutin.<\/p>\n

So, no. Maybe the laid-back heaven of California is not for her. Garner says she misses New York\u2019s breakneck energy, and wants to be closer to family and friends. (She does not say she wants a fresh start after her recent split from her husband of over six years, musician Mark Foster of Foster the People.)<\/p>\n

When I ask if she\u2019d like to talk about her separation, she looks at me like, \u201cAre you crazy?\u201d Then she politely declines. \u201cYeah, I think I\u2019ll move back to New York.\u201d Probably the Upper West Side. \u201cAnywhere except for Murray Hill. No shade against Murray Hill, but\u2026shade against Murray Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JuliaAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Dress, Balenciaga Couture.<\/p>\n

New York is, appropriately enough, where Netflix\u2019s The Altruists begins. The series plays as a spectacularly nerdy love story, telling the true-life saga of FTX crypto exchange co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his partner in business, crime, and polyamory, Caroline Ellison, a mousy math whiz who bears almost zero resemblance to the woman sitting across from me. Their meet-cute is a hedge fund job interview, in which Sam underestimates Caroline until she correctly analyzes the risks of our winner-take-all world and concludes, \u201cGoing all in every time is the mathematically optimal strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam, played by the Irish actor Anthony Boyle, swoons: She had him at mathematically. The two fall in love, bonded by the idealistic conviction that the optimal way to do good in the world is to make as much money as possible, then give it away. (Spoiler alert: They\u2019re better at the former than the latter.) The two double down until they have defrauded FTX crypto customers of $8 billion, in one of the most massive financial crimes in the history of the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the hardest job I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d Garner says. Known for disappearing into her characters, she says, \u201cI wanted to see how far I could go. I want people to watch this and not see me at all. Like, at all.\u201d Another actress might have glammed Caroline up and sanded her rough edges down. Garner asked for a dull brown wig, thick eyeglasses, false teeth, a prosthetic nose, and thick, brown contact lenses. She adopted a tighter posture; a distinctive gait; a new voice, vocal-fried to a mechanical crisp; and a series of laughs, she says, ranging from \u201cone little hiccupy laugh\u201d to the way she \u201claughs when she\u2019s nervous\u201d to the way she \u201claughs when she lies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JuliaAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Dress, Rahul Mishra Couture. Heels, Mati\u00e8res F\u00e9cales for Christian Louboutin.<\/p>\n

Her classically trained co-star Boyle grew a handlebar mustache and pitched his own full-frontal nude scene for Netflix\u2019s House of Guinness. Yet he remembers meeting Julia-as-Caroline and realizing, \u201cI had to step up my game. It was astonishing. No one actually recognized her. Not one person! I was just blown away. And she is arguably the most talented person in any room she\u2019s in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oscar winner Graham Moore, the creator of The Altruists, says he told Garner she didn\u2019t have to go to such extremes and spend almost three hours in the makeup chair every morning. \u201cShe said, \u2018Oh, I\u2019ve never gotten to act with prosthetics before. I really want to learn how.\u2019\u201d Moore calls her a high diver. \u201cGiven an array of options, she will choose to jump from the highest board into the deepest water. It\u2019s not just that she loves creative challenges, it\u2019s that the only creative choices she loves are challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JuliaAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Dress, Viktor & Rolf. Heels, Mati\u00e8res F\u00e9cales for Christian Louboutin.<\/p>\n

\"JuliaAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Jacket, dress, Standing Ground Couture.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most daring part of playing Caroline was finding a way to allow audiences to connect with a woman who pilfered billions. Jinny Howe, the head of scripted series at Netflix, had bet big on Garner to do almost exactly this before, and hit the jackpot twice, as Garner made a hillbilly criminal and a New York con artist into TV icons. \u201cShe portrays what I would classify in quotes as \u2018unlikable\u2019 women with such a ferocity and humanity, where you are just like\u2026I\u2019m with you. She helps us understand who they are in a way that makes it impossible to feel black-and-white about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell when people phone it in. For me,
if I\u2019m gonna do it half-ass, I\u2019d rather just not do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Against all odds, you begin to care about Garner\u2019s awkward, selfish Caroline, as you realize her brilliant brain is forever racing ahead of her slow, dumb heart. You feel for her when her erotic Harry Potter fan fic obsession is exposed (\u201cA ride on Draco\u2019s Nimbus!\u201d), and when she dresses up in an Indiana Jones costume to seduce a not-into-it Sam. You may even empathize when their financial scam begins to unravel.<\/p>\n

Of course, going all in is risky. There\u2019s a long list of actors who have become memes or punch lines for going to such extremes (fake noses, prosthetics, obscure accents) and not pulling it off. Garner is aware of the downside risk that comes with trying so hard\u2014painfully so. \u201cEvery job I\u2019m on, there always comes a point in the middle of shooting where I feel like I\u2019m messing up,\u201d she says, scowling at her Diet Coke. \u201cLike, I\u2019m the worst actor. I feel like I stopped being good a few years ago. It\u2019s like that on every job. So now I\u2019m doing this radical acceptance, like, \u2018Okay, the next job I\u2019ll do, I\u2019m probably gonna feel like that, and that\u2019s okay\u2026.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JuliaAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Suit, headpiece, Chanel Couture.<\/p>\n

In another effort to combat that fear, and feeling paralyzed by overthinking, she flew to France during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike and enrolled at Philippe Gaulier\u2019s legendary clown school, which alumnus Sacha Baron Cohen had told her about. Clowning around helped her get more comfortable with embarrassing herself. \u201cFailure is the friend of the clown,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause ultimately, if you\u2019re open to fail, you\u2019re more likely to have some sort of a success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sipping on her soda and staring out the sunny L.A. window, Garner says she believes the greatest risk is to take no risks and blend in just like everyone else. \u201cEarly in my career, on one of my first trips to L.A., they were obsessing about my hair and my teeth. I had to fight with them for, like, two years not to get veneers,\u201d she says. \u201cFashion people were like, \u2018No, you\u2019ve got to keep your gap tooth!\u2019 There\u2019s this Western beauty standard that says everybody should have the same looks.\u201d Now, she says, \u201ceveryone\u2019s got the same teeth\u201d\u2014and no bite.<\/p>\n

\"JuliaAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Dress, shoes, Dior Couture.<\/p>\n

Garner, who loves the role-play and fantasy of fashion, has had the last laugh. She\u2019s the first global brand ambassador for Loewe under its new creative directors, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, designers who share her devotion to craft and sense of off-kilter beauty. And when she thinks about those early clashes with agents, she often thinks of pop idol David Bowie. \u201cOnce Bowie got new teeth, the edge was gone,\u201d Garner says, flashing her own crooked, gap-toothed smile. \u201cThat should say everything. As soon as he changed his teeth? He lost the edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JuliaAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Bomber, skirt, tights, Jean Paul Gaultier Couture.<\/p>\n

\"AAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Dress, Balenciaga Couture.<\/p>\n

Garner admits her approach is so intense she often finds she has more in common with athletes than other actors. She recalls bumping into NBA player Draymond Green at the World Cup final, where they bonded over the way maniacal preparation leaves you free to play and react in the moment\u2014and also how, to both of them, it\u2019s so obvious when someone, unlike you, just didn\u2019t do the work. \u201cDraymond said he could watch an athlete on the court and know just from their body language when they tap out,\u201d Garner says. \u201cAnd I can tell when people phone it in. For me, if I\u2019m gonna do it half-ass, I\u2019d rather just not do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garner also realizes that some stars are in it for the celebrity. Though she\u2019s a fashion week regular, she\u2019s discerning about which industry parties she attends, and side-eyes those who aren\u2019t. \u201cThere are actors who aren\u2019t even selective about what events they go to. I\u2019m like, \u2018How are you working and going to these events? I\u2019m exhausted!\u2019 Like, \u2018Good on you, but I couldn\u2019t do that.\u2019\u201d In a \u201ccelebrity-obsessed\u201d culture, Garner says, \u201cI want people to hire my acting, not me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need to look perfect. I think if there is
somewhat of a mess onscreen, what
is your instinct to do with a mess? Your instinct
is to reach out and touch it and fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, I ask her more about acting and she closes her eyes, as if she\u2019s trying to make sure she\u2019s not performing her answer but choosing her words carefully. \u201cI\u2019m not interested in acting,\u201d she says. \u201cIf I\u2019m portraying that person, that\u2019s not an act. It\u2019s not my dialogue. But those are my emotions. Those are my feelings.\u201d She adds, \u201cI don\u2019t need people to like my characters that I play. I need people to be willing to understand where my characters are coming from. I\u2019m in the business of emotions and feelings and how I can make people feel less alone. That\u2019s my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

She opens her striking blue eyes. \u201cEven if they don\u2019t like my character\u2014like, they can hate me\u2014my goal in every performance is for somebody to get some kind of physical reaction. Whether it\u2019s you\u2019re moving forward in your chair, whether you\u2019re getting uncomfortable. Maybe you\u2019re blushing. Maybe you\u2019re doing a grossed-out face. The shitty things are actually going to be the most endearing things, in a weird way. I don\u2019t need to look perfect. I think if there is somewhat of a mess onscreen, what is your instinct to do with a mess? Your instinct is to reach out and touch it and fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howe compares Garner to Meryl Streep or Daniel Day-Lewis. Moore reaches for Philip Seymour Hoffman: \u201cHe never did the same performance twice, and was totally transformative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JuliaAllan Hamitouche<\/p>\n

Dress, Balenciaga Couture.<\/p>\n

Another icon who\u2019s influenced Garner is Madonna, the patron saint of reinvention, who approved Garner to play her in her much-anticipated biopic. It\u2019s no wonder why\u2014Garner doesn\u2019t just have a young Madonna\u2019s cropped blond hair, she has a similar New York intensity. Every now and then, however, there\u2019s fresh news that the film is dead. In fact, there\u2019s been so much backstage gossip that it proved irresistible to Seth Rogen\u2019s Hollywood satire The Studio, which built a storyline out of its fictional company, Continental, trying to get the biopic made. So Garner hasn\u2019t played Madonna yet, but this year, she did get to spend a few weeks in Venice, playing a fictional version of herself along with Madonna. So how was it?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was beyond! I always say it\u2019s fine with the Italian queen!\u201d Garner says, beaming. \u201cIt was incredible. I\u2019ve never had an experience like that. Food\u2019s terrible, by the way. I had some of the worst Italian food in my life. But Venice is incredible.\u201d Garner, who\u2019s delighted to be on casual texting terms with Madonna, says, \u201cShe\u2019s one of the funniest people I\u2019ve ever met. Like actually. And people don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also says the rumors of the Madonna biopic\u2019s death have been greatly exaggerated. \u201cI think the movie has to get made,\u201d she says with a wry smile. \u201cBut we\u2019ll see\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the film does happen, one thing is certain: She won\u2019t play Madge safe. Garner will choose fun hell every time. \u201cI just want to keep taking risks. I think that\u2019s what\u2019s going to resonate with people with my performances. That I gave everything, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Garner smiles, then paraphrases Caroline: \u201cYou\u2019ve got to go all in. Always all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lead Image: Dress, Schiaparelli Couture.<\/p>\n

Hair by David Harborow at MA+ Group; makeup by Jenna Kuchera; manicure by Joanna Memmi; set design by Chloe Barriere; produced by Town Productions.<\/p>\n

This story appears in the October 2026 issue of ELLE.<\/p>\n

GET THE LATEST ISSUE OF ELLE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"10 min read Nestled in a leather dining booth at Little Dom\u2019s, perhaps the New Yorkiest Italian bistro…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[54687,1380,128015,1381,83931,568,9,11,10,91435,128014,108292,128016],"class_list":["post-340969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-collection-in-the-magazine","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-db1b6764-6370-4b5d-adf4-e230d6f5be81","tag-displaytype-long-form-article","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-read_time-11","tag-shorttitle-julia-garner-is-ready-to-go-all-in","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-movies-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}