Toni Collette and Anna Faris on The Estate, comedic relief, and the joys of not playing a love interest

Considering their long and varied film and TV careers, it seems unusual that Toni Collette and Anna Faris have not shared the screen before now. Their paths finally cross in The Estate, written and directed by Dean Craig (of Death At A Funeral), marking their first collaboration. But judging from their energetic rapport, both on screen and off in interviews like this one, we hope it won’t be the last.

In The Estate, Macey and Savannah (Collette and Faris, respectively) are sisters and partners in a cafe that has seen better days. When they learn that their aunt (Kathleen Turner) is terminally ill, they decide to ingratiate themselves into her life in the hope that she will leave them her vast estate. But other family members (played by Rosemarie DeWitt, David Duchovny, and Ron Livingston) have the same idea, leading to a race to curry favor with their domineering aunt. Colette and Faris sat down with The A.V. Club to reflect on working together, toggling between both comedy and drama and leading and supporting roles, and working with the legendary Turner.

The A.V. Club: Watching both of you playing off of each other in this film is very enjoyable. Can you talk about working together and achieving your wonderful rapport?

Anna Faris: A bucket list idea for me was getting to work with Toni Collette. As soon as the script was sent it said on the cover page that she’s attached. I knew I had to do this. I think that they had offered it to me but I’m not sure.

Toni Collette: They had.

AF: Oh, they did? Well, I still felt like it was an audition. Every day, this was a love story. There’s obviously other storylines but for my character, Savannah, this is a story about her love for her sister. I loved that element so much. It’s a relief to not be a love interest! Every day was just a joy. Toni was always coming up with ideas generously too, she was giving them to other people.

TC: That sounds bossy. [Laughs]

AF: No, it was awesome. I’ve worked with a lot of actors who wouldn’t be that generous, who would keep a joke to themselves. You were giving us ad libs. Even at five in the morning you were like this ray of light.

TC: I do know that right from the start we felt like a team. It was very easy to work with Anna and just be an immediate unit. And for whatever reason, we just became as thick as thieves. We got through this thing as our characters do. These girls are about to lose everything yet they have such love for each other and for their dad who’s passed on. It was so easy to work with you, Anna. You are so easygoing and so bloody funny and you were generous and present and it was fun every single day.

AVC: You also had chemistry opposite a legend in this film, Kathleen Turner, who we haven’t seen in a long time in a movie like this. As I was watching I remembered The War Of The Roses, where she’s also mean, but very funny. Can you talk about working with her?

TC: Kathleen’s got this unbelievably recognizable voice, which can sound a little intimidating. But honestly, she’s a softy underneath all of that. And she is a living legend. She was like, “When are we going for dinner? When are we hanging out?”

AF: [In Kathleen Turner’s voice] “When are we going to dinner?”

TC: She was a total sweetheart. She’s so knowledgeable about how a set works. It’s as easy as breathing for her. So she kept everyone on their toes, and sometimes that needed to be the case, actually.

AF: She never held a grudge.

TC: No, she’s very easygoing. She just wants to make it great and wants to have a good time. And that’s what we all want, ultimately.

AVC: Toni, you’re also known for making these taxing, heavy dramas like Hereditary, or recently The Staircase. Do you see The Estate as a change of pace from that? Can you talk about how you choose roles and find that balance between comedy and drama?

TC: I think it’s a matter of timing. It’s just whatever floats in front of me and if I vibe with it. Films like Hereditary, the heavier stuff, can sometimes actually be really pleasant. The Staircase is a hideous story but I actually had the most rejuvenating, fantastic time. It was really very fun. It’s just a matter of what comes in at the time and whether or not I connect with it. It’s really that simple. I don’t have any game plan at all.

AVC: Anna, what about you? You’re known more for comedies and audiences have had a heavy few years. How much does taking on The Estate have to do with just getting people to laugh a bit?

AF: I wish I could say with total confidence that I choose all my roles and I’m just incredibly picky or whatever. No, no. When the script came in, it was the first thing I had been essentially offered in some time. And when I saw Toni was attached, I didn’t even have to read the script. I was so excited. So I never actually read the script. I don’t know how to read!

It felt like the perfect movie to re-enter the world. I loved all these actors, it was so fun to work with them. We had all these great scenes with everybody playing. I grew up doing theater in Seattle and I was never known as a funny person. I never wanted to pursue comedy. I was really short, so I had this total, quiet Napoleon complex. I was just resentful all the time. How I ended up in comedy is still a mystery to me. If I were able to choose projects all the time, it would always be about character and director and then of course brilliant co-stars like Toni. The activity on the day can be torturous, or it can be very inspiring and uplifting. And when we were doing these scenes and laughing and throwing around ideas, I felt so much joy, which was a wonderful feeling. During quarantine, I thought, “It’s over. The journey is done. I’m gonna go live in a van and knit hats.” So this was fun.

AVC: What, if anything, served as comedy inspirations for these performances?

TC: The script is so well written that I was laughing out loud. I read it during lockdown, and I remember my family was watching TV and I was sitting there reading the script and I had tears running down my face. I was laughing out loud and that’s so rare. Because even if something’s intended to be a comedy, it’s not always going to evoke that kind of reaction! So it was very much the script and then the energy between the actors. I like my character. I think Macey’s really sweet, normal, kind of downtrodden, slightly battered, low confidence, low self esteem. I think a lot of people have that kind of self-loathing. And when you place all of those very serious feelings about oneself into a comedic arena, it creates a really fun tone to play with.

AF: I always thought Savannah was bringing out the dude in me. Which is what I love to play: I love to play an asexual, sassy, confident person. Savannah definitely behaves in ways that I’m too afraid to. So there’s liberation in that. And of course there’s liberation in not having to have a love interest except for my sister. That was very appealing to me. I loved it. I love wearing baggy clothes, tennis shoes, and fucking swearing all the time.