As Jennifer Tilly adjusts to the Bravolebrity lifestyle, she’s taking on one of the biggest challenges in her onscreen career.
The Academy Award nominee admitted she “never thought I’d be on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” as she opened up about the “sharp left turn” in her career with her promotion to ‘friend of the Housewives’ for season 14.
“To me, it’s like working with Martin Scorsese,” Tilly told Vulture. “My boyfriend always says if he got $40 million, he wants to go into space and experience zero gravity. To me, being on Housewives is experiencing zero gravity. I was more excited to meet Kyle Richards and Erika Jayne and the other ladies than I was when I met Elizabeth Taylor. They’ve been asking me if I want to be on the show, and I’ve always said ‘No. No.’ This year, I sort of thought, I just want to do everything different. I’m trying to take on challenges.”
Tilly is known for her roles in such movies as Bullets Over Broadway, Bound, Liar Liar and Bride of Chucky, most recently reprising her role as Tiffany Valentine (aka Jennifer Tilly) in the Syfy series spin-off Chucky.
After appearing in recent seasons of RHOBH alongside close friend Sutton Stracke, Tilly was announced as a ‘friend’ on season 14 in May, along with Kathy Hilton‘s return. Bozoma Saint John has also joined as the newest full-time Housewife.
Annemarie Wiley, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Kyle Richards, Garcelle Beauvais, Sutton Stracke and Crystal Minkoff in a promo photo for season 13 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. (Emily Shur/Bravo via Getty Images)
Tilly said she’s been working on the show “for about a month now,” and it’s “the most challenging thing I’ve ever done,” explaining why she empathizes with other reality stars.
“I read this book called Bachelor Nation, and the Bachelor editors said — I’m paraphrasing — ‘When we get all the footage, it’s like we have a big box of Legos. And we’re like, “What are we going to create with these Lego blocks?”‘ They can do anything,” she explained. “They can make you the girl next door. They can make you the villain. They can make you the cranky one. They can make you the patient one. It depends on what they want to show, what’s going to make the story. Even when some Housewives were looking really bad on the show, and the fans are throwing mud at them, I had empathy for them because I thought, What they’re doing is spinning a storyline out of thin air. You come in without a script. It’s just sort of like they just wade in there, and they go at it. In real life, if you’re at a restaurant and people at the table are screaming at each other, you’re mortified like, Oh my God. I can’t believe I’m with these uncouth people. But when I am sitting at a table with Housewives, I feel like I have a front-row seat at the Super Bowl.”
Tilly added, “I like all the Housewives. I appreciate what they do. I’m just going to say it’s really challenging. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but I’m really happy I’m doing it, and I think it’s such an interesting kind of sharp left turn for my career.”
In addition to Richards, Jayne and Stracke, season 14 will also feature returning cast members Garcelle Beauvais and Dorit Kemsley.