Alicia Witt — The Bare Magazine

Singer, musician and one of the stars of the most anticipated horror films “LONGLEGS” opening 7/12, the extraordinary Alicia Witt joined us in NYC as she whirled through on tour to perform at the legendary Joe’s Pub. We had a quick chat and snap session at our favorite Cure Thrift where Alicia chose a few flattering frocks and frolicked happily with her beloved pup Ernest. Scroll on down to find out more about her tour, the terrifying LONGLEGS, staying in shape, skincare, all natural beauty tips/products and how having a loving rescue like Ernest is one of the best forms of self care around.

The Bare Magazine: can you share some of the highlights of your tour so far? any favorite places people, foods, fun surprises?

Alicia Witt: each and every show/city contains a surprise. i’ve been trying to do a slew of weekend tours so that I can make my way to audiences while not being out on the road for weeks on end, so that i’m free to work on acting projects - and that’s been working out very well this year so far. one recent highlight was boston - a sold out crowd with a very significant wait list - and a lot of new cities for me, including st louis, that were close to sold out. i also had an especially beautiful experience right there in NYC, at joe’s pub - i felt like i was hanging with everyone and connecting so deeply with them through stories and song, and they were as much a part of the show as i was. it was also an especially vocal group - they sang along to so many of my songs that i stopped the music a few times to let them go for it!

Bare: do you like connecting with live audiences and seeing how your music effects them?

AW: there is no greater feeling than experiencing that these songs i made up are meaningful to people whose stories i don’t know. my goal and wish as a songwriter and performer is the same as the one i have as an actor- to connect with people first and foremost. to look out into a room and see that these audience members who started out as strangers are now becoming friends - united through songs that they all feel they can relate to - is a feeling i can’t even describe. at my joe’s pub show, my friends who were in the audience all remarked on how they met and even were offered shared food by my fans who were seated at tables with them - just because that’s the kind of atmosphere it was! i also regularly hear from venues that my audience was exceptionally kind to the staff. it’s a beautiful thing and an honor.

Bare: switching to scary things....are there scenes in LONGLEGS that still haunt you? how do you snap out of projects as intense as this?

AW: i have become well versed in knowing how to put a protective energy field around myself when i delve into the darker side through characters. it hasn’t always been this way - i know i had a very hard time leaving the work behind me when i was working on Urban Legend 25 years ago, for example. but on this one - with all these decades of experience and a fair amount of characters who had some heavy stuff going on, i found playing ruth to be quite cathartic, and i mindfully left her on set every day. i have chosen not to view the movie because what came out was so intense i feel strongly it’s meant to remain there on screen - and that i don’t need to see what it looks like from the outside.

Bare: what makes this horror film so unique?

AW: in watching Osgood Perkins’ previous 3 movies, it’s clear that he is a masterful filmmaker. he knows how to scare you as a viewer without showing gore, without going to that place - his scares are more visceral, more deep. and i think this movie also touches on some deeply profound topics, like the complicated love between a mother and daughter - which even though the circumstances here are very specific and fictional, i have a feeling could be one of the reasons why the movie is connecting with viewers in such a strong way. i also believe that through accessing the dark side so powerfully, we’re clearing way for the light. perhaps the catharsis i felt while playing the role will be felt by viewers too, at the end.

Bare: when we met you in nyc to shoot you brought your pup Ernest. tell how and when you two found each other. does he go everywhere with you? would you consider him a form of self care ?

AW: yes! beautifully put. Ernest calms me, he keeps me grounded when i’m running around and keeping a million things straight - and wherever i go, i have a part of my home with me when he’s around. he’s almost always with me on tour and on set. he’s an extraordinary being - so aware and intuitive - with a stunning capacity to understand full sentences at this point. we found each other through Take Me Home rescue in LA when i still lived there; he had been adopted from the west LA kill shelter and then returned, all before he was a year old - TMH found him and rescued him and i met him at an adoption event they were having in venice. his calm and easygoing and peaceful nature was in place even as such a young adult dog, and i was struck by him from the moment we met. i just keep falling more and more in love with him (and the feeling is mutual).

Bare: you were running off to see some theatre in nyc after our shoot. what are some of your favorite pastimes and passions?

AW: when i’m in NYC, theatre for sure! i love going to movies in the theaters too, and seeing my favorite bands, or discovering new ones, live is a thrill that never gets old. i’m about to see lake street dive live for the first time in nashville, the weekend Longlegs opens - and i can’t wait. my biggest hobby and passion is my extensive vegetable garden/organic urban farm at my home in nashville. i can spend the entire day out there and forget everything else i have to do, easily, if i’m not mindful. and it’s all worth it when i get to harvest home grown produce, all started in my house from seed! giving home grown goods to my friends, or cooking it up for them and nourishing them with it, fills my heart. nothing store-bought ever tastes as good!

Bare: you are so toned and trim ...are you particular about what you eat? do you enjoy cooking and are you a long time vegan?

AW: i love cooking and yes my diet has been plant based for 15 years (with the exception of occasional wild caught salmon, and occasional wild grown eggs if they come from someone’s back yard chickens). i prefer to avoid labels in all areas - since i don’t really feel i fit in to any of them - and ‘vegan’ is no exception because while that’s the easiest description of my day to day policy, i do have these exceptions. my book Small Changes outlines some of my philosophies when it comes to this - as well as daily practices for staying fit and toned, as well as mentally healthy (she said hopefully!) . i do a 20 minute yoga flow pretty much every day.

Bare: your skin is so luminous. are there certain products, treatments or new discoveries you can share?

AW: one product i love is the Luxe Beauty astaxanthin serum. that really gives me a glow. i also like good old fashioned hyaluronic acid, and since we did our photo shoot, i have recently discovered a seriously amazing product called Wrinkles Schminkles - a collagen reusable patch to stretch over your skin at night while you sleep that actually works! botox freaks me out, and i have never tried it or fillers, so i’m determined to find natural alternatives as i age. i want to be able to express myself, and i don’t mind looking older - but i don’t want to look angry when i’m not. but there’s got to be a balance in my book! i don’t like it when a person is crying in a movie and their forehead doesn’t move. the character i played in Longlegs would never have made sense if i had botox - it’s everyone’s personal choice, but it’s a choice that doesn’t feel authentic to me - especially for my work.

Bare: you have gems, jewelry and crystals you hold near and dear. which are always with you and why?

AW: i’m really into my moldavite at the moment. it was with me during the recent solar eclipse - which i drove to the IL/KY border from nashville to experience in its totality - and it feels right to keep it very near at the moment. i also am in possession of a perfect tiny 6-pointed fluorite from santa fe that is staying near to me currently.