Carol Kane has been a staple in Hollywood for decades. Despite a long and impressive filmography, she hasn’t received the recognition she deserves.
This is changing with her new film Between the Temples. Released earlier this year, Kane plays a retired woman who decides to get Bat Mitsvah’d later in life and grows closer to her canter (Jason Schwartzman) in the process. It’s a role that feels on-brand for Kane yet totally different from any she’s played before. She is funny, quirky and independent, but there’s a maternal calm to her performance. She bounces around the screen with a childlike zeal. Her chemistry with Schwartzman is electric and their time onscreen makes the film special.
Audiences and critics know this. A few days before I sat down to interview her, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and was named Best Supporting Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle. When I asked her how she was, she was still feeling the excitement about the award and nomination even a few days later. “Things are going in sort of a fairytale fashion.” For her the only thing that would make it better would be “if my Jason were nominated with me.”
Both she and Jason spend a lot of this film singing to each other, which she quickly corrected me on. “It’s not singing. It’s chanting. I have never chanted before.” Breaking down the difference she tells me, “It’s a real specific melody but it’s not a song. It’s hard to get.”
We also chatted about her recent career recognition, how Between the Temples was filmed, and about the films she starred in that didn’t get their due. It was no surprise she listed quite a few titles, calling out Carnal Knowledge, Hester Street, Hunters, and even The World’s Great Lover with Gene Wilder. “But that’s the luck of the draw. That’s why it’s so gratifying and shocking that this tiny little movie is getting this recognition because you can never count on that.” But you can always count on Carol Kane to deliver a brilliant performance.
You can catch Between the Temples on-demand. Watch my interview below.
