Jennifer Tilly Takes on the Beverly Hills Housewives

Jennifer Tilly, photographed by Alyssa Kazew. All clothing is Tilly’s own.

Two decades ago, Jennifer Tilly could never have predicted that she’d become best known as Tiffany, the sometimes-human-sometimes-doll (but always femme fatale) of Don Mancini’s Child’s Play empire. Hot off an Oscar nomination for Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway, followed by a steamy, show-stealing role as Violet in the 1996 crime thriller Bound, Tilly was intent on cementing herself in the Hollywood mainstream. But as it goes, life had other plans for the California-born actress, who joined the Chucky franchise in 1998 and soon found herself fawned over by its rabid and devout fanbase of horror junkies. In addition to playing the on-again-off-again girlfriend of the wretched killer doll, Tilly’s become known in a number of other capacities: as the owner of one of the most recognizable and breathy voices in show business, a professional poker player, and a regular of the yearly fashion week circuit.

But this year, she’s making her biggest left-turn yet, joining the cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, where she’s frequently cameo’d alongside her real-life bestie Sutton Stracke. “I thought it would be a very campy thing to do,” Tilly explained earlier this Fall. “I knew if I didn’t I would always regret it.” Ahead of the Season 14 premiere, we caught up with RHOBH’s newest cast member, on her birthday of all days, at her serene Beverly Hills home, where she got candid about all things Housewives, friendship, fandom, and how reality TV remains an editor’s medium. 

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SANDSTROM: The first thing I’ll say is that Seed of Chucky is one of my favorite movies of all time. I talk about it a lot.

TILLY: Oh, my gosh. Really? That makes me feel really good.

SANDSTROM: I’m a huge fan and I was so excited to hear you’re joining Real Housewives, which I’m also obsessed with. 

TILLY: Well, Seed of Chucky was much reviled, which I didn’t even realize at the time. It wasn’t even reviewed. I found out after the fact that a lot of the hardcore Chucky audiences, like the super macho guys, didn’t like the gender-fluid Glen doll. I mean, it was very, very campy.

SANDSTROM: It’s extremely campy.

TILLY: I thought it was delightful. But after that the studio was like, “All right, this is too much ridiculousness. Chucky has to go back to being scary.” 

SANDSTROM: Well to start off, I wanted to mention that it seems like the unifying theme of Chucky and RHOBH is that they both seemed like a leap for you. I know you were very hesitant to do Chucky at first, and now Housewives is a big step in a very different direction. Do you want to talk a little bit about that?

TILLY: Well, with Chucky, I had an idea that a horror movie is something you do in the beginning of your career or at the end. Like [Jennifer] Aniston was in Leprechaun, and then Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, which, by the way, is a phenomenal classic film. But I felt like it wasn’t something you do in your prime. I’d just come off the Oscar nomination. I wanted to be a really important movie star, like a major motion picture star. I would say that I was a serious actress. I do plays on Broadway. But to be perfectly honest, I had hardly watched any horror films at all. My ideas of horror films were The Shining or Rosemary’s Baby, which are more like arthouse horrors. They’re not the thing where people are getting chased and stabbed while they’re having sex. But the fact of the matter is that Chucky is literally a foul-mouthed little doll that kills people. You’re never going to get Emmy nominations from Chucky, or the kind of acclaim that I craved when I was younger. I always kind of get chills a little bit when brilliant actors pass away, like the guy who was in Willy Wonka. What’s the name of that actor?

SANDSTROM: Gene Wilder.

TILLY: Gene Wilder. He had such a career, but he’s known as Willy Wonka. But I’ve come to terms with the fact that when I pass away, people are going to leave Chucky dolls on my grave, and I’m fine with that. When the internet happened, because when I started out there was no internet, I realized that Chucky and Bride of Chucky are these huge cult phenomenons. The Chucky fans are the greatest fans in the whole world.

SANDSTROM: They are really crazy.

TILLY: They’re very fanatical, but they’re very, very loyal, and they’re really smart. I’ve done four movies and three seasons of the TV series, and I have a feeling I’m going to be doing Chucky probably until the day before I finally pass into spirit, as Sally Kirkland would say. Maybe I do my last little cameo on Chucky where he’s chasing me. But Don is the same age as me, so he never thinks, “Oh, it would be really good if Tiffany is a grandma now.” Of course, Glen/Glenda grew up and in the Chucky television series, they come to visit and that story line is resolved. And it was really great because we had a gender-fluid performer playing Glen/Glenda. 

SANDSTROM: Glenda was very ahead of their time.

TILLY: That was the thing. We realized that Glen/Glenda was so celebrated in the trans community because they’d never seen themselves up on screen before. And Glen/Glenda is a very sympathetic character. But also, Don Mancini is a proud gay man, so even in Bride of Chucky, the most sympathetic character was the gay best friend. 

SANDSTROM: Do you see yourself as an actress of camp? I don’t even know how to phrase that.

TILLY: You know what? I really do. I’m just going to say I court camp. That’s very much my sensibility. I like to be fabulous. I remember in the ’80s and the early ’90s, whenever they’d do celebrity photographs, everybody wanted to copy GAP ads, because the whole schtick was, “I’m so real, I take out my garbage just like you.” The stylists would literally show up with a bunch of faded jeans with holes and white T-shirts and no shoes. And myself, I always wanted to be a movie star. I was like, “I don’t want to look at the movie magazine to see somebody that looks just like me. I can open my window and see somebody in torn jeans and a white T-shirt.” So I would always bring my own suitcase to the shoots full of glittery dresses and high heels. 

SANDSTROM: Is that a little bit in response to your background? I read that moving to L.A. for you was very much like, “I’m out. I’m doing this now.”

TILLY: Yes. When we were younger and we lived in small towns, our mom would buy most of our clothes at the Salvation Army. And the popular girl would say, “Oh, that’s my dress. My mom donated so that poor people would have something to wear.” But we used to always play dress up when I was little and my mom used to sell costume jewelry, and we’d put it on and pretend like it was real. I like everything to be fun and over the top. I love being overdressed. I love to come in and not look like everybody else. I was very disappointed because the first thing I said when I got on Housewives was, “Ooh, I’ll need some clothes.” They have so many glamorous dinners and parties and I thought I’d need lots of cocktail gowns. And for some reason, this season, all the parties were on the beach in St. Lucia where you have to be barefoot or in sneakers.

SANDSTROM: Tell me about your persona on the show. I’m wondering if it’s an extension of yourself or if you’ve kind of grafted together an entirely new Jennifer.

TILLY: Well, when I decided to come play on the show, I thought, the reason I like to watch it should be less like Desperate Housewives–you know the show Desperate Housewives?

SANDSTROM: Of course.

TILLY: And more like Sex and the City. On Sex and the City, they argue. They have problems. There’s sadness. People get cancer, things happen. But underneath it all, they’re a core group of friends and they’re fabulous, and they have good times and they’re very frank with each other. I realized quickly that Housewives is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. It’s very, very complicated. But I thought it would be a very campy thing to do. And mostly it appealed to me because it’s just not done. I’m kind of in the prime of my acting career, even though it’s Chucky. But usually, Housewives are not actresses. You’ll see everyone’s like, “Oh, I turned down Housewives. I would never do that.” And I’m like, “Bitch, you should have!” A lot of people say they turned it down, but they weren’t even asked. Sometimes maybe their careers are floundering a little and their agents go, “Would you consider Housewives?” And they mistakenly think they were asked. Even though they were asking me for three years, I still had to do an audition on Zoom with the casting director for about two hours. And when I was on the show last year, I would say to everyone, “I was really miscast as a supportive friend, that’s not my jam. I am an actress. I like to be the center of attention.” I knew if I didn’t I would always regret it. I’d always wonder what it would have been like.

SANDSTROM: Can you give us an idea of what’s in store this season?

TILLY: You know what, they really hammered it into us. “No spoilers,” or whatever. But I’m going to say,  there’s obviously unresolved issues with the other girls from other seasons. First of all, everyone knows Dorit is getting divorced from PK. Kyle’s getting divorced from her husband of 27 years. So they’re emotionally very raw. They have unfinished business with Sutton from last season. We have a new cast member, Bozoma Saint John. She’s super feisty and has a strong personality. And Kathy Hilton is back. Kathy is so funny and quirky. You never know what she’s going to say. You really do get bonded with these other women because nobody can ever understand what you’re going through. But at the same time, one of the cast members goes and says something like, “Oh, you know what? I’m with my real friends.” And you’re kind of like, “But we’re supposed to be real friends.” And I think the indication is who’s hanging out after production.

SANDSTROM: Do you feel close with any of the girls outside of shooting?

TILLY: I would love to be real friends with all these girls. It feels a little bit like when you’re the new girl in high school and then there’s a clique and they’re not even meaning to be a clique. Or when I was an actress and you would guest star on a long-running show that they’ve all been working together for so long that there’s a bond. People will be very nice and polite and friendly to you, but you know you’re you’re not fully integrated yet. 

SANDSTROM: Housewives aside, do you have a favorite reality TV show?

TILLY: We love Bachelor in Paradise and we love it more than The Bachelor because it’s not as curated. It’s more like documentary style. They help all these really hot and sort of mentally fragile people have a hot girl or hot boy summer. And I think there’s a reason why a lot of real, long-lasting marriages and love connections happen there, because in The Bachelor, it’s a very artificial situation. He goes out with a different girl every night. By the time they propose, they’ve spent perhaps less than 32 hours together. 

SANDSTROM: Hot and mentally fragile—that will do it.

TILLY: Hot and mentally fragile. It’s so much fun to watch. But anyway, I did get to know the girls a lot better, and they’re all really exemplary. There’s personality conflicts. Everyone’s coming from different walks of life. After we finished, I would be waking up in the middle of the night going, “Is someone filming me? Am I being followed by a camera?” You get very paranoid, because it’s little like Survivor where there’s alliances. You don’t want to text anything because you never know if that’s going to be used against you at reunion, even by people you consider your friends. You have to be extra careful. But at the same time, you’re not going to make a show by sitting in the background and not engaging. I want to be Switzerland, but you can’t be Switzerland. They pull you in. If you’re Switzerland, you’re one-and-done for the season because you’re the person that they have to edit out of the show because you never got involved. It’s very much the inclination when you see these girls going at it to sort of duck and try not to get hit by shrapnel, but you have to be a part of all the scenes. Otherwise, you’re going to be like a will-o’-the-wisp.

SANDSTROM: Do you feel like you threw yourself in as much as you wanted to?

TILLY: I did. You have to get your—what do you call it—sea legs?

SANDSTROM: Yeah.

TILLY: It’s like nothing I’ve experienced. It’s not all diamonds and roses. I feel like I got to a point where I became a part of the gang, but I really do think, especially for new housewives, even the ones that were one-and-done, I had so much compassion for them. I almost wanted to call Crystal Minkoff, who didn’t come back, and say, “How was it for you?” Just to just get some advice. But I talked it out with Sutton, which was fabulous. On camera and off camera, she had my back and I had hers. And in real life, I’m not confrontational. I’m usually trying to be the peacemaker, but I realized right off the bat that that’s not going to make a good show. When you watch The Bachelor or whatever, when it’s really interesting, it’s when people are fighting, not when they’re shopping for a new Bentley or buying diamonds. It’s fun, but that’s not the reason you’re watching.

SANDSTROM: Okay. I have two more questions and then we can bounce back to–

TILLY: I just want to say about the housewives, I really admire these ladies so much. And I’m planning not to read Twitter or Instagram comments when the show gets started, because the Housewives fans have very strong opinions and I’m super sensitive. I’m not conceited enough to think there’s not going to be comments about me, but they’ll say, “Oh, they admitted that it’s all fake.” It’s not fake. Everybody is really living their lives and they’re very passionate women, and they’re experiencing all these emotions together. 

SANDSTROM: I was going to ask, have you gotten a lot of hate over the course of your career? 

TILLY: I never, ever have. I remember older actors would say, “I never read reviews.” And I would say, “How could you not?” But there was a point about 20 years ago where I just stopped reading the reviews, especially if I was doing a play, because even if you get a good review and they go, “That moment was so exquisite when she just put your glass down and then touched her forehead.” Well, the next night you’re like, “Oh, this is the moment that that critic from The Times really loved.” Now you’re in your head like, “Oh, I didn’t touch my forehead. What did I do?!” So, I don’t really read reviews. Sometimes people send them to me. But also, I just love being this age. I love where I’m at right now. I love my career. I love that I don’t care about what people think as much as I used to when I was in my 20s. I was just like a bundle of hormones. I was really skinny and I thought I was fat. Now I’m a little bit more… What’s a good word? Roly-poly. But I love how I look. I like to eat spaghetti and I like to enjoy life. But the fans have always been really, really nice. I’ve also had a lot of gay fans and a lot of lesbian fans, and that is a very cool demographic: really educated and they have a great sense of humor. I’ve never really had any negative input, so I’m just kind of bracing myself for the onslaught. And you never know how you’re going to be edited, too. 

SANDSTROM: Do you get to see a preview?

TILLY: You get to see it a couple days before the show. But I’ve heard that they’re happy with me and I did my best to avoid getting into drink-throwing, table-tipping extravaganza. That’ll be for next season.

SANDSTROM: Yeah, roll it out slowly. What would Tiffany’s housewives tagline be? 

TILLY: I would say something like, “In Beverly Hills, it’s not who you know, it’s who you kill.” Kill would be in her tagline, for sure.

SANDSTROM: Fantastic. I’m also realizing that when we sat down that I should have opened this up by saying, “Happy birthday.” So, happy birthday! 

TILLY: Thank you so much. I totally forgot it was my birthday. I’m sort of gearing up for my birthday a month before it happens. For example, my boyfriend took me out for a birthday dinner two days ago, so I was so surprised when I walked in the room and my sweet assistant, Jeff, had set up all the balloons and the “happy birthday” banner and the cake and everything. It made me feel happy.