Elizabeth Gillies on Watching ‘Quiet on Set’ With Ariana Grande Over FaceTime, Reprocessing ‘Victorious’ and How Empowering New Movie ‘Spread’ Tackles the Porn Business
For the better part of the last 15 years, Elizabeth Gillies has made a career out of playing sassy, snarky, strong-willed women on television. After rising to fame in her mid-teens as the mercurial Jade West on the hit Nickelodeon sitcom “Victorious,” Gillies made the transition to playing similarly rebellious adult characters, co-starring as Denis Leary’s daughter in his FX musical comedy “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” and reimagining the role of Fallon Carrington in the CW’s modern-day reboot of “Dynasty.”
It was during the fifth and final season of “Dynasty” that Gillies was approached to star in and executive produce “Spread,” which premieres on July 19 on Tubi. Directed by Ellie Kanner and written by Buffy Charlet, the new film follows Ruby (Gillies), an aspiring (and very broke) journalist who is forced to swallow her pride and take a temp job at Spread, an outdated adult magazine. After impressing her boss Frank Ferretti (Harvey Keitel), an aging industry king who longs for his glory days, Ruby — in a last-ditch effort to save the company from financial ruin — is tasked with modernizing and diversifying Spread’s editorial strategy with a brand new app.
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“It was fun to work with Ellie and Buffy, and create a movie that I think dudes would enjoy, but also women wouldn’t be turning their noses up at and saying, ‘Oh, God, a boy movie about porn. I’m definitely not watching this,’” Gillies tells Variety. “I would never do something that was predominantly just for the male gaze. So I hope that we were able to include everybody, and I think we toed the line really nicely in engaging women and men.”
The film also gives Gillies an opportunity to show off her chops in physical comedy. “They handed me, at one point, about 14 sex toys I had to balance, and I chose the funniest ones that did the weirdest things,” she says with a laugh. “Those are the challenges I just adore. My training as an actor is exclusively in musical theater and improv. I haven’t really been trained outside of that, so whenever I get to do something funny, and I get a lot of funny props, I’m thrilled.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Gillies opens up about how she hopes “Spread” will challenge preconceptions about the adult industry, how she’s found her own power and agency in Hollywood and her plans to release new music in the immediate future. She also shares how “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” the bombshell Investigation Discovery series, made her reevaluate her own experience at Nickelodeon — and how she watched it on FaceTime with Ariana Grande.
“Spread” is inspired by writer Buffy Charlet’s real-life experience as a temp at Hustler who rose through the ranks of the organization. How did those experiences inform Ruby’s arc in the film?
Her experience was probably so unique. The fact that she was the only woman, or one of the only women, that became a female copy editor from a temp position at Hustler — that couldn’t have been easy for her. I think what she saw every day was insane, comically, but also [I was interested in] the way things went down, the way problems were handled and ideas were presented, and who was listened to and who wasn’t. So I talked to Buffy a lot about her experience. She shared some wild stories with me that I really couldn’t believe but also could.
I think it’s a story about, amongst other things, finding yourself. My character, Ruby, comes into this situation incredibly judgmental, and she’s deeming herself too smart and her taste too good for a place like this, and [she thinks] the people who work there are beneath her. [Spread] helps her find who she is; she finds a community and discovers so much about herself. So I thought it really was a story about personal growth, and finding yourself in the least likely of places, and not to judge a book by its cover — and how we’re really never done evolving. But then somebody else said, “Oh, I thought it was about a girl who was smarter than everyone and came in and fixed everything.” I said, “Well, yeah, that, too! Both things can be true at once!”
Ruby’s very flawed, and very judgy. She’s like a lot of people I meet today. She makes these big declarations about herself. She’s this big feminist, but then she’s turning her nose up at every porn star who walks through the door, which is not very feminist. So, she learns, she gets humbled, and she grows.
How did you want to subvert common tropes or misconceptions in pop culture about the porn industry?
I think there’s a lot of ignorance around the entire thing. There’s a moment in the bar where Ruby is so freaked out by Lexi — this young adult star who’s incredibly confident, strong and fun, and happens to be at Spread because she enjoys her job. Lexi picks up the phone and talks to her child on the phone, and you see Ruby’s face just perplexed, which is really so dumb because of course, these women have children and lives and homes and husbands and wives and whatever. But Ruby’s so close-minded, like so many of us are, that she just can’t fathom that this woman is a mother, or would be doing this because it makes her happy.
I think it just goes to show that we cannot be thinking we’re better than anybody else just because we cannot see ourselves in that line of work. There’s no shame in that line of work at all. And in fact, it’s a very empowering industry, at times. I think we tried to make all our female characters in the movie very strong, and show that they were in charge of their own destiny and their own lives, and there’s no one-size-fits-all story for how people get into that industry or why they’re in it.
At first glance, Frank could have just been a creepy, old guy who wants to relive his heyday with younger women, but he has a surprising amount of heart in his conversations with Ruby. What were your takeaways from working so closely with Harvey Keitel?
Harvey was such a treat to work with, and he was so game. He loves to act. And when you see somebody who has been at the top of their game for that long coming in with so much enthusiasm and still wanting to play around and improv, it’s just wonderful.
The relationship is very special, because it’s not a paternal relationship, but it almost feels like he could be her grandfather. He’s a friend. You never think anything strange is going on between the two of them, and you don’t think of him as a creepy guy. He has scenes explaining his history with the magazine. He’s a nice, sweet man who started this empire, and can’t keep up with the times. I find him to be incredibly charming in this movie, as I did on onset, even when we weren’t filming, and I loved working with him.
“Spread” explores this idea of female agency in a male-dominated industry. When you look back at your own career, how did you find your own voice on professional TV and film sets?
I always spoke up, not only about things I didn’t want to do, but also what I wanted. When I was on “Victorious,” I asked if I could sit in and watch editing; I asked if I could sit in video village and watch the director. I figured if I’m in a place for long enough, and I’m going to be there for a while, and I’m not able to go out and do other work, I wanted to learn as much as I could, because — and this holds true even today — the more I learn in general, the more I’m going to be able to do, and the more power and agency I will ultimately have.
Getting to direct on “Dynasty” was really important for me. I’m thrilled that they let me do that twice. It was a big moment for me, because I realized I loved it so much, and it’s something I want to continue to do for the rest of my career. I absolutely act like a producer on any project that I’m on too long, because that’s just ultimately what happens when you hire me. I am very respectful about it; I don’t just try to serve myself. I just suggest certain things: “Maybe we should cast this person. Maybe this should happen next season.”
But to have the title “producer” on this movie, and to really get to be a part of it from the casting through the editing is the most interesting thing. It’s amazing how a movie can come together and how you can change everything. The more I can do in this industry, the happier I am. Not that acting isn’t great, but I want to do a lot.
You’ve developed a reputation for playing strong women who seek some kind of external validation. Has that been a conscious choice on your part, or has that been a result of the industry only seeing you in that particular box?
I think it’s both. I will tell you: I’ve had a lot of interest in a lot of not strong women, and it almost immediately gets shut down every time. I’ll think I’m really portraying somebody who’s weak and helpless, and immediately, they’re just like, “We don’t see her as this role at all.” The dumbest thing for me to do would be to fight it too much. So, when a great role comes up and she’s strong, why not, right? I love doing it. I think I’m good at it.
But I look forward to, in the future, in addition to all these strong women, playing very quirky characters. Not quirky in the way that you roll your eyes, and it’s a young adult movie, and she’s fumbling the bag and dropping bagels everywhere and slipping on water, but I want to play some weird characters. I want to be in prosthetics again, man. I’m highly drawn not only to comedy, but I’d play a creature in a horror movie. I’d love to play like a full creature where I only make sounds. I voiced the rats in Ariana’s last music video!
My point is, I love the weird, I want to lean into the weird. Maybe this 31st year [of my life] will be that — or I’ll just play another version of Fallon again, and everyone will have to accept it.
Are you ever worried about being typecast?
I was typecast after “Victorious” with Jade, and you just replace it with a new typecast, really. That’s all I can do.
But to be fair, the characters you’ve played have evolved and matured as you’ve gotten older.
Yeah. Typecasting is tough, but big audiences and fans knowing you for a role is really a compliment. It just shows that they really connected with it, and it stuck with them. I think those are the things that can make a lasting career, if you play it right. So, in the end, it doesn’t bother me. It’s really OK. It’s less about the fans and more about the industry not typecasting me too much — but that’s for the industry and I to figure out on our own. The fans needn’t worry about all that.
You’ve said that going forward, you want to have more creative control over your work. Have you decided what you will do next acting-wise? Do you see yourself ever returning to network TV?
Listen, “Dynasty’s” schedule and the amount of time it was on the air spooked me a little bit. That was a longer run than I anticipated — not because I didn’t think it was a great show, but just because it’s very rare for a show that’s an hour-long drama that orders 22 episodes a year to go for five seasons. On the one hand, I’m incredibly blessed. I can’t say enough good things about my experience, and also how lucky I was to get to be on such a successful show with such a long run. But it’s a big chunk out of your life.
I’m somebody who would play a different character every single day if I could. I’d be on “SNL” tomorrow if I could. So, any weird arc Fallon had that made no sense was probably because I was bored and I begged. I was like, “Hey, guys, I’m falling asleep. Can I play my own mother [in Season 2]?” And to [the producers’] credit, God bless ’em, they said, “Sure, Liz, we’ll slap some prosthetics on you, and we’ll get it done.”
I’m never going to turn down a good script, a great character. But I am looking, at the moment, for perhaps more short-term projects that I can do many of, as opposed to one thing that keeps me tied down.
Is there a particular genre that you’re particularly looking to tackle next?
I have a couple projects that I’m developing now, which I would love to get to do one day. I think something with music would be great. I don’t know exactly what, but I have a couple ideas. And I’m dying to just do a really ballsy, funny, honest comedy with my specific strange brand of humor, if anyone would be down for that.
You collaborated with Seth Macfarlane on a jazz album (“Songs From Home”) during the pandemic and then released a Christmas album (“We Wish You the Merriest”) last year. Will you be releasing more music together soon?
Christmas is coming again. He and I are the king and queen of Christmas! No, I’m kidding. We’re definitely not, but we love Christmas, and I’m sure something will come up. We’re always talking about doing things, we always have a lot of ideas and secret plans, so you’ll have to wait and see.
Is there a particular reason you haven’t released a solo album yet?
Yeah, I want it to be good, and I’m a very, very, very harsh critic, much worse with music than I am with acting. I have been writing a lot, so I am hoping that day will finally come and it will be sooner than later. I have been working hard, so I guess just stay tuned on that as well.
Your fans have been hounding you for a solo album for years.
Yeah, since I was 16. I know they’re hounding me, but that’s the other thing too: I don’t want to let them down.
There was a demo of mine that leaked many, many years ago called “Bam Bam Bam.” I actually think my friend Sy [Rhys Kaye], who I wrote it with, put it on his SoundCloud accidentally, which was a big no-no. But it leaked, and it’s been on YouTube for many years. I sang it once or twice. It was a demo vocal. I must’ve been 16, maybe 17, and I put it at the end of [“Spread”].
When something happens right towards the end of the movie, when we’re all hugging and embracing, I threw that in for my fans, because it’s a little apology for all the nonsense with the music plan, and it fit the movie completely perfectly since the lyrics are “Skip that. Let’s bam.” The movie is about, for lack of a better word, “bamming,” so it’s good in that way, and I hope my diehards are happy with that little Easter egg.
It’s hard to believe that next year marks the 15-year anniversary of the “Victorious” pilot.
It’s insane. There are people with five-year-old daughters who come up to me, and they want to dye their hair like Jade. And I’m like, “How did you even find this show?” But Netflix keeps giving us new fans, which is just remarkable. I have nothing negative to say about everybody enjoying the show, even after all these years.
Having experienced both the good and the bad that comes with growing up in this business, how are you advocating for change on sets with more creative control in the work you do now? Do you feel a particular responsibility to help pave the way for the next generation of women who are coming up?
If you’re alluding to child acting, I would say that I am really glad the conversation is happening, and the culture is changing, and I do think there will be a major shift on sets going forward after this year and after this conversation that we’ve all been having. I was very lucky to have really strong, really good parents, and they taught me to speak up. They taught me, in any situation I wasn’t comfortable in, to get right out and to tell them. [Acting] wasn’t the be-all, end-all. I don’t think that’s the same for every child actor. I think that some kids are scared to speak up, as you can understand, because it’s such a tough thing.
All I can say is, every time I am with anybody who’s younger than me in the industry — even in the music industry, when I write with young girls that are younger than me, or I see girls in their twenties — [I tell them that] being quiet and hoping something will change, even though it might sometimes feel like the only option, is the thing you have to resist. You have to make your voice heard, and you have to keep your eyes open and be alert to everything that’s going on around you.
The more we, as women, assert ourselves, the more we get branded as difficult or bitchy. But it’s incredibly important to portray yourself and assert your dominance as a strong, smart, aware person who not only will not stand for certain things, but also who wants to be a part of the decision-making. [Actors] can feel like a puppet a lot, especially when you’re a young woman or a kid. You are nobody’s puppet. You have to make your own choices, and you have to do what you can to be taken seriously. And yeah, I hope to keep doing that.
It’s also not fair for me to say, “Young women, speak!,” because some women can’t. That’s the other thing — I happen to be more vocal, I happen to be a little more forthcoming, I’m from New Jersey, I’m an East Coaster, I say what I feel. That’s not everybody. So, it’s not really fair for me to say, “Hey, stand up! Do this!” But I really think it’s important, as much as you can, to just use your voice.
Has the recent rise in child actors speaking out about being mistreated on sets, including in the recent docuseries “Quiet on Set,” made you reevaluate your own experience on “Victorious”?
I certainly reevaluated my experience with Ariana over FaceTime. We watched it together, and then we got together later that week or the next week, and we sort of broke the whole thing down and talked about it, and reprocessed everything together. There was a lot to go through.
It’s tricky when you look back on something incredibly positively, and then you learn a lot of information and also revisit things as an adult through a new lens that reframe the memories in your mind a little bit, or cloud them, or taint them — maybe rightfully so. So, taking that time to thoughtfully look back, reassess and reevaluate was an important thing to do, and that’s something we did. I’m very lucky I have such a close relationship with my cast — and with Ari — and that we were all able to do that together, because we definitely leaned on each other, talked amongst each other and checked in with each other.
Knowing what you know now, what protections do you think should be put in place to better protect child actors?
I think parents should be allowed to be wherever they want to be, whenever they want to be. I actually think it’s important that some type of a guardian is there, particularly if the children are very young. I would assume now going forward, things will be very different. In the event that they’re not different, I do think the responsibility is on the parent to assess the situation. And sometimes, the parents are part of the problem too. I think you’ve got to listen to your kid, too, and know what kind of a kid you have. And I know that sounds weird, but certain kids don’t really know what they’re getting themselves into. A lot of the realities of acting in general, even if you take the word “child” out of it — it’s grueling, it’s difficult. The child has to want it so much.
I almost wonder if a psychiatrist or a psychologist should evaluate the child and speak to the parents before they sign them off to let them be on a set or a show, just because it’s such a huge undertaking, and children don’t often know what a huge undertaking it is, and then they can feel trapped or pressured. I think it can’t come from the parents. I think that’s always a recipe for disaster. It has to be what the kid wants, 110,000%, and they have to be ready to work. [Parents] have to make sure that there is respect on the set for the children, that they’re being treated as children, although it is an adult job. It’s a tough one, man.
[Acting] is all I wanted, and all I wanted to do was go there every day and put my head down and work. I cannot imagine what it must feel like for a child that was pushed there by their parents and had no interest in acting and had to come to work and do that grueling job every single day because for me, it was a treat. And for someone else, I mean, what a nightmare. It’s like, if someone made me go play baseball for 10 hours a day, I’d be crying in my room at night. It’s just because it’s not what I want to do. Everything’s hard. Sports are hard. Acting is hard. Any job is hard. And if it’s not your dream and you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, it can be a total nightmare, and it can be very damaging to your life, your mind and your mental health.
It seems like the consensus is that there should be a dedicated therapist on set for child actors.
A hundred percent. Let’s involve a therapist. I think that’s the right move. Maybe before and definitely after — and during.
“Spread” premieres on Tubi on July 19. This interview has been edited and condensed.
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