Vera Farmiga and Sister Taissa Take to Higher Ground

How is that working with Ryan Murphy?

It was great. Um, you

You'd rather not working with me? Be honest.

Um, it was just as Um I don't know. Just say different. It was different.

Oliver Trevena, here at Young Hollywood Studio with this gorgeous couple. Vera Art and Taissa Farmiga. Farmiga. Now, you were just trying to teach me the whole R, roll in the R thing. Um, where you Ukrainian? Right. And then

Ukrainian, actually, I was named Vera Farmiga. Which That's what my mom really named me, Vera Farmiga. Which is so much better than what I It's fine. Sounds like a waitress from the Midwest, but Vera Farmiga. Or Taissa Farmiga.

And now, obviously sisters, both in the film Higher Ground. What was that?

I know. It was so beautiful. It's a prayer language. It's nonsensical. It's probably Voodoo. It settles things in your spirit. I want it. She um kind of texted her one day and said, listen, I need I need, you know, I'm directing my first film and um I need someone to play me at 16.

Had you wanted to be acting before this?

Uh, no. I never

Oh, wow. Never thought of acting. I love the honest answer. As opposed to sitting here and saying, yes, it's been I've been studying for years.

Yeah. And she botched up the fourth grade play that I came to see her and you were playing some playing some pilgrim. She saw me with a big black camera who I can't and she just couldn't squeeze out her line. A single line. It was one line.

One line. You squeezed it out. You must have been saying, "You've done all right now."

I did all right. We should write a song together. For For Renegades. Sure. Yeah. But um I'm not musical. Get some coaching tips. Yeah, she um when I needed her help, she was there. She was there for me and she gave me little suggestions and I I I was a typical older sister.

You bossed me around. I try to say. I I could sense that. I was going to say just let it out. She bossed me around. Let's be honest. Come on. She's demanding.

At the same time, you got my old pickup truck. I from doing this.

Was that the deal?

It was. It it was part of the deal. I said, listen if you do this and if you babysit for me at the same time. Um, because my son is in the film as well and he plays her daughter. And I said, listen if if you're there, you know, just do what you're told. I've been photographing her since she was a kid.

Have you got Have you got an agent now?

I do with an agent.

Good, because I'm pretty sure he could have worked out a better deal than a pickup truck. I'm just saying.

Really? I should have got more.

You should have got more. Oh. And now, so the acting, is that now what you're doing?

It's now what I'm doing. Um

Look at that.

Yeah, I just shot um a pilot, American Horror Story. Ryan Murphy.

Yeah, Ryan Murphy's new pilot. So We did Glee. You did Glee. I never heard of it. What's Glee? Something called Glee. How was that working with Ryan Murphy?

It was great. Um

Better than working with me? Be honest.

Um it was just as Um it was it didn't look. I don't know. Just say different. It was different.

It's a safe answer. Yes. It was different than working with you. He was great. He was um Were you a Glee fan? Are you a Glee fan? Um

She is now.

I am now. If Ryan's watching, I love you. I love Glee. Everything about it. Never missed an episode.

Oh. And was directing something that you always wanted to?

Never. No, no. Not talking about first fries. I think we all of us can tell a story. I think we've got at least one story in us that we can tell and this was the one. This was the one This was mine. I'm I like my hobby is photography. I love telling stories with images. So it didn't it didn't seem far-fetched.

Is it true that obviously I I was reading a little bit and you get sent a lot of scripts, you burn the ones that you don't want. Is that right?

This is mythology now. I I do. Okay. But I live upstate New York. There's not a garbage disposal service up there. You have to take your garbage to a transfer station. And so what that forces you to do is to to really separate like the metal from from what can be you know burnt. burnt. And um and it makes great fertilizer. It's not because I don't do it on a screen This is like It wasn't to punish the bad script. It's not it's not an anarchist move. But or it is. It's a good story.

Girls, thanks for stopping in. Congrats on the film. Congrats on everything and I'm sure I'll be seeing you a lot. And you a lot.