When Leslie Mann first started auditioning for dramatic roles, people laughed at her, she remembers. This came as a surprise because she didn’t consider herself a comedic actor; in fact, she claims she still doesn’t (even if she clarifies that she never takes herself seriously). Still, Mann haphazardly “rolled into” the comedy world, in her words, landing parts alongside 1990s giants of the genre: Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller in The Cable Guy (1996) and Adam Sandler in Big Daddy (1999). From there, her comedic talent became undeniable.
Mann, 54, has now dominated the genre herself for decades, starring in comedy box-office hits like Knocked Up (2007), I Love You Phillip Morris (2009), This Is 40 (2012), and The Other Woman (2014). She’s part of a Hollywood comedy power couple with Judd Apatow, whom she met during her audition for The Cable Guy. Over the years, Mann’s two daughters, Iris and Maude, have popped up in several of her movies, but now, the tables have turned. Maude recently took the director’s chair for Poetic License, a comedy starring Mann slated for 2027. “It’s heaven being there because I get to spend every second with her, and she’s forced to hang out with me all day,” Mann tells Bazaar on a recent phone call. Mann plays Liz, a therapist who unassumingly wins the affections of two best friends. She calls it Maude’s “own flavor” of comedy.
On August 21, Mann rolls out another movie, Spa Weekend, which follows four women as they escape their strained everyday lives—marked by tumultuous divorce, lonely nights, and life-sucking jobs—at a luxury resort packed with hot yoga teachers and plenty of cocktails. The film, directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, stars Isla Fisher, Anna Faris, and Michelle Buteau alongside Mann. “Women really want to get away and take a break,” Mann says. “We need a break!!! And women don’t give themselves enough of a break.”
Harper’s Bazaar’s questionnaire series “First, Now, Next” dives into the past, present, and future of some of our favorite creatives, spotlighting the moments and people that have influenced them. We touched base with Mann ahead of the release of Spa Weekend to discuss the movie that got her through her parents’ divorce, cracking up while filming The Cable Guy, and her telepathic communication with her daughter-turned-director, Maude Apatow.
Where are you taking the call today?
I’m sitting with my three cats on a couch in Los Angeles.
What are your cats’ names?
Penny, Pumpkin, and Chris. Chris is named after Christopher from The Sopranos.
What’s the first movie that cracked something open in you?
It was Terms of Endearment. I was nine, and my parents were going through a divorce. It was the reason I became an actress. It made me cry and cry and cry. I was bottled up, and watching that movie, everything just poured out of me. That’s always been my comfort movie.
When I was 21 years old, I got a call to go in and meet James Brooks, who directed Terms of Endearment, and I couldn’t have been more nervous. Then he was the most incredible, smartest, kindest, most creative person I’d ever been around. He was casting for a movie called Beautiful Girls, and I got the part. It was the greatest moment of my life. He sent a bottle of champagne to all the people who got the job, and I still have that bottle of champagne. Then he fell out of the project, and they hired someone else [for my part], which was fine by me because it wasn’t James anymore.
Who was your first true friend in the industry?
I always just had my best friends from middle school. Those are my go-tos. I’ve been around for a really long time, so most people have left town by now. I’m really close with, and I really love—I haven’t seen her in a little bit—Cameron Diaz. I became very close with her when we did The Other Woman.
What was the first movie that made you take yourself seriously?
I’ve never taken myself seriously. It hasn’t happened yet.
Who was the first person to ever make you laugh really hard?
Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, and Jim Carrey on The Cable Guy. I remember thinking, “Oh, wow, I’ve never been around people this funny and smart, and this is like a whole new world for me.” Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick—those two, and then, of course, Jim Carrey.
How did you define success at 16? How would you define it now?
At 16, all I cared about was my boyfriend and boys. That’s all I cared about. I mean, truly, that’s all I cared about. Success now is anything and everything related to my daughters and my family. Success would be my kids being cool and wanting to hang out with me.
You worked on a movie with your daughter, Maude, Poetic License. What’s one piece of advice that you got when you entered the movie business that you’ve imparted to them?
For acting, one of my first jobs, The Cable Guy, being around Jim Carrey and watching him work—you know, it’s really scary to put yourself out there when you’re really young and have zero confidence, and try to hold your own in a scene with someone like Jim Carrey. I don’t know what we were doing—maybe watching something on TV, some comedy thing. And I remember him turning to me and saying, “You have to commit.” And I felt, like, “Oh, wow.” Maybe it doesn’t sound as impactful as it was for me in that moment, but that was everything. You can’t half-ass it. You have to go all the way with it, especially with comedy. You have to be all in. There’s no way out but through. For my kids, I say that for their acting. It’s so scary to not commit. It’s so scary to be in your head. I always say to them to just commit and listen.
What was it like being directed by Maude? Did you learn anything from her?
Oh my god! I learned so much from them. They have a whole different way of being in the world. They are so much less tense and stressed out. They are nicer than everybody used to be in the movie world. They’re just really nurturing. Maude, as a director, was very nurturing. She created a safe space for the actors to play and have fun with the scenes. It really translated—the movie’s great. She has a comedy mind, but it’s a different kind of comedy. It’s her own flavor. It’s heaven being there because I get to spend every second with her, and she’s forced to hang out with me all day. I was so impressed and a little nervous going into it. I didn’t know what she was going to be like as a director, but she was my favorite—the best director I’ve ever worked with.
How did you end up involved with Spa Weekend?
I was supposed to work with Jon Lucas and Scott Moore a long time ago, and then I wound up not being able to do it. I was always really bummed out about that because I really like them. Then, this came around, and I was really excited to have another opportunity to get to work with them and then go to the Gold Coast and live my best life.
This year, we’ve seen a surge in female-driven comedies, particularly focused on moms getting away from the pressures of everyday life. What do you credit to this?
Women really want to get away and take a break. [laughs] We need a break!!! And women don’t give themselves enough of a break. It’s really, really hard on women. It makes me tired just thinking about when my kids were little and dealing with all of the everything—all their stuff, work stuff, hormonal stuff. The whole thing is a lot.
A solution for that, a way to find a little work-life balance, is to act like you don’t know how to do things, so other people will do them. My husband will go into the kitchen and pretend like he can’t find anything, and I just do it … and I realize that’s a scam. He just doesn’t want to do it! And I’m so dumb, I fall for it, and then I do it. If you act like you can’t cook, or you cook a couple of terrible meals, then people won’t ask you to cook.
What was the last thing you splurged on? What is one thing you still refuse to spend a lot of money on?
I have a hard time spending a lot of money on pieces of furniture, as I’m currently looking at my furniture. I can’t believe how expensive everything is. I don’t like it when people send me expensive flower arrangements, because they just die like four days later. But I don’t want people to stop sending me flowers.
I don’t know what I splurge on. Probably furniture! [laughs]
If you could collaborate with anyone next, who would it be and why?
Maude Apatow. I think I’m going to have to wait my turn to work with her again, but I think she doesn’t want to work with me, and I really want to work with her. And why? Because she’s the best. That was the best experience I’ve had as an actor. Working with somebody who you trust implicitly, who is so smart and so nurturing, and who you can communicate with telepathically.