For me, the ideal guest on Nobody's Ever Asked Me That is someone who is not just brilliant, accomplished and interesting, but who also has that rare mix of both introspectiveness and openness.
The guest on today’s episode, the actor Lili Taylor, is arguably a perfect embodiment of all those traits.
I really love watching Lili Taylor in kinda anything, as she’s such a distinctive, original presence. She made her reputation in the 90s with indie classics such as Nancy Savoca’s Dogfight, Jim McKay’s Girls Town, Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction and Mary Harron’s I Shot Andy Warhol.
And then of course there’s also Emir Kusturica’s criminally overlooked Arizona Dream, plus Short Cuts, Rudy, High Fidelity, Public Enemies and The Conjuring, plus on the small screen, Six Feet Under, American Crime and Outer Range! She’s one of those actors who you can always depend on to be great, regardless of what the film or show is.
The reason for Lili being on the podcast is she just published a book called Turning to Birds, a collection of essays that traces her love affair with birdwatching, and also the ways in which the skills she's honed as an actor have transferred over to her hobby.
She writes beautifully about memorable encounters with birds, from communing with a Gray Catbird in Bryant Park, and an American Woodcock magically landing on her chest, to fighting for the survival of some nesting Eastern Bluebirds, and observing the overwhelming majesty of a huge throng of Sandhill Cranes.
Turning to Birds is thoughtful, passionate and deeply human, and is a continuation of the work she has done – through sitting on the board of both the National Audubon Society and the American Birding Association – as an advocate and ambassador for birds.
I knew talking to Lili was going to be a really engaging experience, partly because we’d spoken before – once on the record, and once off – about our mutual love of birds.
So naturally, we talked a lot more about that topic, but often in connection with a bunch of life stuff, like: how recovery and birding intersect, choosing binoculars (or “bins,” as we birders call them) over drugs, her love of naps, how nature has shifted her relationship to death, me getting barked at by a coyote in the Bronx, braving the acting version of the bends after finishing a role, her amazing way of releasing resentment, facing the unknown, how she’s finding resilience and playing the long game as this country plunges into crisis … and much more. — N.D.
This episode was produced by Myron Kaplan, and the Talkhouse theme is composed and performed by the Range.
Featured image by Mike Fernandez / Audubon.
