JOHN MAGARO TALKS ABOUT 'FIRST COW,' FILMING IN OREGON, AND DIRECTING HIS FIRST FILM

WORDS: IRVIN RIVERA

American actor John Magaro currently plays the role of the soft-spoken Otis “Cookie” Figowitz in Kelly Reichardt’s slow burn period masterpiece First Cow.

First cow is a poignant tale that weaves themes of friendship, capitalism, class, survival and more in one. It follows the story of a cook for a party of volatile fur trappers trekking through the Oregon Territory in the 1820s. Cookie bonded  with a Chinese immigrant King Lu (Orion Lee) and started a business milking the only cow in the area owned by a wealthy landowner.

You may remember Magaro in several TV shows and films. He played Vince Muccio in Orange Is The New Black and Leonard Peabody / Harold Jenkins in The Umbrella Academy. He was also in the films Carol and The Big Short.

In this exclusive interview, we spoke to the actor about his experiences in filming First Cow, we talked about “the cow,” playing his character Cookie, his experiences filming with Kelly Reichardt, the influence of the environment in his work and the new film he directed called Silk.

PHOTOGRAPHY: SELA SHILONI

Hey, Irvin how are you?

I'm good John, how are you doing?

I'm doing well.

How would you describe the movie First Cow?

I think it is a new take on a Western. In most Westerns, there’s that sort of a very masculine hero, rugged and trained in the skills of the West. Whereas Cookie is the kind of the anti-Western hero, he’s a very soft spoken, gentle soul, pacifist who has found themselves in a harrowing territory. I just think it is a fresh take on a genre that’s been around for a long time.

It is, it is. I saw it last night and it really got me, This film is so beautiful, it's awesome.

Yea, it is extraordinarily beautiful.

What's your favorite scene or moment from the film?

I really enjoyed the times when I was with the cow- when I am milking the cow and speaking to it. It was very peaceful and quiet. We were outside at night shooting that and there was something about the connection you have with a creature that is that large and that impressive that was so peaceful and you're so close to it, so those are really nice. There’s a beautiful language in those speeches and that was just really really lovely to play.

Speaking of the cow, was there only one cow or several cows?

No, just one.

Oh! Wow.

We didn’t have to budget for several so we have one cow. She was there for few nights and few days. Kelly (Reichardt) found her. I think people drew pictures and submitted their cow to be “the cow” and she found Evie (the cow). The animal trainer, spent some time with her and got her familiar with being on set and just being on the water. And that made her into a movie star cow.

That's amazing because I remember looking at the cow saying, wow this cow was so cute.

Yes, she’s beautiful.

Now, going back to Cookie, what's the best part about playing his character?

There are a lot of great things about it. It's just a really interesting well-constructed character. Kelly (Reichardt) has that ability to offer an outsider's perspective on her films. You know, the kind of the forgotten people of society- whether that is a modern-day woman who is trying to find her place and her dog,  an environmental activist or a guy and another guy who wandered into this alien territory across Northwest in the early 1800s.

I think she managed to lend her voice to people- who a lot of the times don't have a voice. So you have an opportunity to be the actor who gets you to endow the character with her kind of vision, and it’s really an honor.

What are the challenges you faced, as well as the highs that you experienced while filming?

I think the biggest challenge is to trust and just be present. It is a liberating challenge and I really enjoyed it as a performer to get the do that. You kind of jump in without stating that, so, it is scary but it is very exciting.

And also, you know, obviously like the more tangible challenges- we’re out in the wilderness, muck and grime, it is cold and stuff like that, but that also lends itself to the world we are trying to portray. We are approaching it close enough to be shooting in Oregon during fall. It’s the time they (settlers) arrive and be off the trail and getting ready to settle into the winter before doing the search trapping period.

Probably in a way that in most productions you don’t get to experience, we had the chance to experience it pretty close to the circumstances that these folks might have experienced. Obviously we are not even close to that, because we got to go back to our warm bed and there’s a meal cooked for us whole but it helped put us to that mindset.

You think that the environment really helped you all with filming?

I always think the environment is an important component in filming a movie that it informs how you are feeling, how you are behaving. And approaching how you get to that, how authentic it would be, the easier it is for you as an actor to find where you want to be.

Yea, I think it is important to have an environment that is accommodating to tell the story you want to tell and like I said we were lucky we got to be in Oregon. We could have been in Upstate New York or something and trying to shoot for Oregon, but we were lucky that we actually got to be in this forest where settlers wandered through on their way to the West Coast.

And those forests were beautiful.

Yeah.

Now speaking of acting, you’ve played several different roles under different genres, which would you say is the most memorable role for you so far and why?

That’s like asking someone to pick their favorite child, there isn’t a definite favorite.

How about memorable ones?

I mean there are a lot of memorable things that I have been a part of, but it's for different reasons. Sometimes it’s about the people you're working with, sometimes it’s the story you're telling, sometimes it’s the story being told at the right time in history, it's hard to say, I mean it's really a tough one to say.

I've been fortunate enough to be able to navigate different genres, and get to sort of taste different styles of moviemaking and I think I'm still learning. I'm still figuring it out. I'm still discovering my taste as an actor, as somebody who is still in the business. I don’t really have like one that I can point to without feeling like I am leaving out others.

Yeah, yeah, I feel you but you're now directing a film right? You're directing a film called Silk.

Yeah.

Can you tell us about it without giving any spoiler at all, I mean how excited are you about the project?

It is great! You know directing is something that I have been interested in, I think a lot of actors nowadays are thinking of getting over directing.

It is for a very good cause and has good intentions behind the story that we are telling.

It is actually being produced by a nonprofit organization called Healing Tree and they are a non-profit that help people find resources that combat and deal with trauma that they’ve gone through- whether that be physical or mental abuse, or things like that and helps you find resources that help you make yourself mentally and physically healthy again.

The story we are telling, which was loosely inspired by the film Gaslight, is basically a kind of a new take on the abuse in the form of gaslighting, which I think we're dealing with on an everyday level in our society. So, it tells a story of a young woman who is an aerialist who falls into a relationship with somebody she’s working with and who is gaslighting her. She's trying to figure out if it’s in her head or if it's as severe as the people around her think it is. And it leads her to a dangerous place in her life.

Because of the non-profit organization it will be shared with a lot of students, I think we're going to take it to colleges and universities as well as hopefully show it at film festivals. The goal is to maybe provoke a conversation about that kind of abuse and help people become more aware of that form of gaslighting.

That’s amazing, just the awareness part of it can go a long-long way, that’s really amazing. Congratulations.

Yeah, I mean I have said this before, it’s nice to be a part of something that makes people think. I love being part of something fun too, something that is light and exciting and helps you forget about your troubles for a little while, but it is also great to be part of something that has the potential of making a change.

Definitely. Final question for you. If you are a book, what book will you be and why?

If I was a book… you know we could go like the Encyclopedia and then you will know everything but then maybe it is not such a good thing for everything. You know what I might even go with, a beautiful book of artworks.

That’s Nice.

And I think there is a tremendous amount of variety in that, there's history in that and there is also opportunity for interpretation, maybe like a canon of great artworks cataloged together. Something like that.