Cristin Milioti Meets Her Moment: About the Penguin, Superhero Fatigue, and What It Means to Be Underrated
“People will tell you where they went/They’ll tell you where to go/But until you get there yourself, you’ll never really know.” Joni Mitchell sang in the 1976 song “Amelia”—those words Cristin Milioti found myself sobbing at the 80-year-old’s recent Hollywood Bowl victory concert.
“I feel like I’m still recovering because I cried for three hours,” she said. Vanity fair from her New York apartment. “’Amelia’ is my favorite song and I can’t believe she sang it – I’m absolutely shattered to pieces.”
Milioti is not alone in that joy. “Everywhere I look, I see people crying. Then you will meet each other’s eyes, touch your hearts, and nod at each other. It felt like I was witnessing a miracle – someone who changed music and undoubtedly whispered in my ear throughout my life to help me understand myself and the world. That feeling is very sacred.”
While attending the star-studded concert, Milioti received her own admiration. “I had a lot of really lovely interactions at that show from people who really loved me. Penguin,” the actor talked about Her performance was praised in the HBO series as Sofia Falcone, a robber princess turned murderous villain who faces off against an unrecognizable Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb. “I feel very protective of her,” Milioti said of Sofia, who, after being tortured for more than a decade in Arkham prison for a crime she did not commit, killed family members who had lied to detain her. Murder aside, “I just love her.”
Bringing this role to life was a dream assignment for the 39-year-old actress, who long before she auditioned for a comic book movie in costume. Cat people for Halloween. The idea of Sofias running around this year made Milioti’s face light up. “I feel emotional talking about it. I would be so stunned,” she said. “It will be a lot to take in, but I’m happy to accept it.”
Just as Joni sings about a winding journey in “Amelia,” Milioti has charted her own path since dropping out of New York University after just one year. She earned herself a Tony nomination for 2012 OnceBroadway musical based on the Academy Award-winning Irish film. That stardom led to big roles (official mother in How did I meet your mother? and small (30 stonesof “Very Sexy Baby”) but always memorable. Juicy parts on the side Leonardo DiCaprio IN Wolf of Wall Street, Andy Samberg IN Palm streamAnd Jesse Plemons in one episode Black mirror followed. It all led to the most remarkable project of Milioti’s career—with no false alarms at all.
