Diane Lane interview: ‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans’
“She stuck to her guns,” says Diane Lane of her character Slim Keith on the FX series “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.” The real life New York socialite continued the war with writer Truman Capote long after many of her fellow “Swans” chose to soften towards him. “Some other people might’ve said it’s time to forgive and she wasn’t ready,” admits Lane, “And maybe that makes her a leader in the unforgiveness department. But I think she felt particularly betrayed for her own reasons.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
The titular “Feud” of this series is the result of Capote (Tom Hollander) publishing a chapter from his forthcoming novel in a magazine, with thinly veiled character assassinations of his closest female friends. These high society women, led by Slim Keith and Babe Paley (Naomi Watts), froze the writer out of all social functions.
WATCH our exclusive video interview with Naomi Watts (‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans’)
Lane believes that Keith felt an extra personal sting from this betrayal. “When the excerpt from his book was released in Esquire, it was as though she were the one being portrayed as the main gossip,” explains the actress, “she could tell by the way she was described, that she was the one who was doing the dishing.” Lane reveals that Keith actually served as Capote’s first agent, helped him obtain a million dollar book deal, and the pair traveled the world together. “She nurtured his career. And so I think that that’s why she stuck to her guns,” states Lane.
When it came to creating Keith’s mannerisms and characterizations, Lane excitedly reveals she “was lucky enough to hear her voice.” The actress didn’t attempt to make an exact replica of her speaking voice, but did try to capture the deadpan cadence to Keith’s speech patterns. “It’s like her humor was up to you to get it,” notes Lane, “and if you missed it, oh well! There was something about her that just trusted her own way.”
WATCH our exclusive video interview with Tom Hollander, ‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans’
Lane has spent the bulk of her career making films, even earning an Oscar nomination for “Unfaithful.” But over the past several years, she has taken on more work in series like “Feud.” The long-form storytelling of a TV show provides new challenges, such as not having a complete set of scripts ahead of time. But the actress considers the medium a new exercise in trust. “It’s about trust that you will be collaborating with your helms people,” she describes. In this case, she loved working with executive producer Ryan Murphy and his specific vision for the series. “I was so delighted to be in this room when my phone rang and it was Ryan,” she admits, revealing that the creator contacted her directly with the offer to play Slim. “I was like, how nice to be asked! I’m still kind of amazed. “It’s a nice moment in life.”
