Already garnering awards including a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and BAFTA for Supporting Actress, and a nomination for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal as LaVona Golden, Tonya Harding’s mother in I, Tonya, Allison Janney has always been a tour de force on both thure skatinge small and big screens.
We had the honour of sitting down with Janney to talk about her role in the film. Although Steven Rogers had written the role for Janney before even approaching her to do it, we asked if she even had a choice in taking the role. Janney explains that over the years that Rogers had written numerous roles for her which never happened, so to finally be able to work together was an exciting prospect. She also explains, even though she had never the real life LaVona, how exactly she approached playing such a complex character. She also goes on to defend herself against a recent interview from the bird – which co-stars alongside her – after it called her a Diva.
Watch the interview in full below
Related: I, Tonya Premiere Interviews
Based on the unbelievable but true events, I, TONYA is a darkly comedic tale of American figure skater, Tonya Harding, and one of the most sensational scandals in sports history. Though Harding was the first American woman to complete a triple axel in competition, her legacy was forever defined by her association with an infamous, ill-conceived, and even more poorly executed attack on fellow Olympic competitor Nancy Kerrigan.
Featuring an iconic turn by Margot Robbie as the fiery Harding, a mustachioed Sebastian Stan as her impetuous ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, a tour-de-force performance from Allison Janney as her acid-tongued mother, LaVona Golden, and an original screenplay by Steven Rogers, Craig Gillespie’s I, TONYA is an absurd, irreverent, and piercing portrayal of Harding’s life and career in all of its unchecked––and checkered––glory.
Related: I, Tonya Press Conference
I, Tonya hits cinemas February 23rd.
