Business lessons with Ashton, a surprising history with Baywatch and what makes her a ‘mess’: wearing FW17’s after-dark hero dresses, actress Mila Kunis reveals all to fellow ‘Bad Mom’ Kathryn Hahn.
Kathryn Hahn: I have so many things I want to know about you.
Mila Kunis: Let’s get really deep.
Kh: When you’re on a red carpet, what’s going through your mind?
Mk: You can answer that for me.
Kh: I think, in your mind, when you are walking down the red carpet, you are a gangster.
Mk: [Laughs] Go on...
Kh: I don’t understand [how] someone who is so gorgeous is so normal at the same time.
Mk: I’ll take that as a compliment.
Kh: You don’t suffer fools, and you’ve been in this business a very long time.
Mk: I have a really normal family. I think the reason I didn’t come out f*****-up is because my family’s self-worth never relied upon me. So many times, when kids grow up in this industry, they feel the burden of their family, which is what makes you spiral. There’s too much pressure, and as a kid you’re physically incapable of handling it. I can barely handle pressure now – can you imagine [aged] 12?
Kh: When did you start acting?
Mk: From [age] nine. I did Days of Our Lives, Baywatch... [Hahn laughs] You would die. I was on Baywatch twice – two different characters. Once I was blind. I got lost in a fire and had to be saved.
Kh: By Hasselhoff?
Mk: No, by his son.
Kh: [Still laughing] Did you wear a red bathing suit?
Mk: Girl, you have to watch it. At the end of that episode I was boogie boarding. I was a blind boogie boarder.
Kh: I’m looking that up immediately.
Mk: It’s my best performance. In the ’90s I did tons of commercials; random movies; That ’70s Show, when I was 14. I went to high school while on ’70s, and got into college. [But] work started at 10am, so I had to take a 6am class to get there on time – never going to happen. So I asked my parents’ permission to defer. They said, ‘Ok, but if you do this, it’s your job, it’s not a hobby anymore.’
Kh: And your parents came [to the Us from Ukraine] when?
Mk: In 1991. I was seven.
Kh: Have you been back?
Mk: Two months ago, for the first time. We were shooting The Spy Who Dumped Me [co-starring Kate McKinnon] in Budapest, which is near Ukraine, so Ashton [Kutcher, Kunis’ husband] said, ‘On your birthday, let’s go.’ But I was never going to go without my parents. So my parents came to Budapest, then onto Ukraine, and Ashton and I went for one day. It was trippy. There’s a part of you that wants to feel something towards [the place]. I had nothing. We landed and Ashton was like, ‘No?’ [and I was like], ‘Yeah, nothing. I got nothing for you, babe.’ We went to our [old] house and I knocked on the door because we really wanted to look inside. And [the owner] was like, ‘No!’ She did not care. I said, ‘I used to live here when I was little, my parents are here…’ She wouldn’t even open the door. The whole experience was very humbling.
Kh: Where’s home for you?
Mk: Where my family is – La.
Kh: I remember in the first Bad Moms when your girl [Wyatt, now 3] was on your lap. She was so little, but the way she held you with her little paw was just like…[gasps]. It’s so beautiful to see; your [bond] is so strong. We’re so lucky we have a gig in which we’re able to have [our kids] with us.
Mk: So lucky. Our kids have a crazy fun life where they visit at work [Kunis and Kutcher also have an 11-month-old son, Dimitri]. I take it for granted; I take so much of my life for granted. Both my husband and I try daily to remind ourselves how truly lucky we are.
Kh: Do you know your power? Because you are a leader – do you know that you are?
Mk: I don’t want to say no, like, ‘I don’t know my worth’ – that’s not true. But I think that our industry is such a different fight; you almost have to feel empowered quietly, if that makes any sense?
Kh: Having confidence as a woman is hard. There’s all this s*** we have to go through. I’m more confident when I’m working.
Mk: Me too [both laugh]. I’m like [screams]: ‘I got a job!’ I am confident, but I’m constantly learning. When I was 19, I made a conscious decision to surround myself with people [who are] better and smarter than I am. Prior to that point, any job that came my way, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do this piece of s***! Who cares, acting’s fun.’ When I decided it was going to be my career, I reined everything in: ‘No, I don’t want to do this movie – it’s great on paper, but I’m gonna hold out.’ It’s all false bravado; internally, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m f****** up!’
Kh: [No] is a scary thing to say, but so powerful.
Mk: And that’s where I got my power from, because I said no, and I’m so proud of the projects I said no to. After ’70s, I had to audition and hustle because people were like, ‘You can only do television, you can only do comedy.’
Kh: You were incredible in Black Swan. To see you in that was a whole different [level].
Mk: It was different. And after it, I wanted to do something lighter, and then darker, merely to prove to people that I could. Right? That’s all that you can do.
Kh: You have such a handle on the business side of things.
Mk: Honestly, full disclosure, when I started dating Ashton, I was like, ‘I don’t want to know [about the] business side, it makes me so uncomfortable.’ And he said, ‘Right, stop, get on the call.’ And then I started educating myself, getting the language right. I would ask him questions, Googled lots of things, and now I know what everybody’s doing, I know what I can do, I know what I can ask for. I am way more involved than I was five years ago.
Kh: That’s a total inspiration.
Mk: I’ve been in the industry 25 years and only five years ago I started. Think about that, perspective-wise.
Kh: That was a new experience for me last night [at A Bad Moms Christmas screening in Chicago] – stepping on that stage with that kind of response from those ladies in the audience. You got emotional.
Mk: I was like, ‘I know what Beyoncé must feel like.’ This whole industry, it’s a blessing and a curse, but [there are] times when you’re like, ‘My God.’ My 14-year-old self would be freaking out.
Kh: I always feel like an outlier; like Hollywood’s over there and [I’m] on the outside, looking in.
Mk: To me, it’s still an out-of-body experience. [I hope] that never stops, because then you become complacent.
Kh: Are you producing more?
Mk: Yeah, I’m producing more Tv, because it’s the world I love so much and I know [Kunis will produce forthcoming comedy Made In La and drama Hunted].
Kh: Are you shifting the narrative more female?
Mk: Yeah, I’m female everything. I mean, I’m not anti-men, but we 100% shoot every female character with respect. None of our female characters are coat hangers; none of our female characters are mannequins; they’re not in the background to service the male. Whether the show is centered around them or not, they will always have a strong voice, a strong opinion and a purpose.
Kh: Yesterday you said you couldn’t wait for a time in which the male and female discussion was over. It is a major topic.
Mk: Totally. But do you think other fields have it? Do you think lawyers say, ‘Check out that female lawyer, she’s great for a female lawyer.’
Kh: No. But I do feel that this industry – show business – becomes a template for others.
Mk: You think that it will have a trickle-down effect?
Kh: I hope so. Do you get anxiety?
Mk: My anxiety was this morning in traffic for 15 minutes, trying to have a conversation with my kids while they were getting ready. That’s my anxiety, my babies!
Kh: Your whole being softens when you even mention their [names].
Mk: I have an 11-month-old and a three-year-old – I have tiny little humans. Ashton and I wanted kids so bad; we were so ready to be parents. We were able to have this little family the way we wanted, and I’m so grateful for it and it’s the one thing that I can’t control.
Kh: All you want to do is protect [your children].
Mk: Yes, that’s where my vulnerability is. My job, it comes and goes. You don’t get a job, you get a job, you don’t get a job. Your kids, you just want one thing. So, to answer your question, that’s where I become a mess.
Kh: Oh, Mila! [Laughs] So…what do you think about on the red carpet?
Mk: [Laughs]
Kh: I’ll say what I’m thinking about on the red carpet – I’m thinking: how can I get off this as soon as possible? Am I going to trip? Is my vagina hanging out?
Mk: Thank you, Kathryn Hahn!
A Bad Moms Christmas is out now
