Jamie Lee Curtis reveals the inspiration behind ‘Everything Everywhere’ character
The Daniels’ Oscar-nominated Everything Everywhere All At Once stars Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, an ordinary Chinese-American woman with the power to access parallel lives. Absurd, heart-warming and kick-ass as hell, the celebrated sci-fi film also stars the incredible Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween, Freaky Friday, A Fish Called Wanda) as grotesque IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdra, who has been tasked with auditing the laundromat Wang runs with her husband. Here, Curtis reveals the inspiration behind the character.
In April 2022, Curtis took to Instagram to explain that she based Deirdre on a character from one of her previous films: Billy Bob Thornton’s 2001 film Daddy and Them, in which she played Elaine Bowen, the alcoholic wife of Ben Affleck’s character. According to Curtis, the character provided “the visual inspiration” for Dierdre, who was subsequently developed by the Everything Everywhere All At Once creative team.
Daddy & Them stars Thornton as Cluade and Laura Derne as Ruby, a besotted couple frequently at odds. When Claude’s Uncle Hazel is arrested for attempted murder, they travel to the family Homestead in Little Rock, where the whole family reunites and Claude is reintroduced to Ruby’s sister Rose (his old flame), much to the chagrin of Ruby.
Bowen is one of the many unlikeable characters that plague Daddy and Them. By the time she landed the role, Curtis had already shed her image as a scream queen and cemented herself as a cult icon, having won a BAFTA for ‘Best Actress in a Supporting Role’ for Trading Places and the ‘Best Actress’ Golden Globe award for her performance in A Fish Called Wanda.
In her original Instagram post, Curtis discussed the “evolution of the Multiverse that is the life of Dierdre Beaubirdra”, who “was a character I played in Billy Bob Thornton’s Daddy & Them. Elaine was Ben Affleck’s Lawrence’s older alcoholic lawyer wife,” Curtis continued. “She was the visual inspiration that I brought the Daniels and then Shirley Kurata, costumes, Anissa Salazar, hair and Michelle Chung, make-up.” Curtis went on to thank the film’s creative team before noting: “God I love my job!” it certainly sounds like a lot of fun.
