Jason Isaacs was part of the group of actors who joined The Creative Coalition on Capitol Hill to advocate for funding the National Endowment for the Arts on Right to Bear Arts Day. He tells THR how fighting for arts funding under this administration is different compared to previous ones saying, "you can feel the insecurity and uncertainty in the air." Plus, he talks about the fan response after the season finale of 'The White Lotus' aired and ideas for a spinoff on the Ratliff family.
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00:00How do you feel like the meetings went today?
00:02Well, it's impossible to know.
00:04We've all done a lot of meetings in Hollywood, too.
00:06You leave and you think, my God, they love me,
00:08they heard everything I said, and they're going to give me a job tomorrow morning.
00:10So we went into rooms where they were receptive,
00:13because we made great points about how the fiscal return on investment,
00:17but also the kind of return for community,
00:20and in every way how the arts benefit society in general
00:23and the individuals who take part.
00:25Whether that will translate to them voting to keep this organization
00:29that's been around and done such magnificent work, we don't know.
00:32It's a very tumultuous time in Hollywood.
00:34In Hollywood? Oh, sorry, in Washington.
00:37And every organization and every institution is under threat,
00:41but this is such a minuscule budget, and it has such a huge bang for its buck,
00:46it would seem to be insane to threaten it or do away with it,
00:49but there are more insane things going on.
00:52You've done this before, coming here to Washington
00:54to advocate for funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.
00:57How did your experience under this administration compare to past experiences you've had here?
01:02Well, I've been here when President Obama was in charge, when President Biden was in charge.
01:06I was here during the first Trump administration,
01:08and there's never been a time when so many people have lost their jobs,
01:11when even in the Republican rooms people were so uncertain
01:15about what their own party's policy and stand would be on things.
01:19So you can feel the insecurity and the uncertainty in the air,
01:22what people's mission has changed from room to room.
01:25We were told very clearly in one room the most important,
01:28the most effective way we could advocate was by telling Republicans
01:32what it was the money was spent on, that it was for things that they would agree with,
01:36and that it was endorsing the values and traditions that they would support.
01:40But in the next room we were told, make sure that people understand that you raised $9
01:45for every dollar of public subsidy.
01:47So they're not even clear on what it is that they stand for.
01:51It's a very different and scary time in the world,
01:54and it's a very different and scary time inside the bubble that we're in
01:56where we're trying to keep arts funding going.
01:58What's your biggest takeaway from today?
02:01Well, the biggest takeaway is you do what you can do.
02:04We're all people who are using our privilege, I guess, and our access to advocate as best we can,
02:10and then you have to let go of the results because otherwise you drive yourself mad.
02:13And why is now such an important time to advocate for funding for the National Endowment for the Arts?
02:18Well, now is not any more important time than previously,
02:22it's just that it's never been so under threat.
02:24Two years ago, and a year ago, there was an amendment proposed to zero out the budget entirely.
02:30It was massively defeated with the help of many Republicans, up to 90 Republicans, I think 89 Republicans.
02:35They were not under orders from the White House.
02:37There is a climate at the moment, whatever order comes from the White House,
02:40everybody falls in line because they're scared they're going to be primary down to their job.
02:43So the reason it's important now is it's never been as under threat.
02:47And I have to ask, we're here in Washington, D.C., but we are the Hollywood Reporter,
02:51and the White Lotus was all anybody was talking about for the weeks that it was airing.
02:55What was the fan response to the finale like for you?
02:58Well, the fan response is still going on.
03:00People keep coming up to me saying, oh, I just saw the last episode yesterday.
03:02Of course, it was seen by an awful lot of people on HBO,
03:04but it's being seen by an awful lot more people on Macs in this country and around the world.
03:09So the response is still going on.
03:12I tell you what actually most people have said to me, they want to follow up.
03:16They want to follow the Ratliff family.
03:17I think they want to see Victoria get her first job, which she has to get her hands dirty.
03:20And they want to know whether I think I'm going to get a pardon from my friend the president.
03:24And for you, you're very busy right now.
03:27You also have another movie coming out next month, right?
03:30Two movies coming out in the next two weeks and one coming out in England, a different one.
03:33So I had three films coming out.
03:34I'm trying to be honorable and ethical and publicize them all and split my time like a good parent.
03:40You know, I like them all for very different reasons.
03:43There's two coming out in America.
03:44One's called Words of War.
03:45It's appropriate that it's the White House Correspondents' Dinner tomorrow night
03:48because it celebrates a spectacularly powerful woman, Anna Politzkovaia,
03:53who was a journalist who was the first and maybe the only person who spoke the truth to Putin,
03:57about Putin, to the Russian people and told them that they had elected a gangster
04:01and that he'd made up the reasons to invade Chechnya,
04:03that she went there and she found mass graves and mass rape
04:06and that things were being done in their name and she lost her life for the privilege.
04:10And then there's a very different film called Juliet and Romeo,
04:13which is an original musical based on the source material for Romeo and Juliet,
04:16meaning the story is different with some spectacular singers in it and original songs.
04:20And the great news for the public is that I don't sing in it.
04:23And I also have to ask, because you brought it up,
04:25could we see you come back in a future episode or future season of The White Lotus?
04:29Could we get more of the Ratliff family?
04:31You know, if you're asking me would I come back if Mike White wrote me a part,
04:35I would act Mike White's shopping list in dinner theatre.
04:37So it's up to Mike and I think he's probably more original than revisting the Ratliff family,
04:42but if he wants to, I think it's a terrific idea.