Entertainment
The Disney alum and star ofThe Last Showgirlalmost left acting behind to raise her family.
Hollywood and fiance Macaulay Culkin knew she had more to give.
In an overwhelmingly somber film, Songs delivery is a comedic balm.
Coming from a Disney Channel background, I think people are almost scared.
It feels weird to see you that way.
It is an adjective.
Its natural in my language.
Since having children, Ive had to really watch myself.
People like to say that Valley Girls say like.
I think we say f*ck as much as like.
I have lived the life of a 30-year-old work woman since I was 11, she tells me.
Ive always loved Mary-Kate and Ashley.
(Or, I begin to wonder, perhaps this theme is not actually entirely incidental.)
I love oversized classics with a twist.
And now that Im a little bit older, its just about being comfortable because Im running around.
Were basic, she says when describing their Christmas plans with a content laugh.
We do our lights, we do our Elves on a Shelf, our Advent calendars.
We always host Christmas.
Thats our favorite time.
He cooks, I bake.
The house is open.
That was such a special moment.
We couldnt have them miss that, Song recalls.
But Dak was so scared of all the cameras.
Thats one of the reasons why we sort of keep them away [from the spotlight].
They did not understand what was happening.
Another incident at a soccer practice convinced Song that theyd been doing the right thing by laying low.
My son was like, Why is that man taking pictures of you, mama?
You could take pictures of me all day.
But when its your kids, its different.
They didnt ask for this life.
Song is relatively inactive on social media, which she cheerfully blames on her kids.
(I literally have 60,000 photos on my phone and all of them are of my children.
I have nothing to post.)
But she was never obsessed with immortalizing every waking moment to begin with.
I grew up in front of the camera.
It didnt hurt that the actor didnt own a cellphone until she was 16.
(She got it and she made me save up all of my per diem.
We went to go get our little two-way pagers together, Song says of her friendship with Lohan.)
(Though who could forget herliterally fiery turnas Eduardo Saverins girlfriend inThe Social data pipe?)
According to her and her agent The Last Showgirlcould not have come at a better time.
I had just dropped off my son at preschool and was with Mack.
Costcos not even open yet.
Youve tamed the beast, honey.
And I was like, How dare you, sir!
And my agent calls me and shes like, Hey, I have this really great script for you.
Do you have a second?
What are you doing?
And I was like, Oh, Im sitting in the parking lot at Costco before it opens.
She goes, I need to get you a job.
Songs fans agree: The time is right for aBrendassaince.
But Song thinks it will especially resonate with any woman whos ever second-guessed her own ambition.
Mary-Anne, to me, was so heartbreaking.
I felt like she really represented the working class.
She was excited to be a dancer.
She had big dreams, big hopes.
And somewhere along the way of the monotonous cycle of being in the same show for 10 years…
Her voice trails off.
Mary-Anne somehow lost that passion and it became just a job to her.
She built up these walls because she was just trying to survive.
I was so nervous because I dont get cast in movies like this.
Thats why Im so grateful and thankful to Gia for taking this risk.
The less-is-more ethos even made its way into the characters makeup.
When you didnt see us in our showgirl makeup, we werent wearing any makeup.
None at all, Song says.
The first day we tried makeup on and Gia was like, It doesn’t feel real.
And Pam was like, These women dont have time for it.
AndPamela being Pamela, she goes, Im not doing it.
You guys shouldnt do it either.
In this movie there was no place for it.
I just had two kids.
I had two pregnancies in the same calendar year.
It was a lot, she says.
Things that Id never questioned before.
I was like, Does acting still fit in my life?
And a huge part of that is work.
I have to be able to honor that.
I have a Lakers championship ring with my name on it, she says proudly.
I was all Lakerd out.
I watched 82 games a season.
They had to put a monitor underneath the stages.
She grows giddy describing how herRunning Pointco-stars indulged her expertise.
Our characters were kind of like who we were in real life.
Id be whispering to her, Oh, thats actually so-and-so, this player.
Or, This term actually meansthis.
I feel like I haven’t done my best work yet.
Mack and I are both very antisocial, she says.
Our kids have more of a social calendar than I will ever have.
Sounds pretty f*ckin sweet.
