“There’s an Unspoken Mind Meld”: When King Princess Met Christine Baranski

When King Princess landed in Munich to start filming Nine Perfect Strangers, she had one thought: “Fuck, I just signed up for this, and now I have to pull it off.” The singer-songwriter, born Mikaela Straus, wasn’t there to play a show, but to portray Tina, a classically trained, emotionally constipated lesbian pianist with rage issues and a very bad attitude when it comes to self-improvement. It’s the 26-year olds first major acting gig, a role that thrust her onto a set alongside established powerhouses like opposite Nicole Kidman and Christine Baranski, with whom she’s developed a deep and intimate friendship. “Let’s give them something to talk about,” Baranski joked of their kinship. “We sat at the bar, ordered our martinis, and suddenly we’re talking about our grandmothers who deeply affected and influenced our lives. I think that’s where we profoundly bonded.” To mark her foray into the world of TV, King Princess got together with her co-star-cum-soulmate to reflect on their undeniable connection and riff on everything from “lesbian bed death” to their shared Buffalo ancestry and the psychosexual weight of being cared for by your girlfriend.

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CHRISTINE BARANSKI: Hey, girl. 

KING PRINCESS: How’re you doing? 

BARANSKI: You’re in your Brooklyn apartment, I’m on the Upper East Side, babe. I’m loving the armpit thing you’ve got going on. 

KING PRINCESS: You know that’s how I roll. The Colbert appearance was fabulous. 

BARANSKI: Oh, god. You’ve done his show, right? 

KING PRINCESS: I’m a musician, Christine. I only sing songs, I don’t speak. 

BARANSKI: Well, it’s a whole other ballgame when you sit on the couch and he’s firing questions at you that you knew were coming from the pre-show interview. And then you try to make it sound spontaneous. Anyway, since you’re such an accomplished, well-established musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, what got you on a plane to Munich to spend six months with an ensemble of accomplished actors and a major movie star?

KING PRINCESS: I was thinking about this last night. There’s so much about this that has been brand new. But what I was hoping to get out of this, mostly, was fun. I wanted to have fun, meet people, learn something new, and learn about a craft. When I got off the plane in Munich, I thought, “Fuck, I just signed up for this, and now I have to pull it off.” 

BARANSKI: We do have fun along the way but, as you discovered, it’s a lot of work. Much of it tedious, much of it waiting around. And a lot of it requires absolute precision in the moment. Whether it’s your close-up, a two-shot, or a big scene, you have to deliver. No matter how many plays and movies I’ve done, it’s still intimidating knowing that moment will come when you have to live on stage or in front of a camera. But you know how to work an audience. It’s like a love affair between you and the people. I never would have known you hadn’t done film work. What was that like? 

KING PRINCESS: I guess music videos were a good intro because there’s a pseudo-acting energy to them, right? It depends on how into it you are. For me, I’m really into music videos, so I knew I could do that and really enjoy it. But I also know that in music videos, you stare directly into the camera the whole time. 

BARANSKI: You can’t do that in film. 

KING PRINCESS: Well, do you remember the day they were doing your coverage on that huge group scene in the living room? 

BARANSKI: Yeah, the living room. 

KING PRINCESS: Well, they didn’t specify if I was supposed to exit the scene or not. So somewhere there’s a take of you fully having your moment and I’m just in the background like, “Where do I go?” I ruined your take. 

BARANSKI: You couldn’t ruin anyone’s take. You’re so alive and fun. But we’ve got to fill people in on the character you play because she is, in fact, an accomplished musician. Because in my opinion, you’re perfectly cast.

KING PRINCESS: Thank you. Her name is Tina and she’s a classical pianist-slash-lesbian. She’s a shell of a person. I don’t think she really knows who she is. She’s angry, feels trapped, resistant to help. Obviously, in this setting where people are voluntarily coming into a space to seek spiritual, metaphysical, emotional guidance, she is not having it. 

BARANSKI: She thinks she’s at a spa, so she arrives wanting to take a hot bath and have cocktails. She’s really blindsided. 

KING PRINCESS: Well, that’s where your character and my character connect. What I like about Tina is that it’s a relatable storyline for people in their late 20s. I feel like everyone has felt this way at some point, where you’re in the chrysalis but the butterfly is not coming out. Something is not working in her life and it’s making her really angry. Instead of figuring out what that is, she’s taking it out on everyone. 

BARANSKI: Both our characters are resistant and generationally apart, but we’re both irreverent with a great sense of humor. It’s a pity we didn’t have a drinking scene together, because I was always asking for champagne and you were always game to just leave the room, go outside, and have a smoke.

KING PRINCESS: We were connected somehow. There was an unspoken mind meld happening. It didn’t need to be voiced. 

BARANSKI: Exactly. It was so powerful it didn’t need to be written. 

KING PRINCESS: It didn’t need to be. 

BARANSKI: It was so subtle and powerful. Those are my favorite scenes, where you don’t even have to talk to somebody because it’s just so potent. Here we are, pals. We have our martinis and steak frites. And we’re friends, which is so delightful. I went into this thinking there are so many wonderful aspects to this job, not least of which is living in Europe for six months, going to the opera, listening to classical music, taking trains to different cities. Also, Nicole Kidman—wow. And then possibly the greatest gift, developing a friendship with this wildly talented young woman who’s so opinionated, deeply funny and witty. We’ve curiously bonded and wanted to remain friends. That’s a great gift, which is why I’m interviewing you. 

KING PRINCESS: Well, be careful, Christine, because people will talk. You know what? It’s like camp. You get there, you’re on this set with hundreds of people in a foreign country and you don’t know anybody. You and I ended up sitting, having martinis, and talking. Little did we know we both have Polish ancestry originating in Buffalo, New York. You’re a Buffalo girl. My grandmother is from Buffalo.

BARANSKI: It’s unbelievable. 

KING PRINCESS: It was unbelievable.

BARANSKI: Our first date—let’s give them something to talk about—we actually got dressed up and finally had dinner. I remember we went to this chic, French-y watering hole. We sat at the bar, ordered our martinis, and suddenly we’re talking about our grandmothers who deeply affected and influenced our lives. I think that’s where we profoundly bonded. Tell us about your nana and your devotion to her.

KING PRINCESS: It’s funny how life works, right? I lost her three years ago in June. She had my Playboy in her room. There was no judgment. I could be tits and butt out in Playboy and she was like–

BARANSKI: “I’m so proud of you, Mikaela.” 

KING PRINCESS: Literally. It’s true love and true acceptance. I’ve been lucky in my life to have intergenerational relationships like that. A lot of people find judgment in those older or younger than them. That’s never been my experience. My nana was my best friend and my biggest supporter. She knew I was auditioning right before she passed and she was stoked about it. She was like, “This is going to be good,” because she watched me do community theater. 

BARANSKI: So she already knew about the possibility of Nine Perfect Strangers? 

KING PRINCESS: She knew about the possibility of me getting cast in something. She was like, “This is cool. You seem happy when you’re doing this. You seem like a little kid again.” You know when you’re a little kid and you’re doing plays in the mirror? 

BARANSKI: Oh, I know. 

KING PRINCESS: All of a sudden, I felt like that again. I love music, but it’s a bit different. A lot rides on you. In acting, you’re part of a huge machine working to make this piece of art. It can be really freeing, I think. 

BARANSKI: You relate so openly and fearlessly with other people, including the daunting Ms. Kidman. You went toe-to-toe with her. You were in her face sometimes with really big emotional scenes. I was so impressed with your ability to just look at people, to be fearless and open. 

KING PRINCESS: I had to do a couple “get your shit together” pep talks in the mirror sometimes because it was intense. My biggest worry was that somebody like you or Nicole would be worried. You know when you can tell if someone doesn’t think someone else has got it? That’s what I was anxious about. I know you were watching when I was doing my stuff and I could tell that everyone wasn’t concerned. 

BARANSKI: No, no, no. People weren’t concerned. If anything, they were watching you because there’s a lot to learn from someone who doesn’t have tons of experience. You don’t have layers of crust or suppositions on you. You were so fresh, so alive. You’re a musician and now you’re an actor. You’ve worked with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. So, are you hooked?

KING PRINCESS: Only with Australians, darling. I’m totally hooked, and we’ve talked about this. I’m like, “Put me in, coach.” It’s addicting. And you know what’s really addicting? Figuring out a character. Actually sitting down with a journal and figuring out who the hell this person is. 

BARANSKI: I know. It’s your responsibility. You have to fill in a whole lot of blanks, so it’s yours to do. When I’m working, I draw upon my own life experience. When I’m filling in the blanks about my character I think, “How can I relate to that character’s pain or fear?” In this case, my character has a fatal illness. But I mean, you were bringing in the pain about someone who couldn’t play anymore. Did you talk to anybody who got frozen? Or was she just tired of having to perform at that level?

KING PRINCESS: It’s really similar to what happened to me. Music has been my North Star since I was a little kid—I always knew I was going to be a musician. With anything that becomes monetized, it goes from being something you do for passion in your bedroom to something that you’re now trying to one-up yourself in how successful or profitable it could be. I became victim to the age-old thing at some point where I was like, “This isn’t fun anymore.” That’s when the acting thing came about, god bless. And Tina is somebody who has no tools. This girl did not go to therapy. So I thought a lot about what it would have been like when I went through my performance anxiety, stage fright, if I didn’t have a fantastic team of therapists, pills, great family, and relationships that helped bring me back.

BARANSKI: Right. 

KING PRINCESS: Tina, she doesn’t have anybody. She has Wolfie, her girlfriend. And it’s really hard to be expected to be especially sexual and intimate with someone who is also acting as your caretaker. 

BARANSKI: It’s the death of sexiness, really. 

KING PRINCESS: We call it “lesbian bed death.” That’s the medical term. 

BARANSKI: On that note, if you were to continue with your acting career, what roles would you want to play as an outspoken gay person? When I play roles, I’m very happy to play women of authority, intelligence, [women who are] unapologetic about their age. In my career, I have tried to avoid stereotypes and tropes.

KING PRINCESS: Well, I don’t know if this is the gay narrative, but I’ve always seen myself as a colonial ghost. 

BARANSKI: Oh, please explain. 

KING PRINCESS: I don’t know, I just see myself as a colonial ghost, corseted, died of syphilis or something. I want to be in a period piece where I’m completely unrecognizable. I want to be a goblin, you know what I mean? I want to be in full prosthetics as an amorphous, genderless demon. To me, what’s interesting is using my body, almost clown vibes.

BARANSKI: So you’re just outside of identity.

KING PRINCESS: I’m post-gender, yeah, that’s where I’m at.

BARANSKI: We’re so over all these old identity things, aren’t we? 

KING PRINCESS: I just want to do some weird shit. The most exciting thing to me about being an actor is looking in the mirror and seeing someone different. 

BARANSKI: Right. I think you had such an interesting childhood and background. I’m from Buffalo. I was Catholic nuns and all, and you were miss progressive avant-garde school education, right?

KING PRINCESS: I had a freaky-deaky, interesting, cool New York City upbringing. Lots of chosen family. My mom just had such a—

BARANSKI: She was in fashion, right? 

KING PRINCESS: She was in fashion first, so she did mass market design, mostly sweaters. I grew up in these office buildings full of sweaters, swatches, and fabrics. I have memories of reading a book while sitting in a storage room at one of these places surrounded by sweaters. She was just such a bad bitch. I mean, she still is. It was just cool to see my mom do shit like that. When she would get ready to go out at night, she would come downstairs in something fucking amazing and fabulous. She’d be doing her final touches while I sat on the steps. 

BARANSKI: That’s where you get your whole thing with style. You’re so astute in your perception. And we’re both somewhat muses of Thom Browne in such different ways. I love that Thom Browne would want to dress me for the Met Gala, and he wants to dress you for—

KING PRINCESS: Because it isn’t for one type of person. A brand shouldn’t be for one type of person. I think he does such a beautiful job of mixing and matching this quilt of people. An ideal night for me would be me sandwiched between Patti LuPone and you. If I close my eyes in my EMDR therapy and think of my happy place, that would be it. 

BARANSKI: We could do a benefit where we sing show tunes. Because Patti’s got a gazillion songs. She’s Patti LuPone. Was there a Broadway composer or show that just brought you to your knees when you saw it?

KING PRINCESS: Definitely Hedwig [and the Angry Inch]. 

BARANSKI: Oh, of course. And you saw the original, right? 

KING PRINCESS: I saw John Cameron reprise it, and then I saw Michael C. Hall in a very interesting and powerful interpretation of it as well.

BARANSKI: You need to do a revival of that.

KING PRINCESS: I could give Hedwig but I could also give the butch guitar player. And you know I love Cabaret. 

BARANSKI: Oh my god. You could be Sally Bowles.Do you know that when I graduated from Juilliard, I worked at a restaurant called Rapoport’s right next to where Chicago was playing. As a cocktail waitress, I would wait on Jerry Orbach, Chita Rivera, and Gwen Verdon, and they were great tippers. All those years later, when I was in the movie of Chicago, I just thought, “I love how the universe can play with us.” Who were your idols? Because growing up, I watched tons of television so I was influenced by Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, and Mary Tyler Moore.

KING PRINCESS: I mean, I was a total Beatles freak, I have every record on vinyl. You’re either a Beatles house or a Stones House, and my house was a Beatles house. 

BARANSKI: Mine was a Beatles house too. What about Motown? I mean, we just did the Met Gala, but there was Diana Ross. That’s where I learned how cool Black people were because I was this Polish Catholic girl in a Polish Catholic neighborhood.

KING PRINCESS: I was actually really lucky in my first year of college, the only year I did. [Laughs] Part of the curriculum for the performance class was moving through pop music history starting with Motown, and you had to perform the songs note for note and inflection for inflection. If you came in and didn’t nail it, they would read you to filth. I was in the songwriting program so I would typically be singing. But I learned all of the James Jamerson basslines because I knew I wanted to be a bass player. We were talking about “Ain’t No Mountain,” that’s him. 

BARANSKI: My favorite Motown song of all time. But I also love Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell doing it. I mean, both renditions. But when Diana Ross with the orchestra goes into that key change, I pretty much lose it. 

KING PRINCESS: I mean, The Wiz was also a big movie in my house the last couple of years. That scene at the end where she’s crying and it’s just the cameras pushing in. It’s all performance, it’s all stage, it’s all the gag. For me, the more I learn about performance, whether it’s acting, singing, playing, I’m just adding a tool to my big lesbian tool belt. 

BARANSKI: It’s all about presence. There are different ways of being present as a human being, as an artist, but it’s all about showing up and letting the light shine through us. I’ve learned from all different mediums, you’re quite right. I do have to ask a final question: were there any things in your coffee mug other than coffee during the shoot? Because it was a long shoot, a lot of waiting around, and we all adored each other. 

KING PRINCESS: Knowing me and how proper–

BARANSKI: Yes, how restrained you are. [Laughs]

KING PRINCESS: And quiet. 

BARANSKI: You really have to be coaxed out of your shell.

KING PRINCESS: I believe you called me the “lesbian Larry David.”

BARANSKI: I couldn’t have done that. 

KING PRINCESS: You did. You handed me the poem and you were like, “Darling, you’re the lesbian Larry David.” It was brilliant. But to your question, I have to tell you, yes, there was sometimes something spicy in that cup. There were long days, Christine. And sometimes you’ve got to be funny at 5:00 AM. 

BARANSKI: I agree. One party we went to, I don’t know what you guys gave me but you said, “Oh, you’ve never tried this?” And then I wound up going home. And then you asked me, “How was it?” And I said, “I just felt so much love for everybody. I couldn’t believe how happy I was.” And everyone was terribly pleased because it clearly had a positive effect on me.

KING PRINCESS: That shows the greatness and the strength of your character and your heart because only you will try mushrooms for the first time and have the best time of your life. I was just so happy that I was your shaman.

BARANSKI: You were my shaman. But we won’t get too deep into this. It’s going to be a beautiful relationship, baby.

KING PRINCESS: I know. 

BARANSKI: I can’t wait for the decades ahead. I’m going to learn so much from you, and I’ll teach you whatever good stuff that I know. 

KING PRINCESS: Well, I love you and I’m just thankful to have you in my life.