An Interview with Actress Joan Cusack
Chicago-based Joan Cusack’s two Oscar nods reflect her career success, but her happiness seems to derive mostly from her family (during our meeting in the Gold Coast, one of the actress’s friends swung by to schedule a homework session for their sons). Most recently, you may have seen her in the role of Sheila on Showtime’s “Shameless”; this month, she’ll also be walking in downtown’s Dash for Detection 5k benefiting the Michael Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation.
A Passion for Philanthropy and a Life in Chicago
You’re co-chairing the Dash for Detection 5K on June 2. Why is pancreatic cancer research personally significant to you? My dad died 10 years ago this June from it. He was diagnosed, and he died almost three months to the day. It was never anything I thought would be part of my life, but it is, and it’s a big part. It’s taken a while for me to feel like I can take it and turn it around in a positive way. It’s so hard to think about, because it’s such a devastating cancer. But now what I love so much about the Rolfe Foundation (www.rolfefoundation.org) is that all they’re doing is getting money for an early detection test. So it’s not a complicated charity. It’s a very simple thing. If you can’t get an early detection test, you can’t even study this cancer, because people die so quickly.
My impression is that actors with your level of success usually reside in New York or L.A. Why do you make your home in Chicago? You know, I grew up here. My dad was actually from New York, and my mom is from Boston, but he was in advertising, and they moved here. And, you know, Chicago is the bomb. It’s an unbelievable place. I think there can be so many distractions in Hollywood. You can get away from the things that really matter. I’m so grateful that I get to live here and still hang in there with my career. To have people be nice in your town, instead of just cool, is so good. And [Chicago is] sophisticated-good, you know?
On-Screen Roles and Off-Screen Favorites
You were nominated for an Emmy for your work on “Shameless” as Sheila. What’s it like to film the show? It’s so fun to be part of an ensemble show. I’ve never done that before. I’ve tried before, but there’s so much serendipity to these things. I’m grateful to be in this group and to get to go back and work with the same people again. With a movie, you do your work, and then everyone’s gone. John Wells [the show’s producer] is amazing and sets such a great tone. Everybody’s expected to be professionals, and you get a lot of work done. It’s fun, and I’m really enjoying it.
When you’re going out for a nice meal with your family, where do you go? We took our kids to Alinea (1723 N. Halsted St., 312-867-0110) for New Year’s Eve. That was mind-blowing. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to spend some money on a great experience, it’s a great place. For kids, everything is magical, but especially here. I mean, what they serve, you can’t even conceive of it. They had a Christmas tree branch, and it was covered with what looked like snow, but it was peppermint. And there were gumdrops in it that were different flavors, and they had a little log with a little teacup, and they poured clear hot chocolate into it. It was so fun and so entertaining. It’s just like performance art.we
