PHOTOS Juliette Lewis looking badass in NO TOFU magazine; talks acting, aging and music
I’ve been a huge fan of Juliette Lewis going all the way back to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, through her appearances in Hollywood classics like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Natural Born Killers, and all the way up to her current role as Beverly Brown on the show Wayward Pines.
The edgy actress and singer recently sat down with NO TOFU magazine to discuss her career, getting older in Hollywood, and the recent passing of her father. Oh–and she mated Barbarella and Ziggy Stardust for a very Juliette Lewish photo shoot!
“Mid-life is an interesting time, aside from even just work,” the 42-year-old Lewis reveals. “It’s a fascinating place to be as a human being. You’re faced with time. When I was 22, I didn’t work for three years, deliberately. And then just about ten years ago, when I started my band, I took a break deliberately. But at mid-life, you start thinking of mortality.”
Speaking of mortality, this past April Juliette had to deal with the passing of her father, actor Geoffrey Lewis. She shared this throwback photo of her and her dad together on Instagram along with a grief-stricken, loving comment:
“It’s a huge turning point in my life,” Juliette tells NO TOFU of her father’s passing. “This has been a bittersweet awakening.”
She adds, “I’ve lost friends along the way, I’m just so deeply connected with my soul power now.”
Juliette mentioned above that she started her band, Juliette and the Licks, about ten years ago. She revealed back in June that the band was reuniting after a six-year break, and they performed before a sold-out crowd at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theater on July 23. Reportedly, a tour and an album will follow!
“While recording music with Brad Shultz of Cage the Elephant [Juliette was featured in their video for “Take It or Leave It”], I knew I eventually had to put together a killer band. And I thought … Why don’t I get the best band I ever had back together again – The Licks,” Juliette said in a press release. “At our peak we were known for our insane chemistry and energy onstage,” she added. “The last venue I played as a solo act with my other band was El Rey. I have always loved that venue. I figured let’s start with an amazing hometown reunion show w guest musicians. And take it from there.”
When asked by NO TOFU why she continues to go back to her music career, Juliette said “I’m independent to the core, I was never attached to big business. That independence was important to me. I knew [my] band was my truest form, my purest voice.”
Of course, Juliette Lewis is most famous for her amazing acting career, and she talked about that in the interview as well. “All I ever want to do when I’m playing a part is making it look like breathing,” she said of her process. “I want to make it look like I’m not acting, to look like I’m fully that person. I never got into acting to play myself, so I’m always very physical. I didn’t get trained with a lot of texts, so I was always very focused on my body.”
On a related note: all of these amazing and fun photos were taken by photographer Zoey Grossman. Juliette previewed the shoot on Instagram back on July 1st:
A photo posted by Juliette Lewis (@juliettelewis) on
#fashion #tuneintokyo 
PHOTOG @zoeygrossman styling @annakatsanisHere’s a photo of Juliette in the same outfit from the pages of NO TOFU:
To see more of, and read more from Juliette, be sure to check out the brand new issue of NO TOFU! You can also see more of Juliette soon in the live-action film adaptation of Jem and the Holograms due out October 23!
NO TOFU photos: Zoey Grossman
