“I always knew she was a legend and great,” he tells EW.
People don’t have careers like that anymore."
Check out the photos of Wittrock as Deans below and read on.Judyhits theaters Sept. 27.
Credit: David Hindley/LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Were you much of a fan of Judy Garland’s before signing onto this project?
What was your knowledge of her before doing this film?
I remember reading about people who saw the famous Carnegie Hall performance.
David Hindley/LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions
Like consistently said that.
So I was a fan, but now I’m a mega-fan.
Was there one thing that surprised you the most that you learned about her through doing this film?
David Hindley/LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions
It’s really true that she was broke at this point in the movie where I pick her up.
She lived so many lives.
I was surprised that money was often a concern bizarrely.
David Hindley/LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions
And I didn’t really know that much about how the studio basically made her a drug addict.
Can you tell me more about your research into Mickey and his life with Judy?
I know he wrote a book about her did you read that or talk to his family?
I didn’t talk to any of his family.
I found them very hard to find.
But his book is called something Shakespearean [Weep No More, My Lady].
I read his book, and it’s very interesting actually.
He talks a lot about their early days together, and he ran this club in New York.
She would come in, and she’d stay up to dawn like all the time.
And so would he.
They would just party.
The book gives a bit of his upbringing in new jersey.
But he doesn’t reveal that much about himself.
I found him hard to get biographical facts about.
He wrote that book out of adoring her.
I don’t think he was as good a businessman as he thought he was.
I do think he was truly in love with her.
And he was the one who found her dead in the bathroom.
I couldn’t find that much about him after that, except he died a few years ago.
I have a feeling he didn’t treat himself too well.
Unlike Judy, there’s not a lot of well-plumbed footage of him out there.
Did you find that helpful to be able to build him from the ground up or a hindrance?
It’s kind of both.
I feel like my imagination could do more work.
I did actually find some footage of them together and some of him talking.
This one recording of him talking was my go-to thing; my way in.
Sometimes just in someone’s voice, you could get a finger into them.
Judy Garland is one of the most iconic screen presences ever.
I was mostly so impressed with her stamina and her ability to maintain focus for that long.
Was that something you’ve given much thought to or was it unusual for you?
A lot of people sort of talking about Mickey would say he had sort of a mother complex.
But to hear him tell it, he was like, “Mom and I had a great relationship.
Judy came and met my mom, and it was fine.”
I think it’s a little more complicated than just that.
And he wanted to be that for her.
At the same time, he did mythologize her.
His love was real.
But it was idolatry too.
We did talk about that a little it is rare.
Seeing the reverse, no one would bat an eye with an older man.
But they found their own unique way of being together.
For better and for worse.
There was a lot of darkness in that relationship, and a lot of unfulfilled expectations I guess.
What do you feel Mickey was to Judy and did that change as you were working on the film?
Yes, it did change.
But the more we were researching and doing it, it becomes blurry what exactly he wanted.
I think he was trying to make her better, but wanting to take ownership in her getting better.
He wanted to be a part of her success, and that was what gave him a purpose.
Yes, it is selfish in a way.
But in his mind, it is all for her.
What do you think it was that Judyloved about him?
I think he was different.
He was a breath of fresh air from the many husbands.
He was a little “other.”
He wasn’t really in the business in the same way.
He wasn’t a producer.
He had his own thing, but he wasn’t really a big shot.
She did need adoration, and she did need someone to fawn over her.
So there was that level of it too.
But did that tendency in her life enter into your characterization or consideration of him at all?
It definitely entered into the style of dress.
We actually did talk about that.
Was there a second life?
I think there was some speculation about that.
Who knows what’s in a person?
There was a bit of flamboyance about him for sure.
And there was something she was attracted to about that.
There was something peacock-like.
I think it was mostly hetero, but who knows?
I rarely play someone who is that meticulous about the way they dress.
Whose way that they dress is actively, every piece is a character choice.
So we had a really good time with it.
The ’60s are just fun.
[When he takes her shopping], he has all the bags.
He’s the one picking everything out.
It’s like, “I got this babe.”
What was your most challenging moment, whether it was a scene or figuring something out about the character?
But that was really hard.
First of all, to not have her as my onscreen anchor.
And how to other people she’s kind of washed up.
It does really drive home the point that fame can be very lonely.
It won’t go home with you at night.
I feel like she was someone who was so big, so young.
And didn’t really have a support system that anchored her to anything else.
You need something to anchor you is the thing I would take home from that.
Has this altered or changed your perspective of Judy at all?
If so, how?
