Lucas: In my mind, you have this very well-deserved kind of punk rock image, and yet in reality, you describe yourself as goofy, silly, warm. But you’ve maintained a kind of, how do I put this, ability to hold back? It’s not an aloofness or a coolness, but it’s in your relationship to the world, and particularly in fashion.
What I have watched over the years is that the idea of being a “bad boy” in any way is just not acceptable anymore. I think back to the moment where I was in a relationship with a very famous woman, and I flipped off a camera crew, and my lawyers called me and said, “You can’t fucking do this, man.” I was like, “What do you mean?” And they were like, “This is not acceptable in this day. The system is changing.” I do think that’s true. Edgy behavior that used to be part of the essence of being, I don’t know, an actor, an artist, for some people at least—it’s been roundly rejected. And in some ways, I will say, I miss that.
Sevigny: I totally miss that. Think about Angelina Jolie and how she behaved on the red carpet. It was so dynamic, and now I think people would be so frightened to behave like that.
Lucas: Absolutely.
Sevigny: You can bring it back, Josh.
Lucas: I had worked with Sean [Penn] beforehand, and they literally said to me, “You can’t be Sean Penn.” I was like, “Why? He’s great.” But Sean Penn’s probably not allowed to be Sean Penn these days.
On Palm Royale and Typecasting
Sevigny: Did you go to acting school?
Lucas: I didn’t. I so wanted to go to Juilliard. I didn’t have any money, and so the idea of going to a school where they don’t allow you to work was not a reality for me. I was born in Arkansas, but I moved from Washington State, where I went to high school, a little fishing village, and I came to New York wanting to be a theater actor and really prove myself. And what I did find very quickly was that all of those Juilliard teachers, they teach privately, and they have acting classes and movement classes and voice classes. So that is what I did for years. It was that incredible period in New York City where you’re pounding the pavement. You’re literally going to every single voice-over, commercial audition. You are desperately trying to make a living. And I’ve worked all sorts of weird jobs, but I also made that choice every night between, Do I get a beer tonight, or do I get rice and beans?
I got J. Smith-Cameron‘s apartment from her on West 4th and 6th, above the basketball place that’s there. She left, I took it over, and it was crazy expensive for me at the time, which was $1,100 for 300 square feet. I lived in that apartment for almost 15 years. Even when I started to become successful, that was still my home base.