For many, Ariana DeBose became a household name after her breakout role in the 2021 remake of West Side Story. She played Anita, the friend and confidante of lead Maria. On Broadway, this character was famously played by Chita Rivera and then in the original 1961 film by Rita Moreno. This performance led to Moreno winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1962. Sixty years later DeBose won her very own Oscar for the same role and category. This made her a household name outside of the years she’d spent on Broadway. But it also defined her as an actress.
Ever since West Side Story, DeBose has taken her hand at new projects that show she’s more than someone who can sing and dance. And while a lot of people are excited for her role as Calypso in the Sony/Marvel movie Kraven the Hunter, it’s in the Prime Video movie House of Spoils that DeBose feels like she’s trying something new that really steps away from the pivotal moment she had with West Side Story.
When asked directly about why she choose a horror thriller about “an ambitious young chef who opens a destination restaurant in rural New York only to be sabotaged at every turn by a threatening presence,” the answer came easy for DeBose. She said, “For me, the most simple and obvious is that [this character] does not sing or dance.”
For her, West Side Story was “a beautiful moment in the sun.” And Anita “was such a sympathetic character.” Her character in House of Spoils is the complete opposite. “Chef to me, was the complete opposite [of Anita]. In a way. I loved [Chef], but I did not always like her.”
Another thing that DeBose loved about this character is that she has no name. She just goes by Chef. “She’s defined as ‘chef’ and to me that said she’s defined by her work. And I thought that was very relatable, specifically for women in the workforce,” said DeBose before adding, “I was fascinated with the gender politics of having to take on some of this masculinity that is toxic at times, and then how that transfers when you try to become a leader and do something on your own. And sometimes that toxicity seeps in and you don’t always have a great outcome with that.”
That toxicity and poison that seeps into House of Spoils is also represented in the malign spirit Chef is convinced is occupying the house. While in a frenzy of creativity that leads to a tasting menu “inspired by the funk of rotting vegetables and moldy fruit, a meal that both repulses and delights” she has visions of woman Chef believes lives in the house. And when it came to witchy things, we couldn’t help ourselves in asking if DeBose had watched fellow musical theater icon Patti LuPone in the Marvel series Agatha All Along.
The way that Ariana DeBose lit up like the sun when we brought up Patti LuPone will be something we always remember as an interviewer. DeBose answered our question with: “Yes, I have! And my queen is nailing it! I love me some Miss Patti.” This question about LuPone brought her back to the conversation on hand about doing something other than singing and dancing and how “artists from the stage are getting opportunities.”
DeBose shared with us, “Patty specifically, I think she’s so suited to that world of Agatha All Along. It’s inherently very theatrical, but it’s still rooted in something which is kind of like the work that I like to do. I like playing in sandboxes that can be heightened. And I think House of Spoils and this particular kitchen is incredibly heightened and you can explore broader, bigger, louder colors.”
She did want to clarify that she’s not comparing herself to the Patti LuPone, but she’s happy that creatives from musical theater like herself and LuPone are stepping outside of their comfort zone and trying something new. DeBose said, “I won’t compare myself to the great Patty LuPone. But it is fun to know that I’m working at the same time as she is and that we’re both broad about it. I think we both like to take big swings and that’s great.”
Ariana DeBose closed out the interview with us with the biggest smile and assurances that, “Oh baby, I’m telling you. I’m going to text her now and be like, “I just talked about you!”
House of Spoils is now available on Prime Video.
