Susan Lucci is back.
But not as her iconic “All My Children” character Erika Cane. After not appearing on television in almost a decade, Lucci returns to acting in the upcoming dark comedy “Outcome,” starring Keanu Reeves as a Hollywood star who is being extorted with a video that could destory his career. He seeks out all those he may have wronged to try to find out who is bent on taking him down. Lucci plays his mom.
Footage of the film that debuted Tuesday during Apple TV’s press day in Santa Monica shows Lucci’s character cursing up a storm. Jonah Hill serves as director and co-writer of the movie, which begins streaming on April 10. He also stars, alongside Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer.
Hill approached Lucci, who lasted acted on TV in 2017 with a guest spot on the Billy Eichner series “Difficult People,” about joining the ensemble. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it,” Lucci told me at the American Heart Association-hosted book release party in New York City for her new memoir “La Lucci.” “I love Jonah Hill, but my main scene, it’s spectacular and challenging, but I was going to have to go to a place where I would have to be very raw again to do this.”
But then she read the script. “When I laid down at night, I couldn’t help myself,” Lucci said. “I started working on this character. I also knew that I would feel terrible if I saw another actress take on the challenge and it wasn’t me. I’d be really upset.”
She worked closely with Reeves. “He was fantastic. After a few shows of it, he said to me, ‘Wow, I wish we were doing this on stage on Broadway,’” Lucci said. “I said, ‘Me, too. I was just sitting here thinking the same thing.’”
Lucci said she lost her spark for acting after the death of her husband of 53 years, Helmut Huber, four years ago. “I really thought I would never step in front of the camera or on stage again,” she said.
“La Lucci” chronicles her experience with grief and other challenging moments. “Maybe you’ll gather something for yourself from the book, and maybe you won’t,” Lucci said. “There’s no teaching moments. There’s no bumper stickers in the book, but maybe you won’t feel so alone.”
Lucci famously was nominated for a Daytime Emmy 19 times before finally winning in 1999, so I had to ask if she has any advice for Diane Warren. The prolific songwriter received her 17th Oscar nomination this year. She has yet to take home an Academy Award. (Warren was awarded a non-competitive honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in 2022.) “Keep on doing what you love. Diane,” Lucci said. “We don’t do it for the awards, but winning is better.”
Lucci almost didn’t make it to the stage when she won. “I didn’t hear my name,” she said. “After the ninth time I didn’t win, I would go numb whenever they said the name. It must be a self-protective thing.”
