Don't Ask Monica Barbaro To Sing IRL (Unless She's Had A Drink)

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The Complete Unknown star may light up the stage in her new film, but that doesn't mean she's the first in line for karaoke.  Report by Nelsonj. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

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00:00We really didn't talk much.

00:02It was pretty wild.

00:03Yeah, yeah, yeah. They couldn't be more opposite.

00:06I'm sure there's a video out there somewhere

00:07of me very drunk singing karaoke,

00:09but I would have to be.

00:10Monica, you've done such a great job in this film.

00:14Considering you didn't sing or play the guitar before this,

00:18is this one of the most daunting things you've taken on?

00:21Yeah.

00:23Truly, I think it's...

00:24Sorry, I've been eating french fries crisps,

00:26as you guys call them.

00:28I mean, chips. Chips. Damn it.

00:29We just talked about this.

00:31Chips. Sorry.

00:32Chips. I won't deny you a chip.

00:35If you want to eat during the interview,

00:36I have no problem with that. It's fine.

00:39Yeah, yeah. No, I didn't play guitar.

00:41I didn't sing.

00:43And so this was absolutely terrifying to me.

00:45Singing's a very vulnerable thing to do.

00:50And I think it was probably the most terrified I've ever been.

00:54Oh. You wouldn't have known.

00:56Yeah. Great. Good. Perfect.

00:58Well done. You did your job well.

00:59Thank you. Thank you.

01:01But also, acting with Timothy,

01:03who is just this force of nature anyway in movies,

01:07did the chemistry between you kind of come easy,

01:11come quickly? Like, how was that?

01:14Yeah, it felt very natural.

01:15I mean, we really didn't talk much about our characters.

01:20We didn't really plan much in terms of the scenes.

01:25He showed up as this brilliant, fully-formed version of Bob,

01:31and I showed up as Joan.

01:32And we just sort of trusted the words on the page

01:35and James Mangold's vision.

01:37And, I mean, he's easy to trust.

01:41And, yeah, we just sort of, like, let it happen.

01:45And I think it was just a very natural experience.

01:48Yeah. Was it enjoyable, those moments

01:51where you and Timothy are singing on stage together?

01:54Or is there also that fear at the time?

01:57Like, do you get a chance to actually enjoy those moments?

02:00Honestly, it was more enjoyable to sing with Timmy for me

02:04because singing alone felt like so much pressure.

02:08And Joan's voice is known for being iconic and beautiful.

02:11And so to have the support of his voice

02:15and also to have more of a scene to play out.

02:19I mean, some of the songs, especially solo songs,

02:22it feels like a monologue

02:23because you're really telling a story

02:24and the best musicians are telling stories.

02:27But with him, you know, I have a scene partner now

02:31and a brilliant one.

02:33And so that was a lot of fun.

02:36And the voices were supported by each other

02:38and our guitar accompaniment harmonized.

02:41And, yeah, those were the best.

02:44Yeah.

02:45You were filming FUBAR at the same time as well, right?

02:48Yeah. Towards the end of, yeah.

02:50I was going to say, how easy is it to, like,

02:52switch between the two?

02:53Because they're very different.

02:55It was pretty wild.

02:57Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:58They couldn't be more opposite in terms of character.

03:02And actually, there was a scene where Timmy and I

03:05sing It Ain't Me, Babe.

03:06And that, we only had so many takes of that

03:10because I literally had to run off the stage into a car,

03:14like, pulling off the beads and, like,

03:16and then onto a plane to go film that same day

03:21or, like, overnight, something like that.

03:23It was really wild.

03:25And I'm very lucky.

03:26FUBAR, I mean, yeah, schedule-wise,

03:29they were very nice to share me because they could have just

03:34told me I couldn't keep the job.

03:35And so I feel very grateful to them for that.

03:37Yeah, but they need you.

03:38Like, you're great in that as well.

03:40Thank you. Yeah, yeah.

03:41They were like, we're going to make

03:42you play guitar on our show because you learned, so.

03:46And it should.

03:47You should definitely put those skills.

03:48Are you, like, the first person up at karaoke now?

03:51Like, now that you've, like, learned to sing,

03:52you can do all that kind of stuff?

03:54I'm just not a, I mean, I used to be a dancer.

03:57And, like, it took me a long time

03:58to be comfortable enough to dance at parties.

04:01I don't know.

04:01I'm just not, I can be shy in certain ways.

04:05And I just don't feel like I'm a performative person.

04:08And so I've always shied away.

04:11Unless I've, like, I mean, I'm sure I've been,

04:13I'm sure there's a video out there somewhere of me very

04:15drunk singing karaoke, but I would have to be in order

04:17to, like, feel not, like, completely shy

04:20and terrified of it.

04:23But, yeah, I mean, I keep playing

04:24and I keep singing to myself.

04:26And, like, in my own kind of way,

04:28I'm definitely going to maintain

04:29my relationship with music, so.

04:31Absolutely.

04:32Well, you didn't have to get drunk to sing in this one.

04:33I don't think.

04:34No, I swear I was not drunk in the making of this movie.

04:38Because you did it very well.

04:41I hope that people, like, really enjoy your performance

04:44because it's wonderful.

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