With Lionsgate and Gravitas Ventures' Seriously Red now playing in select theaters and available On Demand and on premium video platforms, Rose Byrne spoke with Collider’s own Steve Weintraub about this very special project she calls an "emotional feast." Best known for her roles in the Insidious franchise, comedies like Bridesmaids and Get Him to the Greek, and the series Damages with Glenn Close, Byrne’s part in Seriously Red is far from anything fans have seen the actress do before, nearly unrecognizable as an Elvis Presley impersonator.

Written by her dear friend and actress, Krew Boylan, Seriously Red is about one woman’s introspective journey to finding herself through the world of tribute performers. Red, played by Boylan, has a passion for Dolly Parton, and a colorful personality that makes it difficult for her to hold down any sort of steady job. When she’s fired for misbehavior at an office party, Red takes to the stage as Dolly once more, where she’s discovered by an impersonator who encourages her to pursue a life off the beaten path. It's in the spotlight, underneath the sequins, lipstick, and hair, Red may discover more about herself than she intended.

During their interview, Byrne shares why Seriously Red is so special to her, how the idea for the original script came to Boylan, and the experience pitching it to Dolly Parton’s team. She describes the journey to getting Parton’s blessing for the film and music, the talented team it took for Byrne’s Elvis Presley transformation, and working with professional tribute performers. Byrne also talks about her transition to comedy with Get Him to the Greek, and teases Patrick Wilson’s directorial debut and next installment for the Insidious franchise. For all of this and more, you can read the full transcript below.

COLLIDER: You've done so many diverse things on your resume. If someone has actually never seen anything you've done before, what is the first thing you'd like them watching, and why?

ROSE BYRNE: Oh God. What would be a fun one? Well, it would depend on what their taste is. I'd try to curate to their taste. So if they're more into something scary, then I would say the first Insidious is really scary. If it's something funny, I think [there are] lots to choose from. If they want a thriller, Damages is really exciting and dramatic, and thrilling. I would want to curate to what they like.

I completely understand. I'm a big fan of Get Him to the Greek, and I know that was an important role for you because it showed that you could do comedy. You're great is Jackie Q in that. Can you talk about what that film did in terms of opening up some doors?

BYRNE: It really did. I had been doing this long-running series, Damages, which was very serious, very dramatic, opposite Glenn Close, and I had been slowly starting to audition and read for comedic stuff. I think it was a leap for people. It's hard for casting directors and creatives, often, to see you in different lights, I think. It can be challenging, but (producer) Judd [Apatow] and (director) Nick [Stoller] were always really receptive.

I had nearly gone in for Knocked Up I think, but they cast it right before I was able to get in. I had ran for a Ben Stiller movie, so I was really starting to finally branch out a little bit, and this was such an opportunity, again. It was really Nick and Judd. I was so grateful they even got me in to audition. They're really open-minded like that. They're always willing to see anyone do anything. I feel like they've always had that playbook about actors, which is really wonderful. I'm always excited when I see someone do something different, whether it's a comedic actor doing something dramatic or vice versa, it's always a thrill to witness that as an audience member.

Jumping into why I get to talk to you today, you were very instrumental in making [Seriously Red] happen. Can you talk about why this was an important project for you to champion?

BYRNE: Yes. My best friend, Krew Boylan, she and I have been friends since high school. We started this little company, Dollhouse Pictures, with three other girls out of Australia. Really, it was born from the script. She'd written this screenplay, which I just fell in love with, and she'd been struggling for so long, and out of this struggle of being in the creative industry and not working enough was born this script of wanting to be taken seriously. The idea of identity, this subculture of tribute performers, and how far do you go to be taken seriously? What do you sacrifice? What's the cost? It's also very much a joyful celebration of Dolly Parton and her legacy and her music, and her iconography, and all of those iconic American pop figures and cultural figures, and internationally too.

So I really just felt it and saw it, and I was like, "We have to get this made. This is such a visual feast. It's such an emotional feast, and it's such a role for her. For Krew, it's such a tour de force performance." And so that's sort of the short version of how it came to be.

I read that you actually went to Nashville to pitch Dolly's team, and obviously, Dolly says "no" to this. "This movie is never happening." You've done a lot of cool things in your career, but was this the most nervous you were in terms of getting ready to pitch to make this happen?

BYRNE: I was terrified. I went and met Danny Nozell, I was six months pregnant, and I drove down from Atlanta where I was shooting Neighbors 2 with our friend Nick Stoller. I drove to Chattanooga listening to Christian radio because it was all I could get on the radio stations. It was sort of the unknown, it was such a different league for me, the music business. I don't know how it works, or how to even begin to penetrate that business. So it was a little bit even more unknown than just a regular pitch where you're going into an office of whomever, an executive or something.

We knew without Dolly there was just no way we could do it. We had to try to get this script in [to] her, and to get her blessing, and to see if she could help us get the music. If we didn't have the music, it would've been very different. I don't know what the movie would've become, but it certainly wouldn't have been a Dolly Parton impersonator. It would've become something much different. But thankfully, Danny Nozell, her longtime manager and champion of the movie, he got it into her hands and she was very prompt. Within a few weeks she said, “Yeah, I really love it. I'm inspired by it. You have my blessing." It was incredible. Then it took another five years to get the movie made. Independent filmmaking at its best.

Honestly, you disappear in the movie as Elvis. I don't know if people will realize it's you. Can you talk about creating the look of what you were going for, your version of Elvis?

BYRNE: We had an incredible hair and makeup and design team, and costume team. They had done [The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert] many years ago, and I had also worked with them on Two Hands, another very popular Aussie movie. So Cassie was amazing. She, Cassie Hanlon, and Tim Chappel was the costume designer, and we just started talking early about which Elvis we were going to replicate. It was more of an early-looking Elvis, and really working on contour, shadow, skin, really focusing on that. Trying to get the wig right, the sideburns, the eyebrows, how much, how too little. Then, for me, figuring out the mouth, the vocal work, and the way his face is a little different around the cheek than mine. Sort of similar up the top, but down the bottom is a little bit different. So figuring out how to make that match him a little bit more.

And look, I had a lot of legroom because I'm a tribute performer. I'm not Austin Butler trying to play Elvis Presley, but we had so much fun. I watched endless footage. I mean, there's so much great footage of Elvis and just endless footage. My husband, Bobby [Cannavale], he's a big Elvis fan and fascinated with his legacy and his origin story, so he had been reading The Last Train to Memphis, that seminal biography, quite recently. He had been reading that out loud to me, so that was also helpful. I had a choreographer and did some dancing lessons for the musical number.

They also left it in a way that would be more of a reveal. We definitely didn't want to play the hand of this cameo performance being too much of a stunt that it takes away from the impact of the role, because the role's a little haunting and a bit creepy, and a bit sinister in a way. They really propel Red, Krew's character, off on her journey. I'm very flattered. I hope people don't know it's me. I'll take that as a compliment.

I'm assuring you that you disappear in it. Did you ever leave set as Elvis just to be anonymous?

BYRNE: Yeah, I really can't remember. Well, we were shooting in very rural parts of Australia up in the Northern Rivers region, which is pretty rural. So [there are] not that many people to try to avoid. [There are] not that many people around. I don't think I did. I don't think we were allowed off-set that far. I think we were also trying to keep it under wraps, so we didn't want to, by chance, ruin that by someone taking a photograph or something.

No, that's very valid. Listen, I know how independent filmmaking works and the budgets, and I really couldn't believe what you pulled off with the Copy Club because there are some really good lookalikes. Can you talk about being in those scenes with those people that are really good at what they're doing?

BYRNE: They are. They do not break character. The gentleman who plays Princess Diana did not break character, did not break character at all. The guy who does Elton John is a legitimate tribute performer. He performs worldwide. I think he was a body double for him. These are serious tribute performers, and they all were so generous with their time. They loved the film, they loved the script, and they were willing to travel up and be part of this thing. Because it really is truly this subculture that is not often shone a spotlight on. So I think they really enjoyed it. We had some pretty iconic tribute performers. The guy who does Kylie Minogue is very well known in Australia, incredible, sells out. The wonderful guy who does Taylor Swift. We were very lucky. Without that richness and texture of them, and that authenticity, we wouldn't have been able to convince people of that world.

One of the things that I enjoy about the film is that it's about finding yourself in a world of being somebody else.

BYRNE: Yeah, I know. That was really what she wanted to tap into, I think. For that idea of the desperation to be taken seriously, desperation to be doing what you want to do and to break out. And then, within that, realizing it's not going to fulfill you in the way that you wish, and what is going to fulfill you? To add the humorous layer that you are playing a tribute performer is even more kind of surreal. I mean, Krew did really intensive research. She went out to Las Vegas and spent time there, and spoke to tribute performers there and that kind of life, and it's fascinating stuff.

When you signed on to Insidious all those years ago, you obviously had no idea what this was going to become. Are you shocked at the popularity of this franchise?

BYRNE: I get little tidbits now and again about how it's, particularly the first one, how it's become more of a cult hit than I knew. That's really delightful. Oh my God, we did that film in 22 days for $8.50 [laughs]. Obviously, it was with (writer) Leigh [Whannell] and (director) James [Wan] who had a great horror pedigree, but they'd had a pretty bad experience within the studio system in the last couple of movies. So they just went completely independent, raw filmmaking, back to their roots of independent filmmaking with Blumhouse. So when I hear the trickle-down effect and how it has affected people in different ways now, it's delightful.

No, totally. I'm a big fan of Patrick Wilson and his first feature is going to be the next Insidious.

BYRNE: Yes.

So what can you say about it, and what was it like working with Patrick as a director?

BYRNE: Oh, it was cute. Oh, cute’s not the word, but Patrick is... We have a very natural ease. He's very down to earth. He's got kids and a family, and he's such a pro. He has been doing it for so long, and [he] and James, he's James' muse in many ways. He's been in every one of his projects. I thought it felt like a natural progression that he would want to continue the story. He really worked so hard on the script for a long time. We had the pandemic, obviously, but we started talking about it, I think it was in 2019, I honestly do, before we actually shot it. So he was already really working hard on it then.

He really wanted to make it about the origin story, about the original cast, about those characters, and the effect on the family. Then also to delve into the classic horror stuff, and all the tropes, and all of the things the fans love, to give the fans what they want, too. So it was really cool to reunite with Ty [Simpkins], and that was wild revisiting that. I got a thrill out of that. It was a lot of fun.

Do you think this is the last Insidious, or do you think there's more in the story to tell?

BYRNE: Ooh, I think it is probably a question for Patrick because he's more attuned to what... Look, I would say there's always room for anything, really. It's Hollywood, right? But I think it would be a question if Ty wanted to delve into it again, and Patrick and myself did too. But this was really interesting, and I'm curious to see how it's come out and to see how the fans will enjoy it.

But like I say, it had this built-in audience for now over a decade. I mean, God no, how long ago was that movie? Yeah, like 10 or 12 years ago. So, that's interesting to then revisit this origin story, like we were saying, and really give the fans what they want. I know Leigh’s been helping Patrick a lot, too, with stuff on the movie, so I'm excited to see what they come up with. And when you have such a fan base, it's awesome to revisit all of those characters again.

Seriously Red is now in select theaters, on premium video, on demand & digital. For more on the film watch the trailer below.