The Last Showgirl's Brenda Song & Kiernan Shipka Reflect On Their Character's Emotional Journeys

Pamela Anderson may be best known for Baywatch, but The Last Showgirlis quickly becoming the defining performance of her career. The film, directed by Gia Coppola and written Kate Gerstein, has been moving audiences since it first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival — and the powerful dynamics between Anderson's aging Vegas dancer Shelly and her workers are one of the biggest reasons why, touching on themes of motherhood, glamor, and ageism against women.

Kiernan Shipka plays Jodie in The Last Showgirl, a young and naive dancer who looks up to Shelly almost as a mother, even when the latter is too overwhelmed to reciprocate. Brenda Song, meanwhile, plays fellow dancer Mary-Anne, whose passion for Las Vegas dance revues died out even as Shelley's still burns bright. The Last Showgirl also stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd, and Dave Bautista.

ScreenRant interviewed Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song about thety stepped into the mindst of their characters in The Last Showgirl, some of Shipka's most emotional moments on set with Pamela Anderson, and why Song's character Mary-Anne already seems resigned to her fate.

Kiernan Shipka Recalls Connecting With Pamela Anderson On During The Last Showgirl’s Heartbreaking Scenes

“Shelly can't be absolutely everything to Jodie.”

Kiernan Shipka's Jodie and Brenda Song's Mary-Anne hugging a crying Shelly in The Last Showgirl

ScreenRant: Kiernan, I feel like Jodie sees Shelly almost like a mother. Can you talk about what made the dynamic stand out onscreen and even maybe off offscreen?

Kiernan Shipka: Yeah, that to me was one of the core pieces of the journey of the character was this found family. I mean, I think in a lot of ways this whole movie is kind of about found family. And I talked with Kate [Gersten], the writer and Gia [Coppola] about creating a backstory where Jodie doesn't really have much contact with her real family. They're not really approving of her choices in life, and she finds this really maternal figure in Shelly. It's a really beautiful relationship that the two of them have, and it turns into something heartbreaking when Shelly can't be absolutely everything to Jodie.
And we all have that moment where our parents aren't perfect and they become real people to us. I think Jodie's definitely had that moment with her actual parents, but to have it sort of again with this idealized maternal figure was a heartbreaking moment. Pam and I really connected on this movie. She's such a generous actor, and we got to do that scene where I show up at her door toward the end, so we had already really established a relationship, and it was really hard. It was really painful, because that is a hard, painful moment. I think a lot of Jodie's journey is about finding who she is outside of relying on other people, and trying to piece things together and the heartbreak that comes with that sometimes.

Brenda Song Explains Her Character’s Loss Of Passion In The Last Showgirl

“She really represented someone who just got stuck in this monotonous cycle.”

Brenda Song as Mary-Anne in The Last Showgirl

ScreenRant: Brenda, I feel like Mary-Anne seems to have it a little more together than some of her counterparts when it comes to the Razzle Dazzle shutting down. Can you talk about her relationship to it and how she feels about having to move on?

Brenda Song: I think the reason it feels like Mary-Anne has it more together is because something that started off as her passion has turned into just a job, so this show ending for her wasn't as heartbreaking. I think it was more of a wake up call to the fact that she's lost her passion for something that she used to love, and this has sort of opened up her eyes. And I think for her, it's actually a good thing, she's forced to sort of reevaluate her life and reevaluate her career and where she wants to go.
I feel like it's one of the things that really drew me to the script was just seeing all these women in this different phase in their showgirl career, in their artistic life and artistic career, and I felt like I could really resonate and connect with each person. But for me, Mary-Anne really called to me, because she really represented someone who just got stuck in this monotonous cycle and just is waking up and going, "Wait, it's been 10 years and I'm still doing the same thing. Do I even love what I'm doing?"
I feel like that for me really represented this time in my life where I feel like I was just stuck in this cycle and I hadn't taken the time to take any perspective on what do I want. I think that's what Mary-Anne is going through in this story, and I think she holds onto a lot of anger. She's had to spend so much time just trying to survive this very harsh life. The life of an artist is not easy, and the life of a dancer is not easy. And so I think for her, she's just been focusing on surviving that, for the first time at a very long time, she's had to reevaluate the creative aspect of her career.

More About The Last Showgirl (Originally Released In 2024)

The Last Showgirl, a poignant film of resilience, rhinestones and feathers, stars Pamela Anderson as Shelly, a glamorous showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. Directed by Gia Coppola, The Last Showgirl co-stars Oscar, SAG Award, and Golden Globe winner Jamie Lee Curtis as Shelly’s best friend, who brings her own unique interpretation and brilliance to the story, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, and Billie Lourd.

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