Maggie Gyllenhaal (Extended)

Summary

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The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert — Maggie Gyllenhaal (Extended)

Date: March 21, 2026
Guest: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Main Theme:
A revealing, witty conversation with Maggie Gyllenhaal about her new film The Bride, her take on the Frankenstein myth, directing her brother Jake Gyllenhaal, creative processes, and embracing the “monstrous” within.

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Episode Overview

Stephen Colbert welcomes Maggie Gyllenhaal back to talk about her latest film, The Bride, a bold reimagining of “The Bride of Frankenstein.” The discussion centers on the film’s themes of consent, individuality, and love – especially the parts of us that don’t fit into societal boxes. The episode features warm anecdotes about Maggie’s family, her directing approach, and engaging reflections on creativity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reimagining "Bride of Frankenstein"

Discussion:

• The new film centers on the Bride, who, in the original, has no agency and doesn't speak. Gyllenhaal's film asks: "What is going on with her? What's on her mind? How does she feel about this?" (02:29)
• The movie becomes a story of “reinvigoration” – about a woman revived against her will and what it means for her identity and autonomy.

Notable Quote:

• “Well, the film is about the reinvigoration of a woman who was dead to be the wife of Frankenstein, but without her consent...So really, the movie is about. Well, what about her?”
  — Maggie Gyllenhaal (01:39)

2. Themes of Voice and Agency

• The original Bride of Frankenstein offered little to the Bride herself: “She literally is in it for two minutes and says no words.” (02:11)
• In Gyllenhaal’s take, the Bride “has a lot to say,” offering modern perspectives on consent, autonomy, and what it means to be given life without choice.

3. Working with Family on Set

• Discusses directing her brother, Jake, who appears in the film.
• Maggie laughs about their childhood dynamic: “Please tell me you were mean to him at some point.”
  — Stephen Colbert (03:22)
• Shares a touching theatrical ritual: Jake once wrote a message on Maggie’s mirror before her play; since then, they’ve continued the tradition for each other's performances. (04:14)

4. On Love and the "Monstrous" Self

• The film is described as an “epic love story,” but with a twist: “I believe that every single one of us has an aspect inside of us that’s truly monstrous... And this movie is about...cracking that box that we’re supposed to be fitting into.” — Maggie Gyllenhaal (06:11)
• Explores how love means accepting the parts of ourselves and others that don't "fit in the box."
• Maggie attributes her understanding of breaking social molds to her daughters: "They just wouldn’t do it." (06:53)

Notable Quote:

• “To love someone, you have to let the monstrous part of them be alive. And part of that relationship, you have to let the part that will not fit in the box be a part of the interaction.”
  — Maggie Gyllenhaal (07:06)

5. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Directing Style

• Describes her approach as “trippy” – often giving unusual, poetic notes to actors:
• “Sometimes with Jesse [Buckley], I would just yell things out at her if I come up with some trippy popcorn. Like, no. Like, I would just yell to her in the middle of a scene. Go back to the beginning and, you know, like, your legs are linguine.” (08:10–08:23)
• Adjusts her style to each actor (e.g., whispering “trippy” notes to Christian Bale, until he requests to be “yelled at” too).

Notable Quote:

• “Getting yelled at by Maggie Gyllenhaal is love language.” — Stephen Colbert (08:53)

6. Embracing Monstrosity as Humanity

• Explores whether The Bride's characters love each other “in spite of their monstrosities or because of them.”
• Maggie responds: “I think both...You can spend your entire life running from the things that are dark and terrifying inside you, or you can turn around and shake hands with them. And I think that’s where it really gets interesting.” (09:22–09:47)

7. Film Clip and Final Reflections

• Plays a scene in which the monsters agree to join forces despite their flaws, further underscoring the theme of mutual acceptance. (10:02–11:08)

Notable Moment:

• “That’s a beautiful moment.” — Maggie Gyllenhaal, after the clip (11:08)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “In the original Bride of Frankenstein, she doesn’t talk. She’s in it for two minutes. And I thought, this is going to be very different.” — Maggie Gyllenhaal (02:11)
• “Getting yelled at by Maggie Gyllenhaal is love language.” — Stephen Colbert (08:53)
• “You can spend your entire life running from the things that are dark and terrifying inside you, or you can turn around and shake hands with them.” — Maggie Gyllenhaal (09:40)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:34 – Stephen Colbert welcomes Maggie Gyllenhaal
• 01:39 – The premise of The Bride
• 02:11 – The original Bride of Frankenstein’s lack of voice
• 03:47 – Family rituals with Jake Gyllenhaal
• 05:12 – Love in the context of the new film
• 06:00–07:20 – Embracing the “monstrous” as love and identity
• 07:42–08:50 – Gyllenhaal’s 'trippy' directing style and actor anecdotes
• 09:22–09:47 – Embracing monstrosity
• 10:02–11:08 – Clip from the film and setup

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Conclusion

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s conversation with Stephen Colbert is rich with warmth, humor, and depth. Their discussion offers both behind-the-scenes insight and philosophical rumination on identity, art, and love. The episode is a must-listen for fans of Gyllenhaal, Frankenstein adaptations, and thoughtful cinema.

The Bride is in theaters this Friday.

Transcript

[Angie Hicks]

Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of angie, and one thing I've learned is that you buy a house, but you make it a home. Because with every fix, update, and renovation, it becomes a little more your own. So you need all your jobs done well. For nearly 30 years, Angie has helped millions of homeowners hire skilled pros for the projects that matter, from plumbing to electrical roof repair to deck upgrades. So leave it to the pros who will get your jobs done well. Angie, the one you trust to find the ones you trust, find a pro for your project. @angie.com it's the late Show Poncho with

[Stephen Colbert]

Stephen Colbert,

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

ladies and gentlemen. My next guest is a gifted director, a brilliant actor, and a wonderful writer. You know, from the Lost Daughter, the Dark Knight, and Crazy Heart. Please welcome back to the Late Show. Maggie Gyllenhaal, everybody. Nice to see you again.

[Stephen Colbert]

So nice to see you.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

I like all the black with sort of the black roses, a little gothic.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thank you.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

In honor of our subject, dead people. Dead people. Dead people who are living a full life.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Okay.

[Stephen Colbert]

Reinvigoration.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Yes, yes. One word for Frankenstein. Now, because I'm fancy, I got to see this film early. I saw it with my whole family. We had a great time. And not just seeing the film, but afterwards, we had a fantastic and lengthy conversation about what it was about and what was happening and what the themes were. Without getting into too deep right here, could you tell the people just basically what the film's about?

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, the film is about the reinvigoration of a woman who was dead to be the wife of Frankenstein, but without her consent, obviously, she has no say in it. She gets dug up from a grave.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

As you do.

[Stephen Colbert]

As you do if you're Frankenstein. And so really, the movie is about. Well, what about her?

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Like, in the original Bride of Frankenstein, she doesn't talk.

[Stephen Colbert]

She's in it for two minutes. In fact, just now, backstage, one of your crew was telling me how much he loves the Bride of Frankenstein. And I thought, this is going to be very different. In the original Bride of Frankenstein, she literally is in it for two minutes and says no words.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Yes. And we had Jessie here, and I asked her about that, and she goes, oh, no, she's got a lot to say.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, it's true. She's got a lot to say. It made me very curious. This character who goes through this, what? You know, when I saw that original movie, like, well, what is going on with her? What's on her mind? How does she feel about this? Which is where all this started.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Well, speaking of family, the Gyllenhaals. This is Gyllenhaal Week on the Late Show. Your brother is here tomorrow. He's in the new film. Here you are together. This is the most adorable photo. Look at you directing him there in that. That's super cute. Is it surreal to grow up as someone who wants to like, to be a performer and to be in show business, and then you find yourself directing a film, and you look over and there's your punky little brother.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's great.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

I mean, it's.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Does he take direction from you?

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, he always has.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Really? Is he the younger? Is he the younger, too? He's the younger, yeah. Yeah. Please tell me you were mean to him at some point.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, I think I was, but I'm not mean to him anymore.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Oh, that's nice.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I love him, and I love him in the movie. And in fact, I don't know if I should do this or not. I told them I might. I have a note for him because he's going to be here tomorrow, and I thought maybe I would just stick. Stick it in the soap.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Do, do. And I'll tell him, here it is. Just so you got a ball. I'll tell him. The next question is for. Is it a question or is it just a note?

[Stephen Colbert]

No, it's a note. And what it is, is, we'll cut

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

this out so he doesn't know.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. Okay, good. I'll just tell you guys. All of you guys, don't tell anybody. Well, when he came to see me in a play and he took my lipstick and he wrote something on the mirror.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Oh.

[Stephen Colbert]

And it was fantastic. And I kept it up the entire run of the play. And then every time I've gone to see him in a play, I've taken my lipstick from my purse and written the same thing on his mirror. So it's in there.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

That's fantastic. It's not Raised by the Roof Kings, is it?

[Stephen Colbert]

No, no, but I love that.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Okay. He said that he became interested in acting watching you in a high school or a junior high production of South Pacific.

[Stephen Colbert]

I had no lines in that production.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

No lines at all?

[Stephen Colbert]

No.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Oh, wow.

[Stephen Colbert]

Maybe one line.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah. I was like the seventh grader in the high school play.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Oh, that's nice. Well, he said I worshiped her. And she was like, go away.

[Stephen Colbert]

But now I'm like, come be in my movie.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Exactly. You often talk about love when you talk about directing. And what role does love play in this work? And in Your work in general.

[Stephen Colbert]

This movie is an epic love story. This movie. I mean, look, I guess without giving anything away here.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Of course I won't give anything away, but I think you can kind of see from the trailers that it's Frankenstein and his bride, Frank and his bride through, like, Bonnie and Clyde. It's modern and it's funny and it's tragic at the same time.

[Stephen Colbert]

But, like, look, you can. You can love in a fantasy way. And I guess I feel like there's a lot of movies that have offered, like, that fantasy version of love. And my whole life, I would look at that and go, whoa, I don't know how I fit into that, or should I fit into that? I don't. And this movie is about, I think, all. I mean, I guess I believe that, like, every single one of us has an aspect inside of us that's truly monstrous. Just even a little thread. Well, I don't know. I do.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

No, no, no, no, no, no. I think you're right. I just don't. I'm hoping you're not gonna ask what mine is.

[Stephen Colbert]

We can get into that after that.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

We'll get into that later. Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

But I feel like this movie is asking you to take a look at it and telling you it's okay. Like, people have called the movie punk, and I think punk is just a. A celebration of the parts of us that don't fit in the box. And just speaking of family, I do want to say my daughter and my mom are here. I think they're somewhere over there. I do want to say that this feeling of cracking that box that we're supposed to be fitting into, I learned about that from my daughters, neither of whom would get in their boxes. They just wouldn't do it. And so this, yes, it's about love, but it's about the real. I think that really, to love someone, you have to let the monstrous part of them be alive. And part of that relationship, you have to let the part that will not fit in the box be a part of the interaction.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Well, speaking of daughters, Jessie Buckley, of course, was in the Lost Daughter, your brilliant film, and she's in this Is the Bride, and she. You described the notes you gave her once, I guess was for the Lost Daughter, as, quote, trippy. Did that continue with this one? Did you continue with the trippy?

[Stephen Colbert]

Here's the thing. I spoke to Jesse how I speak to myself, and I speak to myself. I use the trippy.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And it worked with her. If I would go to Olivia Colman then and Try and do that. She'd be like, maggie, I don't know what you're talking about. Like, you gotta do.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

What's a trippy note?

[Stephen Colbert]

It's like, I know you're gonna ask me this.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

In this scene, you're a warm wind with a hint of jasmine. Like, what's next?

[Stephen Colbert]

You should go into directing.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

All right. I do need a gig. I'll try it. Ok, well, what's trippy?

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. Okay. Sometimes with Jesse, I would just yell things out at her if I come up with some trippy popcorn. Like, no. Like, I would just yell to her in the middle of a scene. Go back to the beginning and, you

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

know, like, your legs are linguine.

[UPS Store Announcer]

Exactly.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. And it would happen.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

I'm just guessing here.

[Stephen Colbert]

I would never, ever do it to Christian Bale. Cause I was like. I just wasn't. I wouldn't ever scream, you know, yell things at him. I would just whisper my trippy to Christian. And then one day, like, about halfway through the movie, he was like, maggie, will you yell at me, too?

[Angie Hicks]

Sure.

[Stephen Colbert]

I was like, oh, yeah. Welcome to the movie party, man. Absolutely.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Sure. Sure. Getting yelled at by Maggie Gyllenhaal is love language. Yes. Jesse said, in this movie, you are, you know, as you said before, demanding us to meet our monsters. And you say that people should embrace their monstrosities. Do these characters. Do they love each other in spite of their monstrosities or because of their monstrosities?

[Stephen Colbert]

Hmm. I think both. I mean, what I mean by embrace your monstrosity is like, it's in all of us. Like, let's just be honest. You can spend your entire life running from the things that are dark and terrifying inside you, or you can turn around and shake hands with them. And I think that's where it really gets interesting.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Well, speaking of shaking hands with a monstrosity, we have a clip here.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

That ends with a handheld.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's true.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

And I'm curious if you could set this up for the people.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, you were mentioning that the movie, in a way, turns into a kind of a Bonnie and Clyde narrative. It's just that the monsters get into some serious trouble, and this is the moment where they decide to join together, despite having seen each other do some horrible things and go on the run.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Come on.

[Movie Character (Bride of Frankenstein)]

You do not want to get caught up with me. People love a monster. There is gonna be a mob. Really? I've been through this before. It is terrible. Go. Go. Get out of here.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Go home.

[Stephen Colbert]

I don't know where I live.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

That's a beautiful moment.

[Angie Hicks]

Thank you.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Thank you so much for being here.

[Angie Hicks]

Yeah.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Thank you. The Bride is in theaters this Friday. Maggie Gyllenhaal, everybody. Thank you for listening to the Late Show POD show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives.

[UPS Store Announcer]

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[Stephen Colbert]

How quick?

[UPS Store Announcer]

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[Stephen Colbert]

I'm back. I'm really back. School Spirits returns.

[Maggie Gyllenhaal]

Why am I here?

[Stephen Colbert]

Not dead, right? This place is an absolute death trap. We need to get out of here now. School Spirits new season now streaming only on Paramount plus.