Lola Kirke says we need to ‘wake the f— up’

Lola Kirke offers me some of the bread she’s eating. She holds up a croissant and we tear it apart like a wishbone. She’s been given too much, enough for two, yet you get the sense she’d break bread anyway. But the actress also has something else on her mind: The third season of “Mozart in the Jungle” — the award-gobbling dramedy about a sometimes struggling New York symphony — drops on Amazon on Dec. 9.

Once again, Kirke plays Hailey, the aspiring oboist and occasional assistant to flighty conductor Rodrigo (Gael Garcia Bernal). Since last we saw them, the band, as it were, has temporarily broken up. Hailey and Rodrigo have both gone abroad, and before they return to the States, they wind up in Venice, working with a temperamental opera singer (Monica Bellucci).

But of course, Kirke — 26, also of “Mistress America” and the Tom Cruise thriller “American Made,” due next year — doesn’t mind talking Trump first. But we decide to be positive, not negative.

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I think we’re at this point where we can still make a difference. What about you?
Like many privileged white people, I was living under the assumption that Hillary would win and the world would be restored to normalcy. A lot of people, mostly people of color, I’ve spoken to have said, “Hello! Wake the f— up! That was never a reality. The things you are fearing now are the things we have always been fearing.” I was doing some minimal work on the Hillary campaign towards the end. Since then, it’s been really important to focus on what I can actually do, instead of getting overwhelmed by the big whole. Democracy isn’t that sexy. It’s just calling your representatives over and over again, or taking Paul Ryan’s health care survey, which everyone should do, by calling his office. I try to keep it really simple.

That might also involve finding a way to talk to Trump voters, in a civil way.
Perhaps this is optimistic, but I think not talking to people who have different political views than you do is what got us here in the first place. Trying to have conversations with people who are different from you — that’s the f—ing essence of life! Everyone’s different from you, even people united by liberalism. Then again, easier said than done. But trying to engage in conversation with people who have different views is a really valuable thing to do.

It’s hard to know how to start the conversation, though. It’s usually one side yelling or flinging names.
There’s this thing called “non-violence communication.” I’m not the master of it; I’ve read a little bit about it. But it does wonders for your interpersonal relationships, as well as your political influence. You ground everything in your own experience and try to remove judgment. And you f—ing listen. People don’t listen.

I’m not sure how to even tie what we’ve been talking to into “Mozart in the Jungle,” but here goes: This is a show about orchestral music, which is already not doing that well, and will be in likely even tougher shape under the new administration that sees no use for the classical arts.
I like that this show is about asking if it’s possible to sustain an artistic practice in more antiquated mediums, like classical music. It shows how f—ing difficult that is. In a capitalist society, things that do not make money get thrown out very quickly. We watched it again last night, and everything post-election has a new meaning. Watching the scene where the orchestra is locked out of their building last night, I went, ‘Wow, this show knew what was going on, in a way.’ It’s about protecting the arts and arts education and the lack of that in schools.

On a lighter note, what was it like working with Monica Bellucci?I only ask because she’s such a goddess.
I share that feeling. She has one of those voices that when she speaks, it makes you feel very warm and tingly inside. Also, she’s a listener. As a dumb American, and obnoxious human that I am, I’ll be like [blabbers nonsense], and she’ll be like [sits still, waits several beats, then lets out a light laugh]. A minute later, she’ll react, as though she’s taking it in. Because she cares. She’s processing what you say.