Summary
Overview
Geena Davis joins Dax and Monica for an engaging conversation about her remarkable career spanning from modeling to becoming an Oscar-winning actress. She discusses her unconventional journey, from being a living mannequin in New York to landing her first role in Tootsie, and reflects on her groundbreaking work in films like Thelma & Louise and A League of Their Own. Beyond her acting achievements, Geena shares her advocacy work through the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, her surprising Olympic archery aspirations, and her current role in the Netflix series The Burrow.
From Small-Town Massachusetts to Hollywood Dreams
Geena grew up in Wareham, Massachusetts, a town that's 348 years old and just 20 minutes from Plymouth Rock. She describes a conservative childhood with parents who instilled deep values of politeness and self-sacrifice—to the point where she wouldn't accept dinner invitations at friends' houses because she was taught never to be a burden. This upbringing shaped her into someone who constantly apologized for existing, a pattern that would persist well into her career until transformative relationships helped her break free.
- Wareham, Massachusetts was founded in 1678, making it 348 years old
- Geena's parents grew up poor in Vermont during the Great Depression, which made them extremely frugal
- Her mother was so strict about politeness that Geena would refuse dinner invitations even when she wanted to accept
- Her father was a civil engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers and also a church deacon
" It was to the extreme where if somebody was handing me something, would you like to have some ice cream or a glass of water? No, thank you. You don't want to be a burden. "
Childhood Anxiety and Compulsive Behaviors
Geena reveals she had significant OCD-like behaviors as a child, including elaborate monster-related fears and superstitious rituals. She had to find Y-shaped sticks during her paper route to give herself permission to continue, and lived in constant fear of an invisible monster that could read her mind. She would try to trick it by thinking she was in different locations while lying in bed. These compulsive behaviors appear connected to the pressure to be perfect in her family environment.
- She had to find Y-shaped sticks on the ground during her paper route or she couldn't continue
- She believed an invisible monster could read her mind, so she would think about being in the kitchen to trick it
- She imagined a giant colossus just below the horizon that would take one step toward her if she did something wrong
- The compulsive behaviors stemmed from feeling she had to be perfect and help everyone while taking nothing
" I had to think that I was somewhere else so that it would go there to look for me and get me. So I'd be thinking, here I am in the kitchen, here I am in the kitchen, and I'm having crackers. And I'd say, I hope it doesn't realize I'm actually in bed. "
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