The closest most Harvard students get to US Weekly-worthy celebs is through their guilty pleasure reading, but Lindsey E. Gary ’06, feels right at home in Hollywood. A successful art director, Gary’s designs serve as the backdrop for blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean II & III, Tropic Thunder, and Jurassic Park III. She found time between partying with Robert Downey Jr. and preparing for her next project, The Social Network, to revisit her Harvard days at Currier House and share her wisdom on the film industry.
1. Fifteen Minutes (FM): Welcome back to Currier. How did you feel about being “quadded” when you received your housing letter freshman spring? Lindsey E. Gary ’06: (LEG): Actually as a freshman, I lived in Greenough—our whole blocking group did—and when we found out we were in Currier House, we just felt like the fates of Harvard were against us. We were always pushed to the extremities of the campus. But we soon learned that the other people who were also in Currier House were really awesome and we warmed up to the idea of being with cool people.
2.FM: You have said that you consider yourself living proof that you can do something with an Art History degree. What was the most valuable thing you learned in Sackler? And did you translate this knowledge from the classroom to the real world? LEG: Well, I think one of the most valuable things I learned in getting my Art History degree was just research. You can have a lot of ideas but knowing how to find the material and sift through everything and how to channel your enthusiasm in an effective way—you know, I can usually come up with really great stuff really quickly and that’s really valuable. But what I think has been most helpful to me in taking my Harvard experience to entertainment has just been all the people that I’ve met at Harvard. I have such a great network of friends who are involved in so many different things that I often find myself asking lots of people lots of questions and you know my friends are my best resource.
3. FM: You’ve created sets for huge blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean II & III, Jurassic Park III, Tropic Thunder, Surrogates, and the upcoming Green Lantern. Which was your favorite experience and why? LEG: Well Pirates is special because it was my first real big one, but Tropic Thunder was really special. We got to live in Kuai for three months and I felt really involved with that process and I made some great friends. So looking back it always brings a smile to my face to think about that experience. FM: And you had a close encounter with Robert Downey Jr.? LEG: The house that I lived in with three of the assistants on set—we had this amazing house with a huge yard and a barbecue and a gazebo and a hot tub and we would throw parties. And one time Robert Downey Jr. showed up and we were like, “What are you doing at our party?”
4. FM: You’ve worked on movies with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Robert Downey Jr., and Justin Timberlake. Is this a coincidence or does your work conveniently land you next to some of the hottest actors in Hollywood? LEG: (Laughs) I don’t decide whether to take on movies based on the hotness of the lead actor...but it certainly doesn’t hurt. FM: Also, we have to ask: Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp? LEG: Ummm, man. Johnny’s so sexy. Let’s just say that.
5. FM: What is the best and worst part about working in Hollywood? LEG: The best part of it is that it’s very exciting and you’re surrounded by very creative, very interesting people. The hard part about it is that everybody works crazy hours, everything is really spread out—Los Angeles is not really a convenient city—so it’s a little bit more challenging to get together with friends. But it’s also beautiful all the time and you’re near the ocean so that helps.
6.FM: Your father, actor Tom Wopat, played “Luke” Duke on the 80s hit series, “Dukes of Hazzard.” Did you ever think about acting? Would your dad have been upset if you wore a pair of Daisy Dukes? LEG: Yeah, about that. You know I think I was a little over-exposed to acting. My dad was an actor and my mom was a studio teacher so she taught all the kid actors. So, growing up, most of my best friends were actors so I always thought, “I can do whatever I want. I’m not going to be an actor.” But I do think dad would have objected to Daisy Dukes.
7.FM: Did any of your childhood friends become big stars? LEG: I was the only child of a single mom so I hung out on set of Full House, Dick Tracy, Fresh Prince, Hook, all the time, so I was always at Full House, in particular. That was kind of a home away from home.
8. . FM: How did having both your parents in the entertainment industry affect your own in Hollywood? LEG: I think I knew what I was getting into. I didn’t have grand fantasies of what Hollywood was like because I had grown up on set and I was very aware of the realities of the work, but it didn’t stop me.
9. FM: You decided to go to Harvard even though by that time you were pretty immersed in the design world and had the opportunity to study at some of the top design schools. How did you make that decision? Have you ever regretted it? LEG: I do think it was a great decision. I have never regretted it. I didn’t want to go just to an art school. I think art is so great, but I really wanted to surround myself with people with all different interests and talents and passions because I believed it would help me grow and I believe it has.
10. FM: Your list of extracurricular activities (intramural crew, Crimson Key, TAPS, prefecting, HRDC shows, etc.) is quite extensive. How did you find time to do all these activities? Have they helped you prepare for your career? LEG: Fitting in all the extracurriculars was always a challenge. But, you know, how do you find the time? The time finds itself. Everything happens, sleep kind of takes a backseat but I had an amazing time on Crimson Key and giving tours and running the tours and I think that all of the teamwork and balancing academics and other responsibilities. It’s all helped.
11.FM: Do you think you could still give a Harvard tour today? LEG: Absolutely.
12. FM: While at Harvard, you participated in designing the Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub. How did you envision the design and did it meet your expectations? Do you find yourself going back to enjoy the fruits of your labor? LEG: The Queen’s Head was probably one of my greatest accomplishments, I’d say. It started off with the dream of having a pub in Loker Commons which at the time was just this terribly underused space. And there were a couple of times where we had to stand our ground and put up a fight to have it turn out the way we wanted it to turn out and the idea was to have a place where all students can go and really where the student history of Harvard is visible. And we wanted it to look like it had been in the basement of Memorial Hall forever and through the struggles I think that’s what we accomplished and I’m very excited to see it doing so well to this day. I have gone back a few times and enjoyed a glass of 1636. (Laughs) Or a stein of 1636. And we did beer tasting—we went to Harpoon to taste the beer that we were going to have as our beer. And I remember when we thought of the idea of all the steins on the wall so it’s a good place to be. And cheap.
13.FM: You are set to work on The Social Network, a movie about Facebook founder Mark E. Zuckerberg. He was a member of your graduating class before he left Harvard. Are you friends on Facebook? LEG: No. (Laughs) I have a Facebook friend policy. I have to know you in the real world before I’m friends with you in the cyber world. So no. Unless I meet him and decide I want to be friends with him at some point in the indeterminate future.
14. FM: Any similarities and differences between Harvard and Hollywood? LEG: (Laughs) This is interesting. Yea, you have a lot of overachievers, a lot of people who think they’re going to change the world, and a lot of people who can work hard and focus but also understand the world at large, which I think is valuable. FM: What about the drama? LEG: Oh man, there’s a lot of drama in Hollywood. And there’s a lot of drama at Harvard so that’s definitely another similarity. There’s a heightened sense of self-importance.
15. FM: And, a predictable last question, what are your plans for the future? LEG: That’s the thing about working freelance from film to film is that you don’t really get to make plans for the future, which means that it’s all exciting and at the same time you don’t know what you’re going to do until you’re doing it.
