Musical theater legend Patti LuPone admits she was a little surprised when Hereditary and Midsommar writer-director Ari Aster approached her about taking the non-singing role of Mona, the mother of the titular character in Aster's latest release, Beau Is Afraid.

"My manager called and said that Ari Aster wanted to do a Zoom with me and I didn't know who Ari was," admits LuPone, whose previous onscreen credits include the TV shows Penny Dreadful and American Horror Story. "My 32-year-old son went, 'Mom, this is the guy! This is the guy!' I saw Hereditary and Midsommar and was really surprised that he wanted to speak with me. I said, 'Ari, why me?' He had seen me in a Mamet play on Broadway called The Anarchist, and so he didn't see me from musical theater, he saw me from my legitimate side, and I was thrilled to death. I actually wrote to David and said, 'Thanks for getting me the part.'"