Overview of My Monday Morning: Lee Pace
This episode of My Monday Morning features actor Lee Pace discussing the routines, rituals, and mindsets that shape his weeks and his work. He talks about starting his Mondays with coffee and worry, keeping a relaxed but disciplined workout routine, living partly on a farm, and finding calm through quiet, swimming, and time outdoors. The conversation also touches on his career playing villains and larger-than-life characters, his experience filming Practical Magic 2 with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and the small philosophy that helps him stay grounded: “not my pig, not my farm.”
Main Topics Discussed
Acting and career highlights
- Pace reflects on early work, including a memorable first TV role on Law & Order: SVU.
- He enjoys playing villains because audiences have fun with them, and he sees the more “bad” the character, the more entertaining it can be.
- He discusses his role in Practical Magic 2, where his character is first introduced under a spell and unclothed.
- He praises Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman for their talent, voices, and comedic timing.
Witches, magic, and superstition
- Pace says he doesn’t really have superstitions, but he does believe he can “spot a witch” in real life.
- He describes some people as having a magical or spell-like presence, while others open doors to unexpected, magical experiences.
- He hints that some “bad witches” are best not talked about, joking that he doesn’t want to attract their evil eye.
Rituals in acting and performance
- He says he doesn’t have a rigid acting method, since every project and character is different.
- For theater, warmups are part of the ritual: stretching, preparing his voice, and mentally getting ready for the performance.
- He notes that live theater feels almost spiritual to him, comparing it more to church than to traditional entertainment.
- He cites a director’s idea that theater is “the actor’s revenge,” since the actor controls the timing and live experience.
Dream roles
- When asked about an unplayed dream role, he jokes that he once played a dog in school and would enjoy playing a non-human animal someday.
- He notes that he’s already played elves, vampires, and alien warlords, but not yet an animal.
Lee Pace’s Monday Morning Routine
How he starts the day
- Wakes up around 6:30–7:00 a.m.
- Lies in bed for about 30 minutes, worrying about things
- Gets up and makes coffee
Coffee ritual
- He makes a large mocha using a stovetop Bialetti-style espresso maker.
- He says he makes enough for about six cups and drinks all of it.
- The coffee is about ritual, not caffeine.
Workout routine
- Monday = chest day
- He likes starting the week with bench press and chest exercises.
- During Foundation, body transformation is part of character prep.
- He works with trainer Ian Benson, whom he describes as knowledgeable, committed, and fun to be around.
- He prefers a workout that is serious but not angry or overly intense.
Life on the Farm and Outside the City
Farm routines
- He lives partly on a farm upstate.
- He keeps chickens, though not many animals, because he doesn’t have good fences.
- He has paths and meadows he maintains with a tractor and brush hog.
- He likes leaving parts of the land wild, especially when goldenrod blooms in late summer.
- He plants trees and enjoys watching them grow over the years.
- A circle of maple trees he planted has become one of his favorite places on the property.
Calm and restoration
- He finds peace in swimming, especially because it’s quiet and physically tiring in a satisfying way.
- He values silence and time away from constant stimulation.
- He jokes that doomscrolling is the opposite of swimming: agitating, pointless, and hard to stop.
- He has stopped bringing his phone to set to avoid getting pulled into online noise.
Perspective and Life Advice
Best advice he’s kept
- The phrase that guides him is: “Not my pig, not my farm.”
- In other words: don’t take responsibility for things that aren’t yours to manage.
- It’s a practical reminder to stay out of other people’s business and protect his own energy.
Notable Takeaways
- Lee Pace’s version of balance is low-drama and tactile: coffee, lifting weights, swimming, gardening, and quiet.
- He sees performance, especially live theater, as something almost magical and communal.
- He’s drawn to characters with darkness or complexity, but he approaches work with humor and curiosity.
- His life offscreen is rooted in routines that create stability, space, and calm.