If all great comedy comes from tragedy, Aubrey Plaza’s great tragedy was not getting the part of Cinderella in a community theater musical. Cast instead as an ugly stepsister, her one song got all the laughs, and Plaza got the idea she was funny. Since then, so have a lot of other people – Judd Apatow cast her in Funny People at about the same time the folks at Parks and Recreation cast her as April Ludgate (after she informed them they’d written the part all wrong). The fact that the roiling turmoil she swears is inside doesn’t always make it to her face can be disconcerting, but it’s funny because it comes from truth, and Plaza is nothing if not completely herself. We talk to her about her transition from standup to film, her inability to re-tell a story and fighting for the roles she’s not usually offered. And, masturbation (in a strictly clinical context, of course). She’s called herself the worst talk show guest ever and hopes one day to be as smooth a chatter as Tom Hanks. We wish her success in every goal but that one.
It’s a good thing Linda Cardellini’s college goal was to actually not finish college (though in one of the few failures of her career, she eventually wound up graduating). It’s another good thing she heeded David Letterman’s telepathic warning not to come to New York. Both decisions led her to L.A., where via a throwaway audition and a feat of glass-slipper casting, she landed her breakout role on the iconic Freaks & Geeks. Since then, she’s set about building an admirable body of film and TV work in projects as diverse as Mad Men, Scooby Doo, Return and the upcoming Daddy’s Home. In Off Camera #49 we discuss the audition process, the benefits of delayed puberty, the scourge of self-criticism and what she’s learned from the cast of her current show, Bloodline. And, why she may be doomed to spend eternity in a prairie dress. Sadly, she didn’t cry after our interview, but we still think it went well.
It’s a good thing Linda Cardellini’s college goal was to actually not finish college (though in one of the few failures of her career, she eventually wound up graduating). It’s another good thing she heeded David Letterman’s telepathic warning not to come to New York. Both decisions led her to L.A., where via a throwaway audition and a feat of glass-slipper casting, she landed her breakout role on the iconic Freaks & Geeks. Since then, she’s set about building an admirable body of film and TV work in projects as diverse as Mad Men, Scooby Doo, Return and the upcoming Daddy’s Home. In Off Camera #49 we discuss the audition process, the benefits of delayed puberty, the scourge of self-criticism and what she’s learned from the cast of her current show, Bloodline. And, why she may be doomed to spend eternity in a prairie dress. Sadly, she didn’t cry after our interview, but we still think it went well.
It’s a good thing Linda Cardellini’s college goal was to actually not finish college (though in one of the few failures of her career, she eventually wound up graduating). It’s another good thing she heeded David Letterman’s telepathic warning not to come to New York. Both decisions led her to L.A., where via a throwaway audition and a feat of glass-slipper casting, she landed her breakout role on the iconic Freaks & Geeks. Since then, she’s set about building an admirable body of film and TV work in projects as diverse as Mad Men, Scooby Doo, Return and the upcoming Daddy’s Home. In Off Camera #49 we discuss the audition process, the benefits of delayed puberty, the scourge of self-criticism and what she’s learned from the cast of her current show, Bloodline. And, why she may be doomed to spend eternity in a prairie dress. Sadly, she didn’t cry after our interview, but we still think it went well.
Bill Lawrence’s “nothing bad ever happens to me” life philosophy tends to make superstitious people in Hollywood (there are just a few) scoot their chairs away from him whenever he brings it up. Call it delusional, but it appears to be self-fulfilling. One of the youngest writers and creators of some of the most iconic network TV shows ever (Friends, Spin City, Scrubs), he now runs the production company responsible for Undateable, which NBC half-heartedly picked up for its first season and more enthusiastically renewed for the next two, largely due to Lawrence’s genius marketing. He’s the rare personality that enjoys walking the tightrope between disaster and success, which is sometimes exactly what it takes to bring much-needed freshness to network shows, both in the programs we see, and in how we find out about them. Shrewd and funny, Lawrence shares stories about the mentors who spurred his early confidence, explains how to pitch a show, build a portfolio, and why the occasional dose of humiliation is good for what ails you.
Bill Lawrence’s “nothing bad ever happens to me” life philosophy tends to make superstitious people in Hollywood (there are just a few) scoot their chairs away from him whenever he brings it up. Call it delusional, but it appears to be self-fulfilling. One of the youngest writers and creators of some of the most iconic network TV shows ever (Friends, Spin City, Scrubs), he now runs the production company responsible for Undateable, which NBC half-heartedly picked up for its first season and more enthusiastically renewed for the next two, largely due to Lawrence’s genius marketing. He’s the rare personality that enjoys walking the tightrope between disaster and success, which is sometimes exactly what it takes to bring much-needed freshness to network shows, both in the programs we see, and in how we find out about them. Shrewd and funny, Lawrence shares stories about the mentors who spurred his early confidence, explains how to pitch a show, build a portfolio, and why the occasional dose of humiliation is good for what ails you.
Despite going on about 20 years as one of the best actors out there, Paul Dano still tortures himself over which roles to take. He calls early choices like The Ballad of Jack & Rose “lucky”, but we’re chalking them up to instinct. The same gut feeling that steered him off the path of most young Hollywood actors landed him in some of the best movies of our time and placed him in the company of some of their finest actors and directors. He also possesses an uncanny intuition about how to enter a character, disappear, and then come roaring (or whispering) back as someone completely different from who we thought he was. Maybe that’s why he remains a bit of a mystery. It’s almost definitely a factor in his phenomenal performance as Love & Mercy’s Brian Wilson, another sensitive cipher who comes most fully alive through his art. We talk to Dano about what dictates his approach to different roles, what he values most about the filmmaking experience and the portent of rattlesnakes in his on-set bathroom.
Despite going on about 20 years as one of the best actors out there, Paul Dano still tortures himself over which roles to take. He calls early choices like The Ballad of Jack & Rose “lucky”, but we’re chalking them up to instinct. The same gut feeling that steered him off the path of most young Hollywood actors landed him in some of the best movies of our time and placed him in the company of some of their finest actors and directors. He also possesses an uncanny intuition about how to enter a character, disappear, and then come roaring (or whispering) back as someone completely different from who we thought he was. Maybe that’s why he remains a bit of a mystery. It’s almost definitely a factor in his phenomenal performance as Love & Mercy’s Brian Wilson, another sensitive cipher who comes most fully alive through his art. We talk to Dano about what dictates his approach to different roles, what he values most about the filmmaking experience and the portent of rattlesnakes in his on-set bathroom.
