Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, it's Sophia. Welcome to Work in Progress. Welcome
Speaker 1: back to Work in Progress, whip smarties. This week we
Speaker 1: are joined by an incredible performer and advocate who is
Speaker 1: one of the most wonderful people to run into in
Speaker 1: any room and has some of the most exceptional taste
Speaker 1: in the material she chooses to work on. She has
Speaker 1: been nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Speaker 1: for the Critics' Choice Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a
Speaker 1: Drama Series for the NAACP Awards.
Speaker 2: Anne has won.
Speaker 1: Back to back Outstanding Drama Ensemble Awards at the SAG Awards,
Speaker 1: all for her incredible work as Beth Pearson on NBC's
Speaker 1: series This Is Us. She has worked across Broadway, film, television,
Speaker 1: and she is back on screen in Shondaland's brand new
Speaker 1: show The Residence. She's here today to talk about what
Speaker 1: it's like to work in the world of Shonda alongside
Speaker 1: Uzu Aduba, and what it's like to make a show
Speaker 1: revolving around a murder mystery in the White House. We
Speaker 1: will touch on some of her lessons about following your passion,
Speaker 1: trusting your calling, and finding your voice as an artist,
Speaker 1: and I'm excited to ask her about what she thinks
Speaker 1: present day Susan would have to say to nine year
Speaker 1: old Susan. Let's dive in, Susan, I'm so so happy
Speaker 1: to have you on the show today. How are you?
Speaker 2: I am good? How are you? I'm great?
Speaker 1: You are one of those people to begin that I
Speaker 1: have to say in the last I mean, don't know
Speaker 1: what time really is, you know, post pre lockdown. Everything's
Speaker 1: kind of melting right, but right it feels like five years,
Speaker 1: which means maybe it's been ten. But like since you
Speaker 1: and I have been running into each other at things.
Speaker 1: Anytime I see you in a room, I'm always like, ah.
Speaker 2: Ah, so sweet. I love that. Thank you.
Speaker 1: You're a beautiful talent, but you're such a genuine human
Speaker 1: and it was really fun, you know, having grown up
Speaker 1: with some of the folks that you did, this is
Speaker 1: us with to feel very familiar with some of you
Speaker 1: and then get to meet so many more of you,
Speaker 1: Like just seeing y'all in rooms, having that experience, you know,
Speaker 1: getting your flowers, like giving everybody a family to come
Speaker 1: home to on TV. I just I loved it. So
Speaker 1: I'm yeah, I'm just thrilled to be with you today.
Speaker 2: Yeah, me too.
Speaker 3: This is so lovely and I love like you said,
Speaker 3: you know, you do these shows, and you do all
Speaker 3: these circuits, and you know what it is, right, and
Speaker 3: you meet up people as you go, and you're trying
Speaker 3: to like make connections or hope for connections, and you
Speaker 3: want to be sort of as genuine as possible and
Speaker 3: meet people who are, you know, sort of like minded
Speaker 3: and things like that. And sometimes the business feels like
Speaker 3: the thing that connects us all. But it's really lovely
Speaker 3: when we get like sit and really know each other
Speaker 3: as people and know a little bit more about one another.
Speaker 3: So I just I love this. I'm so happy to
Speaker 3: be here and just explore for a bit, you know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, me too. And I am so absolutely in love
Speaker 1: with new show and I have a million things I
Speaker 1: want to ask you about it. But before we before
Speaker 1: we jump into present, I like to go back with
Speaker 1: people because I think, you know, as as an interviewer,
Speaker 1: I kind of get to be in the role of
Speaker 1: audience too, right, And like I sit across from people
Speaker 1: who are at these beautiful crossroads, who are doing these big,
Speaker 1: amazing projects and who have crazy stories, and I like
Speaker 1: to think about it before you were you know, a
Speaker 1: household name or on a billboard?
Speaker 2: Who were you?
Speaker 1: And I wonder if the adult woman that you are today,
Speaker 1: like you got to go to the park we were
Speaker 1: both talking about loving outside of New York earlier and
Speaker 1: run into yourself at nine or ten, Like, if you
Speaker 1: got to be face to face with that that little
Speaker 1: version of you, do you think you'd see things about
Speaker 1: who you are today in her? Or do you think
Speaker 1: her mind would just be totally blown at what your
Speaker 1: life is as a grown up?
Speaker 2: You know? You know she had big dreams.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what that'sen YEARL I think had big dreams.
Speaker 3: And it's funny you say that because I think I
Speaker 3: thought about that the other day. If if if I
Speaker 3: would think that this is where I would be, or
Speaker 3: would it look different or how you know, would I
Speaker 3: find this? Would it feel like the success I thought
Speaker 3: that looked like as a young person, you know what
Speaker 3: I mean, like those in that age range, because when
Speaker 3: you I've always wanted to act, so you know, I
Speaker 3: think I always thought of.
Speaker 2: And back then it was like a big deal.
Speaker 3: If I would have gotten like a commercial or like
Speaker 3: if I was a voice on a cartoon, or like,
Speaker 3: you know, just anything that would kind of put me
Speaker 3: in that space and that realm and all that kind
Speaker 3: of stuff. And so I think about what I've had
Speaker 3: the good fortune to do at this time, and I
Speaker 3: think one of the biggest things that changes for me
Speaker 3: is probably.
Speaker 2: Just the perspective on it.
Speaker 3: You know. I think there's something like, when you're younger,
Speaker 3: you don't understand the work that goes into what it
Speaker 3: takes to do those things that you dream about. You
Speaker 3: don't understand what that journey is really going to be.
Speaker 3: And some part of that is fortunate, because maybe a
Speaker 3: lot of us wouldn't sign up for it if we
Speaker 3: knew all of the bumps and bruises and you know,
Speaker 3: hills and valleys and all the things. But I guess
Speaker 3: my main hope is that, yeah, she would be proud
Speaker 3: of what we've done together, because so much of it,
Speaker 3: for me is based on what young me wanted, you
Speaker 3: know what I mean, And so much of what I'm
Speaker 3: fulfilling now is based on what I really wanted back then.
Speaker 2: So there's a lot of connection there. It's not like,
Speaker 2: you know, I always thought I was going to be
Speaker 2: a doctor, and.
Speaker 3: Then suddenly and then you know, I think a lot
Speaker 3: of that, but it's connected to who I am as
Speaker 3: an artist, but also I think as a person, I
Speaker 3: see similarities and I see differences. I definitely see the
Speaker 3: side of me that was, you know, very very sort
Speaker 3: of forward presenting and very passionate and all of those things,
Speaker 3: and aside of me that wanted to people please, or
Speaker 3: the side of me that wanted to be to maybe
Speaker 3: be liked or accepted, and all of those things. And
Speaker 3: I think a lot of a lot of those things
Speaker 3: have gone away, which is a great thing to happens
Speaker 3: as you get older.
Speaker 2: You're like, I don't care, But.
Speaker 3: I also think that the passion and and all of
Speaker 3: and wanting to take space in the world is still
Speaker 3: is still there, and so I feel like we would
Speaker 3: have still have that very much in common. It's funny
Speaker 3: as we're saying this, I'm like seeing myself on like
Speaker 3: a swing set with my younger. It's all getting very
Speaker 3: and very like poetic and metaphorical in my mind.
Speaker 2: As we talk about it.
Speaker 3: But it is a beautiful thing to be able to
Speaker 3: think of and think like I honored a lot of
Speaker 3: the things that I.
Speaker 2: Wanted to be even as I was a child totally well.
Speaker 1: And there's something that there's something I like about pondering
Speaker 1: this with people because you know, I think part of
Speaker 1: our job as artists is to be willing to be
Speaker 1: vulnerable in the human condition, right to take failures and
Speaker 1: fears as well as you know, love stories and all
Speaker 1: the all the good things. But I think when you
Speaker 1: do the work to kind of dig in so often,
Speaker 1: you you know, you get into your adulthood and you
Speaker 1: start to figure out the younger selves you carry with you,
Speaker 1: and especially the younger selves you kind of reparent or
Speaker 1: you you give wisdom to about something scary or hard
Speaker 1: that happened to you that you didn't have then.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 1: And I like also being able to have that visualization,
Speaker 1: that swing set moment for the for the joyful stuff,
Speaker 1: for like the really good things, you know, the points
Speaker 1: of pride that you would probably share with your younger
Speaker 1: self and say, this thing you've dreamt of, it's going
Speaker 1: to happen. You know, it's a lot different, but it's
Speaker 1: going to happen. Right, That's really special. Did you when
Speaker 1: you talk about how you're honoring that younger version of yourself,
Speaker 1: did you always know that you wanted to be this
Speaker 1: kind of artist that you wanted to be a performer,
Speaker 1: because I know you went to Howard and got your
Speaker 1: MFA at NYU. You know you were you were pursuing
Speaker 1: the arts even through your student years. But did you
Speaker 1: know as a little kid that you wanted to do this?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Yeah, wow, I know from the time I was three
Speaker 3: that I wanted to do it. So yeah, yeah, from
Speaker 3: the time I was three. Yeah, Like I can remember
Speaker 3: like being on my bed and had a little talk
Speaker 3: with God and was like, what.
Speaker 2: Do you want to be?
Speaker 3: And I was like, I want to be an entertainer.
Speaker 3: And I remember just banging my legs against the bed.
Speaker 2: And being like yeah. I was like, well that's what
Speaker 2: you'll be.
Speaker 3: And I was like right, And then I remember like
Speaker 3: making these little like what I feel like.
Speaker 2: Was the first reality television applause.
Speaker 3: It certain applause here because I would walk out of
Speaker 3: my brother and I my younger brother and I shared
Speaker 3: a bedroom in Brooklyn, right My two older brothers shared
Speaker 3: another bedroom. And I remember walking out of that bedroom
Speaker 3: and going into the living room and family was in
Speaker 3: the living room, okay, and whatever what they were talking about,
Speaker 3: whatever's happened in that living room. They don't know, but
Speaker 3: I'm walking into it as like this version of myself
Speaker 3: that's being filmed.
Speaker 2: Okay, oh wow, And.
Speaker 3: Whatever's happening in this living room is the scene. And
Speaker 3: I'm walking in and I'd have the scene with them,
Speaker 3: whatever it was, and I'd do my little thing and
Speaker 3: make whatever that reality was into something, go back into
Speaker 3: my room and have a confessional and talk to an
Speaker 3: imaginary camera and be like, oh, did you see what
Speaker 3: just happened with my brother? Like what do you think that?
Speaker 3: And I would have a whole dialogue about it.
Speaker 1: Oh my god.
Speaker 3: And I did this all the time. You know, this
Speaker 3: is something I remember, like I did this often.
Speaker 1: It's like you were starting in the show. You were
Speaker 1: producing the show, you were your own camera operator, you
Speaker 1: were writing the show, was.
Speaker 3: Leading people towards certain conversations, and you know, just like ridiculous, right,
Speaker 3: and and I just anything that I could do to
Speaker 3: try to do, you know, something in that way.
Speaker 2: I wasn't in art school. I wasn't doing any of
Speaker 2: that stuff.
Speaker 3: So anything that kind of that kind of led me
Speaker 3: there was was what I was doing.
Speaker 1: So then what was the what was the kind of
Speaker 1: collegiate process for you? Like you know, going after an
Speaker 1: MFA and then graduating and starting you know, pounding the
Speaker 1: pavement as we do, like going in during pilot season
Speaker 1: all the things. What did that kind of period look
Speaker 1: like for you?
Speaker 2: It was not as glorious as I thought it would be.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: I got out of school and I remember thinking, I
Speaker 3: want to go straight into a Spike Lee film, or
Speaker 3: I want to you know, be in the next you know,
Speaker 3: whatever was big, and I felt like for me it
Speaker 3: started to the reality hit of like being called in
Speaker 3: or not being called into auditions. It's funny. I just
Speaker 3: recently did play at the Lincoln Center called Blood Quilt,
Speaker 3: and Daniel Sweet is the casting director over there, and
Speaker 3: I asked him if he remembered, and thank god he
Speaker 3: didn't remember. One of my first things I did out
Speaker 3: of school was bussed into an audition that I was
Speaker 3: not invited to that Daniel was running. But I thought
Speaker 3: I was right for it, so I went and I
Speaker 3: was like, obviously this is an oversight. And he took
Speaker 3: me aside and he was like, listen, I you know
Speaker 3: I can dig it. You're like passionate about this, He
Speaker 3: was like, but you cannot. I forget what they even
Speaker 3: call it like, you cannot just, I don't know, bust
Speaker 3: into an audition.
Speaker 2: That's it. You can't crash the audition.
Speaker 3: And not that I busted into somebody's room on the audit,
Speaker 3: but like I came into the waiting.
Speaker 2: Room like hit the sign in sheet.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, like you know, you're like a polite wedding
Speaker 1: crashers my turn, but I do get a turn, right,
Speaker 1: And so he was like no, Like there's people like
Speaker 1: at a certain like he was like.
Speaker 3: No, you were not called in. So there's a part
Speaker 3: of me. Sometimes I think about that version of me
Speaker 3: and I'm like, oh, I miss that. Because one thing
Speaker 3: that the business does it really can humble you in
Speaker 3: a way that I found was good for me.
Speaker 2: It helped me kind of.
Speaker 3: Hone how to use my passion and how to like
Speaker 3: focus on how to build these relationships so that I
Speaker 3: wasn't just doing like you know, the I wasn't just
Speaker 3: being the crasher, you know what I mean. I was
Speaker 3: now sort of understanding more of what the protocols are
Speaker 3: and not necessarily that I'm going to say all right, now,
Speaker 3: let me go just by the rules. But I think
Speaker 3: I had to understand a lot more about the business
Speaker 3: and what we're in and in order to then be
Speaker 3: my authentic self in it. I think a lot of
Speaker 3: me just was you know, coming from my background by
Speaker 3: you know, my cultural background, from the things that I
Speaker 3: had learned in school and only thing you just saved
Speaker 3: for it. And I had to really learn what that
Speaker 3: process was. And it wasn't easy. Yeah, you can pound
Speaker 3: the pavement, you grind, you do all the things, and look,
Speaker 3: somebody might look at my journey and be like, well,
Speaker 3: that was easier than mine, and you know, it just
Speaker 3: depends on where.
Speaker 2: You were you were at in your own journey.
Speaker 3: But for me, my expectation for what I was looking
Speaker 3: for right out of school was high, and I had
Speaker 3: to learn that, oh, my path isn't like an instant one.
Speaker 3: It's there's definitely more of a journey. I didn't walk
Speaker 3: into a room and people necessarily went, she's a star,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean. I didn't have that experience
Speaker 3: of it. You know now now for the you know,
Speaker 3: in more recent years, the kinds of reactions that I
Speaker 3: wanted when I walked into a into an audition room
Speaker 3: are much different than I had in the.
Speaker 2: Past, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: Or getting the offer, just having a meeting with the director.
Speaker 3: All these things have changed, you know, so if everything
Speaker 3: is so very different than what it was, but it
Speaker 3: feels much more earned than an instant.
Speaker 1: Yes, well you know they they say it takes ten
Speaker 1: years to become an overnight success.
Speaker 2: There you go, and you know it's funny.
Speaker 3: I remember going by by that marker and being like, okay,
Speaker 3: it's ten years.
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh where is Like literally, I was so thoughtful
Speaker 2: about this stuff.
Speaker 3: And I study the business like I tend to look
Speaker 3: at things, but it becomes like a study of those things,
Speaker 3: you know, Like I'm not just reading about like reading
Speaker 3: the trades. I kind of study like, oh, look at
Speaker 3: the patterns and things and how people's careers go and
Speaker 3: you know what led to this and why you know,
Speaker 3: why did they choose that film over this. That's the
Speaker 3: producer mind in me is working at the same time,
Speaker 3: and so there is something to even things like ten
Speaker 3: years to make a start that I held onto those things,
Speaker 3: and I would watch people's trajectories career and I would see,
Speaker 3: like who really dropped in at their ten year mark?
Speaker 2: Who like did that?
Speaker 3: Who sort of is somebody that I can kind of
Speaker 3: track and see how they created a success for themselves,
Speaker 3: just so that I always had some kind of model
Speaker 3: to go by, you know.
Speaker 1: And now a word from our sponsors who make the
Speaker 1: show possible. When you talk about that, when you talk
Speaker 1: about the way that you study things like what's some
Speaker 1: of the inside baseball that you've seen? What do you
Speaker 1: look for? Because I think so many I know I'm
Speaker 1: having the feeling, but I know people listening are like,
Speaker 1: what do you mean?
Speaker 2: Say more?
Speaker 3: Maybe I could give an example of if there is
Speaker 3: an actor who is maybe early on in their career
Speaker 3: and and you see, Okay, no, this is something that
Speaker 3: I'm looking at. Now, let me give you something that
Speaker 3: I'm looking at now. So people who I look at,
Speaker 3: people who sort of created roles for themselves and because
Speaker 3: that's a lane that I am really starting to get
Speaker 3: into now and or re explore now because of something
Speaker 3: I thought about a lot in the past, but really
Speaker 3: looking to re explore now. And have created these these
Speaker 3: lanes for themselves. And I watch how they created the
Speaker 3: work for themselves and then they and through that they
Speaker 3: gained their own sort of audience and their own sort
Speaker 3: of following.
Speaker 2: And this isn't like and.
Speaker 3: I'm not speaking like directly to like influencers or things
Speaker 3: like thatm something about people who like created shows for
Speaker 3: themselves or created characters.
Speaker 2: For themselves and do that kind of thing. And then
Speaker 2: I watch as like, Okay, so now they have.
Speaker 3: Their following, they have the thing that they created that
Speaker 3: in turn inspired Hollywood to come knocking at their door
Speaker 3: and say, okay, how can.
Speaker 2: We part here?
Speaker 3: Then you look at did that partnership create success? What
Speaker 3: they able to remain authentic to their brand within that
Speaker 3: partnership that partnership once that thing happened, what did that
Speaker 3: spawn as the next thing? And whether their next project
Speaker 3: was successful or not. Did their fan they stick with them?
Speaker 3: Did the people stick because they they they like whatever
Speaker 3: it is they're bringing, They want to be along for
Speaker 3: that ride. Does that person stay in one box? Do
Speaker 3: they start to branch out into other things? And do
Speaker 3: they start to work with other directors and other people
Speaker 3: so that they have their brand plus you know, they
Speaker 3: can be a part of this movie and a part
Speaker 3: of that franchise. And you know, so I just watch
Speaker 3: how people kind of build but also make opportunities for themselves.
Speaker 3: So sometimes you'll have people who are like huge successes now,
Speaker 3: but if you trace back, it's because they invested in themselves.
Speaker 3: They said, you know, I want to do this project,
Speaker 3: and if I hadn't done that, nobody would have hired me. Yes,
Speaker 3: and you can't even imagine that now, like nobody you
Speaker 3: know what I mean, You're huge, You know what I mean.
Speaker 3: They started with the investment in themselves and the belief
Speaker 3: and the courage to put to put those types of
Speaker 3: projects out into the world. And you know, there's all
Speaker 3: types that the people can reject and people can save
Speaker 3: me things about you know, anything can happen. But also
Speaker 3: I think they invested in that. No, they'll find their audience,
Speaker 3: they will find the people that are looking for what
Speaker 3: they're looking to give. So that's something that I mean
Speaker 3: by studying, like I'll look at how how those things,
Speaker 3: how those journeys are created.
Speaker 1: I love that because what I'm hearing you say is
Speaker 1: whatever the specific example is, what you're doing is identifying
Speaker 1: the courage it takes to make something, how someone commits
Speaker 1: to that vision, and then like what that might spark
Speaker 1: in you when you say someone do something. I think
Speaker 1: the beautiful thing about being excited for other people instead
Speaker 1: of envious is you watch them do something and then
Speaker 1: you go, oh my god, if they did that, what
Speaker 1: if I could do this thing I've been thinking about.
Speaker 2: That's right, that's right.
Speaker 3: I think it's something so wonderful about exactly what you said.
Speaker 3: Envy is such a wasted emotion. I wish people would
Speaker 3: get that like imprinted into their spirit.
Speaker 2: It is a waste of time.
Speaker 3: Yeah, look at that person and get And the flip
Speaker 3: side of it is get inspired by it. Hope that
Speaker 3: they do more. Hope it's something that it ignites something
Speaker 3: in you that makes you want to be better, do better.
Speaker 3: Lights a fire that says, oh, it's okay for me
Speaker 3: to do that, you know. Hope that you keep having
Speaker 3: sparks of beautiful light like that around you, that you're
Speaker 3: always in the realm of creativity. You're always in the
Speaker 3: realm of something beautiful happening.
Speaker 2: Because when you're in a realm where you can.
Speaker 3: Touch it, that means you can be it, you know,
Speaker 3: and sometimes we just need that reinforcement. We already are it,
Speaker 3: but you need the reinforcement to know that you.
Speaker 1: Can be it.
Speaker 3: You know you can you are, you know, a human,
Speaker 3: but when you become like a human being, a human
Speaker 3: doing something. It's different when you can like start to
Speaker 3: be it because b is more active.
Speaker 2: It's an action, you know.
Speaker 3: And and I my hope is that in anybody watching
Speaker 3: this that if they do feel that envy in anyway,
Speaker 3: just to know that, you know, it's wasted time sitting
Speaker 3: there because there is something in you that is so
Speaker 3: incredibly unique. Everybody has the thing that nobody else has.
Speaker 3: Everybody has it, you know, so just buying yours. I
Speaker 3: used to tell people coached for a while and when
Speaker 3: things were kind of still sort of in the with acting,
Speaker 3: and you know, when things slow down and things get
Speaker 3: a little still, I would like coach. And one of
Speaker 3: the things I used to say to folks is like,
Speaker 3: what's your superpower? And I would help them identify it
Speaker 3: so that you know, when you walk into the room,
Speaker 3: you have one, and just lean into that thing, you know,
Speaker 3: and because that'll give you a certain confidence, you know,
Speaker 3: a confidence to kind of and when you can hold
Speaker 3: that with you when you walk into spaces, you will
Speaker 3: I feel like any of that envy or jealousy and stuff,
Speaker 3: you know, it begins to subside because you know you
Speaker 3: have something to add, You bring something valuable to the table.
Speaker 2: Just by being you. It's just your own authentic youth.
Speaker 1: I love that, And it's kind of a recalibration, right,
Speaker 1: instead of seeing yourself in competition as when you're losing
Speaker 1: as more than or less than to say I am
Speaker 1: also yes, yes, I mean what a shift?
Speaker 2: What a shift? And who's keeping score? Anyway? Like why
Speaker 2: are you keeping school?
Speaker 3: It's like, really, the thing is, everything happens at different
Speaker 3: times for everyone, and I find it's so much more
Speaker 3: valuable to really get still and sort of figure out
Speaker 3: where you can invest in yourself rather than invest time
Speaker 3: tracking other people to sort of be chellous about what
Speaker 3: they're doing, you know, you know what I'm saying, Like
Speaker 3: I've sort of embraced the practice of like we're just
Speaker 3: gonna look straight up at my own life, just what
Speaker 3: I've got, and just pick out the things to be
Speaker 3: grateful for and just what I have. I'm not looking
Speaker 3: at no, just what do I have that I can
Speaker 3: be incredibly grateful for in this moment? Tomorrow it'll be
Speaker 3: in that moment, the next thing, it'll be in that moment.
Speaker 3: But really and really get happy and really like invest
Speaker 3: in getting excited about your life. Like practice actually getting excited.
Speaker 3: There's there is something exciting to just like, oh, you know,
Speaker 3: I'm gonna meet my friend today.
Speaker 2: I love being with that friend, you know, to have
Speaker 2: like this, you know, this coffee.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna make this thing, this pancake that I saw
Speaker 3: that they doing, like like the Graham It's like a
Speaker 3: two ingredient pan gonna make it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: Like there's an investment in the little things and get
Speaker 3: excited about the little things. And once you start to
Speaker 3: see all the little things in your life that you
Speaker 3: can be excited about, I think that's such a better
Speaker 3: a better focus than looking at other people. Because we
Speaker 3: can also go about the adage of you never know
Speaker 3: what somebody's going through anyway, you don't know what everybody
Speaker 3: you don't know that you really want that you know,
Speaker 3: you know, and.
Speaker 2: God, yeah, and God forbid you.
Speaker 3: You you you know, you don't ever want to also
Speaker 3: put negative energy out toward people. You want people to thrive,
Speaker 3: You want people to you know, to do well. I
Speaker 3: think it's a reflection on all of us. I don't
Speaker 3: see us so much as individuals. We're all a part
Speaker 3: of this big collective, you know, and everybody has their
Speaker 3: part to play and the collective. So if somebody's playing
Speaker 3: their instrument really well, this doesn't mean you need their instrument.
Speaker 3: It means you need to start tuning up yours, get
Speaker 3: your rehearsal on, get your stuff together, and get your
Speaker 3: instrument popping, because we need you.
Speaker 2: In the band.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: Yes, somebody is on the other side. I'll never forget
Speaker 3: it was told to me this way. Someone is always
Speaker 3: waiting on the other side of your obedience. So the
Speaker 3: minute you say yes to the things that you are
Speaker 3: being called to, the things that you feel like in
Speaker 3: your purpose are a part of your journey. The minute
Speaker 3: you say yes and you start really you know, pursuing
Speaker 3: and achieving, there's somebody else waiting on the other side
Speaker 3: to see that, to inspire their part of the journey,
Speaker 3: their leg of it, you know. And so you don't
Speaker 3: even realize, we don't even realize as human beings the
Speaker 3: power there is and really stepping into where you're being
Speaker 3: called to be.
Speaker 2: It's so powerful it resonates for everybody.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, because it has that ripple effect.
Speaker 2: It does.
Speaker 1: And now a word from our wonderful sponsors. You know,
Speaker 1: it's like the cliche is a cliche, right, it's a
Speaker 1: phrase because it's so universally true that hindsight is twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: Like you look back and you go, oh my god,
Speaker 1: it all makes sense, the stress and the hardship, you know,
Speaker 1: the thing that I thought went wrong, but really it
Speaker 1: was going right for me. Like is it a wild
Speaker 1: thing to now through the journey of your career, you know,
Speaker 1: all the work that goes into the overnight success moment?
Speaker 1: Is it wild to look back from this knowing how
Speaker 1: this is us began for you, how best began for you?
Speaker 1: Did you know what it meant? Or were you sort
Speaker 1: of on the ride and couldn't believe where it went?
Speaker 2: Like what does it look like?
Speaker 1: Kind of in the rear view now.
Speaker 3: In the moment, I knew what it meant to take
Speaker 3: bringing this character to life in a very three dimensional way.
Speaker 3: I knew the importance of that. That's what I knew
Speaker 3: in the moment.
Speaker 2: I was like, look, you know, we.
Speaker 3: Have this woman on screen that I have an opportunity
Speaker 3: to really represent the every woman. You know, in representing
Speaker 3: the every woman, she comes in my package, which is
Speaker 3: a black woman. So I have the opportunity to show
Speaker 3: who I know us to be, you know. And I
Speaker 3: took that very seriously, and not seriously in a way
Speaker 3: where I was walking around like I got to be no, no, no.
Speaker 2: I just knew what that was.
Speaker 3: And that went into any scene that I did or
Speaker 3: anytime you know, Sterling and I played that there was
Speaker 3: the resonance of we have to be true to who
Speaker 3: we know these people are in the world. We have
Speaker 3: to be really true to that so people understand and
Speaker 3: get a new perspective and a deeper perspective, you know.
Speaker 3: So to some people, I was preaching to the choir,
Speaker 3: and to some people it was a very new experience
Speaker 3: for them as an audience member. But that I knew
Speaker 3: in the moment that I wanted to be a woman
Speaker 3: that women identified with.
Speaker 2: And so she's a very.
Speaker 3: She's very much a compilation of so many different women
Speaker 3: in my life that I've experienced. That is in hindsight,
Speaker 3: I she is really I you know, I hear all
Speaker 3: the time the effect of that she had on people.
Speaker 2: I hear about it all the time. I don't know
Speaker 2: if I'll ever truly wrap my brain around that. I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't know, and I don't I'm not.
Speaker 3: Sure that it's necessarily for me too to wrap my
Speaker 3: brain around.
Speaker 2: I think I can only be grateful that that it landed, you.
Speaker 3: Know what I mean with people and and I am
Speaker 3: so grateful that people identified with who she is.
Speaker 2: But I didn't watch her in the same way as
Speaker 2: an actor.
Speaker 3: When I'm watching my work, I'm watching for technical things,
Speaker 3: I'm watching her.
Speaker 2: How do I get better? You know what it is?
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3: So you know, you have to allow for it to
Speaker 3: be for your audience, you know, and for them to
Speaker 3: after a while, she's theirs. She's not really mine anymore.
Speaker 1: Well because in a way, you know, I think about
Speaker 1: it's like a seesaw to me in my brain, that's
Speaker 1: what comes. Like I think about this swing seat, but
Speaker 1: then I think about the seesaw. We're just on the
Speaker 1: playground today.
Speaker 2: Yeah sure.
Speaker 1: And like you bring all these women you know and
Speaker 1: their experiences into the room with you, and especially the
Speaker 1: experiences of women you know you haven't seen on camera
Speaker 1: into the room with you. It's the privilege of being
Speaker 1: I think, a woman and an actor, and it's so
Speaker 1: compounded and so much exponentially larger as an audience member
Speaker 1: and a fan to watch you do this as a
Speaker 1: black woman, and as a black woman on a show
Speaker 1: like this, and as a black woman on a show
Speaker 1: like this married to Sterling K. Brown's character on a
Speaker 1: show like this. Inside of the world of the show
Speaker 1: like this, like, I just see the multiplication table, and interestingly,
Speaker 1: it must be the most personal thing for you and
Speaker 1: all these women you know you carry in the room
Speaker 1: with you as Beth, And the minute Beth goes out
Speaker 1: in the world, exactly as you're saying, she represents, I
Speaker 1: would imagine that many women and that many stories and
Speaker 1: that many family histories for everyone who watches her and
Speaker 1: sees themselves or someone they love in her. And it's like,
Speaker 1: in that way, it's almost like the multiplication table happens
Speaker 1: out in the world.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, that's right.
Speaker 1: And you know it keeps going, but you can't possibly
Speaker 1: know how big it is because you're not on that
Speaker 1: side of the seesaw. But it's like, I remember conversations
Speaker 1: I had with my best friend Nia when the show
Speaker 1: was on and she you know, you guys started airing
Speaker 1: and I was working on a show in Chicago, and
Speaker 1: she'd come visit me from Detroit and we were opening
Speaker 1: a business in Detroit. We opened a beautiful intersectional hair
Speaker 1: salon together because we met in our twenties and we'd
Speaker 1: go to award shows and we couldn't get our hair
Speaker 1: done together, and we were like, well, the beauty industry's
Speaker 1: racistem this is bullshit, right, And you know, in our
Speaker 1: two ties we complained about it, and then in our
Speaker 1: thirties we were like, oh, well, maybe we'll come up
Speaker 1: with a way to fix it. And I remember like
Speaker 1: sitting in the apartment one night, like taking her braids
Speaker 1: out on the couch, watching you guys, and she was like, Beth,
Speaker 1: care's a better speak on it. And we were just
Speaker 1: laughing and we were like, it tickled me as a
Speaker 1: woman who loves this like powerful, amazing black woman to
Speaker 1: see her be so tickled by you. And then like
Speaker 1: we're sitting in this moment like taking her braids out
Speaker 1: and then talking about how amazing it is to see
Speaker 1: you on this big network show as this woman with
Speaker 1: her natural hair, Like it it hit us and all
Speaker 1: around us and in our business and in our friendship
Speaker 1: and like we were just two girls in Chicago watching
Speaker 1: your show and you didn't know either one of us.
Speaker 3: Then it's mess something It's so amazing the power of
Speaker 3: what it means to like come into a living room
Speaker 3: for people.
Speaker 2: You know, we know what that is. We we know,
Speaker 2: you know. I can't name how many shows growing.
Speaker 3: Up that you you know, I there are certain series
Speaker 3: like when I rewatched them from growing up, like you know,
Speaker 3: I get I get teary eyed.
Speaker 2: At the end because I feel like I grew up
Speaker 2: with these people.
Speaker 3: You know, like they were in my my house, and
Speaker 3: you know, and so to be able to do that,
Speaker 3: if even if it's from anything to seeing a professional woman,
Speaker 3: seeing a woman be you know, more than a mother
Speaker 3: and a wife and try to find her own way
Speaker 3: in the world, or even down to the hair, like
Speaker 3: I remember when I started the show, there wasn't a
Speaker 3: ton of doing natural.
Speaker 2: Hair on TV happening at that time, and.
Speaker 3: I remember being a huge topic of conversation. But it
Speaker 3: was one of those things, like I mentioned that I thought.
Speaker 2: Well, in my.
Speaker 3: Desire to keep her as authentic as I can imagine,
Speaker 3: one of the things with black women, you can see
Speaker 3: the hair switch up, like that's just part of the
Speaker 3: for doing this authentically.
Speaker 2: This has to be kind of a part of this ride.
Speaker 3: And so it was definitely intentional on my behalf, but
Speaker 3: it wasn't so thoughtful. I just thought like, oh, you
Speaker 3: know what part of the authors see authenticity is going
Speaker 3: to be her changing up her hair, Like that just
Speaker 3: has to be there, you know what I mean. So
Speaker 3: it wasn't like this major, but I understood the effect
Speaker 3: that it did have for those watching it because I
Speaker 3: can't imagine either, Like if I was, you know, like
Speaker 3: on the other side of that, I'd been like, wait,
Speaker 3: they don't let us do that.
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying, Like, yeah.
Speaker 3: But I was so grateful to be in a space
Speaker 3: that that that type of again authentic journey was welcomed.
Speaker 2: And nobody contested it.
Speaker 3: Nobody said, oh, you know she needs to nobody said anything.
Speaker 2: Nobody said anything. So as long as nobody said no,
Speaker 2: I just kept saying okay, and every week okay.
Speaker 3: And then somebody told me that Dan one time was
Speaker 3: in the editing room because you know, she was really
Speaker 3: switching it up. And and I remember one time Dan
Speaker 3: was in the editing room and somebody told me that
Speaker 3: Dan was like, oh, I can't wait to see what
Speaker 3: best Hair is doing this week. Yeah, and yeah, this
Speaker 3: is Dan Fogelman who created the show. For everybody who's listening,
Speaker 3: it's you know who's now working with Thirling on Paradise.
Speaker 3: Just a really powerful showrunner and creative has given us
Speaker 3: so so much amazing work. And Dan was just one
Speaker 3: hundred percent down with it. So that it also helps
Speaker 3: when the environment is inviting you to do the thing
Speaker 3: that you feel best advocates for your for your character.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's interesting, right, Like, I know a lot
Speaker 1: of people make a lot of money on the internet,
Speaker 1: making it seem like how we allow people to be
Speaker 1: fully themselves or fully considered is too much effort for
Speaker 1: society instead of awesome, right. And it's like, I like,
Speaker 1: I love the way you're talking about it because on
Speaker 1: the one hand, it's just authentic. It's just who this
Speaker 1: woman is. It's who so many women you know are.
Speaker 1: It's actually not rocket science for the production, it's not
Speaker 1: hard on anybody. But what it is when it's just
Speaker 1: allowed to be part of the daily journey of someone
Speaker 1: and be simply that is so transformative for people who
Speaker 1: see it who've never gotten to see it.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: So it's like it's not rocket science, but it is
Speaker 1: major in terms of what it becomes on screen.
Speaker 2: I agree. Sorry, I just.
Speaker 1: Love that you were in an environment where it got
Speaker 1: to be both. It got to be the most casual,
Speaker 1: obvious thing so that it could go out in the
Speaker 1: world and be powerful.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I remember being in front of we were doing a
Speaker 3: panel with the people with journalists from the Golden Globe,
Speaker 3: and I remember asking, has anyone in the room seen
Speaker 3: a couple like.
Speaker 2: Randlen Beth, like a black couple of the way that
Speaker 2: we were being.
Speaker 3: And in that Hope Pannel, which was at least maybe
Speaker 3: about how many people were in that room, maybe twelve
Speaker 3: to fifteen or something, but from all over the world,
Speaker 3: there's just one person raised their hands and I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: you know, so it was something like I said, it's
Speaker 3: something that for some people it's like, yeah, totally we
Speaker 3: get this, and for some people it's like, oh wow,
Speaker 3: this is so there's there.
Speaker 2: That's the power of what.
Speaker 3: We get to do and and the medium we get
Speaker 3: to use to do it, because it can just it's
Speaker 3: in your home, turn on the TV's there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's beautiful and you and Sterling did God. I
Speaker 1: just I love watching you both work as actors. You know,
Speaker 1: I think about on that show and I think about
Speaker 1: your new show and his new show that you just mentioned, Like,
Speaker 1: I love watching y'all. But the the o bond and
Speaker 1: affection and safety you two had together as performers, like
Speaker 1: it just radiated from the screen. I imagine it's it's the
Speaker 1: most special thing to get to make something like that.
Speaker 1: I work with your friend, and it's got to be
Speaker 1: hard when it's time to go, right, Like, is it
Speaker 1: bittersweet to watch Paradise now and be like, God, he's
Speaker 1: so good, but.
Speaker 2: I miss him. You know, we got to visit each other.
Speaker 2: It's so funny. I was shooting on one line, he
Speaker 2: was shooting across the street on the other. No, So yeah,
Speaker 2: for sure.
Speaker 3: So I went over there one time, I think when
Speaker 3: I was having lunch or something.
Speaker 2: Are we trying to do or maybe I.
Speaker 3: Had just finished it, whatever it was, I went over
Speaker 3: And the amazing thing is that so many people who
Speaker 3: shot on This is Us they rehired the same crew.
Speaker 3: They rehirea directors. Yeah, they're high, you know, hair and makeup,
Speaker 3: you know, all those people were there. Cool of of course,
Speaker 3: Sterling of course, and and Dan and at the time John,
Speaker 3: John and Glenn were directing Who and they directed John
Speaker 3: Rink gn Glenn Fakarr. They directed our first episode of
Speaker 3: This Is Us. So they were essentially the ones that
Speaker 3: got me hired onto This US because they were they
Speaker 3: were the first directors that I had auditioned for, and
Speaker 3: they brought me back into the you know, the final,
Speaker 3: the test and all of that. But they they are
Speaker 3: fantastic directors and so it was just a whole reunion set.
Speaker 3: It really was just like the best reunion. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 3: it was great.
Speaker 1: And now for our sponsors, well, and it's not lost
Speaker 1: on me that you went from and I love that
Speaker 1: the family continues, right, like the family moves in to
Speaker 1: this other space. But you went from a big, you know, familial,
Speaker 1: well oiled machine into Shondaland right like Susan, the Residence
Speaker 1: is so good.
Speaker 2: It is so great.
Speaker 1: I loved the script when I read it. I am
Speaker 1: so in love with the show and the cast and
Speaker 1: the pacing and the music and the It's like it
Speaker 1: feels like a play and and and like what I
Speaker 1: wanted Clue to be. But never was no shade to
Speaker 1: anybody who made that movie back in the day, Like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, it's it's Poirot. It's all these amazing,
Speaker 1: juicy stories and you all are so good, Like how
Speaker 1: did this happen? Were you were you freaked out about
Speaker 1: like the size of the Shonda World? Did you know
Speaker 1: anybody before? Like, tell me, tell me how the residence
Speaker 1: came to be?
Speaker 2: You know, I.
Speaker 3: Remember my agent told me about it. He first told
Speaker 3: me about it and sort of like our group meeting
Speaker 3: with everyone that my whole team, you know, and that
Speaker 3: was one of the projects that they had discussed. And
Speaker 3: then I remember him coming back to it and I
Speaker 3: was in London at the time doing a play at
Speaker 3: the Old Vic and they said, yeah, you know, look
Speaker 3: they're looking at you, you know, for this role of Jasmine,
Speaker 3: So give it a read and let us know what
Speaker 3: you think. And I called them back within within ten
Speaker 3: minutes because I looked.
Speaker 2: At it right away, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: And I called hi back within ten minutes like I
Speaker 3: did like page fifteen, and I was like, yeah, sign
Speaker 3: me up.
Speaker 1: Whatever.
Speaker 3: And then I came back to New York a month
Speaker 3: later because I remember I traveled.
Speaker 2: I went to South Africa for the first time. I
Speaker 2: did it like a whole thing.
Speaker 3: And I came back and they were like, yeah, they
Speaker 3: want to set up this meeting with you. And so
Speaker 3: I met with Paul William Davies, who's the amazing writer,
Speaker 3: who just the extraordinary writer. He wrote all eight episodes.
Speaker 3: And I met with Betsy Bears, the fabulous Betsy Beers,
Speaker 3: and well, actually Betsy wasn't in that meeting, so it
Speaker 3: was Paul and Alison who were.
Speaker 2: In that meeting. Wonderful Alison.
Speaker 3: I and and then I had to meet with Betsy
Speaker 3: the next day because she was unable to make that meeting.
Speaker 2: And Betsy, as you know, is Seanda's partner. And and
Speaker 2: I just when I got in the meeting.
Speaker 3: Listen, it's kind of like that that audition crasher I
Speaker 3: told you about the second day. She walked into that meeting, like, look,
Speaker 3: I don't know what's going on, but I read this scrip, honey,
Speaker 3: and this is amazing. You know.
Speaker 2: I just was so lit up by this project, so
Speaker 2: lit up.
Speaker 3: Yes, I was like, whatever you guys need, you know, whatever,
Speaker 3: I just I want you to have because this project
Speaker 3: is incredible.
Speaker 2: I would love to be a part of this thing.
Speaker 3: I it's it's playing for me in my head like
Speaker 3: a movie already. But I think I just was so
Speaker 3: excited to meet who was behind it, and like it
Speaker 3: was just very exciting to me. I don't know, it
Speaker 3: didn't feel like anything like you know, sometimes those things
Speaker 3: can feel tense or you know, like you have nerves
Speaker 3: or something. I didn't feel anything like that. I was
Speaker 3: just so excited by the material. I just thought it
Speaker 3: was fun. It just all of it just felt really
Speaker 3: amazing and just sort of like I just had so
Speaker 3: much love for it.
Speaker 2: I think I led with that.
Speaker 3: Than anything else. And we just had the amazing conversation
Speaker 3: about it. And again then next day I met with
Speaker 3: Betsy and we just had an amazing conversation. And the
Speaker 3: great thing about Stondaland is like, Wow, they get some
Speaker 3: amazing people to work for them and with them, I
Speaker 3: should say, they are just an incredible team over there,
Speaker 3: and it's really inspiring the way they put people together
Speaker 3: and how they lift people up, you know, in their
Speaker 3: in their own journeys as writers or as actors, as
Speaker 3: you know, behind the scenes. They make sure you know,
Speaker 3: crews are respected and that things are as diverse as possible,
Speaker 3: and that people get as much opportunity as possible. So
Speaker 3: it has been just such a wonderful, wonderful ride with Chaplin. Yeah,
Speaker 3: to leave, you know, that's the space of this is
Speaker 3: us space, and going to that space was really kind
Speaker 3: of amazing, and it felt very correlated in a way
Speaker 3: because it was very similar in terms of the type of.
Speaker 2: The type of people I was working with. It's just
Speaker 2: really good people.
Speaker 1: Good people, and it's and it is it's a level,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's rare air, you know. And I've thought
Speaker 1: about you guys so much as I've been watching the
Speaker 1: show since the premiere, because while it's in my you know,
Speaker 1: every couple of days I get to another episode moment
Speaker 1: in life. I've been working on Grays this season, and
Speaker 1: let me tell you something like walking onto that set,
Speaker 1: I went, oh, I see, yeah, this this is exactly
Speaker 1: the kind of place I want to come to work.
Speaker 1: The way people respect each other, the way people will
Speaker 1: speak to each other, the both efficiency that exists so
Speaker 1: that you can be patient with the work.
Speaker 2: Like it it's rare.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And oh man, there's there's something very special that
Speaker 1: the Shondaland enterprise does. And I feel like it comes
Speaker 1: through on screen like I'm watching you all, and the
Speaker 1: pacing and the cuts and the there's always something bubbling
Speaker 1: under the surface, and it feels so exciting and it
Speaker 1: feels very sparkly.
Speaker 2: I love that. I love that.
Speaker 3: I think when I think of Shondaland, I think of sparkly,
Speaker 3: don't you. Yes, Like it's it just feels like you are.
Speaker 2: Watching TV through like champagne. Yeah, it's just the best.
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: There's just glitter on it.
Speaker 3: It's just Yes, there's just something shiny about it, and
Speaker 3: you just want to jump into the screen and be
Speaker 3: with them. And the stories are compelling and they make
Speaker 3: you want to It's the best page turn. It just
Speaker 3: makes you want to turn the page and go to
Speaker 3: the next and go to the next, and and so yeah,
Speaker 3: I've binged so many Shonda shows, as as everybody else has,
Speaker 3: you know. So the minute I knew that I was
Speaker 3: going to Shondaland, I yeah, I was on like, yeah,
Speaker 3: the first ticket out of here, and I was like, yes,
Speaker 3: I will be there.
Speaker 1: And how did you guys? How is it as a unit?
Speaker 1: You know? I think about this world you're inhabiting. I
Speaker 1: think about how how Uzo's character comes in as this detective,
Speaker 1: how everybody's got to build out the kind of political
Speaker 1: apparatus of the White House around it, and the show
Speaker 1: is at the same time very serious and very funny.
Speaker 1: It's a murder mystery, but it's funny. How did you
Speaker 1: all figure out how to to pull the strings of
Speaker 1: getting the tone just right?
Speaker 2: Paul was very specific about the tone. He knew what
Speaker 2: he wanted it to be. He was very.
Speaker 3: It was written into it musically, I think, and rhythmically.
Speaker 3: His tone was written into the script. He was very
Speaker 3: hands on about it. So I don't think we were
Speaker 3: ever at a loss necessarily for like where we at
Speaker 3: and what's the tone.
Speaker 2: I think in the very beginning we had.
Speaker 3: To figure it out, you know, those first first week
Speaker 3: or so. But once we were into it and we
Speaker 3: got it, I think it was there. And like I said,
Speaker 3: it was something that I know all was very clear
Speaker 3: about from the beginning.
Speaker 2: But it's it's it's fun.
Speaker 3: And one of the things that caught us the most,
Speaker 3: or caught our attention the most, was that you really
Speaker 3: had to play against a lot of some of the
Speaker 3: jokes in order for it to be funny in a
Speaker 3: way that's funny that doesn't like wear.
Speaker 2: You out, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Like if very dry yeah, if you do it try,
Speaker 3: then you can kind of keep that going for a while.
Speaker 3: But if everybody's like huge, you know what I mean,
Speaker 3: it can get like oh shouts, it's a lot, you know.
Speaker 3: So I think that there was something really smart about
Speaker 3: One of the things they said was just play it
Speaker 3: very straight, play straight, you know, and just let it
Speaker 3: be there. Let the comedy be there. And I love
Speaker 3: comedy like that. I love comedy where you kind of
Speaker 3: don't see, like everybody's just being and it.
Speaker 1: Just me so don't I don't like that embarrassing, like dumb,
Speaker 1: anxious comedy. I like I like this sort of intellectual almost.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: I don't want to say it's a British dryness because
Speaker 1: it's a very American show, but it has been a
Speaker 1: little bit.
Speaker 3: Yeah, isn't that that is a very kind of British thing, though.
Speaker 2: Isn't it. Yeah? It's yeah, it has that. It's it's witty,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 3: And and it's it's.
Speaker 2: Smart and it's dry.
Speaker 3: And then sometimes it's just straight up you know, you
Speaker 3: have characters in there like the Third Man and you're
Speaker 3: just like, oh, that's.
Speaker 2: Just straight up comedy, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3: So there's so many different ways I think it can go,
Speaker 3: but I I know that it's very grounded by by
Speaker 3: Uzzo's Cordelia Cup, which is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
Speaker 1: You know, it's so much fun to watch her play
Speaker 1: this character.
Speaker 2: Because you know, it's just watching people play. Was one
Speaker 2: of the joys.
Speaker 3: Of being on the show is you could be in
Speaker 3: a scene and there are like, you know, there might
Speaker 3: be like twelve people in the scene with you right now,
Speaker 3: and you might not be speaking, but as I'm watching,
Speaker 3: you know, whoever is speaking, I'm biting.
Speaker 2: The inside of my cheek.
Speaker 3: I'm just trying to like hold it together because I
Speaker 3: want to laugh, you know, like really when I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: that was.
Speaker 2: Funny, you know, and I'm such a.
Speaker 3: Fan of comedy, so to see that firsthand and in person,
Speaker 3: and then and I also feel like Uzo has such
Speaker 3: great instincts, you know, Ramdall has such great in There's
Speaker 3: people can Marino, There's people just with such great instinct
Speaker 3: Molly Griggs, I just go on and on. Their instinct
Speaker 3: is just has a bit of a comedic bend to it.
Speaker 3: So even sort of the most mundane things can be
Speaker 3: just really funny.
Speaker 1: I love that, and the set must be breathtaking, because
Speaker 1: for the whole first episode, I'm sitting there being like,
Speaker 1: I've I've spent some time what an insane sentence, like
Speaker 1: my nine year old self would geek, I've spent some
Speaker 1: time in the house, And like I'm looking at the
Speaker 1: set and then the sort of three D model of
Speaker 1: the back when the back wall comes up, it's so impressive.
Speaker 2: Oh wow, wow, how many.
Speaker 1: Like how many sound stages? Is it just the biggest
Speaker 1: craziest set you've ever worked on?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 3: I think somebody asked me today like was it How
Speaker 3: did you do the various levels? And you know, some
Speaker 3: things were built on a bit more of like an
Speaker 3: elevation so that you can come downstairs or you can
Speaker 3: go upstairs and you can do those types of things,
Speaker 3: and then some things were just on the just on
Speaker 3: a flat level and created to feel like you were going.
Speaker 2: Up and downstairs.
Speaker 3: But I felt, I knew whenever I was in there,
Speaker 3: it just really put you in the middle of the
Speaker 3: White House, like you just I've never been inside the
Speaker 3: White House, But after so many people who have been
Speaker 3: came back and told us it was eerily the exact
Speaker 3: copy even down to the like the square footage in
Speaker 3: certain areas and things like that. So I I really,
Speaker 3: you know, heads off to our design team because it's
Speaker 3: it's really an incredible feat because.
Speaker 2: People watch it and think you didn't shoot that in
Speaker 2: the White House.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're like, we literally do that. Well, what can
Speaker 1: we expect from season two? I am just so excited
Speaker 1: for more of this show.
Speaker 3: I you know, I I'm we're waiting to hear and
Speaker 3: I'm yeah, And I'm not sure what Paul is up
Speaker 3: to for season two, but I would be really excited
Speaker 3: to know.
Speaker 2: I knew, I do know.
Speaker 3: That if and when they announced the season two I
Speaker 3: know he would be very ready for when. I'm trusting
Speaker 3: that He's just so brilliant. But I'm thankful that people
Speaker 3: want a season two. It's been you know, it's so
Speaker 3: fun to you know, hear people's response to the show.
Speaker 3: And and and let me tell you something, in a heartbeat,
Speaker 3: they call.
Speaker 2: Me up, I'm there for sure, Yeah for sure.
Speaker 1: Oh. I love that. I know. I know we've hit
Speaker 1: our time. I feel like I could spend all day chatting.
Speaker 1: We're gonna have to do this in New York in
Speaker 1: person soon.
Speaker 2: Oh, amazing. I love it.
Speaker 1: I would just love it. But I will part with
Speaker 1: my favorite and final question to ask people, which is
Speaker 1: just from here, And it can be a personal thing,
Speaker 1: a professional thing, a little mix of both. What feels
Speaker 1: like you're working progress as you look out at the
Speaker 1: rest of your year and what's coming.
Speaker 2: I think, be brave, be bold.
Speaker 3: I think that's the work in progress.
Speaker 2: Be brave, be.
Speaker 3: Bold, because I feel like that calls me into things
Speaker 3: that I may not be as familiar with, things that
Speaker 3: will make you a little fearful because you don't know
Speaker 3: what it is or you're not sort of super comfortable.
Speaker 3: But also just if I'm going to do it, be
Speaker 3: brave about it and also be bold about it, like
Speaker 3: do it in a really step out And I think
Speaker 3: that is call for twenty twenty five and this is
Speaker 3: a really great year for that with everything going on
Speaker 3: in the world, you know, is to face it, sort
Speaker 3: of face it with your fearful or not just face
Speaker 3: it and be bold about facing it.
Speaker 2: I love that. Yeah, So that mm hmmm, That's what
Speaker 2: I'm going to carry beautiful.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you so much. I'm I'm just so happy
Speaker 1: to have spent the morning with you and so thrilled
Speaker 1: that you've brought me my next newest favorite show. So
Speaker 1: thank you for the personal I am the entertainment okay,
Speaker 1: and I want.
Speaker 2: To watch you on Grace. Yeah, yah yay. I love
Speaker 2: that we're we're in it.
Speaker 1: You have a beautiful rest of your day.
Speaker 2: Thank you.