1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,960
Speaker 1: I think no, I think changing a tire sewing at least,

2
00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,360
Speaker 1: I'm not talking about making a dress or a pair

3
00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,360
Speaker 1: of pants, But I mean, like just getting a button

4
00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:12,960
Speaker 1: back on. It seems like a skill you should have,

5
00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:15,880
Speaker 1: I think, right, I think that's something you can't accomplish.

6
00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,200
Speaker 1: Will work on this. Oh yeah, it's a big year,

7
00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:25,440
Speaker 1: I feel it for on. You're gonna put buttons on everything, on,

8
00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:30,840
Speaker 1: just on everything, just no snaps, too easy. You gotta

9
00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:33,879
Speaker 1: work for it and then you really love it. All right.

10
00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,120
Speaker 1: Hey there, I'm Fella me Young, and I'm Brian's friends

11
00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:54,040
Speaker 1: from work. Hi there, listeners, Welcome back to another brand

12
00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:59,760
Speaker 1: spanking new episode of Off the Beat. As always, I'm

13
00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:04,759
Speaker 1: your host, Brian Baumgartner, and you just heard from the wonderful,

14
00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:11,360
Speaker 1: the delightful, the hilarious Bellamy Young. You probably know Bellamy

15
00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:15,559
Speaker 1: from her role as President of the United States, Melly

16
00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:21,440
Speaker 1: Grant in Scandal, or for playing Jessica Whitley in Prodigal Son,

17
00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:26,200
Speaker 1: or maybe Margaret Honeycroft in Promised Land. Whatever you saw

18
00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,840
Speaker 1: her in, I can only promise you this, she was excellent.

19
00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,880
Speaker 1: And Bellamy has had well, she's had an incredible journey

20
00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:41,560
Speaker 1: which somehow includes being North Carolina's Junior Miss, becoming spokesperson

21
00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:46,720
Speaker 1: for the Humane Society, and winning celebrity Jeopardy. Oh and

22
00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:52,720
Speaker 1: also going to Yale to study physics. That's right, Bellamy

23
00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:57,720
Speaker 1: seems to be very good at well, just about everything,

24
00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:02,400
Speaker 1: and now her journey will include being a guest on

25
00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,040
Speaker 1: Off the Beat, a title. Well, I'm sure she's going

26
00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:08,760
Speaker 1: to add this to her long list of accomplishments. I'm

27
00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:11,680
Speaker 1: excited to dive into her story. It has taken her

28
00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:15,640
Speaker 1: from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Gulf Stream Waters,

29
00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:18,440
Speaker 1: to Broadway and back. I'm not going to make you

30
00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:28,200
Speaker 1: wait here. She is Bellamy Young, Bubble and Squeak. I

31
00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:35,160
Speaker 1: love Bubble and Squeak on Bubble and Squeaker Cookie every

32
00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:51,280
Speaker 1: month left over from the nutby Hi. What, I'm so

33
00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:54,600
Speaker 1: happy to see you. I miss you. I am so

34
00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:59,440
Speaker 1: happy to see you. What's going on? You know? It's

35
00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,799
Speaker 1: just a rain a day in New York City trying

36
00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:09,919
Speaker 1: to make meet its possibility? How about you? What is

37
00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,040
Speaker 1: is that? An? I love New York? Fuck it is?

38
00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,760
Speaker 1: Can we curse on your show? Yes? It is? Wow?

39
00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,560
Speaker 1: I mean that is I know that you live there,

40
00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:25,359
Speaker 1: but that mug is a cliche. I love it. I'm

41
00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,120
Speaker 1: a cliche. It's just how it happens. Be It's like

42
00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:30,960
Speaker 1: how I roll. I literally got this apartment. I was

43
00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,560
Speaker 1: here after college for like a decade and then I

44
00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,200
Speaker 1: was you know, l A was so good to me,

45
00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,320
Speaker 1: and I'm so grateful to her, but she and I

46
00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,120
Speaker 1: do not understand each other. And so when I got back,

47
00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,920
Speaker 1: I literally went downstairs to the choky shop and got

48
00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:47,560
Speaker 1: this mug and it is the only thing I drink

49
00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:52,920
Speaker 1: out of the only thing. Oh, I love that. That

50
00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,440
Speaker 1: is so that is amazing, the big apple and everything.

51
00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:01,360
Speaker 1: It's just perfect. Um, here is a well, first off,

52
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,760
Speaker 1: we should mention we have just worked together. And do

53
00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,360
Speaker 1: you know what's crazy is we may have worked together

54
00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:12,320
Speaker 1: before you worked Did we work together? We were never

55
00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:18,279
Speaker 1: appeared on Criminal Minds. Oh yes, I did recur upon that,

56
00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:20,800
Speaker 1: So there is a bit of a chance I was

57
00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:27,280
Speaker 1: hotches woman. Right, Maybe maybe it wasn't this Did you

58
00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:32,080
Speaker 1: kill people? Or did I killed people? Did you kill them? What? What?

59
00:04:32,200 --> 00:04:34,760
Speaker 1: Tell me more? Well? I was a serial killer? You

60
00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:40,599
Speaker 1: know that show. It's the craziest show where the lead

61
00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:46,080
Speaker 1: of every episode is the guest star. Yeah, so it's

62
00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:50,320
Speaker 1: like you you literally show up and you don't know

63
00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,120
Speaker 1: where anything is or who anybody is, and it's like, Okay,

64
00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,800
Speaker 1: it's your show. It's all resting on your shoulder. It's

65
00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,919
Speaker 1: all on you. And then every and he comes and

66
00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,040
Speaker 1: you know, arrest you at the end and all that.

67
00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:07,240
Speaker 1: But yeah, no, it's a crazy show. It is a

68
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,920
Speaker 1: crazy show. And I I will swear those fans are

69
00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,880
Speaker 1: so devoted of the time that anyone notices me and

70
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,360
Speaker 1: I you know, I'm very grateful for any of it,

71
00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,080
Speaker 1: and but usually it's scandal, but no, forty percent of

72
00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,280
Speaker 1: the time it's criminal minds. And I couldn't have done

73
00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,520
Speaker 1: six episodes. I mean, I was a blip on that radar,

74
00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,760
Speaker 1: but that's a throw. You know they're back. They're making

75
00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:32,279
Speaker 1: shows again, are they? Oh? They surely are. I think

76
00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:37,119
Speaker 1: he said you can creak out. I think I'm in jail.

77
00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:39,640
Speaker 1: I think I'm not. I don't think I'm coming back.

78
00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,920
Speaker 1: They didn't call me about the about the reboot, then

79
00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:46,720
Speaker 1: call me yet. Um, but we should mention, being very

80
00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,680
Speaker 1: careful not to say too much. Bellamy and I are

81
00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:53,279
Speaker 1: working together on a new show. Do you want to

82
00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:57,560
Speaker 1: tell us about it? In Atlanta, Georgia? Oh, yeah, and

83
00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,440
Speaker 1: actually show we are doing a show h called The

84
00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,240
Speaker 1: Other Black Girl, which was a book that came out

85
00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:07,599
Speaker 1: I think last year by Zekia Delilah Harris, and she

86
00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,839
Speaker 1: and Rashida Jones have made it into a series, like

87
00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,400
Speaker 1: the most interesting thing to me, because I don't want

88
00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,080
Speaker 1: people to feel like, oh, I can't read the book,

89
00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:16,920
Speaker 1: I don't want to spoil the show, or I don't

90
00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:18,520
Speaker 1: watch I don't want to watch the show. I read

91
00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:24,240
Speaker 1: the book. It's a second swing at this, I p

92
00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,000
Speaker 1: where we've really diverged from the book. Uh. There's some,

93
00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:32,240
Speaker 1: of course, amazing similarities and parallel paths, but it's it's

94
00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:35,279
Speaker 1: a really cool project to be a part of. On

95
00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:39,880
Speaker 1: our sweet Sinclair Daniels is our very leading, beautiful work.

96
00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,760
Speaker 1: And I don't know that hack Eric McCormick. He hangs

97
00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:47,719
Speaker 1: around sometimes, he's around occasionally. Well, it's been so much

98
00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,839
Speaker 1: fun getting to know you and working with you. I've

99
00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,440
Speaker 1: loved it. It's been so much fun, and back in

100
00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:59,160
Speaker 1: in my hometown, which I'm going to transition like seamlessly to.

101
00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:04,120
Speaker 1: I think maybe the greatest similarity between you and I

102
00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,000
Speaker 1: is this is what I would say that no one

103
00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:11,560
Speaker 1: on first meeting us would guess that we're from the South.

104
00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,480
Speaker 1: Do you think that's true? I think that's true. I

105
00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:19,760
Speaker 1: think we re give it. You do. I think we're

106
00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,960
Speaker 1: there's a kind openness to both of us. Tell me,

107
00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,480
Speaker 1: you know, you can have a conversation with a plastic bowl,

108
00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:31,960
Speaker 1: and so can I. And that's definitely like a Southern superpower,

109
00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:34,720
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, no one, no one would think

110
00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,040
Speaker 1: we're from the Bronx and no one would think we're

111
00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:42,920
Speaker 1: like Silicon Valley. Where where would you peg us? I? No, see,

112
00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,120
Speaker 1: I would peg you New York. I would You're just

113
00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:52,480
Speaker 1: flirting with me, now, No, I would. And maybe that's

114
00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:56,280
Speaker 1: because I know how much you love it. Maybe that's it.

115
00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,000
Speaker 1: Maybe that's it. I don't know. Yeah I would. I

116
00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:03,000
Speaker 1: would put you there for sure. Well that's really very kind,

117
00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:05,840
Speaker 1: but I don't think I merit that. But you're not

118
00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:14,080
Speaker 1: your Carolina Ashville, North Carolina, ash Vegas to those in

119
00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:18,640
Speaker 1: the KNOWE whatever, I don't know Asheville, home of the

120
00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:27,280
Speaker 1: I'm gonna screw it up. Pig Nut Chicken Farm, Hot

121
00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:33,839
Speaker 1: pig Chicken Chicken nut Farm. You don't know what I'm

122
00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:38,680
Speaker 1: talking about? No, all right, what are you talking about? No?

123
00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,960
Speaker 1: There's a big farm there in Ashville, ash by the

124
00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,720
Speaker 1: way Asheville without the end, not Nashville Ashville in case

125
00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,280
Speaker 1: I'm not Yeah, it's a totally different place. We have

126
00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:55,200
Speaker 1: to build more house the Vanderbilt estate, right. We have

127
00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,440
Speaker 1: a growth park in we have the parkway. I'm sure

128
00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,480
Speaker 1: we have a lot of beauty, full and scenic farms.

129
00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:04,640
Speaker 1: I am not aware of this one of which you speak.

130
00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,600
Speaker 1: We have twelve Bones, which is the big barbecue place,

131
00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,480
Speaker 1: so Vegan, I don't know how many bones there are.

132
00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:19,319
Speaker 1: You don't count the ball you no, no, no, I'm

133
00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,720
Speaker 1: want to leave that one alone too. Um. How do

134
00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,840
Speaker 1: you think that shaped you? Oh? My goodness, what a

135
00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:31,000
Speaker 1: beautiful question, because I really can feel, particularly in people's

136
00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:35,760
Speaker 1: singing voices, I feel like I can feel the topography

137
00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:40,000
Speaker 1: that shaped them. So I feel the mountains inside of me,

138
00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:42,880
Speaker 1: like the places to hide and then the places of

139
00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:47,240
Speaker 1: wide open wonder and um, you know, home life was

140
00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:49,280
Speaker 1: not the best. So that shaped you too, because you're like, hey,

141
00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:51,600
Speaker 1: I'm going to leave here. But but then once you

142
00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:56,480
Speaker 1: get out, then you know, just knowing that you've come

143
00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:59,720
Speaker 1: from a place of such beauty and art and food,

144
00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:05,040
Speaker 1: and you know, like really um culture. Yeah, I love

145
00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:08,880
Speaker 1: I love my hometown. I really do. I feel it

146
00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:13,200
Speaker 1: with me always. Oh that's awesome. You started singing early.

147
00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:19,600
Speaker 1: I did three. Wow, Santa Celle has been chatting you up.

148
00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:24,520
Speaker 1: Wait is that three? Like professionally? Is that when you

149
00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:29,400
Speaker 1: did your first album? I think we were still you know,

150
00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:33,280
Speaker 1: pressing things into vinyl in the seventies. But um, yeah,

151
00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:38,560
Speaker 1: I'm adopted, and UM, they at the hospital, you know,

152
00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:40,360
Speaker 1: I was in foster care for like two months, and

153
00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:42,840
Speaker 1: so some wires must have gotten crossed. But the papers

154
00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:46,559
Speaker 1: that were given to my adopted parents, UM, I had

155
00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,079
Speaker 1: like two lines on My father had like a paragraph

156
00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,920
Speaker 1: on my birth mother and um, and it said she

157
00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,960
Speaker 1: like just so and singing, and you know, she was

158
00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,480
Speaker 1: an English major. And so my parents who had opted me,

159
00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:02,880
Speaker 1: we're like, oh, we gotta, we gotta follow up on this,

160
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,960
Speaker 1: you know, in case we are not supplying what she

161
00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,880
Speaker 1: needs genetically, you know. And uh, come to find out

162
00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:15,079
Speaker 1: it was none of it true. It was none of true.

163
00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:20,680
Speaker 1: She didn't I was so pretty in pink in high school,

164
00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:26,280
Speaker 1: assoed everything war and I sang everywhere and I did

165
00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:28,199
Speaker 1: all those things. Yeah yeah, yeah no, but I mean

166
00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:30,040
Speaker 1: it turned out to be right for me, but just

167
00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:35,600
Speaker 1: not necessarily true in the abstract. So they encouraged you

168
00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:38,600
Speaker 1: to sew, and well, they just sort of were like,

169
00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:42,079
Speaker 1: here are some things you might turn we hear that

170
00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,160
Speaker 1: you might be into. And honey, I loved it. Oh sing,

171
00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,840
Speaker 1: and my goodness, I would definitely be in jail somewhere

172
00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:53,360
Speaker 1: if I couldn't sing. It is absolutely my personal freedom.

173
00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:58,840
Speaker 1: Can Catharsis and joy and I'll be fussy, you know,

174
00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,280
Speaker 1: I'll be cranky and I'll not know what's going on,

175
00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,160
Speaker 1: but I'll get a song like going in my head

176
00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,440
Speaker 1: and I'll be like, oh really, like literally, it's just

177
00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:11,640
Speaker 1: how my body deals with being alive. But then they,

178
00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:14,040
Speaker 1: you know, put me in dance. I was never quite

179
00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,920
Speaker 1: as good at that, but I love still loved to sew.

180
00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,280
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I love all that stuff. Interesting, did you

181
00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:25,080
Speaker 1: ever sew? No, I still can't sew. I'm gonna watch

182
00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:33,680
Speaker 1: season two. That's our goal that I learned to sew. Yeah, No,

183
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,400
Speaker 1: I don't sew. I think I should. There are a

184
00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,840
Speaker 1: few things I think I should know how to do.

185
00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:46,319
Speaker 1: And well, I mean I tried recently and I failed

186
00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,079
Speaker 1: at trying to change attire the first thing I said

187
00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,440
Speaker 1: to we really need to do that. No, I know

188
00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,240
Speaker 1: I couldn't get the nuts. I couldn't get the nuts off.

189
00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:01,200
Speaker 1: And I'm not just saying that to try to sound

190
00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:05,000
Speaker 1: like I'm being perverse. I could not get I could

191
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,719
Speaker 1: not get the the lug nuts off of the off

192
00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,000
Speaker 1: the tire. Turns out I called someone who also couldn't,

193
00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,199
Speaker 1: so there I think there was an issue. But um,

194
00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:19,120
Speaker 1: I think no. I think changing a tire sewing at least.

195
00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,520
Speaker 1: I'm not talking about making a dress or a pair

196
00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,520
Speaker 1: of pants. But I mean, like just getting a button

197
00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:28,120
Speaker 1: back on. It seems like a skill you should have,

198
00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:31,000
Speaker 1: I think, right, I think that's something you can accomplish.

199
00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,320
Speaker 1: Will work on this. Oh yeah, it's a big year.

200
00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:39,080
Speaker 1: I feel it. For buttons on. You're gonna put buttons

201
00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:45,600
Speaker 1: on everything, on, just on everything, just no snaps, too easy.

202
00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:47,320
Speaker 1: You gotta work for it. And then you really love it?

203
00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:53,600
Speaker 1: All right? So singing was cathartic for you? Did you

204
00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:58,560
Speaker 1: enjoy the act of performing? Was that a part of it?

205
00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,280
Speaker 1: I've always loved to not be me, like the chance

206
00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,480
Speaker 1: to not be me, for if it's three minutes, if

207
00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,240
Speaker 1: it's three hours, if it's three years, what a delight?

208
00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,959
Speaker 1: What what of? What of rest? Getting a job is

209
00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:12,680
Speaker 1: always like getting a vacation. I love it so much.

210
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:17,480
Speaker 1: And but even then, yeah, I know you feel similarly.

211
00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:19,880
Speaker 1: I think you must like the story telling the story.

212
00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:25,440
Speaker 1: It's such a joy. I'm not a person like I

213
00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,240
Speaker 1: don't want to be the center of attention at parties

214
00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:32,200
Speaker 1: scare me. Like Pedro and I got married and it

215
00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,200
Speaker 1: was just us, you know, like I'm not ever going

216
00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,360
Speaker 1: to be like a look at me if human. But

217
00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:41,920
Speaker 1: I love to escape into something and deliver it and

218
00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,680
Speaker 1: have it, you know, have an effect on people. That's

219
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,680
Speaker 1: fun and so on. Songs are the best because you

220
00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:48,600
Speaker 1: can feel like you can feel the energy in a

221
00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:52,360
Speaker 1: room change. You know, it's magical to go on that

222
00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,960
Speaker 1: with somebody. But they you know. It was the seventies

223
00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,480
Speaker 1: and eighties in North Carolina and so most of the

224
00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:03,080
Speaker 1: places you had to perform were pageants. And so that

225
00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:07,480
Speaker 1: was my next question, because that that feels like like

226
00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:11,280
Speaker 1: one would think that that's about being the center of attention.

227
00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:13,240
Speaker 1: By the way, I totally get you. I feel like

228
00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,600
Speaker 1: I'm the same way. It's something actually my I think

229
00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:22,360
Speaker 1: my especially my mom doesn't understand the difference between acting

230
00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,400
Speaker 1: and doing that in front of people, but actually wanting

231
00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:29,440
Speaker 1: that attention. That's not something that that I ever felt

232
00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,280
Speaker 1: like or you know, that I wanted. But being a

233
00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:38,280
Speaker 1: pageant now you North Carolina Junior miss sure, Now that's

234
00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:42,960
Speaker 1: a scholarship program, Brian. It's a very different feat. Oh

235
00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,160
Speaker 1: it is. I did pay for most of my freshman

236
00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,960
Speaker 1: year at college, so yeah, it did. So were you singing?

237
00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:52,560
Speaker 1: Was that your talent? Did you? Oh? That was I

238
00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,240
Speaker 1: mean that's a that's a thing though, because you have to, um,

239
00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:59,360
Speaker 1: they look at your academics and your interview and your

240
00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:03,400
Speaker 1: you know whatever pageant dress walking around stuff. Then you

241
00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:10,400
Speaker 1: do your talent and wait for it, athletics, which is

242
00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:17,320
Speaker 1: not something I've ever excelled at. So what kind of athletics? Honey.

243
00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:19,240
Speaker 1: We had to do a little, like you know, a

244
00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,240
Speaker 1: little Jane Fonda routine, and I mean little. It was

245
00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,920
Speaker 1: really really, really hard, and they assessed us because it's

246
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,960
Speaker 1: really clear who was good good at that? Wait a

247
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:36,480
Speaker 1: second second, you had to like like do I almost

248
00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:38,960
Speaker 1: said jumping jacks, but no, like push up there? Yea.

249
00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:41,160
Speaker 1: It was like a five minute routine and you had

250
00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,800
Speaker 1: to hold one of those v things. I can't even

251
00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:44,880
Speaker 1: do it. I was going to do it for you,

252
00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:46,520
Speaker 1: but I can't. You know, like where your abs hold

253
00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:48,800
Speaker 1: your whole body in the shape of a V and

254
00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:50,400
Speaker 1: you have to do push ups and you have to

255
00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:57,040
Speaker 1: do jumping jacks and run around and fitness fitness, why wow,

256
00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,000
Speaker 1: this was a part of it. But you but you

257
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,280
Speaker 1: in North Carolina, I didn't win in at Nationals. They

258
00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,959
Speaker 1: they liked my singing. I had a talent award at Nationals.

259
00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,320
Speaker 1: But but I stress. But I when I was little,

260
00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:17,560
Speaker 1: because you know, this all starts. It starts in nineteen

261
00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:21,399
Speaker 1: seventy five, which was bicentennial year. My mother made this

262
00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:28,080
Speaker 1: spectacular long dress hoop skirt bicentennial on PSMB but complete

263
00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:33,440
Speaker 1: with bicentennial parasol. And you gott you know, five years old,

264
00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:35,800
Speaker 1: and like walk around with your parasol and your hoop

265
00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:39,680
Speaker 1: skirt and yeah, but I very quickly. I am not

266
00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:44,240
Speaker 1: at all competitive except with like myself, I mean mean

267
00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:46,719
Speaker 1: inside to myself. But I'm always like, you should get this,

268
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,400
Speaker 1: or you know, I hope you went. So I started

269
00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:52,399
Speaker 1: in seeing really she had all her friends were there,

270
00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,119
Speaker 1: My mom's friends were there. So we're still gonna have

271
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,399
Speaker 1: to go, but I just like I would say, you know,

272
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,159
Speaker 1: Scarlet's in a beautiful future dressed to to lighter shield

273
00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,120
Speaker 1: tap forest while twirling her baton. I'd say, climb every

274
00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:08,560
Speaker 1: mountain while they tabulated the boats. And your southern accent

275
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,760
Speaker 1: just came out when you were chick channeling that. It

276
00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:16,760
Speaker 1: must it must. How big was your hair? Oh? Higher,

277
00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:21,520
Speaker 1: the hair closer to God? That's right, as big as

278
00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:25,560
Speaker 1: it could get. Yes, Wait, I have to ask, did

279
00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:31,400
Speaker 1: you ever have to in Atlanta pageantify yourself? No, well

280
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:35,200
Speaker 1: there wasn't. I don't. I don't think there are pagets

281
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:40,120
Speaker 1: for boys. I don't know there was like cotillion respect

282
00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:43,400
Speaker 1: as well. Alright, I'm gonna need it when I see

283
00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:47,600
Speaker 1: your next I must see those pictures. Okay, I don't know,

284
00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,360
Speaker 1: I don't know how much still be all right, we'll

285
00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:55,119
Speaker 1: see um. Also probably google bule and be to everyone listening,

286
00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:20,960
Speaker 1: I hope not. Okay, So this is insane. You basically

287
00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:26,080
Speaker 1: you're doing padgets and then you decide you want to

288
00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:30,639
Speaker 1: go to Yale for physics. Now you want to be

289
00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:35,120
Speaker 1: a scientist. Yeah, yeah, it was most and you're giving

290
00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:37,639
Speaker 1: up performing. You're like that. That isn't a thing that

291
00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,840
Speaker 1: you think you're gonna wait so talk to me. You

292
00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:44,680
Speaker 1: think you're really not gonna you enjoy performing, but then

293
00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:46,679
Speaker 1: you decide you you want to be a scientist. Is

294
00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:50,919
Speaker 1: this what happens? Well, I wanted to leave North Carolina,

295
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,679
Speaker 1: and I UM don't know how. Honestly, I don't know

296
00:19:55,760 --> 00:20:00,800
Speaker 1: how Yale even came into my sphere of knowledge. But

297
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,719
Speaker 1: somehow I heard that you could. They had singing groups,

298
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,240
Speaker 1: um acapella singing groups, and I was like, oh I

299
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,520
Speaker 1: could still sing. I was like, if I could get

300
00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,320
Speaker 1: in there, my mom cannot say no, right, Like that's

301
00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:15,719
Speaker 1: a good enough reason to leave North Carolina. So I

302
00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,520
Speaker 1: applied early, and I loved physics. I was never I

303
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:21,960
Speaker 1: got to Catholic school and then like public school and

304
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:26,120
Speaker 1: like I never caught onto the like an exclusionary God,

305
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,679
Speaker 1: but like physics and science made me feel like I

306
00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:31,520
Speaker 1: was seeing the face of God, like the truth, like

307
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,520
Speaker 1: you could really work to the truth. And oh, I

308
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:38,160
Speaker 1: just loved it. But again, just I wasn't. I didn't.

309
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:39,679
Speaker 1: I didn't turn out to being great at it on

310
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:41,920
Speaker 1: the world stage, but I was good at it where

311
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:47,640
Speaker 1: I was. Um. So I applied early and they put

312
00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:49,800
Speaker 1: me on the wait list. But I'm Southern, so you know,

313
00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:52,160
Speaker 1: I thought they were just being polite and that they

314
00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:54,960
Speaker 1: would tell me no later and just let me get used.

315
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,919
Speaker 1: To the know. I applied to twelve other schools and

316
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,639
Speaker 1: got really good at applications. Re submitted an entire application

317
00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,760
Speaker 1: to y'all, and likely they thought, dear God, just to

318
00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,960
Speaker 1: hush her up. Just let her in, Just let her in.

319
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,879
Speaker 1: So you might be the only person in history that

320
00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:17,239
Speaker 1: went to Yale for physics. But really, because they had

321
00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:20,840
Speaker 1: an acapella singing group. You don't know that. Maybe you

322
00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:23,119
Speaker 1: don't know. I think you are. I'm going to go

323
00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,320
Speaker 1: out on a room. Let's say. Let's say that's it.

324
00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:30,439
Speaker 1: So you started, you started singing, You get there, and

325
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,760
Speaker 1: you you discover you might not be a scientist after all.

326
00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:36,840
Speaker 1: But but the singing you enjoyed. I loved it. I

327
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:38,840
Speaker 1: loved it so much. And we I was in like

328
00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:41,800
Speaker 1: the funny singing group that like co ed funny singing

329
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,480
Speaker 1: group because there's like you know, single sex and serious

330
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:46,000
Speaker 1: ones and all that kind of stuff, and I wanted

331
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,159
Speaker 1: to be I wanted to laughs and to sing that

332
00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:51,800
Speaker 1: like you know, Todd Rundgren and like you know, stuff

333
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,480
Speaker 1: that I thought was cool, and I had a really

334
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:58,080
Speaker 1: good time. But then it all, like those last few

335
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,239
Speaker 1: years in North Carolina kind caught up with me, and

336
00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:07,719
Speaker 1: so my beginning of college was extraordinary and diverse and thriving,

337
00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,520
Speaker 1: and by the end I was a bit of a

338
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:15,040
Speaker 1: wallflower and just going through stuff. Right, you do start

339
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,480
Speaker 1: taking theater classes. I do. I finished with a double

340
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:23,040
Speaker 1: major English and theater. Are you career committed? Then? At

341
00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,320
Speaker 1: that point, what a what a fun way to ask that?

342
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,760
Speaker 1: Thank you? I think that's it's such a great I

343
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,840
Speaker 1: was committed to staying out in the world. I didn't

344
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,680
Speaker 1: want to go home. I was game for whatever I

345
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,680
Speaker 1: was going to do. Ah Actor's Theater of Louisville had

346
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,800
Speaker 1: this internship program that everybody was always in the hospital.

347
00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,479
Speaker 1: I mean, they worked you horribly, I think, but I

348
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,199
Speaker 1: was like, yes, I'm gonna do that. Um, and my

349
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:50,560
Speaker 1: friend Mike Zimmer, who was now real Marshall's like homeless partner,

350
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,639
Speaker 1: you know second hand. Um, Michael was like, calm down

351
00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:58,040
Speaker 1: to New York with me today. I'm an audition for

352
00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:00,320
Speaker 1: a tour of meeting in St. Louis And like I

353
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,959
Speaker 1: should write my paper, but of course, I'm not going

354
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,120
Speaker 1: to write my paper. So I go down and got

355
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:06,919
Speaker 1: the job. And so I did the first national let

356
00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:12,280
Speaker 1: me meet St. Louis instead unbelievable and that and that's

357
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:17,040
Speaker 1: and that's how your career began. Yeah, and then that,

358
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:19,760
Speaker 1: you know, after the tour, I got a little apartment

359
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:24,000
Speaker 1: on the like where was it, I guess, and between

360
00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,919
Speaker 1: second and third and just start going to the calls

361
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,160
Speaker 1: and doing summer stock and doing regional theater and doing

362
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:34,280
Speaker 1: stuff off Broadway, and but musical musical, musical, musical, and

363
00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,679
Speaker 1: you know, a couple of law and orders as you do. Okay,

364
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:42,400
Speaker 1: so you so you were dipping, you were dipping your

365
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:47,040
Speaker 1: toes into some film and television stuff as you were

366
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:50,760
Speaker 1: auditioning for theater. I mean, you really have the stink

367
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,720
Speaker 1: of musical theater on you, and like, especially back then

368
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,560
Speaker 1: New York was pretty bifurcated, you know, so I feel

369
00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,840
Speaker 1: lucky I got in there, right. I do want to

370
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:04,800
Speaker 1: mention In nine you make your Broadway debut as Mary

371
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:09,200
Speaker 1: in the original cast of psy Coleman's The Life. Did

372
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,200
Speaker 1: that feel like a dream come true? Yeah? It really did,

373
00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:16,080
Speaker 1: And it came out of nowhere, and I just moved

374
00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:18,840
Speaker 1: to my apartment on Sunday six between Broadway and West End,

375
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:22,560
Speaker 1: and my mom was actually here and we were unloading boxes.

376
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:24,800
Speaker 1: I got a super last minute audition. I wasn't gonna

377
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:28,399
Speaker 1: go because we're moving, and she's like, just go. And

378
00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:32,320
Speaker 1: I don't even take like dance clothes. I have to

379
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:36,479
Speaker 1: pull sheet music out of the file cabinet at the

380
00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,320
Speaker 1: casting offices. Um, they kept me a long time, but

381
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,600
Speaker 1: then they're like, okay, thank you. And I walked from

382
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,600
Speaker 1: forty three to seventy six because I was like, my

383
00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:47,359
Speaker 1: mother is gonna be so mad at me because I

384
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,359
Speaker 1: like left her unpacking. And then I tanked this audition

385
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,439
Speaker 1: and I swear as I walked into the apartment, my

386
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:58,920
Speaker 1: landline telephone rang and my son my mom was there

387
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,800
Speaker 1: for me to get my Broadway show. That's amazing, I know.

388
00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,080
Speaker 1: And then we got the sewing machine out and we

389
00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 1: made some curtains, not kidding at all. Oh my god,

390
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:18,800
Speaker 1: that's amazing. Um, so you you decide, because you're a

391
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,479
Speaker 1: musical theater actor. And at this point, merrily we roll

392
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,840
Speaker 1: a long fous book of days. You've done all this theater.

393
00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,359
Speaker 1: You're gonna move to l A now, this is true.

394
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,200
Speaker 1: Your agent said you're too old. Yeah yeah, oh yeah,

395
00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,280
Speaker 1: oh yeah, I was twenty nine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I

396
00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:37,040
Speaker 1: moved like right before I turned to thirty. And of

397
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:39,200
Speaker 1: course that there was a guy. There's always a guy.

398
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:41,480
Speaker 1: So there was a guy. We've done a little movie.

399
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,520
Speaker 1: But so I went with very low expectations and I

400
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:47,960
Speaker 1: you know, the stuff I'd been sent out, but I

401
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:49,800
Speaker 1: was with Garish at that point, and the stuff they

402
00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,200
Speaker 1: were sending me out on wasn't that interesting. And I

403
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:57,639
Speaker 1: had absolutely no concept of Los Angeles, either it's physical

404
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:01,000
Speaker 1: geographical scope or like because there's a lot of work

405
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,240
Speaker 1: um or there was at that point, and um, I

406
00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:07,440
Speaker 1: just got really lucky, really fast, not in terms of

407
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:09,639
Speaker 1: a big break that put me on the map, but

408
00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:12,840
Speaker 1: just you know, working after, which is the thing that

409
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,760
Speaker 1: makes me the happiest of all. You know. Now it's

410
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:18,040
Speaker 1: at a little bit at different level, but all I

411
00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:20,560
Speaker 1: want is like to get to work. I love it.

412
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,720
Speaker 1: So I was l A was always very kind to

413
00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:28,560
Speaker 1: me in that regard, and yet we were both LA

414
00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:30,679
Speaker 1: and I would look at each other like total side.

415
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,480
Speaker 1: I like, really, you are you gonna wear that? And

416
00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,360
Speaker 1: I'd be like, are you judging? Me. So it's always

417
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,359
Speaker 1: it was very much square peg, round hole, and I'm

418
00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:44,119
Speaker 1: grateful for every minute. I mean, this is not exaggerating, truly.

419
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:50,560
Speaker 1: During this time, you begin guest starring on literally the

420
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:54,440
Speaker 1: biggest shows in television. I never did Friends. I really

421
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:56,400
Speaker 1: regret that I never got to do Friends. I never

422
00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:01,280
Speaker 1: did The Office either. Whatever. Okay, well, first all, sorry

423
00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:06,480
Speaker 1: I misspoke. You start doing guest stars during this time

424
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:12,760
Speaker 1: on literally the biggest dramas in television. Yeah, I mean

425
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:17,600
Speaker 1: X Files, E Er, West, Wing, n C, I S.

426
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:21,640
Speaker 1: Gray's Anatomy, Private Practice. Yeah, there was a Fraser but

427
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:26,080
Speaker 1: I no, But I mean that. I mean you were

428
00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:32,760
Speaker 1: getting amazing experience on huge shows at the time, and

429
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,680
Speaker 1: you're loving you and you're loving it, loving it because

430
00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:39,480
Speaker 1: you learn everything you know, from how people treat each other,

431
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,920
Speaker 1: to like what's expected of you, to all the things

432
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,399
Speaker 1: that they didn't cover. All my acting classes were very like,

433
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,320
Speaker 1: let's you know, are we going to read the scene cold?

434
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:51,040
Speaker 1: Or should we rehearse it? But it wasn't like how

435
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:54,240
Speaker 1: to deal with a line producer or you know, get

436
00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:56,400
Speaker 1: there early enough so that you're in the makeup chair

437
00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,120
Speaker 1: at your call time, not ten minutes after your called,

438
00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:01,959
Speaker 1: you know, like just how to work, and then you

439
00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:05,399
Speaker 1: see who you want to be like and who you don't,

440
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:11,879
Speaker 1: and it's the best, you know, grad school of my life.

441
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:16,520
Speaker 1: Just a job around and eavesdrop on everyone. And they

442
00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,320
Speaker 1: were always like, Okay, David Crusoe, did you ever go

443
00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:22,560
Speaker 1: over there and do those Miami whatever c s? I'm like,

444
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:28,119
Speaker 1: what that? There's plenty of you know, you're just like

445
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:32,800
Speaker 1: draw on the floor behavior from Caruso on those days.

446
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:34,800
Speaker 1: He's maybe he's a wonderful human now and I have

447
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,080
Speaker 1: no way of knowing that, but you know, there was

448
00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:40,840
Speaker 1: a time at an APEX moment where they were just like, wow,

449
00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,360
Speaker 1: that's not what I want to be, you know, other

450
00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:49,200
Speaker 1: than other than employed and a franchise that's gonna go forever.

451
00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:52,400
Speaker 1: I'm a happy girl. I'm not the girl that's like

452
00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:58,520
Speaker 1: another season. I'm like five more. She's I just I

453
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,600
Speaker 1: just want to show up, right. Um. I don't want

454
00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:04,880
Speaker 1: to bore people because I have discussed this before, but

455
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:08,040
Speaker 1: I want your impression of this because you seem so

456
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:13,840
Speaker 1: so positive. I have said many times the hardest job

457
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:16,880
Speaker 1: is the guest start job, you know, and I think

458
00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:20,000
Speaker 1: it teaches you one as you said who you want

459
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,080
Speaker 1: to be, but two really teaches you how to work

460
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 1: and adapt in different settings because as a guest starre

461
00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,960
Speaker 1: often you don't know the crew, You don't know anyone's name.

462
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,160
Speaker 1: I mean, did you find that to be challenging as well?

463
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,000
Speaker 1: Every time? Because every time it's different, and you know,

464
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,440
Speaker 1: it helps you practice humility because you just have to

465
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,160
Speaker 1: ask questions. The hardest part for me is always the

466
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:45,080
Speaker 1: crew because you don't know how they're used, like how

467
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,360
Speaker 1: fast or solo they're used to running. You don't know

468
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:49,600
Speaker 1: are they going to do thirty five takes? Or do

469
00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:52,760
Speaker 1: I need to do this in one? And asking every

470
00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,040
Speaker 1: question that comes to mind just wastes everybody's time. So

471
00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,320
Speaker 1: that that's sixth sense of trying to mind read and

472
00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,960
Speaker 1: into it. You know, it's like those child of alcoholic days,

473
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,000
Speaker 1: sort of like walking on eggshells all the time. It's

474
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,760
Speaker 1: those like it's that sixth sense that you kind of

475
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:10,680
Speaker 1: pull into play and it's different on a on a

476
00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,000
Speaker 1: one hour than it is on a half hour, And

477
00:30:13,440 --> 00:30:15,880
Speaker 1: like those are big lessons, but I always just sort

478
00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,479
Speaker 1: of stepped to it from the like it was school.

479
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,600
Speaker 1: School was always something I was good at, Like I could.

480
00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:27,000
Speaker 1: I understood that paradigm, and so I just sort of

481
00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 1: always stayed in that paradigm for all those years, like, ooh,

482
00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,600
Speaker 1: what am I going to learn it? Oh? That's really interesting.

483
00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:34,120
Speaker 1: Oh I'm not gonna put my chair there. Okay, alright,

484
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:38,760
Speaker 1: you know, but it's so hard, and it never gets easier.

485
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:43,720
Speaker 1: You're always other. So it's it's humbling, it's it's instructive,

486
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:48,240
Speaker 1: but it's hard. Yeah. A couple of shows I mentioned,

487
00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:52,640
Speaker 1: Gray's Anatomy, Private Practice, they have a little something in

488
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,360
Speaker 1: common under rhymes. While you were working on those shows,

489
00:30:56,360 --> 00:31:00,400
Speaker 1: did you have any direct contact with her or did

490
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,760
Speaker 1: you get to know her for her team a lot

491
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,520
Speaker 1: as you're working on those shows. Sweet Linda Lowey cast

492
00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:10,480
Speaker 1: for Shanda for a hundred years, and I auditioned for

493
00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:13,280
Speaker 1: Linda a lot. So it's Linda that I knew and

494
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,640
Speaker 1: all of her beautiful team. And I was in the

495
00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:21,160
Speaker 1: Private Practice world as they spun off from Gray's Anatomy,

496
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:23,520
Speaker 1: so it was like a two hour Grays but I

497
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:27,800
Speaker 1: was within the womb of the national little private practice. Um,

498
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,480
Speaker 1: so I wasn't with her then at all, And the

499
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,160
Speaker 1: first time I met her was in my audition and

500
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:37,600
Speaker 1: my audition was, I mean, quicker than you can, you know,

501
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:45,360
Speaker 1: drink adver. No, I had two lines three lines in

502
00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:47,400
Speaker 1: the pilot, and I was going to work the next

503
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:49,960
Speaker 1: day for Scandal, and so they brought like five of

504
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:53,160
Speaker 1: us it and I go in and there's only so

505
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,280
Speaker 1: many ways you can say two lines, and so it's

506
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,800
Speaker 1: all very fast, and it's also a little intimidating because

507
00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,800
Speaker 1: she's there and also her producing partner Betsy. Everybody's sort

508
00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:06,280
Speaker 1: of playing the room, but Shonda this time to give

509
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,720
Speaker 1: the adjustment, and all I could think about Tony. I

510
00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:11,760
Speaker 1: just worked with Tony Goldwin. He just directed me on

511
00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:15,560
Speaker 1: Dirty Sexy Money, and so I was just thinking about

512
00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:19,040
Speaker 1: like like standing beside him. He was just always sort

513
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:20,760
Speaker 1: of beside me in the room in my mind, and

514
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,360
Speaker 1: those were sort of informing it. And then they you know,

515
00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:25,360
Speaker 1: I I was the one that day they got the

516
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,640
Speaker 1: call and worked the next day and was supposed to

517
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:30,239
Speaker 1: just be on a couple of shows, and then they

518
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:32,320
Speaker 1: let me stay the whole damn time. So I got

519
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:35,040
Speaker 1: to know Shawn pretty well. But no, I think at

520
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:38,680
Speaker 1: that point not a bit in the world. So really,

521
00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,000
Speaker 1: you don't have any idea this is going to exist

522
00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,760
Speaker 1: beyond a couple of three episodes. And now that you're

523
00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:48,680
Speaker 1: telling me this story, it sure sounds like it. Because

524
00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:50,960
Speaker 1: when you go in and you're working the next day

525
00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:54,520
Speaker 1: or two days later whatever, like this is not they're

526
00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:56,840
Speaker 1: not taking their time with it because they don't think

527
00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:01,120
Speaker 1: that they need to. No, that's crazy. And then you

528
00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:04,520
Speaker 1: just stayed. You just put your name on the trailer.

529
00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:11,400
Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not leaving. Well, they I dressed up

530
00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:14,840
Speaker 1: for that second table read honey, there's a Southern there's

531
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 1: another Southern superpower. I dressed up. I was like, oh,

532
00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:20,160
Speaker 1: we got picked up the series and um shan we

533
00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,000
Speaker 1: read this script and Shawna came around and sort of

534
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,040
Speaker 1: told everybody what they'd be doing. That first season was

535
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:28,440
Speaker 1: only seven episodes, so she kind of went around. She

536
00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:30,200
Speaker 1: got to me and she's like, and I want to

537
00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,360
Speaker 1: write a presidential divorce, and so I think you'll be

538
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,760
Speaker 1: here to maybe three episodes. And my heart like tried

539
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,800
Speaker 1: to keep smiling, but my heart like went through the floor.

540
00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:42,479
Speaker 1: I was so sad. I think they just I don't know,

541
00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,800
Speaker 1: they just let me fight with people. They were like, hey,

542
00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:49,360
Speaker 1: that kid does out to fight with people. I was like, yeah,

543
00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:51,160
Speaker 1: let me do it. I'm do it. But they didn't

544
00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:53,160
Speaker 1: buy me a wig till that second season. That was

545
00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:56,360
Speaker 1: just my thel Bins. So that's how that's how you

546
00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:01,160
Speaker 1: know they're not taking you seriously. Wow, what do you

547
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:05,440
Speaker 1: think it was about the character or you that the

548
00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:10,319
Speaker 1: writers started to latch onto the fight? I think they

549
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,080
Speaker 1: I don't It's not me. I think they started to

550
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:16,759
Speaker 1: realize them they could attenuate the leverage of the love

551
00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:20,320
Speaker 1: triangle like that. There was there was more to explore

552
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:22,440
Speaker 1: there than just to like make it so easy and

553
00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:25,400
Speaker 1: get rid of the wife. And you know, not that

554
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,400
Speaker 1: it would have been easy in that scenario with those characters,

555
00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:32,160
Speaker 1: but it was messier to keep the other woman around,

556
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:35,319
Speaker 1: the other woman being the wife. Right when did you

557
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:38,400
Speaker 1: find out that you were going to be sticking around?

558
00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:42,280
Speaker 1: They called? I went to India with my friend Jules,

559
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,719
Speaker 1: who's great production designer, and I reckon I didn't have

560
00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,359
Speaker 1: a phone that worked out of the country, and so

561
00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:51,040
Speaker 1: I got back in the country and my manager was like,

562
00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:54,120
Speaker 1: I've been trying to call you, and I was like,

563
00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:56,960
Speaker 1: oh no, thinking I've done something wrong or you know,

564
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,480
Speaker 1: I was going to get fired from a job. I

565
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,240
Speaker 1: didn't have or it's like the making you a series

566
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:04,440
Speaker 1: regular on Scandal, and I was like, I wish I

567
00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:10,240
Speaker 1: bought that ring in Jaipor. I've gone so super budged

568
00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:12,920
Speaker 1: India and I was like, Oh, I find only known

569
00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:14,719
Speaker 1: we could have slept in a hotel that night. It

570
00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:21,000
Speaker 1: would have been great. How did you find out that

571
00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:24,120
Speaker 1: eventually you were going to become president? I don't even remember.

572
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,120
Speaker 1: I think it was something you were expecting, not at all.

573
00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:29,560
Speaker 1: I think Jeffy was supposed to be president. I mean

574
00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:31,840
Speaker 1: he gets voted president destiny. Do you find that you

575
00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:34,399
Speaker 1: don't really remember what happened on shows that you've done,

576
00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:41,880
Speaker 1: because I just consistently we also we like, I don't know,

577
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,480
Speaker 1: I'll see you there, though we also shot a lot

578
00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:49,880
Speaker 1: of alternate stories, like I still don't really Lena Donald

579
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:52,399
Speaker 1: was on Scandal at one point, and either she lives

580
00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:54,120
Speaker 1: or dies, but we shot at both ways. And I

581
00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:58,680
Speaker 1: don't remember at any rate. Jeffy was supposed to win,

582
00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:01,560
Speaker 1: which if I think he still did and then something

583
00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:05,240
Speaker 1: happened we shot him or had a hardttorthing. But everyone

584
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:09,480
Speaker 1: thought Hillary was going to win, and Shanda had put

585
00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:12,800
Speaker 1: a lot of sweat equity into that in that direction,

586
00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:16,840
Speaker 1: and I think was really gutted as some of the

587
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,920
Speaker 1: rest of us about that that that you know that

588
00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,239
Speaker 1: it went another way, And so I think it is

589
00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:27,120
Speaker 1: only because she did not win that Melli became president.

590
00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:29,320
Speaker 1: I mean, I've never had a long conversation with Shunda

591
00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:31,879
Speaker 1: about this, and I don't know that she's ever gone

592
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,000
Speaker 1: on record, but I don't think it was ever the plan.

593
00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:43,360
Speaker 1: Interesting you shoot scandal, I mean Awards Critics Choice Television

594
00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:49,400
Speaker 1: Award for your role there, beloved character on an amazing show,

595
00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:54,319
Speaker 1: seven year run? How was that for you? Having to

596
00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:58,160
Speaker 1: say goodbye when it was over? It was um, I

597
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:04,040
Speaker 1: think everybody was tired and understood because she had She

598
00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:08,320
Speaker 1: had been very forthright from the beginning about saying that

599
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,399
Speaker 1: this was a story to juxtapose with Gray's Anatomy, which

600
00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:14,759
Speaker 1: can and probably will go forever. She was like, this

601
00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:16,239
Speaker 1: is a story. I know where it starts and I

602
00:37:16,239 --> 00:37:19,160
Speaker 1: know where it is. So we always knew we were

603
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,480
Speaker 1: on borrowed time, uh, and so we were grateful for

604
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:25,200
Speaker 1: every season. Every season was a different number of episodes,

605
00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,480
Speaker 1: Like everything was very fluid, and every time we get

606
00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,040
Speaker 1: another season would be like yeah, and then when she

607
00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:35,279
Speaker 1: was like, we're finishing, we were like copy. Um Josh,

608
00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:37,799
Speaker 1: Milena was like, but my daughter still in college, and

609
00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:44,759
Speaker 1: he was like sorry. But also at that point I

610
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:47,439
Speaker 1: was sweet Buckers, I love them so much, like we

611
00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:50,040
Speaker 1: were a family. There was no way, like we weren't

612
00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:51,680
Speaker 1: going to be together every day, but there was no

613
00:37:51,719 --> 00:37:53,799
Speaker 1: way we were not going to always be together. So

614
00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:58,440
Speaker 1: it didn't feel so um grievous because we get to

615
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:02,680
Speaker 1: watch everybody do magical other things. What do you think

616
00:38:02,719 --> 00:38:05,600
Speaker 1: it was about that group that makes it because it's

617
00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:07,680
Speaker 1: not always like that. What do you think it was

618
00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:12,239
Speaker 1: about that ensemble that made you all so close? I mean,

619
00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:16,080
Speaker 1: I think Carrie, I think she's just a wonderful, humble,

620
00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:20,680
Speaker 1: big hearted leader. She was like the quarterback of the

621
00:38:20,719 --> 00:38:23,520
Speaker 1: team when she still is. Like it was just very

622
00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:26,240
Speaker 1: clear from the beginning that it was, you know, nobody

623
00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:30,520
Speaker 1: left behind sort of situation. Even when we renegotiated. You know,

624
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:34,120
Speaker 1: so often there's a squeaky wheel somewhere, or just people

625
00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:37,000
Speaker 1: who are super young and think they're now is there forever,

626
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:41,319
Speaker 1: or you know, so many different dynamics that can sort

627
00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:44,120
Speaker 1: of pull you apart. But we were all old enough

628
00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:48,680
Speaker 1: to be grateful and and if Carrie wasn't gonna remember

629
00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:52,279
Speaker 1: day Today's Show, like Season five Today Show wanted to

630
00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:57,080
Speaker 1: do something live about the premiere, and we were all like,

631
00:38:57,320 --> 00:38:59,239
Speaker 1: I don't want to get a bit one thirty to

632
00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:02,480
Speaker 1: be ready for Hamera three thirty, but you know, like complaining.

633
00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:04,800
Speaker 1: You know, Carrie's just sitting in the makeup chair and

634
00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:06,440
Speaker 1: listening to us all. She's like, well, I'm going to

635
00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:08,879
Speaker 1: be here. I think it's amazing. A season five shows

636
00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:11,319
Speaker 1: should get attention like this, And we were all like,

637
00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:16,720
Speaker 1: you know, just yeah, that's right, you're right, right, I'm sorry,

638
00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:20,920
Speaker 1: that's fun, You're right. What am I thinking? So? And

639
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:25,080
Speaker 1: everybody's just also family people, So it's been nice to

640
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:28,640
Speaker 1: see everybody's kids grow up, and it's a long time

641
00:39:28,719 --> 00:39:32,160
Speaker 1: to share. You have that, You have that with your

642
00:39:32,239 --> 00:39:35,799
Speaker 1: PiZZ Yes, no, we do, and it's special and you

643
00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:39,200
Speaker 1: you bring up age. I think is a part of it.

644
00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:43,719
Speaker 1: People who have diverse experience in the industry and know

645
00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:47,200
Speaker 1: how difficult it can be and feel very lucky to

646
00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:50,799
Speaker 1: have found a show that you feel good about and

647
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,359
Speaker 1: a collection of people that you're lucky to be with.

648
00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:58,719
Speaker 1: I think that brings appreciation exactly what you said. Yeah,

649
00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:01,799
Speaker 1: and nobody was ignored. Everybody had heavy lifting to do.

650
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,239
Speaker 1: Everybody got great monologues, everybody gets a great storyline. So

651
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:07,799
Speaker 1: everybody felt like they left it on the field and

652
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:29,759
Speaker 1: it was time to go take a shower. When you leave,

653
00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:32,800
Speaker 1: you immediately have another show. Now it was a pilot

654
00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:35,840
Speaker 1: that didn't get picked up, and then you take a

655
00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:40,040
Speaker 1: little personal hiatus, do I I probably just didn't have

656
00:40:40,080 --> 00:40:44,000
Speaker 1: a job. What did I do? You you went traveling? Oh? Well, yes,

657
00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:46,839
Speaker 1: oh I did. I did. I went my suite. Now,

658
00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:50,400
Speaker 1: husband he performs a lot, and I was like, well,

659
00:40:50,719 --> 00:40:52,960
Speaker 1: I don't have anything to do. I'm gonna go be

660
00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:57,960
Speaker 1: his groupie. But then sweet Scott Foley was doing Whiskey

661
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,640
Speaker 1: Cavalier and so he let you do a job with

662
00:41:00,719 --> 00:41:03,160
Speaker 1: him in Prague while I was over there, and so

663
00:41:03,239 --> 00:41:05,200
Speaker 1: there we know, we've got a little bit of working

664
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:07,080
Speaker 1: here and there. But yeah, I did. I saw a

665
00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,680
Speaker 1: lot of stuff. How long were you traveling? As long

666
00:41:10,719 --> 00:41:13,160
Speaker 1: as they'd let me. I don't even remember. I mean

667
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:15,800
Speaker 1: I feel like I was gone a couple of months.

668
00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:21,080
Speaker 1: I went to Okay, like eight places maybe remember, Yeah,

669
00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:24,360
Speaker 1: Brevnick and Warsaw and Prague and Stockholm and then just

670
00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 1: all over the place. Um, you begin in twenty nineteen

671
00:41:29,239 --> 00:41:35,439
Speaker 1: working on Prodigal Son, a procedural show that I've heard

672
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:37,920
Speaker 1: you talk a little bit about. To me, that is

673
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,719
Speaker 1: a got to be a challenge as an actor to

674
00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:44,840
Speaker 1: work on a procedural show where there is kind of

675
00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:48,840
Speaker 1: a reset. There was more of a continuing storyline in

676
00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:54,120
Speaker 1: that than on most But talk to me about Jessica. Well,

677
00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:57,520
Speaker 1: the good I can say. I hear you about the

678
00:41:57,560 --> 00:42:01,680
Speaker 1: procedural and it's tricky when you're with a cod within

679
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:04,600
Speaker 1: that was part of the machine. But Jessica was so

680
00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:07,880
Speaker 1: on the periphery of that and uh, such a nutbar

681
00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:12,040
Speaker 1: and like a real character that is never boring. And

682
00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:14,359
Speaker 1: it brought me back to New York. You know. They

683
00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:16,640
Speaker 1: were like the show, but it's in New York. I

684
00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:18,560
Speaker 1: was like, I'll do it, and I said, you want

685
00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:23,320
Speaker 1: to know what it is? No, not really, but do

686
00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:26,080
Speaker 1: we know? But it's Tom Payne and Michael Shane and

687
00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:30,440
Speaker 1: just lose Sweet Loue Diamond Phillips and you know, not

688
00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:34,360
Speaker 1: everybody was easy on that show to juxtapose it with scandal,

689
00:42:34,719 --> 00:42:37,920
Speaker 1: but um, but the people I love is still love really,

690
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:41,320
Speaker 1: really deeply, and the work was always like a masterclass,

691
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:45,040
Speaker 1: so that I never had to be like, you know

692
00:42:45,200 --> 00:42:46,960
Speaker 1: who we who we killed this week, and how we

693
00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:48,560
Speaker 1: can figure it out. I never had to do any

694
00:42:48,640 --> 00:42:52,120
Speaker 1: of that. I just had to spar with like really

695
00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:57,160
Speaker 1: great actors and be this fantastic I mean a character.

696
00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:01,840
Speaker 1: I would just never that sort of love about our jobs. Brian.

697
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:05,319
Speaker 1: We get to live so many lives in one lifetime,

698
00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:09,520
Speaker 1: and that life was so fun. Drunk sucking Upper east

699
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:13,160
Speaker 1: Side Jessica. I miss her horribly. I missed her a

700
00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:15,920
Speaker 1: little snark. I missed that she was really in on

701
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:18,600
Speaker 1: her own joke, like I really missed her. She was

702
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:21,719
Speaker 1: a ball of fun. Did the darkness of the show

703
00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:26,480
Speaker 1: get you down? I was mostly safe from it, I

704
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:28,759
Speaker 1: really was. I wouldn't have wanted to, you know, like

705
00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:32,440
Speaker 1: have to spend all days staring at someone locked in

706
00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:34,520
Speaker 1: a box or you know, like all that kind of stuff.

707
00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:38,120
Speaker 1: I look at people who do years and years of

708
00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:41,279
Speaker 1: like vampire shows or something, and I think I think

709
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:45,840
Speaker 1: that would really that's hard, especially because I mean I

710
00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:47,799
Speaker 1: get a little higher at work. It makes me real happy,

711
00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:49,680
Speaker 1: and I get joyful. They have to call me down

712
00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:55,520
Speaker 1: you know. So I know it's hard, but Jessica didn't

713
00:43:55,520 --> 00:43:58,040
Speaker 1: have to mess with any of that. She just and

714
00:43:58,080 --> 00:44:00,040
Speaker 1: if she was around it, she was drunk and so

715
00:44:00,200 --> 00:44:03,120
Speaker 1: checked out. So in that way she was baked from

716
00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:10,960
Speaker 1: it all. What's the darkest thing you ever did? Oh? Boy? Well,

717
00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:13,920
Speaker 1: I mean, I mean we were referring to be playing

718
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:18,120
Speaker 1: a serial killer, so I don't know, by inherent definition

719
00:44:18,160 --> 00:44:21,440
Speaker 1: if you can be darker than that. I do get

720
00:44:22,719 --> 00:44:31,160
Speaker 1: more comments from my family about playing a pedophile. Deep. Yes, okay,

721
00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:35,560
Speaker 1: that's fairly dark. That's that. That's definitely dark. That's no

722
00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:41,319
Speaker 1: fairly about it. Yeah, no, that's well. The character was

723
00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:44,839
Speaker 1: that was oh that was the law and order, Law

724
00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:48,560
Speaker 1: and order s vu that. The thing about that one

725
00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:52,160
Speaker 1: to me is it wasn't It was not a large role.

726
00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:55,080
Speaker 1: It was not a whole lot of exploring to have

727
00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:57,960
Speaker 1: been done. So it didn't I didn't really have to

728
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:02,279
Speaker 1: like get internal right, Yeah, I didn't have to. Yeah,

729
00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:07,719
Speaker 1: it was um killer. I did a lot of darkness,

730
00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:11,000
Speaker 1: and we were the opposite in that in theater, I

731
00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:13,840
Speaker 1: was it was dark. There was a lot of darkness,

732
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:19,080
Speaker 1: whereas you were like merely we roll along happy. Well,

733
00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:22,719
Speaker 1: I mean I was a hooker who I mean a

734
00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:25,000
Speaker 1: stripper who became a hooker who went to l A

735
00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:30,160
Speaker 1: to be a porn star. So it's not all Leven. Fine,

736
00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:37,319
Speaker 1: that's true. What's the darkest you've ever played? Oh? You know,

737
00:45:37,719 --> 00:45:43,400
Speaker 1: the deepest I went on prepping darkness was Lou Diamond

738
00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:47,200
Speaker 1: Phillips and I did a movie about Richard Ramirez, The

739
00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:51,600
Speaker 1: night Stalker, and that was I feel like that was

740
00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:54,520
Speaker 1: the time that I got scared the most. That's the

741
00:45:54,560 --> 00:45:56,680
Speaker 1: project because it was a film, and so it was

742
00:45:57,200 --> 00:45:59,440
Speaker 1: it happened from a very long amount of time. It

743
00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:01,600
Speaker 1: was a slee a two hander, so a lot of

744
00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:05,239
Speaker 1: it was just me and Lou and oh it was

745
00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:09,799
Speaker 1: really tricky. It was really tricky. It was a rewarding work.

746
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:13,360
Speaker 1: We had a great director. Um Lou is obviously a

747
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:16,239
Speaker 1: wonderful man, and I adore working with him, and I

748
00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:19,400
Speaker 1: adore um he just he takes care of you in

749
00:46:19,440 --> 00:46:22,440
Speaker 1: a lot of wonderful ways. Um. But I just that

750
00:46:22,560 --> 00:46:27,720
Speaker 1: was a to get like to go inside that world,

751
00:46:27,760 --> 00:46:30,239
Speaker 1: that mind. I don't want to call it to me.

752
00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:33,560
Speaker 1: I don't want to be near it. You know, Yeah,

753
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:36,799
Speaker 1: just scares me. Do you want to go back and

754
00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:40,000
Speaker 1: do theater. Yes, I do. Oh my god. I did

755
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:44,320
Speaker 1: a play this fall, just a fundraiser for a new

756
00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:49,399
Speaker 1: UM beautiful like called Bonded, And it was very hard work.

757
00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:54,120
Speaker 1: It was very deep issue, but it felt so rewarding.

758
00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:55,640
Speaker 1: And again just to be in the room and to

759
00:46:55,840 --> 00:46:59,280
Speaker 1: feel to right, it's like surfing, right, It's like emotional surfing.

760
00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:02,000
Speaker 1: You just have the You just go on the ride

761
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:06,920
Speaker 1: with people. Do you ever think about it going back? Yeah? Yeah,

762
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:09,919
Speaker 1: I've started two more. Is there a role that you're

763
00:47:09,960 --> 00:47:14,440
Speaker 1: just like, I've got to do? Well, here's the here's

764
00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:18,160
Speaker 1: the crazy thing, like of the like American cannon. I'm

765
00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:20,200
Speaker 1: not going to mention any role specifically. I'm not going

766
00:47:20,239 --> 00:47:22,680
Speaker 1: to do that, but I will say this that a

767
00:47:22,840 --> 00:47:28,120
Speaker 1: lot that I played, I'm now more of the age

768
00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:35,560
Speaker 1: four correctly understand. I understand so that that intrigues me.

769
00:47:36,239 --> 00:47:40,960
Speaker 1: That intrigues me. Um, you released an album speaking of

770
00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:47,320
Speaker 1: Far Away So Close about growing up in North Carolina.

771
00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:51,960
Speaker 1: It's just all songs I love and songs that have stories.

772
00:47:52,400 --> 00:47:56,160
Speaker 1: I had sung the national anthem at a Dodgers game

773
00:47:56,239 --> 00:47:59,080
Speaker 1: we like scandal went and like did the whole somebody

774
00:47:59,080 --> 00:48:02,239
Speaker 1: throughout the pitch and like Carrie called the names and

775
00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:03,799
Speaker 1: I saying that, you know, it's like the whole thing,

776
00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:09,359
Speaker 1: and then are very very kind gladiators. Uh, We're like

777
00:48:09,640 --> 00:48:11,239
Speaker 1: start really started, and I mean like you need to

778
00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:12,919
Speaker 1: make an album. And I was like, oh my god,

779
00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:14,879
Speaker 1: you know what, I'm never gonna have this chance again.

780
00:48:14,920 --> 00:48:18,080
Speaker 1: I better do that. They're so right, and I'm so good.

781
00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:21,680
Speaker 1: I did. I loved every second of it. And yeah,

782
00:48:21,719 --> 00:48:25,920
Speaker 1: and I'm still proud of it. Yeah, congratulations, You're You're amazing.

783
00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:28,160
Speaker 1: All right, talk to me about the other black girl.

784
00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:32,920
Speaker 1: Are you having fun? I'm having the best time. Oh

785
00:48:32,960 --> 00:48:35,480
Speaker 1: my god. I got to work with this guy named Brian.

786
00:48:35,600 --> 00:48:37,520
Speaker 1: He's sort of fun. I don't know if you know him,

787
00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:40,680
Speaker 1: but he like he raises, He like raises every scene.

788
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:42,839
Speaker 1: It's just it's like they're on the page. And then

789
00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:47,640
Speaker 1: Bryan and then Sinclair. Oh my god. I love her

790
00:48:47,680 --> 00:48:52,080
Speaker 1: so much. We've had real we've had really beautiful times,

791
00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:54,560
Speaker 1: she and I. But I've loved all of our directors.

792
00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:58,080
Speaker 1: I'm interested in the story. This is the character I'm playing.

793
00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:02,359
Speaker 1: In particular, I wasn't so much flux Um, Like they

794
00:49:02,360 --> 00:49:05,320
Speaker 1: really didn't know who she was. They wanted to change

795
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:07,359
Speaker 1: so much from the book, but then they didn't want

796
00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:08,719
Speaker 1: to go too far and is she going to be

797
00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:11,000
Speaker 1: super comedic or is she going to be super dry?

798
00:49:11,120 --> 00:49:14,080
Speaker 1: And just to this wig, no to that wig, use

799
00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:16,680
Speaker 1: your own hair, don't wear this clothes, don't wear that.

800
00:49:16,719 --> 00:49:25,000
Speaker 1: It was really existentially disorienting. So that challenge was also fraught,

801
00:49:25,200 --> 00:49:28,279
Speaker 1: but um rewarding, Like I feel like we came out

802
00:49:28,280 --> 00:49:31,280
Speaker 1: the other side of it. But yeah, it's been wild.

803
00:49:31,680 --> 00:49:34,200
Speaker 1: I love our show runners. Do you love our showrunners?

804
00:49:34,239 --> 00:49:41,399
Speaker 1: Don't say no, I too. I uh, yeah, it's it's

805
00:49:41,680 --> 00:49:47,080
Speaker 1: very interesting. Tonally, I think it's really interesting. And I

806
00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:50,040
Speaker 1: you know, I get nervous because I don't ever want

807
00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:52,920
Speaker 1: to say something that I'm not supposed to say. I've

808
00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:55,239
Speaker 1: been accused of that, of saying the wrong thing in

809
00:49:55,280 --> 00:49:58,399
Speaker 1: the past. So I can't really say much about it.

810
00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:00,799
Speaker 1: But here's what I think we should do. What is

811
00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:02,960
Speaker 1: I think when it I think when it comes out,

812
00:50:03,880 --> 00:50:07,400
Speaker 1: then we should we should reconvene again, maybe get maybe

813
00:50:07,440 --> 00:50:10,479
Speaker 1: get that guy Eric and Sinclair and the whole gang.

814
00:50:10,880 --> 00:50:13,320
Speaker 1: Let's do that. It's such a good group of people.

815
00:50:13,400 --> 00:50:15,879
Speaker 1: And then and then we can really talk about it. Yes,

816
00:50:16,640 --> 00:50:18,560
Speaker 1: we can tell we can tell the stories that we

817
00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:22,640
Speaker 1: can't tell. Now, Okay, it's a deal. It's a deal. Listen.

818
00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:26,239
Speaker 1: I am so glad to have met you. You are

819
00:50:26,800 --> 00:50:33,000
Speaker 1: so you are so one talented and funny and genuine

820
00:50:33,239 --> 00:50:36,600
Speaker 1: and just. I mean, let me tell you guys something. Amy.

821
00:50:36,640 --> 00:50:39,640
Speaker 1: By the way, Amy is her real name. Yeah, I mean,

822
00:50:39,680 --> 00:50:41,439
Speaker 1: I don't know if we're I don't know if that's

823
00:50:41,440 --> 00:50:45,880
Speaker 1: a secret, but it's not a secret. I don't actually

824
00:50:46,040 --> 00:50:48,319
Speaker 1: tell tell the tell the story. I mean, I don't

825
00:50:48,320 --> 00:50:53,280
Speaker 1: know if people know this. You in the history of Hollywood,

826
00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:57,480
Speaker 1: there can only be one person with your name, that's right.

827
00:50:57,880 --> 00:51:00,400
Speaker 1: And some little girl took Amy on thought it was

828
00:51:00,400 --> 00:51:03,480
Speaker 1: gonna perhaps be sort of like Rose at the end

829
00:51:03,520 --> 00:51:06,040
Speaker 1: of Titanic or something, right, and I go to her

830
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:09,200
Speaker 1: like and pay, like, oh my should be like please,

831
00:51:09,280 --> 00:51:11,880
Speaker 1: may I use my name now? And she would give

832
00:51:11,880 --> 00:51:14,680
Speaker 1: me your blessing. But now it's some child, and so

833
00:51:14,719 --> 00:51:16,839
Speaker 1: it was impossible for me to be Amy. I could

834
00:51:16,880 --> 00:51:22,320
Speaker 1: be Amy in Young in Equity the Theater Union, But sang,

835
00:51:22,520 --> 00:51:25,360
Speaker 1: that's why you have so many weird named actors is

836
00:51:25,400 --> 00:51:28,160
Speaker 1: because she can only be one person. I think the

837
00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:32,680
Speaker 1: asterisk is Vanessa Williams. Because the other Vanessa Williams had

838
00:51:32,719 --> 00:51:35,919
Speaker 1: the name first, but then we knew Vanessa from Miss

839
00:51:35,960 --> 00:51:38,880
Speaker 1: America and from her singing and everything, so that they

840
00:51:38,920 --> 00:51:41,439
Speaker 1: sort of like maybe did make her use her middle

841
00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:44,719
Speaker 1: and I don't know anyway, grandfather grandfather her in. She's

842
00:51:44,760 --> 00:51:46,719
Speaker 1: the only person I know of that has a name

843
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:49,840
Speaker 1: that is another person's name. How did you come up

844
00:51:49,880 --> 00:51:54,120
Speaker 1: with Bellamy? I mean, just tragic. I was trying to

845
00:51:54,160 --> 00:51:57,160
Speaker 1: be Amanda or I am a realist or anything that

846
00:51:57,160 --> 00:51:59,640
Speaker 1: I could still be Amy, and they were all not

847
00:51:59,719 --> 00:52:02,799
Speaker 1: am Else wasn't taken. But you can see why. But

848
00:52:03,040 --> 00:52:05,880
Speaker 1: my dad's best friend sort of did all the dad's

849
00:52:05,880 --> 00:52:10,960
Speaker 1: stuff like a tillion when he passed away, And um,

850
00:52:11,040 --> 00:52:13,759
Speaker 1: so it's like a mushing of our names sounds like

851
00:52:14,040 --> 00:52:17,200
Speaker 1: I'm Southern, so I thought people I kind of called

852
00:52:17,320 --> 00:52:23,160
Speaker 1: myself Tennessee or Raleigh. Raleigh was on the list, young,

853
00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:26,880
Speaker 1: I'll tell you honestly, I just told Pedro, does I

854
00:52:26,960 --> 00:52:29,000
Speaker 1: know it is? But then I couldn't get back to Amy.

855
00:52:29,280 --> 00:52:33,759
Speaker 1: The name I wanted was Susannah Grant. That's the name

856
00:52:33,800 --> 00:52:37,040
Speaker 1: I wanted. She's already a very famous producer and good

857
00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:39,279
Speaker 1: at what she does, and so I couldn't have that

858
00:52:39,360 --> 00:52:41,880
Speaker 1: name either, but I got to be Melly Grant, so

859
00:52:42,320 --> 00:52:45,680
Speaker 1: I think it's close Susannah. So you were just making

860
00:52:45,680 --> 00:52:49,160
Speaker 1: that out of thin air, making things up. But Raleigh

861
00:52:49,239 --> 00:52:53,600
Speaker 1: Young was on the list. Raleigh Young. Oh wait a minute,

862
00:52:53,640 --> 00:52:56,600
Speaker 1: but what was Susannah Grant something you considered or were

863
00:52:56,600 --> 00:52:59,120
Speaker 1: you going to keep Young? I was just making a list,

864
00:52:59,400 --> 00:53:02,920
Speaker 1: just a spirt desperate list. Yeah. I mean that's a

865
00:53:02,960 --> 00:53:06,720
Speaker 1: crazy thing, right, is like like if you have to change,

866
00:53:07,280 --> 00:53:09,600
Speaker 1: there's no rules, and it was I was like, I

867
00:53:09,640 --> 00:53:13,560
Speaker 1: want to not make people uncomfortable. And I was like, oh,

868
00:53:13,600 --> 00:53:17,200
Speaker 1: but I could be this whole violent boat regard or

869
00:53:17,239 --> 00:53:20,520
Speaker 1: whatever you know. So yeah, but then I just tried

870
00:53:20,560 --> 00:53:22,319
Speaker 1: to fix something that had Amy at it, so people

871
00:53:22,360 --> 00:53:25,839
Speaker 1: can still call me Amy. All right, Well, whatever your

872
00:53:25,880 --> 00:53:33,480
Speaker 1: name is, you're delightful. No no, no, Like seriously, I

873
00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:37,359
Speaker 1: can be a curmudgeon and people get scared of me.

874
00:53:37,640 --> 00:53:41,239
Speaker 1: You're a light yours. I don't believe it. I am

875
00:53:41,280 --> 00:53:43,919
Speaker 1: just reflecting back your son. You're a delight and I'm

876
00:53:43,960 --> 00:53:46,479
Speaker 1: so happy to know you now I am, And thanks

877
00:53:46,520 --> 00:53:49,919
Speaker 1: for inviting me on for this fun. Well I'm gonna

878
00:53:49,960 --> 00:53:52,759
Speaker 1: come to New York and I want a mug, I

879
00:53:52,800 --> 00:53:58,640
Speaker 1: want to I want a mum. No, no, I want

880
00:53:58,680 --> 00:54:03,760
Speaker 1: to I want to have a Okay, okay, sorry, sorry,

881
00:54:03,800 --> 00:54:10,120
Speaker 1: I thought you all yours. Oh it's too much. Luck

882
00:54:10,200 --> 00:54:13,160
Speaker 1: now it's too much. Loving it all right? Thank you

883
00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:32,279
Speaker 1: so much. I love you too that Thank you so

884
00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:34,839
Speaker 1: much for coming on the podcast. And I'm with you.

885
00:54:35,239 --> 00:54:38,560
Speaker 1: I am not a guy who says another season. No,

886
00:54:38,760 --> 00:54:42,800
Speaker 1: I'm with you five more seasons of the Other Black Girl.

887
00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:46,400
Speaker 1: That sounds just fine to me. To all of you

888
00:54:46,480 --> 00:54:49,080
Speaker 1: out there listening, thanks for stopping by, I'm gonna be

889
00:54:49,080 --> 00:54:56,000
Speaker 1: back next week, same time, same place, with another phenomenal guest. Also,

890
00:54:56,320 --> 00:54:59,120
Speaker 1: make sure to follow us on Instagram if you haven't

891
00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:03,360
Speaker 1: already at Off the Beat and uh leave us a

892
00:55:03,400 --> 00:55:08,760
Speaker 1: review on Apple podcast. Please all right, subscribe to the show.

893
00:55:08,960 --> 00:55:13,719
Speaker 1: I cannot tell you how important that is. Thank you

894
00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:17,560
Speaker 1: for all your support and we will see you next week.

895
00:55:25,360 --> 00:55:28,279
Speaker 1: Off the Beat is hosted an executive produced by me

896
00:55:28,640 --> 00:55:33,680
Speaker 1: Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Langley. Our senior producer

897
00:55:33,840 --> 00:55:37,760
Speaker 1: is Diego Tapia. Our producers are Liz Hayes, Hannah Harris,

898
00:55:37,880 --> 00:55:42,080
Speaker 1: and Emily Carr. Our talent producer is Ryan Papa Zachary

899
00:55:42,280 --> 00:55:46,000
Speaker 1: and our intern is Sammy Cats. Our theme song Bubble

900
00:55:46,080 --> 00:55:50,040
Speaker 1: and Squeak, performed by the one and only Creed Bratton