Speaker 1: Hi. My name is Avine Joy Randolph, and I'm an actress.
Speaker 2: Hi everybody, how's it going. I am so glad to
Speaker 2: have you here. You are off the beat with me,
Speaker 2: your host, Brian Baumgartner. I'm so excited for my guest today,
Speaker 2: both for you and for me, because we get to
Speaker 2: learn today about drum roll please, Davine Joy Randolph. Davine,
Speaker 2: she is a phenomenal actor and truly a legend being
Speaker 2: made here right before our eyes. You know her, of
Speaker 2: course from the Holdovers Only Murders in the Building. Dolomite
Speaker 2: is my name. Empire, people of Earth, this is us
Speaker 2: and much much more. We all need to be paying
Speaker 2: attention because she has done, is doing, and will certainly
Speaker 2: continue to do great, great things. In fact, I believe
Speaker 2: she is on her way to the coveted title egot.
Speaker 2: You know what that is, Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony. Hear
Speaker 2: me out. She's already got the Oscar for the Holdovers
Speaker 2: that's in the bag at this moment. She is an
Speaker 2: Emmy nominee for her Outstanding Guest Actress performance in Only
Speaker 2: Murders in the Building. So we're gonna know about the
Speaker 2: e here very shortly. She almost got a t a
Speaker 2: tony back in twenty twelve when she was nominated for
Speaker 2: her very first Broadway performance in Ghost the Musical, So
Speaker 2: next time she's she'll probably win. And then this is
Speaker 2: the clincher. She is a trained opera singer and a
Speaker 2: musical theater major, so she could very very easily down
Speaker 2: a track of music and steal the deal with that Grammy.
Speaker 2: I'm telling you this is gonna happen. So, ladies and
Speaker 2: gentlemen of Off the Beat, for your consideration, here is
Speaker 2: Davine Joy Randolph, Bubble and Squeak. I love it.
Speaker 1: Bubble and Squeak, gonna Bubble and Squeaker cook get every
Speaker 1: mole lift over from the night before.
Speaker 2: What's up, Davine, Hey, how's it going?
Speaker 1: How are you?
Speaker 2: I'm good? How are you doing?
Speaker 1: I'm doing fantastic. I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 2: Well, I'm happy that you're here as well. It's been
Speaker 2: a hell of a year for you.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 2: I mean yeah, you feel good.
Speaker 1: You feel good, and I'm trying to catch up on
Speaker 1: my rest. So I've been having a good summer.
Speaker 2: It's been good resting the summer. Where do you go
Speaker 2: to rest?
Speaker 1: I'm never home, So sometimes it's just being home, to
Speaker 1: be honest with you, because I'm always traveling every which away. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but I'm trying to think of LA spots that feel
Speaker 1: good for rest. Have you ever been to Tarranna and
Speaker 1: Palos Verna?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, you're very fancy, very fancy.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Sometimes I remember when I used to book the
Speaker 1: big ones for me that I was like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: I booked it, or like write that weekend that you
Speaker 1: got to wait to find out if you got the job. Yes,
Speaker 1: I would take myself there and to like woo song,
Speaker 1: try not to think about it too much, treat yourself between. So, yeah,
Speaker 1: I love Tearraning. That's my little get a. I like
Speaker 1: it because it's it's a way, but it's not like
Speaker 1: it's not a full committing of going to like oh
Speaker 1: High or Springs right drive forty five minutes.
Speaker 2: Yes there, but depending on where you live, it feels
Speaker 2: like another world. Yeah, sure, which is what I love. Yes. Yeah, well,
Speaker 2: full disclosure, I moved out of LA, so I've been
Speaker 2: a place like that all the time.
Speaker 1: Now, what are you in California state? Still?
Speaker 2: I am still in the state of California.
Speaker 1: Isn't California. Amazing. Yes, there's so many areas. It's beast.
Speaker 1: I'm a fan of California. I'm into it.
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, and I know your East coast East coast based.
Speaker 2: How long have you officially been a Californian? I guess
Speaker 2: that's how you'd say it.
Speaker 1: Oh, that's tricky, right, when you come here for work.
Speaker 1: That's tricky to right. That doesn't spot of when I would.
Speaker 2: Say forty years.
Speaker 1: Yeah, sure, forty years been in years. I first came
Speaker 1: here for a pilot in twenty fifteen, I think. Okay,
Speaker 1: But honestly, I've never I've only done two projects in LA.
Speaker 1: So that may give you a bit of an idea
Speaker 1: of just how much I am never in Los Angeles. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I've only in the ten years that I've been doing this.
Speaker 1: I did a movie with Eddie Murphy, and then I
Speaker 1: did a TV show last summer, The Idol, that filmed
Speaker 1: in LA. That's it here. That's why I say like
Speaker 1: coming back here feels like a vacation.
Speaker 2: I get it. You know, I worked for a long
Speaker 2: time there, but yeah, a lot most things are gone now,
Speaker 2: that's for sure. But I do want to talk about
Speaker 2: your time growing up. I know that you grew up
Speaker 2: in Philly, in or around Philly as a kid, and
Speaker 2: I read you went to Interlock In. Now how old
Speaker 2: were you when you started that?
Speaker 1: That was my junior year of high school, the summer
Speaker 1: of my junior year of high school.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, I'm wondering if our stories are exactly
Speaker 2: the same. So was that transformative for you?
Speaker 1: Absolutely? But everyone says that went there everyone, but you know,
Speaker 1: it was so great. It really what I loved most
Speaker 1: about it. It fortified my love and like reverence and
Speaker 1: commitment and devotion to being an artist. Yes, like right,
Speaker 1: like that was I think that was the greatest. It
Speaker 1: gave me so many gifts, but I think that would
Speaker 1: be the greatest gift. That place gave me that sense
Speaker 1: of like the reverence or how lucky and blessed and
Speaker 1: special we are to be artists and like refect it
Speaker 1: and be disciplined and do the work, and oh my god,
Speaker 1: I love that place.
Speaker 2: See what I would say to you is exactly the same.
Speaker 2: I didn't go to Interlock and so it was Northwestern
Speaker 2: Institute of the Arts. I think that's what it was
Speaker 2: called at Northwestern University. I was a cherub. You were
Speaker 2: a cherub, which is weird. That's like a chubby baby,
Speaker 2: I think, but that's what it was like, the Cherub program.
Speaker 2: And so for me how I always describe because I
Speaker 2: started out in the theater and we'll talk about that too,
Speaker 2: but I think prior to that, it was a hobby, right,
Speaker 2: It was an activity. It was something that I did,
Speaker 2: and I had fairly good instincts, and I was loud
Speaker 2: and could like command a presence. But it was that
Speaker 2: time there where I was like, oh, this is like
Speaker 2: oh I get oh like creating a character and oh
Speaker 2: like this is the hard work that you put in
Speaker 2: and voice and movement and all those things. So was
Speaker 2: that it for you too? Was it like, oh, I
Speaker 2: want to do this but you were music maybe right?
Speaker 1: Yeah. I was a major and I was coming from
Speaker 1: the city. To be really honest, I hadn't been I
Speaker 1: went to prep schools like in the suburbs and stuff
Speaker 1: like that, but I had never been around that much
Speaker 1: like greenery and nature. So I actually got sick that
Speaker 1: I had like really bad sinuses and allergies issues and
Speaker 1: I ended up losing my voice. So it was even
Speaker 1: more deeper and like meta and introspective. And all because
Speaker 1: I literally couldn't talk, so I'm literally like with my
Speaker 1: thoughts all day in this beautiful manager. It was it
Speaker 1: was deep. Yeah, that reverence of the arts, being of
Speaker 1: the arts and just how special it is, and like
Speaker 1: I would sit in on the musical theater classes or
Speaker 1: watch the plays with the theater kids, and I remember
Speaker 1: being like I kind of liked that too a little bit,
Speaker 1: but I remember just being like, Wow, I feel so
Speaker 1: lucky and we are so cool. It was like, I
Speaker 1: don't know, I guess it's like in our world, right,
Speaker 1: it'd be like band camp being cool, Like, wow, it's
Speaker 1: so cool to be artists. Everyone that goes there is.
Speaker 2: Like, Yeah, you go to Temple and you're studying classical vocals.
Speaker 2: That's singing, right, and an opera. Now, at one point
Speaker 2: you switched to musical theater. Now what happens there? What's
Speaker 2: the what's the process behind that decision.
Speaker 1: To musical theater? Well, I graduated from Yale at that point, and.
Speaker 2: So this was after you went to Yale for acting
Speaker 2: for yeah no, but before that, so where do you
Speaker 2: change from like singing and an opera?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, yeah? So no, I mean, well, of a
Speaker 1: lack of better word. I got kicked out because I
Speaker 1: think it was because when I don't.
Speaker 2: Thank you for your honesty, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1: So no, I think I found that this was a
Speaker 1: thing that occurs when institutions don't truly have a musical
Speaker 1: theater department. So that time, Temple did not have a
Speaker 1: musical theater department, but their theater department would do musicals
Speaker 1: from time to time, like maybe like one a year
Speaker 1: or whatever, so I guess what was happening, which was
Speaker 1: actually not the case for me. A lot of times
Speaker 1: singers and actors would flee, I guess, be changing their
Speaker 1: major and being indecisive and going from one to the other.
Speaker 1: So they all each department had their feelings about that,
Speaker 1: and was not the case for me. At that point.
Speaker 1: I was fully committed due to interlock in, which introduced
Speaker 1: me to classical arts. Right like, I'm all in now,
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, I'm an opera singer. This is what
Speaker 1: we're doing. I'm about to travel the world. This is great,
Speaker 1: And so we were preparing for Aida and the opera
Speaker 1: and I just remember feeling like disconnected or like it
Speaker 1: just feeling very like an old, antiquated thing you know,
Speaker 1: I was like, well, my parents and family or friends
Speaker 1: are coming see this. I wanted to be something, but
Speaker 1: they can connect to It's like Shakespeare right, like you can.
Speaker 1: I want them to know what's going on. And the
Speaker 1: only way that they're gonna know and be able to
Speaker 1: follow this and not just be like snoozefest opera is
Speaker 1: if I do my job right of like understanding what
Speaker 1: I'm saying so that that can convey. And so I
Speaker 1: ended up working with one of the acting teachers basically
Speaker 1: as like a coach, to work with me on the
Speaker 1: scenes that I was singing so that it could be conveyed.
Speaker 1: And so then the music department found out. I mean
Speaker 1: I wasn't trying to keep it a secret, but they
Speaker 1: found out, and so they kicked me out. And so
Speaker 1: it was my mom who was like, you need to
Speaker 1: go across the street to the theater department because a
Speaker 1: logically most of your credits can transfer and be you're
Speaker 1: gonna graduate on time, so you just need to get
Speaker 1: that diploma and we'll figure it out after there. And
Speaker 1: so that is literally like literally crying, kicking, and screaming
Speaker 1: going to the theater department. It was never something that I
Speaker 1: wanted to do. I thought the theater kids were weird,
Speaker 1: and then yeah, and so then it just so happened
Speaker 1: that they had a musical. I think it was Into
Speaker 1: the Woods, so like I got that experience, and then
Speaker 1: the musical later happened just because post graduating, they were like, oh,
Speaker 1: it'll be a great job that you can do. Is
Speaker 1: like your hustle job essentially a swing right like the
Speaker 1: understudies understudy. That's how they pitched it to me. But
Speaker 1: then when I auditioned to this day, I don't know
Speaker 1: if that was actually what it was because I was
Speaker 1: nannying at the time. Loved my job, I had great kids.
Speaker 1: It was dream job.
Speaker 2: Are you talking about ghost? Is that what you're doing?
Speaker 1: So it ghost? Yeah, so it ghost. That was a
Speaker 1: fluke they were saying it. I was nannying, and they
Speaker 1: didn't really love that I was nannying, even though I
Speaker 1: was an afternoon nanny, so you had me from you know,
Speaker 1: the morning to like one thirty to audition and stuff
Speaker 1: like that. But they didn't. My team at the TI
Speaker 1: in love that I had that job, and they wanted
Speaker 1: me just like you know, be broke and be a
Speaker 1: full artist available all day for them. They didn't like
Speaker 1: those time restraints, and so they were like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: this will just be like a hustle, like your side
Speaker 1: hustle job, while we find you the job. To this day,
Speaker 1: I still don't know if that was exactly the case,
Speaker 1: but I auditioned and ended up getting one of the
Speaker 1: leads of it and doing it, but then doing it
Speaker 1: first on the West End because the lady who was
Speaker 1: doing it there had got hurt, and so instead of
Speaker 1: them going for another one of their understudies in London,
Speaker 1: they decided, well, let's just get it started early, and
Speaker 1: so I went and did it on the West End
Speaker 1: for several months, and then I came and did it.
Speaker 2: I'm Broadwick Tony nomination for your first Pray and.
Speaker 1: I was sick voice. That was another time when I
Speaker 1: lost my voice. I was so I had like forty
Speaker 1: percent of my I could not believe that nomination because
Speaker 1: I literally had forty percent vocal production and I was
Speaker 1: literally performing on less than half of these, so that
Speaker 1: blew me away.
Speaker 2: Here's the thing. I'm always performing at less than half
Speaker 2: of a voice when I'm singing, so I know the feelings.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, very well.
Speaker 1: Get it?
Speaker 2: But but to back up half a second, you end
Speaker 2: up at Yale School of Drama, and at that point
Speaker 2: are you committed full on to a life in the theater.
Speaker 1: No, No, it was just for me. It was just
Speaker 1: like because timeline wise, right, it was only a year
Speaker 1: that I began to branch into acting in my undergrad
Speaker 1: and so I just knew. It was the dean of
Speaker 1: the school that was like, you're good, I'm going to
Speaker 1: apply you to these graduate acting programs. I didn't even
Speaker 1: know about this stuff, so he applied me. I did
Speaker 1: the interviews and the you know, auditions and whatnot, and
Speaker 1: for me, it was just like I knew because it
Speaker 1: was this major change of now no longer in my
Speaker 1: mind never singing again that I was like, whoa, I
Speaker 1: have to figure out what my life is because when
Speaker 1: I was ready to be on this one track, it
Speaker 1: quickly changed. And so that then was where I think
Speaker 1: while in graduate school, I was figuring it out and like, Okay,
Speaker 1: is this the life I want? Do we like? This?
Speaker 1: Is this something that we're into? But again, I think
Speaker 1: I did feel a bit of comfort or familiarity in
Speaker 1: regards to like again, the devotion, the reverence, the pedigree,
Speaker 1: the studying, the classical training as it were, that was
Speaker 1: something that I was like, Oh, I can geek out
Speaker 1: over this a little bit. And then too, I just
Speaker 1: love people and how people take and work, and so
Speaker 1: I really enjoyed like certain classes of like text analysis
Speaker 1: and stuff like that of really getting into the like
Speaker 1: I love getting into the psychology of my care. That's
Speaker 1: really where I get a lot of mileage. And so yeah,
Speaker 1: I think like while I was going through school in
Speaker 1: those three years, I was kind of like not warming
Speaker 1: up to it, but like it was a whole new world. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so I was like, Okay, let's see what this is about.
Speaker 2: Ghost. So did you say you did that seven months
Speaker 2: on the West End?
Speaker 1: No? I think at the end of it all it
Speaker 1: was maybe like four or five months it were. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think it was like four or five months.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and then on in New York. So how long total?
Speaker 1: So total, I think it would have been about a
Speaker 1: year and a half. Oh, my year and a half. Yeah, Now,
Speaker 1: how was.
Speaker 2: That for you? So you're out of school, you haven't
Speaker 2: worked on a character for an extended period of time.
Speaker 1: I had graduated in June. I booked it in August
Speaker 1: or no, November. It was it's November because it was Thanksgiving,
Speaker 1: so I was I remember I booked it and I
Speaker 1: was like, can I be home for Thanksgiving? Because it
Speaker 1: was like my first job, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: Like I'm not used to like working on holidays, And
Speaker 1: I was like, can I please be with my family.
Speaker 2: I've got Eagles tickets back in Philly. I need to
Speaker 2: get back home.
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, And so literally the day after Thanksgiving they
Speaker 1: put me on a plane and then literally within days
Speaker 1: I had to get off book And sorry to those people,
Speaker 1: but in paid performances was my rehearsals?
Speaker 2: Crazy?
Speaker 1: I hope they discounted those people, because that's crazy.
Speaker 2: Did you did you enjoy it? I loved it the
Speaker 2: whole time.
Speaker 1: I loved it. The West End was my favorite. I
Speaker 1: love it. The way that they treat theater artists is
Speaker 1: how they treat movie stars. Yeah, and I think it's
Speaker 1: almost interchangeable too, because right like, you can go and
Speaker 1: see it play and you're like, yo, is that Hella Mirrin?
Speaker 1: Like British movie stars who will happily or Olivia Coleman
Speaker 1: happily pop into a play. So for them, there's no
Speaker 1: real delineation how it is for us right for them,
Speaker 1: it's your artists, you all one big things. I had
Speaker 1: never that was my first experience of really being treated
Speaker 1: so well in that way that I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: I never want to leave and Broadway it was just
Speaker 1: it was harder, and so it was a more aggressive schedule.
Speaker 1: And then there's the summer schedule. In the holiday schedule,
Speaker 1: you're already doing eight shows a week, and so now
Speaker 1: it's like twelve shows a week, so it's just like
Speaker 1: a burnerout. And then on top of it, you're being
Speaker 1: six So it felt more of like survival and maintenance
Speaker 1: and just like get through the show. Let's get through
Speaker 1: this show, and let's see what tomorrow brings. So it
Speaker 1: was intense. It was really really intense. I think it's
Speaker 1: the hardest thing I've ever done. Musicals, even more so
Speaker 1: than a play. That is a real even I've done
Speaker 1: movie musicals now and it's not even at the same voltage,
Speaker 1: I guess is the.
Speaker 2: Right word, because of the stamina it takes.
Speaker 1: The Yeah, it's constantly moving, there's no breaks. Once the
Speaker 1: curtain goes up, it's on for the next two and
Speaker 1: a half to three hours, depending on your musical musicals
Speaker 1: are long?
Speaker 2: Yeah? When you were done, yeah, were you like? I
Speaker 2: want to work in film and television.
Speaker 1: So what was funny was we got maybe three weeks
Speaker 1: notice that the show was closing, and I remember saying
Speaker 1: to my team at the time, I was like, I
Speaker 1: think that I want to dry out this pilot season thing.
Speaker 1: I remember, I didn't know anything about it, right, and
Speaker 1: I was like, and I would like to do a
Speaker 1: play and a TV show before I leave New York.
Speaker 1: I was like, I want to be able check everything
Speaker 1: off the list, and I want to try that pilot thing.
Speaker 1: And they were like okay. And I remember I had
Speaker 1: five auditions in one week and I ended up booking
Speaker 1: a TV show I think it was a Good Wife.
Speaker 1: And I booked Robin Williams's last movie. And I originated
Speaker 1: a new role in a new play at the Atlantic
Speaker 1: Theater Company, and that literally took me up to at
Speaker 1: that time January, which right before when pilot season was
Speaker 1: more formal timing in that regard. Then the play ended
Speaker 1: literally January second. I ended up booking, well, not booking,
Speaker 1: but getting auditioning or final call back or whatever you
Speaker 1: want to call it for a pilot that brought me
Speaker 1: out here. It ends up not going through, and then
Speaker 1: I stayed for a little bit and then it went
Speaker 1: off on the races for me.
Speaker 2: I got to ask you about working with Robin on
Speaker 2: The Angriest Man, one of his last films. So I
Speaker 2: had the opportunity to work with him a few times
Speaker 2: and loved every bit of it. Tell me about your
Speaker 2: experience working with him on that, and.
Speaker 1: It was perfect. It was perfect. It happened at the
Speaker 1: perfect time in my life, and I hope that it
Speaker 1: was equally enjoyable for him at that time in his life.
Speaker 1: I had just well, yeah, you know, I've I had
Speaker 1: just graduated, I hadn't even been a year out. That
Speaker 1: was still in the summer. I remember it was hot.
Speaker 1: But anyways, I remember I could not believe how much
Speaker 1: time he gave me and how much he talked to me.
Speaker 1: And in some cases the other actors would joke and
Speaker 1: be like, you're talking to her more than you talk
Speaker 1: to us. And I was the youngest person on the set,
Speaker 1: and I remember we just had the most amazing conversations
Speaker 1: in which I remember he told me, he was like,
Speaker 1: you know, you can do this whole TV and film thing.
Speaker 1: I think you should do it. You're gifted, blah blah blah.
Speaker 1: And I remember him distinctly saying to me like, think
Speaker 1: about San Francisco though, like I remember, he was like
Speaker 1: it was like it was not He was like, I
Speaker 1: don't know, He's like, you gotta hear a good person.
Speaker 1: You have a good heart. I don't know about la.
Speaker 1: He was like, think about San frian and he was like,
Speaker 1: I love it there and it's so peaceful for me.
Speaker 1: But we just we had a ball. That man is
Speaker 1: a wonder And I don't know about you, but I
Speaker 1: could almost feel his brain thinking when he was silent,
Speaker 1: I could like I could almost like a sneeze about
Speaker 1: to happen. Does that make sense?
Speaker 2: It does make sense that I.
Speaker 1: Could feel like he's about to say something and I
Speaker 1: don't even have to look at him. And I remember
Speaker 1: describing it before to a friend like how the like
Speaker 1: New York Penin station. I don't know if other train
Speaker 1: stations have this, but that ticker thing, that's how it
Speaker 1: felt to me being near him, of like his brain,
Speaker 1: like I could feel like there was a buzz within
Speaker 1: him that I could tell. I was like, it really
Speaker 1: feels like his brain and his thoughts truly moved at
Speaker 1: that rate, and it almost was like, for the lack
Speaker 1: of a better word, Torett, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: like it just all came out. But it was so so,
Speaker 1: so amazing, And then you just didn't have these quiet,
Speaker 1: super intimate moments with him, and You're like, what the
Speaker 1: only other person that I've ever met, first of all,
Speaker 1: no one liked that, but of someone who can be
Speaker 1: larger than life, and then very very quiet and intimate
Speaker 1: was Eddie, but still nothing like that. That man was
Speaker 1: so giving and so kind and I couldn't believe it.
Speaker 1: He paid for my sad card because that was my
Speaker 1: first Oh wow, So in order for me to have
Speaker 1: done the movie, you know, I was gonna have to
Speaker 1: pay broke. I mean, well, I had the Broadway show,
Speaker 1: but I wasn't making that much money where I would
Speaker 1: have to basically pay in order to get in the movie.
Speaker 1: And I was just like, it was an amazing, amazing experience.
Speaker 2: Wow. Yeah. When I worked with him, he was a
Speaker 2: person and I worked with a lot of kind, very kind,
Speaker 2: generous people before a sense, but there was a way
Speaker 2: that he interacted on the set with the crew yep,
Speaker 2: that I attempt to do a bad impersonation of on
Speaker 2: every set that I worked with. And there was an
Speaker 2: energy from him that was like, this is such a
Speaker 2: cliche phrase, but like what we're doing is and this
Speaker 2: is not rocket science, Like let's have a good time,
Speaker 2: let's enjoy each other. And the phrase that I always
Speaker 2: say to people is it takes just as much energy
Speaker 2: to be nice as it does to be an asshole.
Speaker 2: And he always chose nice. And there was a it
Speaker 2: was very clear just in people's faces of the crew
Speaker 2: that it was like we were going to have a
Speaker 2: good day, but we're just going to have a good
Speaker 2: day today. And I attempt to do the same thing.
Speaker 2: Sometimes I do it a little snark here, I'll be honest,
Speaker 2: that's just but snarkier in like a play snarky way.
Speaker 2: He was just always That's what I know. I learned
Speaker 2: that from him. That was the gift that he gave me.
Speaker 2: He did not pay for my sad card, but he
Speaker 2: gave me. He gave me that you worked with my pal,
Speaker 2: Oscar Nunez. In fact, you've worked with a lot of
Speaker 2: my old pals, which is starting to hurt my feelings.
Speaker 2: We have are you okay after working with him? Are
Speaker 2: you Are you all right? Are you scarred in any way?
Speaker 2: Are you fine?
Speaker 1: I've since healed. I have definitely.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well you worked on People of Earth? What else
Speaker 2: did you work on with them?
Speaker 1: Lost City? And we were like low key each other's
Speaker 1: love interests a bit.
Speaker 2: In Lost City.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he plays like this rogue crazy man that's like
Speaker 1: he flies exotic animals all over the world. And I'm like,
Speaker 1: on this track to find my client. I play like
Speaker 1: a publicist. Look is this author? And so I'm on
Speaker 1: this journey because she's gotten kidnapped. And along the way
Speaker 1: I meet him and he's like, you can get on
Speaker 1: my rigged plane. So I'm sitting there with animals and
Speaker 1: stuff and he's like, I'm in love. It's the whole thing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was gonna do it twice. Wow, he's brain. He's
Speaker 1: another one the things that he comes up. I'm like,
Speaker 1: where did this even come from?
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what of all of the people that
Speaker 2: I worked with on the office, Because you get you know,
Speaker 2: you get the question like who is your favorite or
Speaker 2: who was and it's like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna answer
Speaker 2: that question. But I do answer this off camera. He's
Speaker 2: the funniest is he makes me laugh. He makes me
Speaker 2: laugh harder than anybody else.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I actually find that it's more it's the people
Speaker 1: off camera that can sell it the most. For him,
Speaker 1: it's like he'll be quiet and then he'll be like no, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: it'll just literally just roll out of his mouth and
Speaker 1: you're like.
Speaker 2: What, where did that? I know, I know he's insane.
Speaker 2: He's like he has a.
Speaker 1: Whole story, he's in a whole world, and you think
Speaker 1: you're in the same scene with him, and then he'll
Speaker 1: say something and you're like, I gotta catch up with you. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't know where you're at. I'm going to get there,
Speaker 1: give me two seconds. He's a genius. Yeah, I've never wow.
Speaker 1: There's never anytime the camera's rolling or let's try another option.
Speaker 1: He never repeats anything. It's always something new, and it's
Speaker 1: you're just like, whoa where is this coming from?
Speaker 2: Speaking of people who are pretty damn good at improvising.
Speaker 2: I have heard that you have said the role and
Speaker 2: movie that catapulted you. I don't even know if you
Speaker 2: use that word, but that's how I'm interpreting it. Dolomite
Speaker 2: is my name with Eddie Murphy. Why did that film
Speaker 2: feel so special to you?
Speaker 1: For a couple of reasons. I think that was my
Speaker 1: first Well, that was for sure my first big movie.
Speaker 1: In regards to the cast, it was my first. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that was my first. Like if we want
Speaker 1: to call like a studio movie, okay, first, well, it
Speaker 1: wasn't my first movie with a big star, because I
Speaker 1: did do it with Robin. But like with the Robert Williams.
Speaker 2: Movie, I'm Gonna Oscar, you said that by the way,
Speaker 2: Oscar you said that too.
Speaker 1: Get at that point. But so it was that and
Speaker 1: getting to work with someone of that stature, but that
Speaker 1: it was a bigger size role and I had more
Speaker 1: to be responsible for. I think also too, there was
Speaker 1: something just very special about it. It was very pared
Speaker 1: for and loved on. And at that time I believe
Speaker 1: it had only been a year or two. I could
Speaker 1: be wrong. Eddie's brother had passed and that was a
Speaker 1: passion project they had had, and that I believe. Actually
Speaker 1: Eddie wanted his brother to play the lead, and Eddie,
Speaker 1: I think was gonna end up playing Wesley Snyder's character.
Speaker 1: I could be wrong. So there was a lot of
Speaker 1: like care and around it. We had phenomenal writers on it.
Speaker 1: It was really taken care of very well, and Eddie
Speaker 1: was very kind to me as well. And even when
Speaker 1: we then did began press, he made it a point
Speaker 1: that he was like, whatever press I do, I want
Speaker 1: her to do too, So what could have potentially you
Speaker 1: know how that stuff goes, Especially when it's ensemble cast.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it's like number one and number two in the
Speaker 1: call sheet, and those are the people that go out
Speaker 1: and do the press. Because he did that, which interestingly enough,
Speaker 1: was good practice for me for last year, because he
Speaker 1: took me on this like tour with him and just
Speaker 1: that whole experience, it was like great media training for
Speaker 1: me and all those things. I never had that before.
Speaker 1: I was always you know, oh I'm in this TV show,
Speaker 1: or I did this independent movie, you know, and then
Speaker 1: the movie got on or it came out. I never
Speaker 1: had like a post life press life experience before. So
Speaker 1: I think in many ways it kind of endoctored me
Speaker 1: into this industry by having that experience, even just for myself.
Speaker 2: That's awesome. Yeah, that makes a ton of sense. And
Speaker 2: you did get award buzz around the role. You were
Speaker 2: nominated for an NAACP Image Award. I can imagine that
Speaker 2: feels like a great gift for him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I couldn't even believe it the whole thing. Netflix
Speaker 1: was very kind and they helped me find the publicist
Speaker 1: that I have now, Like I felt ushered in. Does
Speaker 1: that make sense? Like everything. I was very gentle and
Speaker 1: it was the best way that I would hope any
Speaker 1: other young actress could experience of getting ushered into the
Speaker 1: business in a really lovely way. And I just was
Speaker 1: quickly exposed, you know, to this world and what it
Speaker 1: could be, especially because I would do always press with him,
Speaker 1: so then being around him and all those super fans
Speaker 1: and everything that he has to deal with, it was
Speaker 1: like really eye opening that I was like, oh wow,
Speaker 1: it could for some people. It looks like this.
Speaker 2: Also, Yeah, you know, he is obviously well one of
Speaker 2: the best comedians to ever do it.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Another buddy of mine was in that film, Craig Robinson. Yes,
Speaker 2: on a stand up stage, there are not many funnier
Speaker 2: than him. If you've ever had the opportunity to see him,
Speaker 2: he is unbelievable. Yeah. You go on to work on
Speaker 2: Jordan Peele's The Last Og with some other comedians Tracy Morgan,
Speaker 2: Tiffany Cedric the entertainer. Here's my question. Yeah, right, you
Speaker 2: and I have a similar path. We came from drama
Speaker 2: then eventually made our way into doing some sitcoms and
Speaker 2: comedic acting roles. Yeah, do you consider yourself a comedian?
Speaker 1: No? And oh what's interesting when I when we did
Speaker 1: we did showcase, we did like a showcase when we
Speaker 1: graduated from Yale, and I remember thinking like, I didn't
Speaker 1: even think LA was an option, And it was ironic
Speaker 1: because I got more interest in LA and in TV
Speaker 1: than I did in New York, which I was like,
Speaker 1: what the heck, Like I did three year, what does
Speaker 1: this even mean? But I always get asked that question,
Speaker 1: and if I auditioned for someone for the first time,
Speaker 1: it's always like, oh, you're a comedian or oh are
Speaker 1: you one of the U TV kids or what you
Speaker 1: know I like, And.
Speaker 2: I'm like, now not, yeah, see, I'm the same. I'm
Speaker 2: an actor and sometimes maybe even more often than others now,
Speaker 2: I do comedic roles, but I'm not a comedian. I
Speaker 2: don't view myself in that way. And also I love
Speaker 2: that you said that no.
Speaker 1: Because also to like, if you haven't gathered already I'm
Speaker 1: big on like technique and training and so even like
Speaker 1: with a writing like, yeah, I could write something, but
Speaker 1: I would never call myself a writer, do you know
Speaker 1: what I mean? So I kind of see it in
Speaker 1: the same vein like the skill set and what is
Speaker 1: required and then writing their jokes and touring it on
Speaker 1: the road and all. I don't do that. So I
Speaker 1: would feel disingenuous almost to be like, yeah, I'm a comedian,
Speaker 1: Like what I don't what are you?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Exactly, I'm not doing that. I know. It goes
Speaker 2: both ways, right On the one hand, it's like there
Speaker 2: is a connotation of like, oh, you're just naturally funny.
Speaker 2: There's not the there's not a work there, right, And
Speaker 2: on the other hand, I'm like, yeah, I don't want
Speaker 2: to do what they do. I have no desire going
Speaker 2: to around the laugh factories, Like I can't do that.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Do you do you still sing?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah I do?
Speaker 2: Do you want to do more musical theater at some point?
Speaker 1: Is tough? Yeah? I think I.
Speaker 2: Did the ho a week thing too, by the way,
Speaker 2: not singing so much. But it's no, it's no joke, right,
Speaker 2: it is no joke.
Speaker 1: I always say never say never, But I do think
Speaker 1: it would have to be something that I am so
Speaker 1: passionate about and so in love with to give of
Speaker 1: my time and my energy to that, because also it's
Speaker 1: longer runs. How only is it more performances? Is actually
Speaker 1: when you look at it. I remember when I first
Speaker 1: started working in TV and film, I was like, wait
Speaker 1: a minute, we're done. Okay, it's done. We don't have
Speaker 1: to work on the weekends. What do you mean? Floored me?
Speaker 1: And it's like triple sometimes ten times the amount of money.
Speaker 1: So I was like, wait what. But I do think
Speaker 1: an all seriousness, theater is a very beautiful and a
Speaker 1: sacred art form. So I do think that will I'm
Speaker 1: I will never turn my back on theater at all.
Speaker 1: And I do think and I'm grateful that I have
Speaker 1: that in my toolbox. And I just think it's you know,
Speaker 1: something that I really love, or you know, something that's
Speaker 1: a limited run or a director I've always wanted to
Speaker 1: work with, or a role I've always wanted to portray.
Speaker 1: It's actually in my mind less of a Broadway thing. Ironically,
Speaker 1: if it's like, oh I could work the Geffen or
Speaker 1: what you know, I mean whatever kind of like a house,
Speaker 1: a theater that's well respected with a great director. It's
Speaker 1: not even for me of like, oh I need to
Speaker 1: go back on Broadway and be in the machine of
Speaker 1: that necessarily, But if I did go back into that machine,
Speaker 1: it would definitely have to be worth it, because it's
Speaker 1: a big commitment, and if you're not from New York,
Speaker 1: you're basically paying them to let you go do a play.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I have a friend who has a number, and
Speaker 2: that's how expensive it was for her to do a play.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really sick. It's a whole another beast. And
Speaker 1: the only reason why I left New York because I
Speaker 1: love New York was that even when I was auditioning
Speaker 1: for New York movies or New York TV shows that
Speaker 1: take places in New York, the whole cruise from New York,
Speaker 1: I was realizing, oh, wait, the decisions are still being
Speaker 1: made in LA And so originally it was just like, oh,
Speaker 1: let me go to like the mecca where it happens.
Speaker 1: I'll book something and then I'll come back. But then
Speaker 1: it just started moving and I was like, Oh, I
Speaker 1: got some beer.
Speaker 2: I gotta ask you about the holdovers. You blew me
Speaker 2: and everybody else away with your performance that thank you
Speaker 2: and the Oscar. The film was up for so many
Speaker 2: different awards. You got to work with an amazing cast,
Speaker 2: an amazing director, and artistic mind. I'm going to try
Speaker 2: to ask you some questions that hopefully you haven't answered
Speaker 2: a thousand times. Were you surprised by the attention that
Speaker 2: the movie ended up getting or did you feel that
Speaker 2: you had something special with the film?
Speaker 1: I would say yes and no. So walking into it right,
Speaker 1: like when your agent calls you and you're like, hey,
Speaker 1: so there's an Alexander Payne movie. You're like, oh, okay, So,
Speaker 1: like there's a possible, there's a flight chance, this is
Speaker 1: gonna be good, right, you know what I mean. There's
Speaker 1: gonna at least get eyes on it, which was at
Speaker 1: that point a big deal for me because I was
Speaker 1: working and I was working consistently, but I had yet
Speaker 1: to be a part of it is like a critically
Speaker 1: acclaimed thing or a phenom like yours. I remember even
Speaker 1: with People of Earth. I remember Greg was like, you know,
Speaker 1: well it took like what was it? Three was it
Speaker 1: for you guys? Three seasons before? Like really like yeah too?
Speaker 1: And so I remember my brain right, I'm just being honest. Actually, actor,
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, yeah, it's a guy from the
Speaker 1: office people have about to blow up, but huge and
Speaker 1: so to a certain degree, yeah, right, Like if we're
Speaker 1: really honest, you when you know you are working with
Speaker 1: a director that has a certain track record and it's
Speaker 1: so beloved and for many obvious reasons because of his gift,
Speaker 1: When you know that your co star is Paul Giamatti,
Speaker 1: you're like this did I think like, oh, yeah, it's
Speaker 1: gonna get an Oscar No. But at least that I
Speaker 1: was like, this could be something critically acclaimed because also
Speaker 1: at that point I realized the difference between a hit
Speaker 1: something that's critically acclaimed, Like there's there's sometimes a different
Speaker 1: uned a difference. There's like the commercial value of something,
Speaker 1: and then there's like, well the critics loved it, and
Speaker 1: so I thought, for sure, this will probably maybe intrigue
Speaker 1: from a critical point of view, But the life that
Speaker 1: it took on I never could have imagined. Also, timeline wise,
Speaker 1: we were in the middle of a strike and literally
Speaker 1: the strike and the only reason I know this is
Speaker 1: because of the premier day. The strike ended November eighth,
Speaker 1: and the movie came out November tenth, so I will
Speaker 1: never forget. I was here in La going through my
Speaker 1: closes and clothes, like you know, you're a bored actor,
Speaker 1: so you're like, go through my closset. Let me actually
Speaker 1: claim and organize my house. Got nothing else to do.
Speaker 1: And I remember getting a call saying the strike was over.
Speaker 1: Literally thirty minutes later, my phone was ringing off the
Speaker 1: hook and it did not stop until March whatever the
Speaker 1: day is after the Oscars. So it literally was a whirlwind.
Speaker 1: And I did not foresee that that was going to
Speaker 1: have such traction because before you know, it was like
Speaker 1: we remember they were like, Oh, we're just so lucky
Speaker 1: that we have such an amazing director speaking on our
Speaker 1: behalf right, because at this point we would have already
Speaker 1: missed Tell your Ride and Tiff. He was doing those
Speaker 1: by himself, and he was so guind He would send
Speaker 1: us text messages and be like they really liked it,
Speaker 1: and we'd be like, aha, everything went over. Well, they
Speaker 1: really enjoyed your part in this part, and so we
Speaker 1: were so removed. But unbeknownst I guess it was like
Speaker 1: slowly picking up steam. In the moment that the strike
Speaker 1: was over, it was full speed of hint.
Speaker 2: Yeah, were you and meately attracted to the role of
Speaker 2: Mary or she grow on you?
Speaker 1: She grew on me because of how which I thought
Speaker 1: was really smart, how Alexander positioned or propositioned her to me.
Speaker 1: It wasn't a big cell. It was very He was
Speaker 1: very casual of like, there's this role. I think you'd
Speaker 1: be grateful it. I saw you in Dola Mine and
Speaker 1: I thought, you know, I saw things that I feel
Speaker 1: as though you could bring this role to life. Give
Speaker 1: it a read. I remember it was over. It was
Speaker 1: right before Thanksgiving weekend and he was like, and I'll
Speaker 1: give you a call on Tuesday, and I was like, okay.
Speaker 1: So it was real casual and nice and easy, and
Speaker 1: there was some parts that was like intentionally left open,
Speaker 1: and he expressed of like the writer, and I want
Speaker 1: to figure this out with you and how we see
Speaker 1: her coming to life and what she say this? Would
Speaker 1: she not say that? What would this look like? So
Speaker 1: it was this nice and easy approach. But then we
Speaker 1: shot in January, so it went really fast. So it
Speaker 1: was like the moment I said yes, I got cigarettes
Speaker 1: delivered to me and I'm working over dialect and we're
Speaker 1: going over tech stuff. And what are we wearing. So
Speaker 1: once I said yes, it moved very quickly leading up
Speaker 1: to when we began filming because we filmed right after
Speaker 1: New Year's Day.
Speaker 2: Right, it's like you're looking at my notes here because
Speaker 2: you kind of touched on this a little bit. But
Speaker 2: I'm interested in your perspective. So, right before all this
Speaker 2: holdover buzz happened, you were in a show called The Idol.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I had a lot of great people involved, Sam Levinson, Yes,
Speaker 2: the Weekend. The critics were not kind, right, The Idol.
Speaker 2: It's currently at nineteen percent on Rotten Tomatoes, which I
Speaker 2: don't know if you know this or not. That's not
Speaker 2: great now? Was it strange or is it strange or
Speaker 2: somewhat confusing that at the same moment in time you've
Speaker 2: got two projects going, one that everyone is loving and
Speaker 2: the other. Although the La Times was very nice to
Speaker 2: you in an article I read today, well.
Speaker 1: That don't have to say that was an interesting thing, Okay,
Speaker 1: interesting experience, right, Like I gave my best right and
Speaker 1: I at the same time had a really great relationship
Speaker 1: with Sam and we were able to He gave me
Speaker 1: a lot of creative leeway that we really collaborated on
Speaker 1: my characters. So who Destiny became I actually felt great about, okay,
Speaker 1: I felt as though what I contributed was contributed was decent,
Speaker 1: and what was an interesting experience for me was though
Speaker 1: for a lot like scandalous salacious reasons, they didn't enjoy it.
Speaker 1: I had an interesting experience because they were like, but
Speaker 1: Destiny blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Speaker 2: Right, so that's fair.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So for me, it's something that I would definitely
Speaker 1: not hide or try to make disappear because I actually
Speaker 1: am really stand by and am really down for the
Speaker 1: work that I created, and also too, to be honest,
Speaker 1: like it was nice to do something different. I always
Speaker 1: want to continue to reinvent myself or keep people guessing.
Speaker 1: And it may change, I don't know why, might get
Speaker 1: older and be like I might be okay with this,
Speaker 1: But for me right now, I love the idea that
Speaker 1: people can't really pigeonhole me just yet or be like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: she's that type. I feel like even with a comedy,
Speaker 1: like I do different types of things intentionally and I
Speaker 1: think now too, yes, there's more opportunity, but I think
Speaker 1: it also requires me to have more discernment of what
Speaker 1: roles I choose. I'm really specific and strategic about it.
Speaker 1: So in a way, I guess you could say it
Speaker 1: was like the best in a not so great situation
Speaker 1: that I could have had. I think for sure, out
Speaker 1: of all the other characters, I got lucky in that
Speaker 1: regard that if they did say something nice, it was
Speaker 1: usually my character. And I will say that everyone worked
Speaker 1: really hard and sometimes people just.
Speaker 2: Don't like it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: But I cannot not give credit where credit is due
Speaker 1: to everyone involved. They were committed to it, and this
Speaker 1: is what the story they wanted to tell, and yeah,
Speaker 1: it just didn't hit.
Speaker 2: I'm not even talking about one being good or bad
Speaker 2: or the other. I more mean psychologically for you. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's the whole, Like is all press good press? Right?
Speaker 2: Like I mean, you're you're having people like loving this
Speaker 2: one thing that you're doing and not so much a
Speaker 2: fan to be kind of this other thing, and you're
Speaker 2: getting it all at sort of the same moment. That's
Speaker 2: more what I'm saying.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you're right because I remember because during well so,
Speaker 3: I was in a way pseudo doing press for it
Speaker 3: as well, and because it wasn't going so great.
Speaker 1: Halfway through, I was the only one that was doing press.
Speaker 1: No one else was doing press. Idle, no one did
Speaker 1: the press unbeknowns because people, you know, they just made
Speaker 1: a decision of oh, it's for whatever reason it's not
Speaker 1: being received. Well, I don't want to give more time
Speaker 1: to that. But you're right because that was during the strike.
Speaker 1: I remember because it was a whole lot of phoners.
Speaker 1: So at that time it was too soon actually timeline wise, Okay,
Speaker 1: I did not know yet that holdovers was becoming a thing,
Speaker 1: so I would say, but yes, one definitely went one
Speaker 1: way and that then ended and then it then picked
Speaker 1: up for the other. But yeah, in no way, I
Speaker 1: guess it is to a certain degree. Like I said,
Speaker 1: it was the best in a not so great situation,
Speaker 1: right in regards of like all press, yeah can be
Speaker 1: good press. That I to be clear, I got lucky
Speaker 1: because if they did say something nice, it was about
Speaker 1: my characters. So even though it wasn't so great, right,
Speaker 1: I was able to make the best of that moment
Speaker 1: and then boom boom the next thing.
Speaker 2: Then being holders, you have another milestone this year, your
Speaker 2: first Emmy nomination Outstanding guest Actress on Only Murders in
Speaker 2: the Building Season four, coming out? Did you audition for
Speaker 2: this show?
Speaker 1: I got a This is also why I think Dolamite
Speaker 1: was the thing, because that like catapulted me or what
Speaker 1: or at least open doors because Eddie's who he is
Speaker 1: and because we countered on one another in our scenes.
Speaker 1: There were several jobs last og was one of them
Speaker 1: where you know, Tracy called and was like, I'm thinking
Speaker 1: about potentially offering to her this role. What do you
Speaker 1: think to Eddie? Eddie vouched for me. Then Steve Martin
Speaker 1: was like, I really love dolo mine and it made
Speaker 1: me think that you would be great for this. And
Speaker 1: so Dolomine is a gift that keeps on giving. For sure,
Speaker 1: that's awesome, But yeah, no, I didn't. It was during
Speaker 1: the pandemic Jonathan Hoffman when Steve Martin began crafting this character,
Speaker 1: and I remember thinking like, there's no way there were
Speaker 1: going to be This is like peak pandemic where I
Speaker 1: was like, no way, right, this one's not going to
Speaker 1: get over the fence.
Speaker 2: And they did have a great time doing it.
Speaker 1: Oh, it's fantastic. One of my favorite jobs to do.
Speaker 1: These guys are amazing. I mean I've never been on
Speaker 1: anything before. I mean, you guys did how many seven? Eight?
Speaker 1: How many seasons did you guys have?
Speaker 2: Well, ten years, nine seasons?
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, so.
Speaker 2: You but I think you'd have to do like thirty
Speaker 2: seasons because we did two hundred and something episodes.
Speaker 1: Yes, so real. Yeah, I've never This is for me,
Speaker 1: the longest time I've been on I feel like your Guys'
Speaker 1: show was like the last of the era of like
Speaker 1: i mean, first of all, it was hugely successful. I
Speaker 1: don't feel like shows go past. I feel like six
Speaker 1: is the hurdle that they want to get across to
Speaker 1: go to syndication, and then they just crap out.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So this is the longest that I've ever done of
Speaker 1: a show. But it's so fantastic. These guys are legends
Speaker 1: and they have such a child like zeel. I think
Speaker 1: that's the key when I think about it, of like
Speaker 1: legendary the people that I've worked with, and I'm sure
Speaker 1: you can corroborate this, but it's like it's as if
Speaker 1: it's their first gig, right, that this sense of like play, yes, yeah, exactly,
Speaker 1: these guys, they have endless energy. Helena and I are like, okay,
Speaker 1: I think we got it, and they're like, no, what
Speaker 1: is it this way? And there's something fun about it too,
Speaker 1: because it feels a little wad village. Yeah, it's like
Speaker 1: physical comedy. It's just so much fun to see them
Speaker 1: having a blast. It's also an amazing shooting schedule, which
Speaker 1: is essentially nine to five or ten to six. I've
Speaker 1: never been on a show like that before.
Speaker 2: And when you get legends that time for dinner. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: what are you talking about? Although you've got to shoot
Speaker 2: nights some right, but when we.
Speaker 1: Do, it's usually towards the end. For whatever reason. They
Speaker 1: usually save it for the end, and it's like in
Speaker 1: one week and we just knock it out and then
Speaker 1: it's done.
Speaker 2: You're a very very very fun person. But I mean no,
Speaker 2: and that's not a butt. You're a very funny person.
Speaker 2: And in this you play the straight person. Straight man.
Speaker 2: The phrase is straight man. That's what do we call
Speaker 2: it now? Right?
Speaker 1: I haven't heard it call it anything else. I don't
Speaker 1: know of a new phrase for that, you.
Speaker 2: Know what I'm saying? Like, you play the straight man
Speaker 2: to these two unbelievably, and as you mentioned physically gifted comedians.
Speaker 2: Is that tough for you?
Speaker 1: It's actually it's nice. I like doing both. I like
Speaker 1: when I'm playing those kind of roles and I like
Speaker 1: when I'm the one that's the silly one.
Speaker 2: It's nice.
Speaker 1: I enjoy both. To me, it's kind of saying of
Speaker 1: like comedy and drama. I like using all of those
Speaker 1: different skill sets. And I like what I like about
Speaker 1: when you're playing a straight man. It's finding the nuances,
Speaker 1: oftentimes instill ill and minimalism and how impactful that can be,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Yes, that's what ends up.
Speaker 1: I'm always looking for what's the game, what's the right
Speaker 1: And for me a lot of times it's how little
Speaker 1: can I move?
Speaker 2: I love that.
Speaker 1: How simple can I be to make pack the biggest punch. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's nice. It's fun that way.
Speaker 2: Very smart. Good for you, very smart. Thank you. Oh.
Speaker 2: By the way, there's there's some other newcomer on the
Speaker 2: show too, right, Meryl. What's her name?
Speaker 1: Yeah, so she came in season three.
Speaker 2: Was a joke.
Speaker 1: We have had lots of really great people come in
Speaker 1: and it's.
Speaker 2: Become like Amy Ryan, Yeah, I saw her. Paul Rudd.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so when they were like streep. I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: cut it out, guys, this is not funny. And I
Speaker 1: literally was at a precedent for a holdover. It's like
Speaker 1: an early President for holdovers. And because that season was
Speaker 1: like a musical within the TV show, the composers was like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, we can't wait for this year. We
Speaker 1: can't wait to work with you. It's such a dream.
Speaker 1: I cannot believe I'm writing a strong a song for MARYL. Street.
Speaker 2: And I was like what.
Speaker 1: And I immediately called John Hoffman and I was like,
Speaker 1: figure it out. You didn't tell me, and I figured
Speaker 1: it out, and you better figure out a way to
Speaker 1: get me in there.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, good, what can you tell us about
Speaker 2: season four? So Steve dies right right.
Speaker 1: So they're very secretive, though I will say if it
Speaker 1: wasn't I'm a Marvel movie or something. But I will
Speaker 1: say so the last season was a play within a
Speaker 1: TV show, and this season will be another form of
Speaker 1: media that's in this season.
Speaker 2: That's what they've allowed you to say.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because I don't know what people I don't know
Speaker 1: what things they said, and movie or filmy Martin and
Speaker 1: Martin Short's characters right for this season.
Speaker 2: Yep, all right, it's really helpful. All the outlets are
Speaker 2: going to pick up that kid bit. Everyone that's gonna
Speaker 2: they're gonna be all they're gonna be rushing to press
Speaker 2: with that. Uh, Davin, thank you so much. Good luck
Speaker 2: at them as I'll be watching for sure, and good
Speaker 2: luck with the season. And I mean, really, honest to God,
Speaker 2: with everything that you do, you're so unbelievably fun to watch.
Speaker 2: And my conversation today, well, you're a good person too,
Speaker 2: and you're super smart and thoughtful about your choices and
Speaker 2: I respect the hell out of that.
Speaker 1: And you Thank you so much, Brian, I really appreciate that.
Speaker 2: Best of luck, all right, thank you, Davine. So great
Speaker 2: to have you. Thank you so much for taking the time.
Speaker 2: I know it has been a busy, busy ride for you.
Speaker 2: Good luck at the Emmys next month. You've got my vote,
Speaker 2: and then just do yourself a favorite. Take a break,
Speaker 2: all right, listeners, go and watch her Emmy nominated performance
Speaker 2: in Only Murders in the Building, and go hit that
Speaker 2: subscribe button and make sure you come back here for
Speaker 2: our next episode. We've got another award winner coming up next,
Speaker 2: So come back next week. Off The Beat is host
Speaker 2: did and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our
Speaker 2: executive producer Lang Lee. Our senior producer is Diego Tapia.
Speaker 2: Our producers are Emily Carr and seth Olansky, and our
Speaker 2: talent producer is Ryan Papa Zachary. Our theme song Bubble
Speaker 2: and Squeak, performed by the one and Only Breed Bretton