Full Comedy Actress Roundtable: Natasha Lyonne, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Williams & More

Full Comedy Actress Roundtable: Natasha Lyonne, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Williams & More

one thing I’ve started doing over the like the last couple years and I believe you’ve gotten a few of them but like if I see something I love you send a voice memo be like on you how dare you be so good in this show but I just feel better when I’m throwing it out there So I’m like I see someone in a role I love you are getting a voice memo from me that night If timing is everything in comedy these women have the precision of a Rolex We’ve gathered six hilarious actresses to talk about their work and what makes them well tick Kristen Bell Hannah Einbinder Katherine Han Natasha Leon Jessica Williams and Michelle Williams They’re on the record but maybe just a little off script with the Hollywood Reporter Hi I’m Lacy Rose I’m so excited to have you all here Let’s get into this And we’re going to start with a question for everyone Katherine once said it’s don’t worry Wait wait wait Quote “My friends and I were laughing because a million years ago on my IMDb page it said Katherine Han known for her over-the-top facial expression.” Yes that’s true Which had me wondering what’s the wildest or most amusing thing you’ve read about yourselves that was pretty humbling to see that on my IMDb page I kind of was had to check myself known for her big face I love that I mean Harrison Ford did call you his Yoda Yeah he doesn’t like talking about that So that was weird that he said that I was like he said what now but yeah I’ve I’ve seen it where it’s like oh a reverent millennial take note you know take sassy style Like sassy is one that I used to get a lot where you’re just like oh my god sassy Natasha I did see one about you that I felt like was super funny Oh good I think it’s better than mine Please tell me I think it was Maya who said Rudolph who said this uh she’s a hooker with a heart of gold minus the hooker part Oh that’s funny Yes but I do accept cash in exchange Maya knows that at various points it was I won’t say pimp cuz that’s weird Yes Heart of gold though Heart of gold What were you going to say without the hook of heart yeah without I do like to you know charge a guy I This isn’t appropriate but you know if somebody spends a night I’m a virgin but if they do even if I’m like I’m already in love with this person like me leave a $2 bill Would you go source one $2 bill I think it’s what puts men in their place You know what I mean it’s an exchange You’re paying them to leave as you know 100% I was going to say maybe uh because you know how net worth is the first thing that comes up on anybody Uh-huh I am susceptible to just clicking on it out of sheer curiosity Like how you’re doing just a measure of your Yeah Yeah And I’m like I don’t think that’s true Or I look at it and I think well I it should be more Uh so then I have to call Maya and see if we can get any more gigs Uh heart of gold Heart of gold I love fine Normally I just like see like Jessica’s feet like photos of feet Yeah I don’t I don’t Nobody’s asked about my net worth I don’t think yet I’m always like whoa I’ve spent a lot more money than I should have If that’s my net worth right it’s like I got to do better It’s gone Yeah If you see a Kristen Bell type a Natasha Leon type an insert your name here type on a character breakdown like do you have a sense for whether or not you’ll get it what does it mean i think for myself early on in Hacks when Ava was kind of more all over the place it was kind of like messy alcoholic millennial That felt like kind of the like she’s a mess and everything’s going wrong Like that felt kind of like that was the vibe I don’t know what it would be now Um but I think that’s pretty basic what people wanted me to do a lot back then To me it would be dependent on like what it’s placed in like what the script is you know because if it’s like a Kristen Bell type and it’s a story about a family it’s like oh like maybe like a young quirky mom But then if it’s like I don’t know a person who’s probably quirky cuz I keep going back to the word like it’s going to be like oh an older person who’s dating but she’s kind of quirky you know not for me it’d be like um play this character 90% inside the lines and then like 10% all over here is how I interpret my vibe Do you have a sense for what uh a Michelle I don’t know what I look like out there I have no idea to be perceived Is that how you stay sane yeah I I Yeah I guess I don’t I really don’t know Like try not to take on like what what somebody might say I am or am not Michelle’s burner account is Buck Wild So not on Instagram at all but the memes Yeah I had to stop like trying to be a certain way in my acting and like especially comedy and I wasn’t really like working as much And then I know for me with my choices I try and do things as specific as possible so that nobody else could do that scene the way that I did it with those weird choices that I did I can’t worry anymore because if I’m self-conscious while I’m working I’m not doing a good job Like I can’t I don’t want to see my face I don’t want to see it back I don’t want to you know I don’t really need that much feedback I just want it out and then that’s it Cuz it for comedy it’s like you kind of have to be like and not like a fake ugly face but like you know when some girls are like I’m ugly It’s like no you need to like like you really need to go for it Yeah There but you also like do come a point where you try to figure out if you’re comfortable in in the lane that you’re in Kristen I feel like I heard you say at one point that your husband gave you sort of a piece of advice about this though Don’t Oh that’s what I was going to say Yes Yeah She’ll explain the story So earlier but it’s fine So yeah Yeah No it’s great It’s just embarrassing for me But I guess that’s why we’re here That’s why I called you all here Um earlier on in my career like I don’t know probably like 15 years ago when I felt like I wasn’t booking the things I wanted to book and but I I’m going to also bleed that into the things people wanted me to book And it was like oh lost another role Okay No it’s Michelle Williams again That’s okay Great No it’s Michelle Okay it’s gonna be Michelle It’s gonna be Emily this time Great Perfect Love it I love those girls So happy And and my husband was sitting with He’s like “You know what stop trying to drive in other people’s lanes You’re not going to be Michelle Williams ever but you have a lane on the highway and you can speed in it So just do what you do and make your own lane.” But you were the example name in that because you are like this goddess of the craft And he was saying like he was basically saying not you in particular but don’t use a goal like figure out something more internal And it was when I really digested that like oh yeah I’m just going to like do my my thing and see if anyone likes it as opposed to try to be anything else And then and guess what it worked It started working Yeah And it is the only thing It’s like the the game is like trying to pay attention to your lane when there’s so many other funny people and great people And it’s like for me that’s the only thing that worked is like I just oh what about this actress because you we all have actresses that like are are always in the conversation before you know that’s that’s our job Let me make this very clear I still want to be Michelle not that that has not gone away Yeah I just also like being pretty great too Yeah Gosh I don’t think I have a lane I I don’t think of it Like I just it’s such chaos that I just kind of like I’m like I don’t think the view is chaotic at all I I’m beginning to resent the word chaotic because I think it undermines sorry undermines the power of what we do But I’m just saying that there’s so much about you like myriad colors infinite but none of them do I think it was chaotic just and you’re so singular You’re so singular Like you’re you’re you’re so like I mean I’m I’m obsessed with you might be cool but like I get tearary when I talk just cuz I’m feeling emotion Uh but you’re so singular Like there’s there’s nobody like you so I’m I’m It’s just funny how we all see ourselves There’s no crying at the Comedy Junk I cry dude I cry all the time Kristen I’m going to go a little bit back in time but it it’s you were cast in Frozen and if I’m not mistaken you pushed to have your character Anna uh be someone who you needed to see as an 11-year-old as a 10-year-old Uh talk to me about what that was all about What happened at 11 You don’t have to tell us Um I I was let’s see I was about 43 about 60 lbs Um they pro they thought I had a thyroid issue I didn’t I was just a really slow developer Um I think that when I booked that I’d always wanted to be a part of Disney animation I obsessively watched those uh movies as a kid I had always sang it was like a dream come true and I read the script and um it was great but it felt like something I’d seen before It felt like this beautiful formula that always works And I guess what that story is is I really pushed cuz I thought I don’t want to play the princess with good posture I don’t want to play Sleeping Beauty or Snow White cuz they I I loved them as a kid but I couldn’t really like identify I just they were more like on a pedestal for me And I wanted the girl that sat I wanted the prince the girl who had a princess crown on but she sat like this and she talked too fast and she wore her heart on her sleeve and she said things that were embarrassing and then she backtracked and she had accountability and she loved everyone ferociously And so that was what I was trying to add there is like can can we make her the person that I really needed to see on the pedestal when I was 11 Does that mean like a little bit broken or fractured or a little bit insecure a little and like that but while taking over the world kind of for sure insecure but in the way that but not from any sort of like deep trauma but just insecure in the way we all are insecure like am I being accepted here can I try harder all the things I felt like I was going through and still go through do I a more like do I fit in kind of feeling and someone who um yeah just wasn’t fitting the profile of of that So I guess my question my follow on that is for for all of you or any of you what are the subtle or not so subtle things that you push for in in these characters that you play because it’s something that you needed to see at at any point in your life and and maybe it is right now Well buddy I’ll take it buddy Take it Take it away Yeah Um I will say yeah that like um and I I sit next to my my freaking icon here my early I really I skated in on that one but I’m into it like um my freaking queer icon over here But like yeah I think um what Hax has been able to do for bisexual representation is give like a vivid inner life and a reality to uh this character Obviously we know that when people write to their own experience something is just far more lived in And as a queer actor myself playing a queer character I can you know add my my zest So it’s like yeah it I mean Ava and like even in this season like there is a polyamory arc that is just not fetishized or the butt of a joke It’s it’s all more than cold Yeah Oh my god Dream But yeah like it just uh it it’s you know there have been a lot of amazing queer films and and queer television that has predated Hacks of course but um I do it it always like warms my heart when I get messages from people who feel like oh yeah this is like a an indepth and nonfetishized representation of bisexuality So it’s it’s nice It’s cool to be a part of and and I too reading it like even when I read the pilot I was like oh wow this is like immediately in the first episode I feel it I feel that this is a person I know Do you feel like the uh it’s kind of a queer component of something that you slowly laid in track for it was always embedded because you didn’t want it to feel like um front-footed You’d want it to just be embedded Oh certainly it it’s always been there like you know we a lot of our writer room are writing to their own experiences like everything that we you know we have like older comedy writers like older female late night writers in the writer room like everyone who is telling a story has a person and an incredibly talented comedy writer to represent that lived experience like that is such a key thing I think it’s like this great symbiosis where like because I live a queer existence like I am able to like lend various like well I don’t know if they would be like coming at the same time in the shower like perhaps there’s like one person is like talking and you know what I mean like so that type of a thing we do you know like just things like that on set sort of and then also the inner life stuff too to and the whole character also it is much harder I think to talk uh you know in full depth about uh process this uh comedically for some reason that maybe has to do with this kind of 11-year-old shame But uh sometimes I see these and it’s all the boys and like and then what I had to do was uh for us I think it’s always a little bit I don’t know if it’s a female thing or something but you you want to stay very humble in it as if it just rolls off the duck back but everything that everybody is saying really about you know embedding it with an inner life and a backstory and that kind of thing It’s worth noting that it does you know require just the same amount of gnarly work but then pretending like you’re not doing anything which I assuming is the truth for all of us I think absolutely Are there things that that that any of you have have brought to these these roles because they were things that you needed to see i certainly feel like a lot of it is aspirational Like I I sometimes a lot of the time feel like there’s something I can say through someone else that I can’t really say in my own life Like I remember thinking like I could only when I was a kid doing theater I was like “Oh this is where I’m telling the truth.” It’s like interesting between like the curtain up and down So yeah I feel like I learn it feels like I can be there’s certain things I I I’m sure you guys feel the same way that I can like touch that I maybe I’m not ready to in my own life or that um it looks fun to try Yeah Well you don’t have to go home with it right like I mean I I don’t want to be as like lofty as being like between action and cut It’s the I feel most alive I heard heard someone for real say that one time and I like I do I do I have that Do you have that i don’t know how I feel about that yet I feel like I’m it’s like the it’s like I I’m like surfing or something Like I feel like I I’m making myself laugh I’m listening to the other person I don’t have my phone Nothing else matters This is what I get paid to do which is nuts Awesome It’s like started doing this like makebelieve sort of thing as a kid I always knew I wanted to do comedy when I was a kid and like now I get paid to do this thing and I’m so like in the moment and it is it does for me it feels like a rush like it feels like I would but I think more mine has to do with like like an ADHD brain of like in real life I’m like doing all the things at all the times and I can’t focus and when I come to work I know that’s my job So what I can do is leave Kristen on back here and what Kristen’s paying attention to is where her camera is and where her mark is and what the lines are But I also don’t have to think of what to say because that’s also kind of hard for my brain and I stumble a lot I’m like well I know exactly what I’m going to say I know exactly where I’m going to stand And so now I can just be It’s kind of what we were talking about about how you fall asleep if you put an audio book on So part of your brain has something to do And I that’s why I feel super calm when I’m doing it Also speak when the curtain goes up why I at least sometimes would try things I wouldn’t in my real life or say something more truthfully than I would in my real life is cuz you don’t go home with any of the consequences of that character right yeah of course growing up it’s like I feel like I took pieces of people there’s like really amazing black female comic actors like Queen Latifah was amazing Goldberg Maya Rudolph like are you kidding me like are like I mean just these legends but I but it still wasn’t quite right So I had to take like I take all those pieces of these people and I even take like like Tracy Morgan like I take like so Tina Fay like all of it and I just hear whatever’s funny it just sticks in my head and did as a kid and I was like whoever that weird kid is like it’s all it’s all what I do now is just pieces of all those weird little things because I didn’t quite see that when I was I do that like they say that whatever you know steal from the best or something but I’ll find myself doing a I I just made it about me Um on Russian Doll season one um I also ate a uh raw egg yolk for breakfast because she was hung over That was a straight up Rocky rip Uh and then throughout I would also do like a lot of I think maybe Jenna Rollins is the one I’m most guilty of stealing from just because we all know like I love when she’s like you know women under influence and so on But I I think it’s interesting the way we kind of like find these touchston and we kind of go for them also because you knew that they could go big or go home in a way and then they get embedded you know I think the thing that’s so interesting though about comedy specifically is like what everybody’s talking about is that you remember it right because you don’t want to remember I don’t want to remember the worst times in my life My brain snaps back from them But I want to but I can remember them if there was if the memory is full and there was like an appreciation of the intrinsic humor in like the circumstance because it’s always there like you just have to like look for it and find it but you want to the thing that makes you laugh is the thing that imprints in your mind It’s the thing you want to go back to desire to go back to So like when like hearing you talk about like that moment that Jenna Rollins has and like these things like they stick because they give us pleasure and like it’s the most and that’s the thing that we want that’s the total recall that we always want to have Totally And so I think like oh so how can I bring you know where is the like where’s like the light underbelly of this dark dark beast that makes the thing honestly to be honest more honest because it’s always there like you feel it in life like it’s the it’s a completeness you know so it’s smart because they say that you know in childbirth because it’s so traumatic that the brain will sort of forget that experience such that you’re able to have a second child just evolutionarily and it’s a little bit what you’re talking about about like that the the beauty of comedy is that you’re not imbuing it with this kind of head trip in a way even though we all know it’s so hard to do but I think it’s a little bit what you’re touching on is like you want to have this like human memory of that that was special and just as soon as you color it with like you know trauma or baggage or that was a heavy scene you’re kind of like taking away the gift Yes It’s almost like like you were saying because it is like a fever dream sometimes like those scenes as opposed to like a strictly comed comedy scene that you’re right You’re like that’s so it makes so much sense to me and sometimes you do forget the like really heavy stuff is kind of at least I do It’s like kind of you feel like you come out of like a a fog but you know I just want to also like sidetrack and say I don’t know if you remember this Michelle but you were doing a play at Williamstown Cherry Orchard Oh Cherry Orchard Yeah And I was just like I remember ever heard a shack off but I just I remember you also doing Dawson’s Creek at the same time and being so uh just like ah that you were like still connected to all those parts of yourself as an actor that it wasn’t like one thing or the other And I just remember being like ah that’s like an aspirational thing for me too to be able to be so curious about about so many different um avenues of expression and performance I was like anyway it’s a tidbit But I’m guessing having both lanes was probably quite important to you particularly in in that moment I think it’s really great when nobody gives a what you’re doing It’s so amazing when nobody cares and nobody’s really watching and you’re just like “Well okay I’m just going to carine wildly though and just like sort of see what um what I’m all about and like if I can um what I can do or what I can’t do what I’m like interested in what I’m curious about and like where I want to go and and nobody cares and that’s like the best fantasy of like for us like you know I love these guys We’ve been knowing each other for you We go back We go way back I mean like 20 years Yeah I think to your point what’s a little bit hard now is everything feels so disposable onto the next And so even if it’s a if it’s a big hit it’s about awards and outfits you know it’s about winning at life And if it’s not it kind of falls into obscurity of like ah and it feels dirty I think it’s hard when there’s so many shows and stuff that you’re lucky if you’re catching one or two I miss that you know I also think it’s super important in our community in any community in any workplace you h I think you should be absolutely haphazard with your compliments I think the other p person feels better I think you feel better You’re just pushing out goodness into the world And I don’t mean that like to try to be heady but like one thing I’ve started doing over the like the last couple years and I believe you’ve gotten a few of them but like if I see something which is every night would try to take some time to watch TV with my husband reconnect If I see something I love you send a voice message on you How dare you be so good in this show Like you I I have to tell people cuz I don’t want to contain it I can contain it and I contained it for many years but I just feel better when I’m throwing it out there So like if I see someone in a role I love you are getting a voice memo from me that night I also feel I also feel like that on set too it’s like coming up from I did like sketch and improv and from LA there’s like a lot of meanness in comedy and in scene partners and there’s like a lot of even guys that will use you as a punchline and there’s clicks and there’s like inside group especially like the clicks are they feel bad and I hate that feeling of like there’s an inside group and an inside group so I know when I’m shooting or work especially in comedy I’m like “No I’m here Let’s let’s yes and I’m here for you How are you?” And it makes the comedy come out better because you’re giving goodness as opposed to trying to do a comedy scene and the other person is kind of not open or warm and kind of stonewalling you And so I feel like as like someone like on shrinking I do a lot of support and I feel like my character is like I feel like my character is really good at going in and out with everyone in their relationships but it’s always the first thing is like okay how are you today let’s do this Like no no no dumb ideas Let’s do it It’s not fun to talk to someone who’s an island Oh my god But now that I’m older like coming I had so many bad comedy teachers and mean comedy teachers Like dicks like real That’s so inongruous cuz comedy is supposed to make you happy I know And and and now that I’m Baby of Lenny Bruce Yeah But like now that I’m now that I’m older past those teachers ages I could not imagine being that kind of teacher or or actor I think we have an obligation to cheer each other on Personally I think that’s right I think that uh one of the gorgeous things about getting uh you know older like growing up in this business and uh life extension is coming I’m going to send you all stem cells later Um but it’s miraculous that you move from this kind of false narrative that I think is set up by advertising throughout industry for this young woman this 11-year-old whoever it is that for some reason women are supposed to be against each other It’s just empirically not true What we really want to start doing is making it uh a more of a team sport and letting go of you know so long as one of us is winning that means we’re all winning because I need you guys in jobs like in order for them to be understanding that this is the new aesthetic It’s uh so I think that that is a real game changer that I’m personally just so grateful for It’s so hard especially if you’re like black there’s like a million million times more especially for comedy like white parts than there are black parts And so there is this insane scarcity So there’s still like this I always have to like it’s why I try and like make sure that my life is full because this business especially if you do comedy you’re just like wow like they’re they’re not we’re not there yet for like people of color It’s really like it they it does put us against each other in a lot of ways So it really does and they’ll be like oh this person we’re just going to go with this per or they’ll there’s one person of color the moment and that person just gets casted in every you see it happens all the time but it is like there’s still there’s just work there’s just work to be done Yeah it’s like for sure tokenism and like extraordinarism and it’s just kind of like hey just like a talented actor here to help and I think I think part of it like perhaps a solution is just like more people at the top who are able to make the decision like I will say like on hacks like you know having Paul and Luchia and Jen and having like a very queer and diverse writer room and like feeling like those are the people who hold the narrative like those are the people who create the characters who cast All the best guest star parts on hacks are women They are almost all women Maybe there’s one man Like it is you know what I mean especially like to what Hannah was saying earlier about like working like also as a queer person on in your character in part It’s like working as a black person in story like always the story is first and then improv coloring within those lines on the day And our our set luckily that works for our show It’s not like every show but hell yeah I’m like trying to I always learn the lines and then I come in with like five different ideas about and then there’s the other person that’s also that it’s also I I feel like I love the shift from this you know when I was doing comedy a long time ago the movies were it was all about alts So like you would it would just be the camera still on you and then they would be shouting stuff out at you or you would be like in this panic to come up with stuff that really wasn’t actually connected to the scene Crazy because don’t you feel like after that started then we hit a point where alts became so exciting that everyone was like we need to try so many alts and I would be like that’s so interesting that you say that I kind of find it funny that it’s reading what we just got Why am I not getting writer’s credit if I’m improvising like step brothers lines and stuff that that I feel like you did that we that whole thing was basically and were completely brilliant and part of pop culture to this day are they not but I can only it’s I don’t know if you guys feel this but I’m not I never did sketch I never did like so it it’s for me it’s if if it’s rooted in something behind then I can’t just be like a contact lens that’s the key that’s actually the sequel to contact is just Jody Foster looking around for a contact contact lens but the at the height of wanting alts and improv I feel like everyone got super excited about going a contact lens in the middle of the scene and I always felt insecure about saying like I I’m here for anyone trying anything Do you think that raises the stakes or draw puts does is the foot is our foot still on the gas for the the scene if we divert to the contact lens thing and I don’t you don’t ever want to poo poo anyone’s idea But I feel like the way that the only way it’s worked best for me or the way that I like it best is like how Mike sure works is where the alts come in a the form of what they call a candy bag on the day So like you get your sides and then you’ll get a little piece of extra sides and those alts are only because there was an argument in the writer room about which one was funniest So if they could not decide what the funniest one was then you go fine okay put down all three we’ll see if they’ll do all three and then you know you have three like A+ jokes It’s not like who can find something and that feels a little bit like wild and it is it depends on the set It’s like I don’t I don’t mind them I’ll just be like uh let’s see what comes out is what I do now I go okay let’s see what comes out I love the shift from that into this more like kind of gnarly on the razor’s edge not just like joke punchline joke Like I feel like that’s a lot of I don’t want to speak for everybody but that’s when I look at this table I see like it it feels really gnarly and complicated and a lot of like other stuff coming into it that’s not just um one or the other It’s like the experience feels like much more realized like more dimensions one-dimensional like this is a comedy Here’s the setup Here’s the joke Here’s the setup Here’s the joke And the show is end But we’re also talking about very female ccentric comedy which is why it’s like allowing for this kind of expansion I’m curious in the choices you make how your own sort of family and and world factors in at this stage I think that what I’m beginning to learn in adulthood is that it’s never okay to bring that kind of like personal backstory of like this morning was crazy uh or am I meeting this person later for tonight like to try in any way possible to compartmentalize those two things because I love the work Like I love showing up with that That’s a maturity I think and I also feel like the how the scramble or the panic Yeah starts to like I always think of like the space shuttle with all the attached to it and as it’s taking off like stuff like the unnecessary stuff starts to fall It’s menopause for me But I think I I do think there is like a prioritizing of I don’t I it’s interesting like you know I played that I played a witch which was like exactly where I was supposed to be at that particular age in my life I love it It was like fairy felt like okay this is like where I was like pregnant I was like quirky best friend pregnant woman horny pregnant woman witch So curious to see an amazing classic It’s a fabulous art That’s kind of it Who knows what’s a little bit different of a of a perspective and everyone to each their own but like I can’t physically operate in the world if I don’t have some part of the morning or evening with my family Like I am so rooted in that life and I like I can explain it best as I say like I like being an actress but I love being Kristen and if I had to choose between the two it is no contest I would quit this career in a heartbeat but I but I know that about myself and about 15 years ago well I guess 12 years ago cuz my oldest is 12 I was like what if I just tried to see if I could leverage and I was like you know what I’m not going to shoot outside of LA anymore I’m just not There’s stuff that shoots here And to be honest I don’t care how good the director is or how good the script is I don’t I don’t I personally me not everybody else I wouldn’t care enough I’m not trying to do The Revenant 2 in wherever they shot that I don’t I don’t need to do that I don’t It does it wouldn’t fulfill me So I said like “No don’t even send me anything if it’s not shooting in LA or if it’s not early enough in the development that I can say we have to shoot in LA.” And I’ve been really really lucky But that does bleed in a little bit I mean you know this also cuz we’ve worked together Like it bleeds in a little bit to the when I get there in the morning I will absolutely compartmentalize and shut that off And I’m never trying to bring baggage unless it’s happy playful fun stuff that would excite us to set But then at the end of the day I’m not really here for let’s do a couple more just for us If we’ve got it I need to go home and reconnect with my family cuz otherwise I can’t come in tomorrow I don’t I don’t know Those bookends have to be intact for me I wish because I was away from my kids for that amount of time that there is still a like like being away from my son like when he first got his driver’s license and being like across the country and like that kind of stuff is but but I think that’s part of the female conversation that is often left out because we can be in these round table situations and we can talk about how awesome this career is and all the hard work we do to get here and stay here and and have a career with any sense of longevity But what’s not said out loud a lot is like what are the other components that allow you to do that and for me it’s that it’s saying no to a fair amount of things because it won’t it won’t work My brain won’t function and it’s okay to prioritize your social life and your family life and your life as a human being because if you don’t have all of that what are you even pouring into the acting sure I think performers and actors who might be watching this are like you know getting clues about how to succeed I think it’s really important for them to hear like a full life as a human being Otherwise you don’t know how to act like a human being when you’re in front of a camera I don’t think it’s said as much Again this is 11-year-old Kristen what she wanted to hear And also there’s seasons like sometimes you just got to grind like there’s seasons like we’re all in different points in our career like really like and so I’ll stay I’ll stay for alts and I’ll stay and get the done but I also don’t have kids yet like I haven’t gotten to that point in my life but like there’s seasons for grinding season to go to grad school at some point you know what I mean like hell yeah what do you want to study what do you want to study I would like to go to grad school I would like to study perhaps environmental science cool the only way I’m going to get a degree Michelle this was something dying for sex was a show that initially they were talking about LA You weren’t interested You said uh quote it wasn’t necessarily the thing that I saw myself doing I’m a mom I got all these kids Uh I’m going to do a show about what so tell me what you were actually scared of Well the only reason I get these parts is because she won’t work on the East Coast That’s the best you’ve made ever So thank you for being such a dedicated mother of that But tell me like what what actually was the the fear in this one it’s not that for me It’s really not It’s actually like the the the clearing of fear Like that’s just something that’s just something for life and that’s just not something I just never know what’s going to happen because I don’t create my own material I’m in like a patience game with myself Like how long can I wait does this need to be said does this need to be said right now and does this need to be said by me and that’s kind of like that’s my sort of criteria And you have to you have to wait a long time if you’re not talented enough to make your own material which I’m not I highly doubt it buddy I’ve known you a long time I just um sit and wait And so when this came up I wouldn’t say that I would have it’s not what I would have prescribed for myself but I knew immediately that it was where I was going to go and it was what I wanted to do It’s just I couldn’t have designed it myself Uhhuh I also imagine this is one where having an intimacy coordinator was an absolute godsend I mean you are trying to figure out how to fake six orgasms I’m taking words from from interviews you’ve done She would never uh Is it a full McGilly on the outside no you don’t see the I mean you don’t like there’s no You mean like a Did it happen i mean I’m a never nude I’ve tried Uh nobody wants it Um but but you just mean that emotionally because it’s about sex and orgasms that kind of thing You know the thing that you really do need though is like a supportive family cuz I’m like I’m I’m fine to do this kind of material I’m committed to it I’m like my it’s got its hook in me Um and you really you do need to have like a husband and a I mean if you’re in a partnership and you have children like you need their full and unwavering support to be able to go and do these things and to say um yeah this is something that we’re working on as a family because I think when you when you do something when you like take time away from your family the other people in your family need to sort of step up and like fill your shoes a little bit And so they have to like believe in what you’re doing to be able to rise up and um fill the space that’s voided for you know that period of time in shooting And so I’m I’m lucky to now have this like place that I can jump from Um and your daughter also was your oldest daughter was was one of the people who said like “Please go do this.” Excited specifically She said “I’m glad it didn’t come out while I was in high school I’m glad it came out while I was in college.” Fair enough Um yeah but she’s you know she’s a different generation than how we grew up And so she didn’t have to like fight for this insistence to to be expressive and expansive and messy She’s just there She’s just there How old is she she’s 19 Oh my gosh Whoa Yeah she’s 19 What the did that happen i don’t know Jesus Christ I don’t know But she um Yeah So there Yeah It’s I I kind of think of them all as like real family Yeah projects I love that Catherine I think at one point did you did I read about you having a conversation with your son when he was around 13 or so where you said like please don’t Google me Is that am I remembering that correctly good luck My my the body of I I have been nude in a lot of stuff Uhhuh And I Thanks Thank you And by the way thank you Thank you so much I never family Family first Exactly Um and it’s always you know it’s never felt like it has not been necessary to say and it’s never been something that I’ve been like didn’t know going into it And um but definitely my son uh or my kids whatever they we have a good separation of church and state Like the stuff that I do usually is not stuff that they would watch unless it’s like a big comedy whatever But we have a pretty great we don’t talk about my work We don’t really like when I’m home I’m mom They make fun of me relentlessly It’s exactly what they should be doing at teenagers Um but some of those early comedies presumably their friends their friends watch step brothers My son told me when he was like 15 he went into a big party and he went into a room where a bunch of kids were standing around watching stepbros and he said “Mom I I just walked out there.” Like he was like “I just turned and walked out.” But Catherine I feel like you’re such a heavy hitter I just as a performer that I I haven’t seen all your nude work Maybe I could get a super cut later but I think of you more as like uh Julianne Moore like flying across her art space with the Mkin That to me is sort of like a third category of I think so too And so I always think that when you’re doing it’s a little bit more in that pocket It’s less like hey baby come check it out That’s never been my currency A I feel like and I I know your lane See this is 100% It’s like it’s not for it’s just to show like it’s just what a human woman body it’s like in there I did I did more nudity this season um than I have and I have found it really Yeah like Yeah I found it really empowering and like liberating as well I also do look to actresses who have done it and I feel like um like they’re cool for doing it I don’t know It has made it has it has like made me feel um a lot just better in my in my body Is it about like feeling laid bare around something that you’re not holding i think it’s just like taking away this puritanical socialization that we all have received as women Like the idea of being shirtless for like I I I really think we’re going towards a reality in a society where like the female form is um just like normalized Like I think that like this this thing like why actually why right because then you do it And you didn’t die Nothing happened No it’s like we’re just like we’re just animals people man It’s like whatever dude Like you know what I mean i feel I feel that that has been like just and it only it deepens like my my comfort with myself and just being like okay all of my friends have like seen me undressed and like nothing is different and we’re cool and now that’s out there I’m warning my parents like don’t But you know other than that it’s like cool word like we well but it doesn’t matter right if it’s in like a male lens or for some purpose yet it’s kind of like you could shoot it you can shoot it safely it’s tethered to character not to fantasy and then justify it then it’s super cool yeah I think the only times I’ve ever done it has been with a female creator director totally so it doesn’t feel like that outside like you know that outside gaze looking at something like judging it just feels like um the experience and we had no the wiki feed equivalent of like freeze your nips uh what’s it called free the nips No you know that website or whatever Wait the nipple what is it a nipple tracker No it’s the one then where you show you all the naked people in freeze frame Yeah it’s like Yeah it’s like it’s like just I don’t know it by heart but I know that thing it is It’s just like naked stuff.org org like edu actors naked like screen grabs of like everybody because really what you’re doing is giving people the right to go into that website and find it all which is like I don’t know like you know serious people like you know you got one boob here one boob just a little bit there like nobody wants to play that game We talk a lot in these forums about sort of what it takes to get into these characters and and that process What’s the thing that that you guys do to to feel normal again to feel to get out of it and feel like you again what are your things easily easily walk into my house get ignored by my children ask them how their day was have them roll their eyes and instead under their breath just say “What’s for dinner?” Yeah Like the grounding of being on set and having someone go “Do you do you need a water?” And I’m okay Thank you so much the like the etiquette and the politeness of feeling like a queen and going home and having my kids be so brutal is absolutely what I need to ground me again to go I got to get the out of here I also think the older I get the more I’m allowing myself the luxury of taking time off We like going to like Machu Picchu or like we love getting out of anything that is I like hearing that for you cuz I’ve known you for a very long time and you work more than anyone I know Oh I’m starting to really enjoy or like this for you Han But this is but this is a this is a question when you’re saying I’m because I feel like I’m so onetrack like actor for hire that when I hear like you talk or it’s like I don’t how do you how do you how do you take care of all of it like I don’t understand how brains work like that Yeah how like you can be here and then here and then here and and feel so confident in every avenue to create something I remember a buddy uh Amy Polar did that Lucille Ball documentary and it was all about if you want to get something done that’s the busiest person you know Yes I think there’s something to that of just uh like the more you do it the more it happens kind of or just like the more I mean you just have like you know 10 different FDXs in Google Docs and kind of these are the different projects and then time does its own thing where without putting any pressure on anyone of like we got to get this out because we’re in trouble It’s more just like it’ll kind of start naturally shaping Love it But it is hard like having all those tentacles because I miss that the like yeah a two-hour fitting for my outfit or something Uh but it is really special cuz I just feel like we’re at that age of like we want to be doing Yes You know more of our own even if they fail like it’s kind of fun or somebody else can come punch it up But do you ever shut down brainwise like can you compartmentalize in a way that you’re like your brain is blowing my mind yeah I mean I it uh definitely you know it’s changing Um but I think part of it is just the expertise of not overpersonalizing things A light turn here What’s the role that strangers want to talk to you about most they’re like “Are you waitress number four that was so dropped in that I felt like the weight of the tray was like perfect to be in high school together What is What’s the part for you?” I would say it would be a combo of for a long time Jen Barkley from Parts and Recre And I was not in that many episodes but people freaking love that show And uh then it’s uh Agatha the Witch Yeah for me Daily Show I get a lot of that John Stewart shows Oh thank you Um shrinking this Love Life season 2 and The Bear and the Bear which I’m not on But you’re not actually Do you How do you Everybody says I’m How do you respond i just go not me but thank you so much It’s I’m on a different one but thank you I get that all the time Well if I guess if I had to say like overall it’s either Veronica Mars or Sarah Marshall but I also think that’s because the name was in the title Sure Because no one can remember the title of the show I’m on now And so they just go I watched I watched your show Your show And and I politely go “Thank you so much I’m glad you like it.” But uh yeah it’s usually one of those two What about you Michelle i’m a clean split between Wendy and Lucy and Dawson’s Creek It’s just two very different like walks of life but like those are the only those are those are the two What about you definitely I I I What do they say uh what do they say are you the annoying girl from Do they still say that no that was just season one That was season one Okay Um they just people are nice It’s like usually like you know gay people who are like all right But um yeah they’re well they’re more so like absolutely you know So it’s it’s like I would say hacks I’ve been really pleased to get uh more people though being like I saw your Max special It was so good Um thank you It was so good Um like yeah my just like uh it’s been nice to hear people watching my stand up but yeah Yeah Um mostly hacks What about you Natasha for sure Rational It’s a show I created with Amy Polar and Leslie Hedland and uh but it’s really like my uh Baby Op is uh I think that that show is the thing also that I feel most connected to fans when they talk to me about because I’m like oh this is a real sympatico like you don’t have to bring this one up Uh Poker Face is fun to talk about but it’s a little bit more like yeah I know crazy guest stars but I do want to kind of take a decade owe it to myself sometimes I guess I see people like I really admire like uh Ra Gerwig or Jordan Peele and they really somehow managed to extricate themselves focused on one thing at a time and I do have a dream of like just allowing like just allowing myself that shot and seeing what comes after that you know What’s the most used uh emoji on your phone emojis are f I’ll say it Emojis are fun They’re really fun They convey a lot more than words sometimes Really i overuse one in particular that I would prefer 100% the eggs If you send me if you were to be like “Let’s meet at all time at noon.” Here’s what you’re going to get from me Eggplants and you’re going to know exactly what it means It means I’ll be there and I love it See I’m so probably just this Are you a big surfer that’s rock and roll and this is surfing No but I’ll also do a surf and yours you know Mine’s a Mine’s a heart Just a heart Which color is it uh you know it’s blue Oh that’s nice Blue’s pretty Yeah I feel like just generally the world uh Yeah just what the world needs now is love sweet love sweet love And I just made that up See that right just now Yeah Does anybody do the uh does anybody do the green and pink heart because since Wicked came out that’s used almost as much as my eggplant emoji I go double flames a lot and I’m not sure why I’m a little bit over it Uh you’ll also drop a h 100 The 100 one Oh yeah 100 And I am a big surfing emoji person I’m like “Hey what’s up you’re surfing the web Congrats Brazil.” You know on that note thank you Thank you all for doing this And cheers Oh cheers [Music]

Hannah Einbinder (‘Hacks’), Jessica Williams (‘Shrinking’), Kathryn Hahn (‘Agatha All Along,’ ‘The Studio’), Kristen Bell (‘Nobody Wants This’), Michelle Williams (‘Dying for Sex’) and Natasha Lyonne (‘Poker Face’) join THR in Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter.

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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/kristen-bell-natasha-lyonne-comedy-actress-roundtable-1236236331/

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Full Comedy Actress Roundtable: Natasha Lyonne, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Williams & More

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