The character is Darlene. Is it coincidence or homage or changed for you?
“It was a change because I kept memorizing Ted’s lines and that man can rage. No, actually because Jenny is a friend of mine, she actually wrote the character with me in mind and used my name. She always said that if I didn’t get cast, she’d have to change the name. I had to go into the test room with four other Darlenes, or other people auditioning for the role. I had a nervous breakdown, I wanted it so badly. And then I got it so it was actually written with me in mind.”
Is it open ended that they can add problems as the stories need?
I think so. She has some of the ones they list in the pilot, father figure issues, depressive social anxiety disorder, seasonal affective disorder self diagnosed, obsessed with therapy, obsessed with relationship support groups, obsessed with relationships. I think essentially she’s a woman with too much time on her hands. She’s a realtor but you don’t actually get to know in the pilot. She has a decent amount of money and doesn’t have to work that hard. She’s just got too much time on her hands and lets her mind go crazy. She’s obsessed with every man she ever meets she falls in love with. So just a sort of ongoing kookiness about her.”
Could she get help as the series goes on?
“I don't know. I think in life, sometimes we educate ourselves about a lot of different things but we don’t always educate ourselves about how to get along socially in the world, which maybe we should because it’s a really valuable tool and we all use that. It’s not as easy as we think sometimes. But so therapy for myself really helped me, sort of put some tools in place and made me feel more comfortable with my place in the world. But I do have examples of friends that have gone to therapy where I’m screaming in my head, ‘Stop going to therapy! It’s f*cking you up!’ And I wouldn’t be surprised if this character is someone like that. That therapy actually in some way makes her overanalyze her problems and before she gets better might get a little worse.”
Do you want to stand out in the group scenes or blend in more?
“Well, I think as in the group scenes, I think when I’m doing them, I always do want to stand out a little bit but I think that’s also informed by the character. She’s someone who is always aware of other people looking at her and aware of getting her moment in the sun. I kind of approach it like that, which isn’t hard because I’m desperate for attention pretty much at every step of the way. I think that’s a place where my character and I fall right in line with each other.”
How do you act out in real life?
“I think my entire career is based on it, definitely.”
Is that enough so you don’t have to do it in personal life?
“I think so but I also…let’s see, we’re going down a slippery slope here. At parties or whatever I like to, I don't know, I like to get laughs and connect with people and make people laugh and that sort of thing. I don't think I’m on all the time either. I usually end up being the person in the kitchen at the late night party, just the one on one with somebody. I think I probably have it in control in my personal life a little bit.”
How do you like having a job to go to vs. your own schedule?
“Thank God is all I can say. ‘Give me a place to go to. I’m crawling out of my skin.’ I’ll continue to write as I’m acting because acting doesn’t take up that much time, frankly, especially in an ensemble where you have days off. I always get more done when I’m busy anyway. I’m just so happy to have somewhere to go because when I’m writing, I literally go to the coffee shop every morning and sit and write for hours. If I want to just go shopping instead or stay at home, I can, and put things off. So I’m so grateful to have a friggin’ job. I can’t even tell you.”
Is there a girl’s club with you and Suzy Nakamura?
“She and I have already hung out a ton and had a great time. We went shopping together. We have a similar background because we’re both improvisers and are from Chicago and have done Second City and I’ve done Groundlings. We have a lot in common and yes, I think we will hang out and have become fast friends. But really the whole group…we’re mean to each other in a really fun way. We’re just a bunch of sarcastic, kooky people and just have a lot of fun so it’s a good group.”
