*
Oh, hello there.
Welcome to "Off Script with the Hollywood Reporter."
I'm your host, Yvonne Orji, and we are here
at the gorgeous Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica, California.
As an actress and comedian,
I am especially looking forward to today's amazing panel
of six versatile and talented comedic actresses,
some of whom I'm fortunate enough to call friends.
That's right, guys.
They have and are continuing to pave the way
for women in comedy.
You're about to hear from the amazing,
the illustrious Quinta Brunson of "Abbott Elementary,"
Michelle Buteau of "Survival of the Thickest,"
Renee Elise Goldsberry of "Girls5eva,"
Ego Nwodim of "Saturday Night Live,"
Maya Rudolph of "Loot,"
and Kristen Wiig of "Palm Royale."
*
They are, as always, on the record,
but just a little "Off Script with the Hollywood Reporter."
Hey, Lacey, they're all yours.
Thanks, Yvonne.
Welcome to the comedy actress round table.
Let's get started.
We're going to start with a question for everybody.
What is the most transformative role, sketch,
moment of your careers?
And how did it change the way
you were perceived going forward?
Oh, my God!
Starting off real light. We're starting off real light.
Whoo!
I think I'll go for the martini.
Okay [Indistinct]
Transforming? Wait, seriously?
I actually did think of it because I just cheered with Ego
when I got to do that sketch with you
because I felt like it was a moment
where people who maybe didn't know me before "Abbott,"
they, like, realized that I could do comedy.
You know, you guys know comedy's a spectrum.
Yes. But beyond Janine
and beyond what I'd done before getting to do that sketch
with you in the car -- The traffic. Oh, my goodness.
We were just talking about that at work. Yeah!
How, like, amazing it was to see you come up with
your own gestures for that.
They didn't give you much direction for that.
And that was so fun.
I got to pop in and do truly one thing in that sketch,
but it was so fun.
It was so fun. Yeah. It was so incredible.
And that felt transformative,
even just sitting in the car and talking with you --
Mm-hmm. ...was really fun.
So, I would say that one for me. Yeah.
I feel like I would guess it was maybe "Hamilton."
[Laughter]
Thank you for saying it
so I didn't have to say it myself.
[Laughter]
Honestly, every time I get a job,
whatever job it is, it's always like
[Gasps, sighs] Mm-hmm.
And the funny thing is whatever you do,
people are like,
I can't believe you could do that.
Yes. Mm-hmm. That's true.
Elise: They'd be like, "I didn't know you could rap."
-Yes! -You see what I'm saying?
Or "I didn't know you were funny."
And now, it's like, "Is she a serious actor because --"
Yeah. "...I just think she's funny."
It just whatever you do is what you do in people's minds. So true.
It always feels transformative to get to do anything.
So, when it works, it feels transformative. Mm-hmm.
I think for me, it's probably booking my first series regular
on "First Wives Club" on BET+.
Now, Netflix, I know.
[Laughter]
You know, I knew I could do the funny,
but what was really fun and important for me
is that I had sex scenes. Quinta: Mm-hmm.
And as a size 18, 20, we don't get to be sexy.
We get to be lucky that someone finds us attractive.
Mm-hmm.
I own my sexuality, and I'm like,
"This is important, and we can make it funny,
but it's mainly important, so let's go and get it."
And so it was so amazing,
working with intimacy coordinators and directors
who understood how I would be my most comfortable
and then sexy.
And that really kind of changed how people cast me
and how I saw myself, quite frankly,
and I'm like, "Let's go."
Big bitches are beautiful and worthy of love.
* Let's get dicked down
That's really great -- [Laughter]
...to have intimacy coordinators on that.
I felt like that was before the huge push for them,
so that's really nice to hear.
Oh, it's my turn. [Laughter]
I mean, I think this will count.
It was transformative in a personal way for me.
I did dance for Sia during the Grammys years ago.
Oh, I saw that! That was wonderful!
Kristen: That was...
I was releasing a relationship.
That was sort of, like, sort of the subtext that I had.
And I didn't think I could do it.
I was terrified to do it,
and I wasn't wearing a lot of clothes.
And I felt super vulnerable.
And then after it was over,
I just, like, I released this thing.
And it was very transformative.
Something shifted after that. In yourself,
which I think is even cooler than for everybody else.
Yeah.
And we all know, like, being afraid to do something,
you have that moment before
of like, "Why am I doing this?
Why am I just not home?"
And then you do it, and then you're like,
"Oh, that's why we keep coming back a little bit."
Yeah. Yeah. I did it. I did it.
I just have to keep walking. Yep.
Maya: Like, transformation is different.
Like, for me, coming back to "Saturday Night Live"
after I had my daughter was transformative
because I didn't -- I gave no more fucks.
That was different for me because I cared so much.
And I was putting so many things in front of me
that were not serving me.
And so I was wasting a lot of time
worrying about what other people thought
and doing the right thing and being a good girl
and being a good student and being a good daughter
and working hard at "SNL" and writing my sketches.
And then I was like, "Oh." Right.
"This is all fluffy, light, nice things."
Yeah. And it took that for me.
That's not, like, the road for everybody,
but that's what got me there, you know?
And I had to be shaken out of the grip I had on...
You think the shaking was the fact that you were --
another person was -- I had to stop being selfish.
Yeah. I need to have a baby.
[Laughter]
Can I change my answer? I need to get pregnant.
I will get you pregnant. Get me pregnant, please.
What about me? Maya: That's what I was saying!
Oh, honey. I'll get you pregnant. Just stand next to me.
But that's what I was saying, like,
that's not what I mean for everyone
because we all know that the road to motherhood
is not for every woman.
And it's also not easy for every woman
and sometimes not possible for every woman
or not destiny.
So, it's not to say, like, the universal, like, get kids.
Like, it's not like...
That's how you say it, right?
[Laughter]
Woman: I'm gonna get a kid.
That's what shook it out of me.
But "Bridesmaids" was also transformative,
not just because people saw it and received it well.
It was transformative because it was the first time
I got to enjoy making a movie that was funny
and have fun with people that I thought were funny.
I felt like that was the first time we got to do that.
I didn't have experiences like that before.
We would have fun and play at "SNL,"
but it's rare to get to work and look at each other
and say, "This is really funny,"
or, "I'm having fun," or laugh with each other.
That was transformative, too.
Yeah. It was the Brooklyn Bowl.
I saw your group.
Oh, Princess!
Michelle: That was transformative for me
'cause I'm like,
"You don't have to do straight up stand up.
You could do whatever you want and live your truth on stage."
And so, you love what you do so much that it affected me,
and I was like [Gasps]
Yeah, like, I can think outside the box.
I had such a similar experience
watching Amy and Tina's show in Vegas
because they were just up there fucking around.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
And I loved every minute of it,
and they brought out Rachel Dratch.
It was my Super Bowl. [Laughter]
It was my Super Bowl.
You know, I'm with a bunch of other comedy girl nerds.
I'm drunk. I'm like, "Let's go, Rachel!"
It was so crazy, but it was so inspiring then.
You know, okay.
You don't have to be in the trenches forever.
Like, they just represented a sort of freedom to me
that I hope to obtain someday,
'cause right now I'm in the shackles of the --
[Laughter]
You went straight to shackles.
But you're talking about being deep in it,
and I think that that was one of the things
that I was thinking about in terms of transformative
is that experience, time, appreciation of what you do,
which is what life gives you
when you do something for a long time
will give you that.
So, that is coming 'cause you are working.
-Yes. -Yeah.
Hard. Ego: What beautiful answers.
I'm like, I have -- I know.
So much of what you said --
and we kind of had a conversation,
the three of us -- I remember.
...had a conversation in December.
I mean, your voice has been in my head for weeks now.
Because I've been just thinking about you going,
"When I stopped giving a fuck,
it's like, when it started to feel great
and truly just felt like play."
"SNL," the schedule is so intense. Grind.
And we are in such a grind
that when we have weeks off, such as this one,
I like, pop out, and I'm like, "What did I just do?"
It's another world.
-Yeah. -It is.
I truly is another world, and I'm like,
"What just happened to me?
And how do I regain my personhood?"
And so, everything you've said was so meaningful to me then.
It's meaningful to me now.
The thing that felt so transformative for me
is an "SNL" sketch, ironically.
Getting to do Lisa from Temecula the first time -- Yes!
...was so fucking fun.
It was so much fun,
and people who know me in my personal life
or people who have listened to me
be insane on podcasts are like,
"That's the most 'her' thing I've seen her do on the show."
And I go, five years.
[Laughter]
And, you know, some people go,
"You should write more things like that."
I go, "Baby, if you knew how the process works..."
-Yes! -It don't work that way.
And then the night of,
we didn't think the sketch was going to go
'cause it was bumpy at rehearsal.
And when Tom Broecker, who's our wardrobe guy at "SNL"
came by and was, like, announcing in the hallway,
like, "We're doing 'Lisa.' Get dressed for 'Lisa.'"
And I kind of was like, "Really? Okay.
It's the last sketch of the night, whatever."
And I was getting to improvise
'cause the chair wasn't supposed to fall.
And I was like, "I'm getting to be --
I'm getting to do the thing that I do."
Yeah. I'm so passionate about improv.
So, I was like, "This was so fun and liberating."
And I could not have planned for it.
I could not have worked for it.
I just had to play. Yeah.
So, that felt very good to me.
Yeah. Maya: Sometimes we -- "Sometimes."
I get in my way all the time.
So it's...
In your case, it sounds like, you know,
forcing yourself out of those patterns
is obviously what was transformative.
And sometimes the most transformative periods
are the most painful or, you know,
coming out of the hardest thing.
So, I get that. Yeah.
My transformative moment was also
when I booked my first big show --
"Hamilton."
I mean, it was far, like, far off Broadway.
I mean, it was so far, I had to take the A train
to the D train to Uber to the G train.
Guys, enough about me.
More with our comedy panel when we come back.
*
Welcome back to "Off Script with the Hollywood Reporter."
Let's pick things back up with our comedy actress round table.
Renee, I've heard you tell a story
where you go home, you go to church --
Yes, I have. ...and there is a reverend
who lists off all of your credentials
and then introduces you.
Yes. And you are flabbergasted.
Yes. Wow.
So, it's 2005.
I was starring in a soap opera,
and I was in a Broadway show, "The Color Purple."
Heard of it. I've heard of it.
Renee: The first one.
So, I went home to visit my dad, and we were at church,
and then the reverend started saying,
"We have a guest in the house!" [Laughter]
"Oh, saints! Today..."
And then he started, you know,
going on this list of these great, wonderful...
"And she did this, and she did that."
And I'm looking around like,
"Who is in the house when I'm here?"
Like, I'm so excited.
And at the very end, he says,
"Ron Goldsberry's daughter, Renee Goldsberry!"
And I'm shocked.
Because, I mean, he literally said everything I was doing,
but I didn't recognize myself. Whoa.
Because the year I had,
I had had two very painful miscarriages.
One was in the second trimester.
It was terribly emotionally painful.
I mean, like, it was just so much
that had gone on in that year.
And so, I stood up, and I was like,
"Thank you," you know, and I sat down.
But what I realized is that
people don't do anyone a service in this world
by reading these bios
that are not representative of who we are.
To tell, you know, "Renee Elise Goldsberry,
she's a Tony winner and a..."
Like, this is how they say these things to introduce you.
But it really isn't who you are.
And, quite honestly,
it's not the most valuable part of who you are.
That's what they want you to be. What's most valuable about me
are the things that I survived.
Like, I'm super excited to hear,
"Oh, you guys might want to have k--"
I got stories. She's got stories.
I'm pretty sure you can figure out how to win a Tony. Yeah.
But what you might not know is how you keep going -- Yeah.
...when you are trying to do two things at the same time.
You have this many years, you think,
to make it in your career,
and you have this many minutes to have a baby.
How am I going to do this?
We got answers. Yeah.
I mean, maybe not answers, but we've got experience.
All: Yeah. Renee: And so I just felt so strongly,
we have to do a better job of telling the world who we are.
I'm so grateful for opportunities like that
because I sit down at a table like this,
and I'm looking I'm like, "Oh, my God!
My publicists are killing it!"
[Laughter]
"I finally get to sit with these powerful women
that are like -- they're like my heroes, right?
And why am I here?"
Like, no one wants to hear about the impostor syndrome,
but I tell myself when I walk out here,
"Can I please find something to say
that really is representative of what matters?"
-Yeah. -You know what I mean?
Like, nothing else matters but finding ways
to connect to each other
that, like, just help us along the journey.
I hear myself saying back to my kids sometimes,
"You have to tell people who you are."
You mentioned it earlier in terms of work
about whether, you know,
sometimes you're showing your dramatic side,
and people think, "Oh, that's who you are now?"
Or, "We didn't know you could do that."
You didn't know I could be a human being
that had more than one feeling?
Because people want you to be who they want you to be
How they know you. Exactly.
They introduce you with is kind of the first thing you did.
-Yes. -Yeah.
And I know in my experience of being an other forever,
from the beginning,
I had to tell people who I was.
I had to figure out who I was. Yes.
I got to keep figuring it out.
And I was just going to say that.
And I still figure it out.
But for right now, for today, I have to let people know,
because people love to make assumptions.
You know, and we want to preserve our humanity.
And when people make those assumptions,
it strips your humanity from you,
which also takes away your ability to be an artist,
which is ultimately why I think all of us are here.
This is an art form, a craft, something that we wake up,
and, you know, you just do, and you can't not do it.
I've known who I am for a very long time.
So, it got interesting to be thrust into a spotlight
and then people telling me who I am.
And I'm like, you actually don't know.
And thank you for supporting me.
Thank you for your love,
but, like, I might do some different shit tomorrow.
-Right. -Yeah.
And you might not like it, and that's okay, too.
But I do need you to show up and watch "Abbott Elementary."
[Laughter]
It's high school to people, and it's like,
you're the this girl, you're the that girl,
you're the that girl.
And that's how they see you in their heads.
If you get outside of that box,
they almost get violent towards you.
"What are you doing? What are you doing?"
This is part of who I am. Right.
It can be so frustrating.
You feel so fortunate to be able to do what you do
and to be on TV and perform what you're passionate about.
But I'm like, I want you to know my humanity, too.
I am but a human walking on this planet.
Yeah, man. Just trying to do this kooky thing.
Just...
And that, what you people have done, is insanity.
Like, when I was little, I wanted to be on "SNL,"
and then I hosted "SNL."
I was like, "I am so saved."
But "SNL" is you know, a similar, you know, whatever.
Like, Abbott is a...whatever. Pace.
So, I get parts of it.
But, man, you guys have to show up... Be immersed.
You have to show up every week on Saturday.
Doesn't matter if you're having a bad day.
It doesn't matter if -- you know what I mean?
It doesn't matter if you had a miscarriage.
Guess what? No one cares.
You better get on that sketch and say the damn words.
Get that "on" laugh.
But to your point, I got to do a college show,
and my favorite part at the end,
I got to ask the students,
I'm like, "Anyone have any questions for me?"
And one girl put her hand up and was like,
How do you get over a break-up?"
Aww!
I am so deep-- Yes!
This is going to stick with me forever.
I got to do my he-he-ha-has, which I love.
And I was like, "Ah! A human moment."
A human moment. "I want to hug you."
And I did -- I asked for permission.
I hugged her, and I told her,
I was like, "I now know.
I can give you my advice."
Yeah. "So, my hell, I can help you."
-Yeah. -Yes.
I'm like, "I can help."
And that was so meaningful to me, and I'm like,
I want to be able to connect with people in that way.
And I love making people laugh,
but I love the conversations we've had.
I love the conversation. You know?
That's what makes me feel most alive.
Now I don't know about you,
but I felt like passing that offering bucket,
'cause Renee took us to church when she said,
"Our worth is not our work."
Hello.
*
Kristen and Maya, you have both been in the position
that Ego is in right now.
I'm curious sort of what the advice you would give
about A, how to navigate a place like "Saturday Night Live,"
but also how to navigate what comes after "SNL"
and knowing when it is time to move on
from a place like that.
That's a good question. I don't think you can navigate it.
That's how you navigate it.
Like, I don't -- Maya: Everybody's different.
It's not a place --
Like, I got the sense of the place when I got there,
and I felt uncomfortable.
And I was like, "Oh, that's the show?"
And I was like, "Oh, the moment I feel like I belong here
is when I got to go."
There's a sense of, like, you have to just embrace
that, like, you're not going to figure it out.
And I don't know if that's helpful.
It's so personalized.
Everyone there has a completely different experience.
Because you also have such an expectation.
It's something that's a part of your life
that you've been watching, and then you get there,
and you think it's going to be something.
And expectation usually leads to discipline.
So, there's that.
But then I remember hearing you say that,
that you knew when it was time to go when you were comfortable.
I didn't know.
I think I thought, "Oh, this is going to be the end for me.
I'm going to be there forever,"
and then I didn't know how to navigate getting out.
But at the same time, what it's given me --
I mean, I'm happy to talk about "SNL,"
and I don't work there anymore,
but it's given me a foundation that has been transformative.
[Indistinct chatter]
But it has given me skills that I use all the time. Yeah.
I problem-solve in a different way.
I... I mean, collaboration.
Collaboration. You learn how to work with people.
And also, like, when people say,
"We can't do that." I know we can.
Quinta: Yeah, yeah.
And when they say we only have this amount of time.
You're like, I can go from this costume to that in 45 seconds.
You're telling me we have three minutes? That's a long time.
[Laughter]
It's a skill set.
You are learning comedy combat. Yeah.
And you have a skill set now that you cannot teach.
It has to be learned.
And you can take it with you anywhere.
Quinta: It is unreal. It's unreal. I feel it.
I live for the grind and the discomfort of it all.
But then, of course, you want to be pissed about it sometimes,
like, it's uncomfortable. Yeah.
But when you speak about expectations going in,
going in as the seventh Black woman on the cast,
it was this whole --
what's that experience going to be like?
And I was like, I have
relatively low expectations for what it's going to be.
I was just like, "I don't know that it's going to be great."
And then moments where it feels so sweet,
the highs feel so high.
-Mm-hmm. -Mm-hmm.
And then I'm like, "Well, I want --
I want that drug. I want more of that drug."
And that's the thing I've been talking to myself about.
There is such peace in the surrender to the process,
surrender to the fact that it is a puzzle
you're not really going to solve.
It's not really a math equation,
and that pressure and discomfort you feel is the thing.
Lacey: Michelle, I've heard you say
that you're grateful to Netflix for --
and I'm going to quote you here because it's too fun.
Uh-oh. No, no, no.
"Believing in a bitch,
because I've been tap-dancing for multiple networks
for a good while, and my knees are tired."
[Laughter]
Accurate.
I didn't know you could tap dance.
[Laughter]
I have been tap-dancing for the patriarchy for a good while.
And my knees are tired, but fish oil helps.
[Laughter]
Noted.
What do you think the sort of pivot was about?
Where all of a sudden, it was, "Yes,
we accept you and your ideas and this vision"?
Auditioning for multiple networks
that have different types of comedy.
Chasing that for a good decade
felt like I was also chasing the wrong person to be with
and I was constantly trying to be whatever they needed.
I was always the bridesmaid, LOL, for so long.
And I couldn't understand why
'cause I was doing everything I was supposed to do.
I did everything.
You know, I practiced,
and, you know, I'm a fun person on set.
You know, I like food trucks.
[Laughter]
I'm dynamic. I'm charming.
I want to know your inner child.
And something really shifted
when I realized I wanted to have kids and how hard that was.
And I started doing IVF,
and then I was traveling myself
in a middle seat for a chemistry test,
and then I have to get a note from the doctors
to bring these needles for the IVF,
to put them through security.
Then I have to go put progesterones suppositories
up my coochie, wash my hands,
go shake the casting director's hand.
'Cause it's in, hope it's not coming out my pants.
How's everyone doing? Oh, this is great.
Do one for you. Did it. Started crying at the end.
It doesn't say you're supposed to cry.
I know. It's a choice.
[Laughter]
Because I was so outside of my body,
trying to really make something else work in my life
that was so hard, and I was going through so much,
and I wasn't allowed to say anything.
'Cause I was still supposed to be happy clown.
That's kind of when I started booking,
when I stopped really giving a fuck
because I didn't have the bandwidth to.
Because she was a mess.
She was a mess.
But the great thing, working with Netflix
is that there's so many different divisions,
and I love to host, you know, I used to --
Mm-hmm. I have a news background.
You know, I love acting, and I love stand-up.
And so I just have a license to do me.
But I really didn't even understand
that I had license to me.
I thought I was doing me.
But my body and the universe was like,
"No, bitch, have several seats."
And so, you know, after you know, five years of IVF
and some losses, you know,
we welcomed twins via surrogacy.
Yay! Yeah.
And that made me just so, like,
when I say thankful,
I mean, like, I am thankful to be in traffic --
Mm-hmm. ...with these kids.
I am thankful, like, for every single moment.
Like, it feels like nobody can yuck my yum.
You know what I mean?
And when people are going through some shit,
especially, like, on set, I'm like,
"Please go take 10 minutes.
Take 20 minutes.
Gather yourself. I understand.
You want to drink? I got some chilled rosé."
[Laughter]
Coming back with our comedy actress round table,
right after this.
*
Lacey: Quinta, I feel like you had recently talked about
wanting to adapt "The Guest,"
and you wondered whether that was something
you would be able -- that you would be trusted with. Mm-hmm.
And you said because you're a Black woman,
this is not a Black story.
Is that from personal experience,
or is that based on the experiences
of those that came before you,
and thus, it was an assumption?
It was an assumption
because similar to the boxes we were talking about,
what you start out with or what people know you for --
'cause, you know, "Abbott" is not what I started out with.
It is what people know me for, which I'm grateful.
"The Guest" was a book I read,
and I felt like, "I see the vision. I can adapt this."
I really don't feel that way with books.
I read a lot of books, and I love them.
But that was one where I said, "Oh, man, I have the bug."
I have the bug to adapt. I have the bug to, like, direct.
I don't really have that bug.
And I think it's so far from who I am as a person
that I do wonder if it'll become a struggle
to try to make things that aren't about me.
Another thing that was interesting with making "Abbott"
is it is inspired by my mom's story.
But I don't believe that's what makes it good.
I study comedy. I do this.
It's a good comedy because I like comedy.
I hope that I don't have to get caught in the trap
of being the source material
because I don't want to be the source material forever.
I don't think there's freedom in that.
Like, if I'm supposed to keep making shows or movies
about myself, that is so limiting,
and it goes into what we're talking about.
I don't want to keep excavating my soul to make things.
And I think it has become an expectation
for people of color.
And it's not an expectation for white people, white men.
But I think for a lot of Black women, they're like,
"Give us your insides."
And I don't want to do that anymore.
If I want to make a show about a dinosaur,
I want to be able to make a show about a dinosaur.
And not a black dinosaur.
Just like a green dinosaur, just a regular dinosaur.
That dinosaur could be blue. It could be blue.
But that's a thing that maybe isn't that relatable,
but I feel hyper-specific
is, like, something that I feel I experience
and many other creators of color.
Why do I got to bring my trauma with my mom --
I had manager say, "Oh, your mom's story is so incredible.
Like, we're going to make a TV show of that."
and I was like, "That's a drama I don't want to do."
I don't want to do that. I don't want to do that drama.
Lacey: "I lived it."
I wouldn't even want to do that to my mother.
Right.
I don't think she wants her story --
You know, I was like, "That's such a fascinating instinct
once you've heard a bit about me."
Like, "We're going to make that a show."
And I'm like, "It's not for consumption." Exactly.
For me, it's such an honor and a privilege
to be a plus-sized woman writing stories
about my New York -- Mm-hmm.
...with non binary people and trans people.
But I shouldn't have to have a meeting about code switching.
Yeah. And explain to you why
this black woman who is 53 is a millionaire and a boss.
But she also says the N-word.
She's also bisexual.
She's a lot of other things that you probably can't understand.
But don't worry about it. Those people do exist.
Woman: Mm-hmm.
And so, like just explaining that to people is so crazy.
I know this sounds crazy,
but, like, I'll sit there and watch "Dune,"
and I'm like, "Yeah, I want to..."
What is the "Dune" of Maya Rudolph's dreams?
What is the...
Like, do I have to be so closely associated with my...
Does my personal story need to be so associated
with my work all the time? Yeah.
Like, I really hope not
because I think that is limiting for the creative space.
I think we're missing out on a lot of fun sci-fi stuff
because if I walk in, they're like,
"Tell us about being a Black woman in the industry."
I'm trying to make the next "Willy Wonka." Leave me alone.
Yep. Do you get what I'm saying?
Yes. Yes, absolutely.
And I also think that what's frustrating about it
is that you are thinking those things
and you may create something.
And let's say it doesn't happen.
We don't know what that project is,
but I do think by doing that,
it is going to find its way somewhere.
We just may not reap the benefits. Yes.
But somebody is feeling that shift
because there are so many times
where I've seen something done and think,
"Oh. Why didn't I think of it that way?"
Yeah, I didn't have to make it autobiographical.
But you're absolutely right.
That inherent expectation is usually there. Yeah.
And I think it's just a matter of how you deal with it.
Do you ignore it? Yeah.
Do you bypass it? Yeah.
Do you delve into it? One for them, one for me?
Any of it. And it's all correct.
None of it's incorrect. Yeah.
But everybody's correct is different.
Yep.
Quinta would love to keep her personal trauma personal,
versus creating five seasons to relive it forever.
Her one request?
Can people of color just create content
that has nothing to do with their mama?
I mean...a novel thought.
*
Lacey: So, what's everyone's "Willy Wonka"
or everyone's "Dune"?
What's the thing that you would love to do
that no one's yet asked you to do?
I want to be in a heist movie.
-[Gasps] -Oh!
Oh, I could see it.
You want to see me robbing a bank? Yeah.
Absolutely.
Okay, this is gonna sound dumb.
But "Bluey," I know about
because of my nieces and nephews.
Kristen: I love "Bluey." I love "Bluey"!
It's so nice to put on before you go to bed.
It's so lovely!
My dream is to make, like, a "Bluey."
For me, there are some things that I've been working on
for the last five or six years
that I kind of want to do
before I do all the other stuff I want to do,
which is, um, yeah, I'd like to do -- I've been in Marvel.
I'd like to circle back and have a superpower this time.
Do you know what's your superpower going to be?
I really just want to have the gift of prioritization.
-Oh. -Oh, sure.
That is such an adult superpower.
The kids were like, "This is the lamest person we've ever had."
Really, I just want to know,
'cause you know how much time we spend stressed out
and worried about things that don't matter?
Yep.
I just want to have the...
Go to bed.
Which is why they're not calling.
I have biopics that I'm working on
about women who the world needs to remember and know.
I feel like it's a beautiful thing
to be in a place where you're like, "I did this thing.
I have created this show that is speaking to my tribe."
And you have to get there
to say the really genius thing you just said,
which is, "And now I want to do something else."
-Yeah. -Yeah.
So where I'm at is, I want to get there.
-Mm. -Yeah.
What I do love about this business
is probably what people hate about it,
is that it's unpredictable.
And so, I never know what's going to happen,
and I love that for me.
That keeps me interested.
I feel like every day should be a surprise --
in a good way. Yep.
In a productive way, however that means.
And honestly, I feel like I'm doing it
and I just want to do more of it.
You know, fat, Black, brown, queer content
because now that I have these children,
I just want to make sure that it happens with the arts, you know,
that I'm putting in all the allyship and comedyship
and femaleship into what I do.
Because this is how I express myself.
This is my legacy for these littles.
Lacey: What about you, Kristen? Um...
I am so grateful to be here listening to you guys today.
I can't even tell you.
Like, everything you guys are talking about is really,
like, hitting different points of my heart right now.
And what you said about going out of that sort of comfort zone
or, like, the zone,
I really needed to hear that
because I've been trying to write something for a while,
and I kind of put it away.
It's not really a comedy.
And I think I've been practicing how I talk to people
about it in a defensive way.
Saying, "It's not a comedy, but just listen.
It might be cool." Yeah.
I think because I'm writing it sort of on my own,
and all of the stuff I've written
has been a comedy, and people expect that from me,
I'm already putting that thing in front of me of, like,
"Are you sure you want to do this?
Like, you don't really know how to do this."
And I've been stuck with it for months and months.
And it's been kind of driving me crazy.
And like, I believe in these little moments in the universe
where people connect with you.
And I'm like, I don't know.
It just feels very, like, I have to figure out what my voice is
and just put it out there and not worry about that stuff.
Because the categorizing, I think,
of things that we've all done,
I didn't quite realize was such a blanket.
Yeah.
And, you know, yeah. Can I just say,
I think it's so funny because people sometimes are like,
you know, "You can't do this."
Even if they don't say it out loud, it's, like, assumed.
Sometimes I feel like if you haven't done drama,
they make it seem like comedy is harder.
And if you haven't done comedy, they make it seem like --
I mean, if you have done comedy,
they make it seem like drama is harder.
Whatever it is -- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
...they constantly do that.
And I just think it's bullshit.
-It is. -Yeah.
It's totally bullshit,
and it is so exciting
for me to hear you say at this table
that you are about to write something.
Well, it's scary.
And when even you said "Dune," I was like,
that's literally visually, sort of -- Yeah.
...this thing in my head, and it might be a little comedic,
but the self-talk around it
of, like, how do I explain to people?
Are they even going to say yes?
'Cause I've done things that are dramatic on the page
that I thought were going to be dramatic.
And then you get there, and they're like,
"You can improvise."
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
And I've done dramatic scenes, and I've been in a screening
where I do something, and then people laugh.
And they're like, "Oh, no, it wasn't..."
You know what I mean?
Ego: Watching you do Aunt Linda at Table, okay,
we've tons and tons and tons of hosted "SNL."
Everyone's wonderful. Everybody's incredible.
I was like, "This is an artiste."
But I just remember that performance.
I'm like, "You can do anything."
Getting back to the tomorrow is not promised,
and, you know, the fact that we get to do this,
and I love that every day feels different.
Like, but this is what I'm talking about.
It's so amazing to be in this career
and still feel crazy and nervous
and anxious about something.
Quinta: You feel alive.
That's like the part --
[Indistinct chatter]
Yes! You don't wish it on yourself.
But that's always a great motivation.
Quinta: Yeah.
No, I'm excited to see what everyone at this table
is going to not be afraid to do.
All five of these people are going to be in your movies
is what they're going to do.
[Laughter]
*
Hello, Hollywood. It's Yvonne.
I just want to let you know,
women can be both hysterical and dramatic.
Just thought you should know.
Nice chat.
*
Welcome back to "Off Script with the Hollywood Reporter."
Let's pick things back up with our comedy actress round table.
Lacey: We're going to end on a more of a lightning round.
You've had a long day of work.
What do you turn on your TV?
Bravo. I'm not ashamed.
You're a "Real Housewives" girl, right? Yeah.
"Bob's Burgers."
"Only Murders in the Building."
Yeah.
"Queer Eye." I watch that with my girls.
You know what, honestly, it's something
I've never done in my entire life,
I'm doing now.
It's just so pathetic that I'm saying this.
But I turn on "Girls5eva." Lacey: You do?
I do not watch myself.
I do not watch, but I literally turn it on --
That was a good old binge for me.
because it makes me --
because I didn't realize until season three
that it exists for me. Yeah.
Only because I have been sitting there
doing that show all this time,
and still I come home and I question my ability
to dream this ambitiously at my age.
Mm.
I mean, I'm doing this show about these women
who are absurdly dreaming
about getting back into being pop music stars.
You can be 50 and dream.
Don't let the world tell you that it is absurd
to do something new.
-Whatever. Who cares? -Yes.
What is the funniest or strangest feedback
you've heard or read about yourself?
[Laughter]
Wow. Michelle: Wow.
I think people just very surprised that they laughed.
Yeah.
"Surprisingly funny. Surprisingly witty."
Surprise. Surprise.
Isn't that a delight?
-Yeah. -Yeah.
I'm surprised you're surprised.
[Laughter]
I think mine is too short for comfort.
I think that's really funny, so it sticks out.
It was someone saying that they did enjoy my work.
But part of what made them enjoy it
was that I was too short for comfort.
And I thought that was funny.
[Laughter]
Yeah.
I started doing podcasts before I was on "SNL."
Like, comedy podcasts.
And so people would come and find me on Instagram.
And I remember one comment being like,
"I'm pissed off you look like this."
And I'm like, okay. What did they want you to look like?
I didn't follow up. You never follow up.
[Laughter]
I think the first time I ever, when I started "SNL"
and learned my lesson, I do not read.
I don't look. I don't.
But when I first got on the show,
you have that moment where you're like,
"Hmm. I wonder what people are saying."
And it was like, comment, comment, comment.
One of them just said, "She's ugly." No!
I was like... I mean, it's okay.
Mine said chipmunk cheeks.
-Oh. -Oh.
Yeah. Alright.
What's the most-used emoji on your phone?
This one. Oh, no.
Oh, yes, with the half face!
I do... This one.
Yeah. Mine's laughing so hard I'm crying.
so it's like sideways. Yeah.
Mine is the melting smiley face.
Yeah. Because that is me.
This is so... This is.
Mine's the yellow heart or the "eugh."
[Laughter]
That was created based off of you
doing [Indistinct] [Laughter]
When my dad first started texting,
he didn't know -- he thought that was a smile.
So, he would text me be like, "Hi, I love you. 'Eugh.'"
[Laughter]
I was like, "Are you..."
My aunt used to write "LOL"
'cause she thought it meant lots lots of love.
[Laughter]
So did I! Quinta: Maybe it does.
Why did you -- Do you have the same uncle?
I thought it was lots of love.
Oh, my goodness.
It's not?!
Mine is upside-down to my face or the...okay.
Upside-down. Upside-down.
And the praying hands is up there somewhere.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
In honor of "Girls5eva,"
what would you each name your girl group?
Oh. Maybe Trans4mation.
[Cheering]
Cheers! That was genius!
I can't do better than that!
[Laughter]
With that, thank you all for doing this.
Should we do one last cheers?
-Yes! -Thank you.
All: Trans4mation.
[Indistinct chatter]
You should be a writer. Oh, I'll try.
[Laughter]
I got to say, as an actress and stand-up comic,
I felt right at home with these insightful, funny,
supportive, and even, dare I say, dramatic women.
You know what we call that in Hollywood?
Range.
Well, until the next time. I'm Yvonne Orji.
And this is "Off Script with the Hollywood Reporter."
*