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Bradley Whitford rarely wraps up one gig without already knowing what his next is going to be.
Not that it always does, but thankfully for Whitford, its absolutely whats happened for him.
As is only appropriate, given the subject matter.Yeah, which certainly resonates with the material!
Honestly, when youre making something like that, you havenoidea if its going to work.
It can be tricky when you like them, and it can be tricky when youdontlike them.
It just must be unspeakably weird to be portrayed anywhere.
He was the adult in the room.
He was suspicious of the gold-rush financing of it all.
He was a good guy.
And he was really very, very funny.
Hes truly one of the great deadpans.
That was the key for me to him.
So I love him, I hope I do meet him, and I hope hes not mad.
It wiped him out.
And now he sells used cars.
So I had a little sense of the craziness of it all directly.
The logic is very similar to Hollywood, which is to say that its bewildering.
Its an interesting story to tell now, because there was such idealism.
Its a pretty simple story of maximizing greed.
And unfortunately, I think all the idealism in Silicon Valley shrunk up to that puny little notion.
Funny that you both ended up as recurring guest stars on another cop comedy,Brooklyn Nine-Nine.Yes!
And a successful one!
NBC said,We want to do a 10 p.m. comedy block, one thats a little edgier.
It was a lot of fun.
Do you have any recollections of working with Mantzoukas back then?
That was was certainly prior to the premiere ofThe League.Listen, I love Jason.
But I always felt guilty because I didnt want Jason to think that we stole his idea.
Honestly, that show couldve run for seven years.
But instead, nothing happened.
So that was a frustrating thing.
Sometimes the souffle doesnt rise.
But thats why it was frustrating withOff Duty it felt like itdidrise.
The business just got in the way.
I would love to go back on that show.
And I was so thrilled thatit got saved.
You, me, and everyone from Lin-Manuel Miranda on down.
Everybodys ecstatic.Oh yeah, Linsreallyinto it.
So, hows theHandmaids Taleexperience been for you?I think that show is a generational achievement.
And being able to do it with Lizzie [Moss], whos an angel, its incredible.
I met her when she was, like, 17.
And now shes an artist firing on all cylinders.
That makes me incredibly happy.
I believe in that world that Aaron created.
At the same time, you do not want your banana to turn brown, yknow?
It was definitely time for it to end.
It was right after John [Spencers] passing, and that made it pretty clear.
Do I think you could come up with a show?
Do I think its a good idea?
You know, we cant all be working in the White House.
That doesnt make any sense.
I guess we could be, I dont know, political consultants?
Actually, its not that I dont think its a good idea.
I actually think its agreatidea.
But it has to be done perfectly.
And Aaron has to want to be there.
Itd be interesting to see where everybody is now, but I dont have any information.
Theres nothing we do without Aaron or without his blessing.
But, yeah, Im available.
If nothing else, maybe you all can do another PSA to get people toregister and vote.
Those seem to come together with a lot less hassle.Yeah!
This is gonna sound like corny publicity bullshit, but its so wonderful to get together with everybody.
I just want Aaron to be happy.
And Aaron was writing at this extraordinary level.
The farther I get away from it, I cant believe it.
I just cant believe it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
