TheSchitts Creekstar on her long career, sexism in comedy, and her favorite impressionists.
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Dont fence me in!
Dont lock me down!
I want to do different things!
I dont know who I am!
Everything aboutMoira Rose onSchitts Creekis eccentric: the wigs, the clothes, the word choices, the diction.
Is she based on anyone you knew personally?The exterior always helps make me feel like someone else.
For Moira, I get my hair done, I get my makeup, I get those clothes on.
They make me stand differently and walk differently.
I explain the voice as souvenirs from all my world travel.
Ive taken a bit of all the people Ive met in the world and Im sharing it with you.
[Does Moiras voice.]
But broadly, you know, Madonna spoke English for a while.
I think there was a part where Kathleen Turner was on a talk show and she sounded Brazilian.
And you know what?
Madonna is great at reinventing herself and going, What do you mean?
Ive always been this way.
Youve said that you were reluctant to do the show at first.
I was just used to playing a lot of different characters and having something new to do every day.
That was my only real trepidation about doing a series.
Ive had friends whove been put in lockdown.
You just never know.
Then I talked to Eugene about the way I want to speak.
And then, Could I wear different wigs?
And they said, Yeah, in fact, well give you a wall of wigs!
At the same time it’s possible for you to start with,How would I look at this?
How would I react to that?And then, you might consciously shift it.
Youre not working alone there; youre ever evolving with the help of each other.
What is the most personal character that you feel like youve played?Oy.
With Claire Danes, right?Yeah, I love her.
She was so good.
Id say, Are you kidding?
What more would I want?
Working with her made it easy to just be there with her and want to take care of her.
But when I read it I was like, Ah, its just a nice lady.
Every human being is.
You have to sit with it and relax and forget about trying to show off.
Thats the trick in life, too.
When in doubt, I played either insane or bitchy at Second City Theater.
I think were a great loving couple in this.
I think theres a bit of the sameness in a lot of the characters I do.
I think theres a lot of … insecure delusional.
But look, were all trying to do that all the time.
Anyone who reads your Twitter account as a follower what the hell is that?
Ill have thoughts where I think,Oh, thats a good thought!
Thats a good idea!
Ill share this!But generally speaking, who does think that way?
Well, theyre all on social media.But are they youthful maybe, and they havent actually found themselves?
Theyre going to look back on these words like bad hairdos from their youth.
Whoever was there at the time saw how stupid I was.
But wow, theres no hiding what you do now!
Anything you put out there is there forever.
A lot of people give a shot to control the image theyre putting out there.Good luck.
Arent you going to have to show up in person at one point?
Some people venture to avoid that, which is interesting.My kids are 24 and 21.
When I wanted them to get off their games, theyd go, We can make really big money!
and theyd talk about[this] guy who plays games on the internet.
And then I saw him on Colbert and there was no conversation.
He actually showed clips from his work!
How much is social critique part of what youre conveying?Oh, thats what Second City stage is.
Its all, What did I see on the streetcar on the way to work today?
Oh, I overheard a bit of conversation.
So youre kind of gathering all these little bits of information.
And its all laughing at ourselves.
Not just others, but ourselves.
Just behavior that human beings cant help.
We are ridiculous and great and lovely and sweet and innocent and scary.
as if they were booking a guest Meryl Streep!
Hmm, okay, Ill try it!
What about Brooke Shields?
Oh my God, Im in my 30s!
But we had amazing hair and makeup.
And there was no internet then so it was, Can you get me any tape?
My big fat VHS tape, Id start recording things on TV, in the worst quality.
Brooke Shields, God bless her, tried to do a bit.
They all went, Are you okay?
No, I was doing a bit!
Nobody would believe her except me!
I thought,Okay, they just wont let a beautiful girl do that bit!
They let you inside the head of what they discover in somebody, to be able to impersonate them.
When we were doingSCTVand someone would say, What about this person?
You want to play them in a scene?
You want to do her?
If I didnt like them, I wouldnt play them.
It takes too much of my time and energy.
But depends how big they are.
If they get it from all sides, then its part of the job.
Its like a trailer from a master class on how to impersonate someone.
He doesnt even need that wig.
No wig, no makeup, nothing.
He becomes Trump before your eyes.
Its really, solidly good.
Hes the best Trump ever.
SCTVwas a fairly male-dominated space.
Was it difficult getting your ideas heard during brainstorming or the writers process?Yes.
Thats what an insecure weasel I was.
I told him to say that!
It was like I had to go through the test kitchen of Dave Thomas!
Thats funny.The sexism was still a holdover at that time.
I love those guys, and no one was ever cruel.
It was just a case of numbers, and that was a product of the times.
There would never be more than two women in a cast of Second City stage.
and he said, All the time.
Oh, thank God; thats so great!
What about anybody besides white people?
Oh yeah, a lot.
Anyone besides straight white people?
Oh yeah, a lot!
So finally its opened up like the world but at that time it was two women.
You and Andrea Martin?Yeah, but I worked with different women.
Then I worked with Andrea.
I worked with Robin Duke.
That was fun all women.
as if we shared one hip.
Can we be different women coming in at the same time?
But again, it was the times.
It was whens womens liberation was just happening.
Were drawing on life.
I think the reason comedys changed is because the world has changed.
There are more women being allowed to reach for and achieve their potential now than then.
It still hasnt changed enough.
You werent credited as a writer in the beginning ofSCTV.
What happened?Thats of the times.
We werent paid as writers [in season one].
It made no sense.
Andrew Alexander just said, Im sorry.
Thats the way things worked at the time.
Hes made up for it; were on equal ground now.
And he was always creatively supportive of all of us.
and it was really thrilling.
And I was never that money-conscious.
At Second City Theater, I stupidly or naively thought,Wow, I get to do this?
So when we did the TV show, same thing: Wow!
Were getting to do a TV show!
I dont think I was aware right away that we werent being paid.
I think John Candy revealed it.
John wasnt paid either!
He had great self-respect.
So Im sure I was encouraged by him.
So Im sure I was buoyed by his confidence.
Im sure I talked to [Alexander] and said, What the hell?
It doesnt mean that they dont believe Im not worth the same.
They just want to venture to get away with … you know?
Its not to take it personally is the big lesson.
For the Christopher Guest movies, is the script an outline?Yeah, its a story outline.
And actually the final result is exactly what that outline was.
The whole thing is inspiration: Each actor is allowed to just fly.
Theres no real discussion, unless youre playing husband and wife.
You might discuss it a bit if you have to.
Like, inBest in Show, we did have to discuss dog training and dog showing.
Eugene and I saw each other the first day of makeup.
Its so much funnier when you go, Oh, thats who Im married to!
And whatever you might have thought of in a vague or specific way has to adjust.
Then you improvise it.
And then, Do I go completely new now?
and Oh, I came up with a joke, should I give a shot to get it in?
How fresh am I now in this take?
Its really scary and fun to do.
And you go, Yeah, youre right, I did.
The basic rules of improv are, Yes, and, and No, but.
So you go, Remember that time you tried to kiss me when we were in school?
You dont say, No I didnt.
You go, I dont remember, but I do remember being naked with you later!
Or, Yes, I remember, but I believe you asked me to!
You just always come back with something to offer, so were all building each other.
WasFor Your Considerationalso improvised?Every one of them!
And of course Im not in my 30s when I was doing that.
When wasFor Your Consideration?
2006.Yeah, so I knew my older skin would have to come back at the end of the day.
Big, white, straight teeth which I dont have.
And then Kate Shorter, our makeup artist, gave me a great glossy, waxy, acid-washed face.
How did you practice that?
Was it tiring?You just lift.
The more you do it, the more it stays!
There are muscles behind your skin and face, and my mother did it her whole life.
My mother never had a face-lift or any kind of cosmetic surgery.
Her cheeks were up here!
I wish I could show you pictures.
When she was in her 20s, her eyebrows were down here.
In her 80s, up here.
And she would just hold her face like this.
She had enough vanity that shed look in the mirror, ask, Whats the best way to look?
and she did it and it worked.
She lifted her face naturally.
It was like a date, you know?
I remember having lunch with Milos Forman.
I worked with him onHeartburn.
I was very intimidated on that set.
I was with Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Stockard Channing, Richard Maser, and Milos Forman.
We were supposed to be three couples who were best friends.
Okay What was I doing there?That was all I thought at the time.
He did that with a lot of people, and a lot of smart people blossomed with that opportunity.
He picked me to be in that group, and it was crazy.
I dont even know what he had in mind, or if that couldve led to another thing.
His childhood was amazing, with the little Ive learned since.
Why didnt I take that opportunity to learn about his life?
Instead I was like,Uh, what does it mean?
Does he like me?
I was just kind of ignorant.
Thats the saddest admission.
What was your experience doing a big, popular film likeHome Alone?
It was just a good script with some good people, John Hughes, Chris Columbus.
That was the most money I have ever been offered up front.
Thats when I negotiated not to be there for all 12 weeks of the shoot.
You could take more money, and be available for the whole shoot.
So thats the only spot where I took advantage of the fact that it was a big movie.
A lot of mid-budget studio films have disappeared.Theres no middle class in acting salaries in film anymore.
In television, I guess theres still money.
I now get offered movies for $1,500 a week!
Theres either big budget with Tom Cruise and Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Lawrence.
Youre either the top one percent or youre making it for the sake of art, with no money.
So I guess its like the rest of the economy.
Someone like me, when I was just starting out in film, got really decent money.
At least I was excited about it.
And I was just starting out!
Its not just actors.My husbandis a production designer and that world has changed as well.
He used to go in, do an interview, and he had the job.
Sorry, I dont mean to complain on his behalf either.
Its just recognizing that things have changed.
But we were so under the radar atSCTV, and I loved all the people atSNL.
Like everyone, I thought it was the coolest show on TV.
It was an opportunity to do it on a big stage and do it live.
I thought,Its going to be the greatest combination of Second City Theater andSCTV.But it was whenSCTVwas down.
We were down many times between seasons.
Andrew Alexander would fight his way into another deal, and hed call us and say, Okay!
Now were 45 minutes!
Now were 90 minutes!
So it was on a downtime, and I got a call with the offer [forSNL].
There was BSin some bookabout me being scared.
I dont want to say this out loud, but it was boring what I saw, not scary.
They spray-painted Danger on the wall.
That didnt scare me.
It was a bad date.
Not badbad, just, Okay, thank you.
Honestly, I do not look back on that with any pride.
But I really did want to stay with my friends atSCTV.
So you wanted to stay withSCTV?Yes.
There was no job and then suddenly there was.
Andrew made a deal.
Nobody did anything awful.
And even if they did, I could work with that.
Whos doing improv and sketch comedy now that you like?Well, Ill always watchSNLfor the great moments.
Theres always something there.
And I really missMad TV.
There were so many good people on that.
Groundlings, Ill go there once in a while.
Who excites you onSNL?Kate McKinnons great, obviously.
Shes the star of the show right now.
But I also really love Cecily Strong.
OnSCTV, Id say Andrea was more Kate McKinnon and Id be Cecily Strong.
Maybe I relate to her more because shes quieter about what she does.
Not that Kate McKinnons loud; shes obviously amazing and talented and funny.
I told her an experience Id had.
It was something my husband and I went through.
It was silly, but it was about being parents and the school function.
And she said, Yeah.
I said, Yeah what?
She said, Yeah, well do it.
If I knew I was pitching I wouldnt have made a deal!
But because I just innocently told a story, I managed to pitch something!
What was the show called?It was calledEveryone Has One.
It was basically about a marriage and what it goes through when you have children.
But the pilot didnt have a beginning, middle, and end.
It didnt wrap up.
And I thought,Thats okay.
Thats why I say it was ahead of my time!
It didnt sell, but I loved the opportunity.
Be with my kids, or my husband, or my friends.
But [Schitts Creek] has given me an opportunity to rewrite dialogue.
And I have a consulting producer credit, which just says, Yeah, shes doing something else.
But it doesnt matter.
I just do have the opportunity to write and its great.
I would love to.
Every year I say,No, this year I will actually write one of these ideas I have.
I dont know whats stopping me.
I guess Im not that disciplined unless I have to.
I need a deadline.
