1 00:00:01,433 --> 00:00:02,600 - [Voiceover] Funding for Overheard with Evan Smith 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:06,200 is provided in part by MFI Foundation, 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,633 improving the quality of life within our community. 4 00:00:09,633 --> 00:00:12,233 Also by Hillco Partners, 5 00:00:12,233 --> 00:00:14,833 a Texas government affairs consultancy. 6 00:00:14,833 --> 00:00:17,766 And by the Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation. 7 00:00:18,333 --> 00:00:20,533 - I'm Evan Smith, she's a comedian and an actress 8 00:00:20,533 --> 00:00:23,333 whose credits include Mr. Show with Bob and David, 9 00:00:23,333 --> 00:00:25,566 The Larry Sanders Show and, most memorably, 10 00:00:25,566 --> 00:00:29,266 24 and its miniseries reboot, 24: Live Another Day. 11 00:00:29,266 --> 00:00:32,233 She's Mary Lynn Rajskub, this is Overheard. 12 00:00:33,333 --> 00:00:35,633 - [Evan voiceover] Let's be honest, is this about 13 00:00:35,633 --> 00:00:37,566 the ability to learn, or is this about the 14 00:00:37,566 --> 00:00:39,766 experience of not having been taught properly? 15 00:00:39,766 --> 00:00:42,000 How have you avoided what has befallen 16 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:43,466 other nations in Africa... 17 00:00:43,466 --> 00:00:45,366 You could say that he made his own bed, 18 00:00:45,366 --> 00:00:47,133 but you caused him to sleep in it. 19 00:00:47,133 --> 00:00:48,533 Now you saw a problem and, 20 00:00:48,533 --> 00:00:50,100 over time, took it on and... 21 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:53,433 Let's start with the sizzle before we get to the steak. 22 00:00:53,433 --> 00:00:54,866 Are you gonna run for president? 23 00:00:54,866 --> 00:00:56,533 I think I just got an "F" from you. 24 00:00:56,533 --> 00:00:58,666 This is Overheard. 25 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:04,033 - [Evan] Mary Lynn, welcome. - [Mary Lynn] Hi. 26 00:01:04,033 --> 00:01:05,866 - [Both] Nice to see you. 27 00:01:05,866 --> 00:01:07,266 - Very nice to meet you. 28 00:01:07,266 --> 00:01:09,933 So, I'm catching you now as you're out on tour 29 00:01:09,933 --> 00:01:12,400 doing stand-up, which you do a fair amount of these days. 30 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:14,033 - Yes. Thank you for catching me. 31 00:01:14,033 --> 00:01:15,266 - [Evan] Well, happy to catch you. 32 00:01:15,266 --> 00:01:16,466 - Everybody coming here at the last minute... 33 00:01:16,466 --> 00:01:17,900 - [Evan] Thank you for being caught. 34 00:01:17,900 --> 00:01:19,433 - [Mary Lynn] It's exciting. - [Evan] Good to have you. 35 00:01:19,433 --> 00:01:21,233 - Many of us know you through the front door as an actress. 36 00:01:21,233 --> 00:01:23,566 We know you from 24 or some of the other stuff you've done. 37 00:01:23,566 --> 00:01:25,533 You've been a comedian for a long time. 38 00:01:25,533 --> 00:01:28,500 Do you self-define these days as a comedian who acts 39 00:01:28,500 --> 00:01:30,266 or as an actress who does stand-up? 40 00:01:30,266 --> 00:01:33,666 - It's hard to say at this point. I don't really know. 41 00:01:33,666 --> 00:01:35,500 - Maybe there's no one or the other, it's both. 42 00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:39,233 - Yeah, I kind of change once I get on the road. 43 00:01:39,233 --> 00:01:41,500 Last time...I just got into Austin, 44 00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:43,566 so things haven't gotten too crazy yet. 45 00:01:43,566 --> 00:01:47,100 Last night was pretty mellow, but I was just in Atlanta, 46 00:01:47,100 --> 00:01:51,233 and when I landed, I called my husband, 47 00:01:51,233 --> 00:01:53,666 "I miss you, I don't know what I'm doing, 48 00:01:53,666 --> 00:01:55,100 "why am I doing this?" 49 00:01:55,100 --> 00:01:58,466 And, then had a great show, and I don't usually 50 00:01:58,466 --> 00:02:00,233 go out that much, and then the comedians were like, 51 00:02:00,233 --> 00:02:02,666 "Come out with us!" and then ended up going out, having 52 00:02:02,666 --> 00:02:04,133 a crazy night. - [Evan] Yeah, it's a scene. 53 00:02:05,700 --> 00:02:07,233 You enjoy it, still. 54 00:02:07,233 --> 00:02:08,500 You've been doing this a long time, but you still enjoy it. 55 00:02:08,500 --> 00:02:10,433 - I enjoy it, it's just the transition between, 56 00:02:10,433 --> 00:02:12,200 "Why am I doing this?" and then, 57 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,200 once I'm on the road and doing it, 58 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,700 there's really nothing like it. 59 00:02:17,700 --> 00:02:19,666 - And is it possible to do both at the same time? 60 00:02:19,666 --> 00:02:21,733 Can you act during the day and then do stand-up at night? 61 00:02:21,733 --> 00:02:24,000 Or do you have to take off a period of time to do 62 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:25,666 a season of 24 when you're filming? 63 00:02:25,666 --> 00:02:28,400 - That's a good question. 64 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,133 The last installment of 24, we were 65 00:02:31,133 --> 00:02:33,766 in London for five months, and 66 00:02:33,766 --> 00:02:38,500 even preparing to go to London 67 00:02:38,500 --> 00:02:39,933 was sort of like 68 00:02:39,933 --> 00:02:42,366 you're mentally in the space of 24. 69 00:02:42,366 --> 00:02:44,466 And we were bringing the show back after four years. 70 00:02:44,466 --> 00:02:46,366 And so... 71 00:02:46,366 --> 00:02:48,500 even though I did have down time, 72 00:02:48,500 --> 00:02:50,233 enough time to go do stand-up, 73 00:02:50,233 --> 00:02:51,500 I was really focused on that. 74 00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:54,100 But by the end of my five months in London, 75 00:02:54,100 --> 00:02:56,200 if I knew I was gonna have a stretch of days off, 76 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,933 I started sort of investigating the scene 77 00:02:58,933 --> 00:03:01,200 and going to comedy rooms and stuff like that. 78 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:02,566 - Ready to get back in front of an audience. 79 00:03:02,566 --> 00:03:04,000 - Yeah. 80 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,100 - A lot of people who do comedy, and especially these days 81 00:03:06,100 --> 00:03:07,533 where people talk a lot about the things that 82 00:03:07,533 --> 00:03:09,000 influenced them as a kid, they'll say, 83 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:10,866 "Well, I listened to George Carlin's records as a kid," 84 00:03:10,866 --> 00:03:13,166 or "Steve Martin," or "Andy Kaufman." 85 00:03:13,166 --> 00:03:16,133 And, my understanding of your backstory here 86 00:03:16,133 --> 00:03:18,033 is that you didn't necessarily think, as a kid, 87 00:03:18,033 --> 00:03:20,000 "I wanna be a a comedian, I wanna do stand-up." 88 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:21,700 You don't necessarily have that same story. 89 00:03:21,700 --> 00:03:23,100 - No, no, not at all. 90 00:03:23,100 --> 00:03:25,366 If anything, it was more of, "I want to be an actor." 91 00:03:25,366 --> 00:03:27,066 But I didn't even really think that. 92 00:03:27,066 --> 00:03:30,900 I didn't really have the capacity to think that I was 93 00:03:30,900 --> 00:03:33,666 somebody who could do something like that. 94 00:03:33,666 --> 00:03:35,766 You hear that a lot from people, maybe, 95 00:03:35,766 --> 00:03:38,066 "I didn't know that was a possibility," or, 96 00:03:38,066 --> 00:03:41,066 especially with comedy, I just thought, 97 00:03:41,066 --> 00:03:44,333 "I'm female, I'm kind of odd, 98 00:03:44,333 --> 00:03:47,500 "I'm kind of an interior person." 99 00:03:48,933 --> 00:03:51,766 And comedy was something where it was mostly 100 00:03:51,766 --> 00:03:54,766 a guy talking about his thoughts and being real... 101 00:03:54,766 --> 00:03:56,100 - Right, extroverted. 102 00:03:56,100 --> 00:03:59,633 - Extroverted, but as time went on, 103 00:03:59,633 --> 00:04:02,800 it started with me doing performance art, 104 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,033 and then people... 105 00:04:05,533 --> 00:04:08,466 my performance art was always performer-audience based 106 00:04:08,466 --> 00:04:11,400 and I started getting laughter in places where I didn't 107 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:13,300 necessarily intend to get laughter. 108 00:04:13,300 --> 00:04:15,733 - Sometimes good, sometimes not, right? 109 00:04:15,733 --> 00:04:19,133 - Exactly, and then I kind of started intersecting 110 00:04:19,133 --> 00:04:22,200 with my art school performance art world in 111 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,466 San Francisco with other comedians, 112 00:04:24,466 --> 00:04:28,333 and that was sort of a good... 113 00:04:28,333 --> 00:04:30,100 I like how you called acting the "front door." 114 00:04:30,100 --> 00:04:32,833 It was a good back door into comedy 115 00:04:32,833 --> 00:04:37,000 in that it wasn't so intimidating. 116 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,666 It was the same for me with acting. 117 00:04:39,666 --> 00:04:42,200 I moved to Los Angeles to do live performance. 118 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,800 If I had gone there thinking, "I'm gonna do this, 119 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,733 "I have my head shots, I've changed my name." 120 00:04:47,733 --> 00:04:49,800 I would have known that I was gonna do it... 121 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,900 - No, no, Raskjub is awesome. I wouldn't actually... 122 00:04:52,900 --> 00:04:54,733 It's good. How many Raskjubs are there, right? 123 00:04:54,733 --> 00:04:56,600 - [Mary Lynn] No. My family. - [Evan] Not very many. 124 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:58,266 - So, let's come to San Francisco in a second. 125 00:04:58,266 --> 00:05:00,233 So, family...so you grew up in Detroit. 126 00:05:00,233 --> 00:05:01,666 - [Mary Lynn] Yes, yes. - [Evan] In a suburb of 127 00:05:01,666 --> 00:05:04,966 Detroit...Family is not in the entertainment business. 128 00:05:04,966 --> 00:05:06,366 - Absolutely not. 129 00:05:06,366 --> 00:05:08,766 - They must have thought, "How'd you end up...?" 130 00:05:08,766 --> 00:05:10,933 For them, this thought that you wanted to do 131 00:05:10,933 --> 00:05:12,933 what you're doing now must have been an interesting thing. 132 00:05:12,933 --> 00:05:16,766 - I did some acting as a kid, and definitely in high school. 133 00:05:16,766 --> 00:05:18,200 - Like community plays and theater... 134 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:20,133 - Yeah, and in high school it really was the only thing 135 00:05:20,133 --> 00:05:21,966 that I could focus on or had any interest in, 136 00:05:21,966 --> 00:05:25,133 and thankfully there was a pretty decent 137 00:05:25,133 --> 00:05:27,000 theater program at the school. 138 00:05:28,166 --> 00:05:31,500 So they supported me in having that interest 139 00:05:31,500 --> 00:05:35,266 and they certainly love what's happened, 140 00:05:35,266 --> 00:05:37,900 and it's been really exciting for them. 141 00:05:37,900 --> 00:05:39,566 - But it wasn't an obvious choice for you as a kid, 142 00:05:39,566 --> 00:05:40,966 given the environment in which you grew up, 143 00:05:40,966 --> 00:05:42,433 or the place you grew up. 144 00:05:42,433 --> 00:05:44,333 Detroit in those days, a little bit of a different Detroit, 145 00:05:44,333 --> 00:05:47,566 maybe a more optimistic Detroit than there is now, right? 146 00:05:47,566 --> 00:05:50,533 - Yeah, I don't know, depending on who you talk to. 147 00:05:50,533 --> 00:05:53,200 I haven't really been back in Detroit properly 148 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,933 in the city for a while, but some people say 149 00:05:55,933 --> 00:05:58,666 there's a great art scene there now, 150 00:05:58,666 --> 00:06:00,800 which I would like to go and check out. 151 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:02,766 Lots of stuff happening, and 152 00:06:02,766 --> 00:06:04,766 hopefully a rebirth at some point. 153 00:06:04,766 --> 00:06:05,966 - The city's coming back. 154 00:06:05,966 --> 00:06:08,033 You went to art school in Detroit first, 155 00:06:08,033 --> 00:06:09,900 before going at San Francisco. - [Mary Lynn] Yes. 156 00:06:09,900 --> 00:06:12,366 Different experience than being out in the West Coast? 157 00:06:12,366 --> 00:06:16,500 - Absolutely, I mean, I love Detroit a lot. 158 00:06:16,500 --> 00:06:19,833 That was a really exciting time in my life because 159 00:06:19,833 --> 00:06:22,366 I kind of went to art school because I wasn't a 160 00:06:22,366 --> 00:06:25,700 good student, I didn't... 161 00:06:25,700 --> 00:06:27,800 study very much. 162 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:29,133 College wasn't...I just thought, 163 00:06:29,133 --> 00:06:30,400 "Ehh, I don't wanna do that, 164 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,766 "I'm gonna have to take subjects over again 165 00:06:33,766 --> 00:06:36,333 "that I was never interested in the first place, 166 00:06:36,333 --> 00:06:37,933 "or I'm gonna have to get a job." 167 00:06:37,933 --> 00:06:41,066 So I found art school just to 168 00:06:41,066 --> 00:06:43,533 - [Evan] Perfect pause. - [Mary Lynn] to not have to 169 00:06:43,533 --> 00:06:45,933 do any of those, and I thought, 170 00:06:45,933 --> 00:06:48,766 "Oh, let me try to draw something, 171 00:06:48,766 --> 00:06:51,933 "and get a portfolio," 172 00:06:51,933 --> 00:06:53,366 not really knowing what I was doing, 173 00:06:53,366 --> 00:06:57,200 and once I got in there, it was just like, 174 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,366 it spoke to my heart in bigger ways. 175 00:07:00,366 --> 00:07:01,800 - It took immediately. 176 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:06,000 - It was really exciting because I really didn't even know 177 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,433 what a sculpture was, so it was really exciting 178 00:07:09,433 --> 00:07:12,100 to get a basic understanding of everything. 179 00:07:12,100 --> 00:07:15,200 And being in Detroit was really fun. 180 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,433 But there was a lot of, like, 181 00:07:17,433 --> 00:07:22,433 "Found Scrap Metal Object" art making. 182 00:07:22,533 --> 00:07:26,866 There was one class where we had to 183 00:07:26,866 --> 00:07:29,400 document churches that were 184 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:31,766 falling apart in Detroit. 185 00:07:31,766 --> 00:07:34,266 - [Evan] Uplifting. - [Mary Lynn] Very uplifting. 186 00:07:35,533 --> 00:07:37,466 - So you made the decision to go West, because 187 00:07:37,466 --> 00:07:40,200 you thought, "Maybe there'll be a different vibe out there." 188 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:44,100 - Yes, and I loved San Francisco immediately. 189 00:07:44,100 --> 00:07:47,900 It's such a gorgeous place, and that was just 190 00:07:47,900 --> 00:07:49,700 really exciting and fun for me. 191 00:07:49,700 --> 00:07:53,700 I just rode the bus for fun, you know. 192 00:07:53,700 --> 00:07:56,466 - See the environment out there. 193 00:07:56,466 --> 00:07:57,933 I'm interested in what you said about 194 00:07:57,933 --> 00:08:00,733 the performance art giving way to what became comedy, 195 00:08:00,733 --> 00:08:02,900 or even "alternative comedy" is the phrase that we hear. 196 00:08:02,900 --> 00:08:05,233 You were part of a scene out there of people... 197 00:08:05,233 --> 00:08:07,633 We talked before about Patton Oswalt, 198 00:08:07,633 --> 00:08:09,866 somebody who you saw early, and who actually has 199 00:08:09,866 --> 00:08:12,733 recently, in his book, documented what that scene 200 00:08:12,733 --> 00:08:14,633 was like at the time, both in the Bay Area and 201 00:08:14,633 --> 00:08:16,600 then migrating down to Los Angeles. 202 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,233 Seems like a really exciting time, and a lot of 203 00:08:18,233 --> 00:08:21,666 really great people came out of that comedy world. 204 00:08:21,666 --> 00:08:24,033 - It really was, I feel very lucky 205 00:08:24,033 --> 00:08:28,433 because I was meeting comedians in San Francisco, 206 00:08:28,433 --> 00:08:30,700 because a lot of comedy clubs were closing, 207 00:08:30,700 --> 00:08:32,466 but the alternative scenes were starting, 208 00:08:32,466 --> 00:08:34,966 so they were mixing with local poets. 209 00:08:34,966 --> 00:08:39,166 And it was Patton Oswalt, Greg Behrendt, and then a 210 00:08:39,166 --> 00:08:43,000 group of people said, "We're going to LA to do live shows." 211 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,400 And I had no reason to go or not to go. 212 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:49,300 I just thought, "Well, that sounds fun, and 213 00:08:49,300 --> 00:08:51,033 "that's what I'm interested in doing... 214 00:08:51,033 --> 00:08:53,033 - That's the next thing to do. - [Mary Lynn] live shows." 215 00:08:53,033 --> 00:08:55,633 and it was Jack Black, 216 00:08:55,633 --> 00:08:56,966 and David Cross, 217 00:08:56,966 --> 00:09:00,566 and Will Ferrell, 218 00:09:00,566 --> 00:09:02,966 just tons of people, it was a really amazing scene. 219 00:09:02,966 --> 00:09:06,500 I felt really lucky to have happened 220 00:09:06,500 --> 00:09:07,933 into that group at that time. 221 00:09:07,933 --> 00:09:09,900 - How did your style develop? 222 00:09:09,900 --> 00:09:12,666 You are not the sort of person I imagine 223 00:09:12,666 --> 00:09:14,266 writing a bunch of jokes and then 224 00:09:14,266 --> 00:09:16,600 going out on stage and then, tell a joke. 225 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:19,000 Your personality is particular, 226 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,200 and your comedy is particular. 227 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,833 So how did your own understanding 228 00:09:23,833 --> 00:09:25,733 of your own version of comedy develop? 229 00:09:25,733 --> 00:09:28,933 - Well, in LA at that time, it was a great time to do comedy 230 00:09:28,933 --> 00:09:31,466 because everybody, the comedians... 231 00:09:31,466 --> 00:09:33,966 like Patton Oswalt, he was very polished, 232 00:09:33,966 --> 00:09:36,766 and he knew how to be funny, but in these smaller rooms, 233 00:09:36,766 --> 00:09:41,366 people were much more personal and the comedy was 234 00:09:41,366 --> 00:09:44,700 more storytelling and it was more therapeutic, almost. 235 00:09:44,700 --> 00:09:47,633 You would see comedians saying things that they 236 00:09:47,633 --> 00:09:51,833 would never have the opportunity to say in a comedy club 237 00:09:51,833 --> 00:09:54,833 where it was all about the joke and all about competing 238 00:09:54,833 --> 00:09:57,000 to be the best in that environment. 239 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,866 So that's what was really exciting to me, was that people, 240 00:09:59,866 --> 00:10:02,433 those moments between the joke where you see 241 00:10:02,433 --> 00:10:04,733 somebody's personality, and a lot of the shows 242 00:10:04,733 --> 00:10:07,600 at that time were all people's personality. 243 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:09,500 But for me in particular, 244 00:10:09,500 --> 00:10:11,333 I was just really... 245 00:10:11,333 --> 00:10:14,633 socially... 246 00:10:14,633 --> 00:10:17,233 kind of terrified, but for some reason, 247 00:10:17,233 --> 00:10:20,033 I was really drawn and compelled to perform. 248 00:10:20,033 --> 00:10:24,766 I think, looking back, it was sort of my own neuroses. 249 00:10:24,766 --> 00:10:28,733 I needed to do that in order...not to survive, 250 00:10:28,733 --> 00:10:31,900 not to be that dramatic, but it really was something 251 00:10:31,900 --> 00:10:35,700 I couldn't really...my personality is probably more 252 00:10:35,700 --> 00:10:39,033 of a painter, but I really needed to 253 00:10:39,033 --> 00:10:41,366 communicate and be around people. 254 00:10:41,366 --> 00:10:42,633 - It was an outlet for you. 255 00:10:42,633 --> 00:10:45,900 - It was an outlet in more ways than one. 256 00:10:45,900 --> 00:10:49,033 I was driven by needing the social scene and needing 257 00:10:49,033 --> 00:10:51,933 the creativity and needing the expression. 258 00:10:53,533 --> 00:10:55,533 - Were you influenced by anybody? 259 00:10:55,533 --> 00:11:00,300 I'm trying to think about an equivalent to your style... 260 00:11:00,300 --> 00:11:02,133 Steven Wright, somebody who was more of an 261 00:11:02,133 --> 00:11:04,500 observational person, who kind of comes at things 262 00:11:04,500 --> 00:11:06,766 from the side rather than the way you'd imagine. 263 00:11:06,766 --> 00:11:08,966 I'm trying to think about if there are people who 264 00:11:08,966 --> 00:11:11,300 you might have seen as influences or people who maybe 265 00:11:11,300 --> 00:11:12,566 you might have admired at that time and thought, 266 00:11:12,566 --> 00:11:14,700 "Well this is the kind of comedy I enjoy." 267 00:11:14,700 --> 00:11:16,333 - I was very much influenced by 268 00:11:16,333 --> 00:11:19,166 the people that were around me at that time. 269 00:11:19,166 --> 00:11:20,333 - Right, your contemporaries. 270 00:11:20,333 --> 00:11:22,033 - We'd talk backstage, it was 271 00:11:22,033 --> 00:11:25,200 Karen Kilgariff and Janeane Garofalo and 272 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:27,033 all the people we just mentioned. 273 00:11:27,033 --> 00:11:29,833 That was so exciting, to see people doing things 274 00:11:29,833 --> 00:11:33,066 that were out of the box and doing stuff because 275 00:11:33,066 --> 00:11:35,333 they felt like doing it, you know? 276 00:11:35,333 --> 00:11:37,633 - Jumping ahead now, I think about it, 277 00:11:37,633 --> 00:11:39,733 a lot of the people you've mentioned have 278 00:11:39,733 --> 00:11:42,666 gone on to be very mainstream big successes. 279 00:11:42,666 --> 00:11:44,966 Will Ferrell's the obvious example of that, 280 00:11:44,966 --> 00:11:48,166 Janeane Garofalo, David Cross, Karen Kilgariff, 281 00:11:48,166 --> 00:11:49,833 there were a number of other people who were 282 00:11:49,833 --> 00:11:52,066 associated with that scene in San Francisco 283 00:11:52,066 --> 00:11:54,166 or Los Angeles who went on to be part of either 284 00:11:54,166 --> 00:11:55,666 Mr. Show or the Ben Stiller Show. 285 00:11:55,666 --> 00:11:58,300 Before that, some of the people who were associated 286 00:11:58,300 --> 00:12:00,500 later with Larry Sanders, as you were, 287 00:12:00,500 --> 00:12:03,800 that's some extraordinary comedy you're mining. 288 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,666 Those people, and to see how that scene has become 289 00:12:06,666 --> 00:12:09,866 kind of the mainstream scene...it's been a real transition. 290 00:12:09,866 --> 00:12:11,466 And of course, you ended up on one of the most 291 00:12:11,466 --> 00:12:15,533 popular network shows of our lifetimes, right? 292 00:12:15,533 --> 00:12:17,166 - [Mary Lynn] Yes, that was... - [Evan] Hard to imagine? 293 00:12:17,166 --> 00:12:19,266 - Also, unexpected. 294 00:12:19,266 --> 00:12:21,766 - Something you didn't necessarily set out to do. 295 00:12:21,766 --> 00:12:26,100 - I was around for a lot of those early Mr. Shows. 296 00:12:26,100 --> 00:12:30,066 I don't know how much it really happens like this anymore, 297 00:12:30,066 --> 00:12:33,666 with the internet and people filming their own things 298 00:12:33,666 --> 00:12:37,300 and having the ability to quickly do that, 299 00:12:37,300 --> 00:12:39,933 but it was Bob Odenkirk and David Cross doing live shows 300 00:12:39,933 --> 00:12:44,033 to test the material that would become that TV show. 301 00:12:44,033 --> 00:12:47,366 And they would throw me in there and 302 00:12:47,366 --> 00:12:50,133 I was almost kind of like a mascot, 303 00:12:50,133 --> 00:12:52,633 I didn't really know what was going on. 304 00:12:52,633 --> 00:12:55,300 I loved performing, but I almost feel like it's 305 00:12:55,300 --> 00:12:58,166 only now that I'm a more well-rounded person 306 00:12:58,166 --> 00:13:00,700 and kind of putting together the pieces of... 307 00:13:00,700 --> 00:13:04,466 It's not all some big experimental art piece. 308 00:13:04,466 --> 00:13:06,733 - But if you look back at the chaos that was the 309 00:13:06,733 --> 00:13:08,966 basis for that show, as you describe it, it actually 310 00:13:08,966 --> 00:13:12,466 held together remarkably well and really was something. 311 00:13:12,466 --> 00:13:14,233 And people generally regarded it, 312 00:13:14,233 --> 00:13:15,600 I know there was a Rolling Stones story 313 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:16,933 that talked about it as one of the greatest 314 00:13:16,933 --> 00:13:18,133 sketch comedy shows of all time. 315 00:13:18,133 --> 00:13:19,800 - No, yeah, those guys were brilliant. 316 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,766 - Look at how influential it was on so much else. 317 00:13:22,766 --> 00:13:26,100 - Absolutely, I think I was very 318 00:13:26,100 --> 00:13:28,700 chaotic in my own 319 00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:30,366 approach, I didn't really know what was going on. 320 00:13:30,366 --> 00:13:33,033 Those guys were always brilliant and very focused 321 00:13:33,033 --> 00:13:37,500 and kind of magical together, worked very hard to make that. 322 00:13:37,500 --> 00:13:39,833 - I wanna ask you about Larry Sanders because that 323 00:13:39,833 --> 00:13:41,533 still looms large in everyone's mind, 324 00:13:41,533 --> 00:13:44,866 and you know you had a great opportunity there. 325 00:13:44,866 --> 00:13:46,733 And I wanna ask about how you got 24 326 00:13:46,733 --> 00:13:48,233 and the experience of making that program, 327 00:13:48,233 --> 00:13:50,833 because again, we have all now kind of embraced 328 00:13:50,833 --> 00:13:54,300 long format, episodic television, that kind of a drama 329 00:13:54,300 --> 00:13:56,333 you can throw a rock and hit one 330 00:13:56,333 --> 00:13:58,700 these days on television and off. 331 00:13:58,700 --> 00:14:00,266 24 was kind of revolutionary in 332 00:14:00,266 --> 00:14:01,966 its own way at the time that it came on. 333 00:14:01,966 --> 00:14:03,633 Talk about Larry Sanders. 334 00:14:03,633 --> 00:14:07,300 How daunting it must be to be with some of those guys, 335 00:14:07,300 --> 00:14:09,433 Shanlding and Rip Torn and Tambor 336 00:14:09,433 --> 00:14:12,000 and all those guys who are just amazing, even back then. 337 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,300 - It really was, and I feel very lucky that I was 338 00:14:14,300 --> 00:14:17,033 sort of able to learn on the job. 339 00:14:19,133 --> 00:14:23,333 Per episode, I would have a scene or two, 340 00:14:23,333 --> 00:14:25,466 or three, maybe, 341 00:14:25,466 --> 00:14:27,200 so it was just enough to keep me from 342 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,833 not completely freaking out and melting down 343 00:14:30,833 --> 00:14:35,533 because I really was learning while I was doing it. 344 00:14:35,533 --> 00:14:40,166 I remember I just learned so much about acting and comedy. 345 00:14:41,900 --> 00:14:46,400 There was one moment where Gary Shandling said to me, 346 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:50,533 it was some line of, 347 00:14:50,533 --> 00:14:52,966 "Yeah, I'm gonna do that later." 348 00:14:52,966 --> 00:14:55,500 Some normal line, and he looked at me 349 00:14:55,500 --> 00:14:58,400 and said, "What are you thinking?" 350 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,200 And I said, "I was thinking, I'll do that later." 351 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,133 Kind of just thinking just what I said. 352 00:15:05,133 --> 00:15:08,800 He's like, "No, well, but what else are you thinking about?" 353 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:11,433 He just called me out in that moment, 354 00:15:11,433 --> 00:15:13,166 and I sort of never looked back. 355 00:15:13,166 --> 00:15:16,566 He was telling me about subtext, which is 356 00:15:16,566 --> 00:15:20,400 the bedrock of being a good actor is that 357 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:22,500 maybe you have other things going on 358 00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:24,266 inside of you other than the thing 359 00:15:24,266 --> 00:15:27,433 that you're saying, and he completely recognized 360 00:15:27,433 --> 00:15:31,900 that I didn't have any other intentions or thoughts 361 00:15:31,900 --> 00:15:36,100 or feelings in that moment, and... 362 00:15:36,100 --> 00:15:39,833 again, I had already filmed a couple takes, and so... 363 00:15:39,833 --> 00:15:41,500 - Just changed everything. 364 00:15:41,500 --> 00:15:43,100 - It was really fun for me. 365 00:15:43,100 --> 00:15:46,366 And I had a proclivity for that, so I was going 366 00:15:46,366 --> 00:15:49,533 in the right direction, I just was very untrained. 367 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:51,266 - So how did you get from that to 24? 368 00:15:51,266 --> 00:15:52,833 If you think about Mr. Show and Larry Sanders, 369 00:15:52,833 --> 00:15:55,400 they're both subversive shows, 370 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:58,200 and they're clearly comedy shows. 371 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:00,466 24, subversive in its own way, 372 00:16:00,466 --> 00:16:02,333 but the exact opposite of those shows. 373 00:16:02,333 --> 00:16:05,000 - It's funny, because a lot of places I go, 374 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,566 people only know me from 24. 375 00:16:07,566 --> 00:16:10,233 I recently, a few years ago, did a guest spot on 376 00:16:10,233 --> 00:16:14,733 Modern Family, and one of the creators, 377 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,466 I said, "I think I know him from years ago, 378 00:16:18,466 --> 00:16:20,066 "and I don't know if he knows me. 379 00:16:20,066 --> 00:16:22,766 "I know they know me enough to give me this job." 380 00:16:22,766 --> 00:16:24,700 And he came and he sat down next to me and he goes, 381 00:16:24,700 --> 00:16:27,633 "Now, can you believe you were on 24?" 382 00:16:27,633 --> 00:16:29,766 And that was the way he said hi to me, 383 00:16:29,766 --> 00:16:32,400 and I just had a good laugh because... 384 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:34,266 - He knew you from the old days. 385 00:16:34,266 --> 00:16:36,266 - Yeah, and there's a lot of people in the business 386 00:16:36,266 --> 00:16:39,766 that are now sort of, "Oh, she's doing comedy again," 387 00:16:39,766 --> 00:16:42,066 because there's a huge chunk of time where 388 00:16:42,066 --> 00:16:44,033 I was just something 389 00:16:44,033 --> 00:16:46,300 completely different. - [Evan] You were just Chloe. 390 00:16:46,300 --> 00:16:47,233 So, how did that happen? 391 00:16:47,233 --> 00:16:49,366 How did it come to you, and how 392 00:16:49,366 --> 00:16:52,233 did you decide you wanted to do it? 393 00:16:52,233 --> 00:16:54,666 - I got a call from my agent and she said, 394 00:16:54,666 --> 00:16:57,466 "They want to read you for this." 395 00:16:57,466 --> 00:17:00,533 And I rarely got drama auditions, 396 00:17:00,533 --> 00:17:03,033 and I had recently had a horrible drama audition. 397 00:17:03,033 --> 00:17:07,366 I think it was for CSI or something... 398 00:17:07,366 --> 00:17:10,300 For like, you know, Abused Woman. 399 00:17:10,300 --> 00:17:12,833 - [Evan] Dead Body. - [Mary Lynn] Dead Whatever. 400 00:17:12,833 --> 00:17:16,133 It's weird because it's not that I... 401 00:17:16,133 --> 00:17:20,833 I believed in my ability, but it's almost 402 00:17:20,833 --> 00:17:24,600 the transition of coming into the audition room, 403 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:28,533 and once I did the part I believe I was good and fine, 404 00:17:28,533 --> 00:17:30,400 but it was walking in the room and going, 405 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,066 "Hey guys, so this woman in the scene is all..." 406 00:17:34,066 --> 00:17:38,466 I'm sure they were like, "What is wrong with this girl?" 407 00:17:38,466 --> 00:17:43,266 I was just being probably silly and uncomfortable and odd, 408 00:17:43,266 --> 00:17:46,566 and they were all so serious, 409 00:17:46,566 --> 00:17:49,200 and the part was so serious, 410 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:51,000 and I thought, "Well that was horrible, and 411 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:52,833 "I don't wanna do that again." 412 00:17:52,833 --> 00:17:54,500 - Not gonna get it, it's gonna be fine. 413 00:17:54,500 --> 00:17:56,900 - And so my agent said, "They really wanna see you." 414 00:17:56,900 --> 00:18:01,233 And I said, "Ah, it's hot today. 415 00:18:01,233 --> 00:18:03,666 "I don't wanna drive. 416 00:18:03,666 --> 00:18:05,400 "I just had this CSI thing." 417 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,100 And she said, "They really wanna see you." 418 00:18:07,100 --> 00:18:08,600 (sigh) Okay. 419 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:13,533 So, it's the next day and I watch two or three... 420 00:18:13,533 --> 00:18:15,933 and I started Season 3 - [Evan] You came in Season 3, 421 00:18:15,933 --> 00:18:17,333 you were not there in the beginning. 422 00:18:17,333 --> 00:18:19,000 - So it was already kind of a thing, 423 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,333 so I crammed as many episodes as I could 424 00:18:21,333 --> 00:18:23,700 before the meeting, and I go in there, 425 00:18:25,233 --> 00:18:29,000 and Joel Surnow, the creator, he meets me in the hallway. 426 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,366 This never happens, and again it's one of these 427 00:18:33,366 --> 00:18:35,233 awesome...he says, 428 00:18:35,233 --> 00:18:36,633 "Well, I think you're great, and 429 00:18:36,633 --> 00:18:38,300 "we wanna write a write a part for you." 430 00:18:38,300 --> 00:18:40,533 - We're gonna write a part for you. 431 00:18:41,033 --> 00:18:43,100 And there was a part on the page, 432 00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:45,700 but really there was nothing to it yet because 433 00:18:45,700 --> 00:18:47,700 every time they start a new season, they've gotta cast 434 00:18:47,700 --> 00:18:50,633 the whole...each different plot line 435 00:18:50,633 --> 00:18:52,066 they have a cast of characters, 436 00:18:52,066 --> 00:18:54,400 and there's always new people in the CTU, 437 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,666 and so it was just, "Yes, Jack." "No, Jack." 438 00:18:57,666 --> 00:19:01,500 And I said, "Well, thank you, I can go home now. 439 00:19:01,500 --> 00:19:03,000 "You just validated me whether..." 440 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,800 I didn't believe it was gonna happen necessarily, 441 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:07,700 but really, as an actor, you're like, 442 00:19:07,700 --> 00:19:10,766 "Great, that's gonna keep me going for another year or two." 443 00:19:10,766 --> 00:19:12,966 The fact that someone would even say that because 444 00:19:12,966 --> 00:19:15,333 you don't know if it's gonna happen or not. 445 00:19:15,333 --> 00:19:16,566 And we're talking and he says, 446 00:19:16,566 --> 00:19:17,900 "So, what do you think of the show?" 447 00:19:17,900 --> 00:19:19,333 I said, "I think it's great." 448 00:19:19,333 --> 00:19:21,433 He said, "You don't really watch the show, do you?" 449 00:19:21,433 --> 00:19:24,033 Because he knew that once people watch it, 450 00:19:24,033 --> 00:19:27,766 they love it, and since I had just watched a few episodes 451 00:19:27,766 --> 00:19:30,700 to kind of cram it I was like, "Yes, it's a fantastic show." 452 00:19:30,700 --> 00:19:32,400 And he called me out, he knew. 453 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,200 "But you're not really a 24 fan." 454 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:39,066 And I was like, "No, I just watched it last night." 455 00:19:39,066 --> 00:19:42,833 So he had seen me in a movie called Punch-Drunk Love, 456 00:19:42,833 --> 00:19:44,533 directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, 457 00:19:44,533 --> 00:19:47,333 and I play a bossy overbearing sister to 458 00:19:47,333 --> 00:19:50,566 Adam Sandler and he liked that quality, 459 00:19:50,566 --> 00:19:55,000 that special quality that I had, and... 460 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,000 I think it was... 461 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:58,300 - That may have been the best thing 462 00:19:58,300 --> 00:20:01,200 that came out of that whole movie, right? 463 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,666 It's a pretty good movie. 464 00:20:03,666 --> 00:20:06,066 - I like the movie. 465 00:20:06,066 --> 00:20:07,800 - But look what it did. 466 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:08,966 So he liked that, and he said, 467 00:20:08,966 --> 00:20:11,733 "I want Mary Lynn for this show." 468 00:20:11,733 --> 00:20:13,166 And they didn't imagine this as 469 00:20:13,166 --> 00:20:15,266 a character who would be on the show for... 470 00:20:15,266 --> 00:20:17,300 - [Mary Lynn] Absolutely not. - [Evan] You had the most 471 00:20:17,300 --> 00:20:19,566 episodes of any character in the 472 00:20:19,566 --> 00:20:22,000 history of the show other than Jack. 473 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:23,000 - It's amazing. - [Evan] Other than 474 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:24,066 Kiefer Sutherland. 475 00:20:24,066 --> 00:20:25,466 - And when I started it was like, 476 00:20:25,466 --> 00:20:26,666 "Okay, we want you to do two episodes." 477 00:20:26,666 --> 00:20:28,100 "Okay, we want you to do four episodes." 478 00:20:28,100 --> 00:20:30,566 And it was like that for a good three, four years. 479 00:20:30,566 --> 00:20:32,200 - No guarantee it was gonna keep going. 480 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:33,133 - No. 481 00:20:33,233 --> 00:20:35,466 What's Kiefer Sutherland like? 482 00:20:35,466 --> 00:20:36,700 Did you enjoy working with him? 483 00:20:36,700 --> 00:20:37,666 - [Mary Lynn] Yeah. - [Evan] You know, 484 00:20:37,666 --> 00:20:39,200 his reputation is kind of big... 485 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,066 What did you think about working with him? 486 00:20:42,066 --> 00:20:44,533 - He's great, he's one of those guys who... 487 00:20:45,466 --> 00:20:48,133 We all know his history as an actor. 488 00:20:48,133 --> 00:20:50,400 He's somebody who has the pedigree and the dedication, 489 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:54,033 and he comes out of a certain school of acting. 490 00:20:54,033 --> 00:20:59,033 I really learned a lot from him about how to... 491 00:21:00,833 --> 00:21:03,733 He's a star, he's the star of the show. 492 00:21:03,733 --> 00:21:05,633 He drives that show, he's the real thing. 493 00:21:05,633 --> 00:21:09,066 And for somebody like me, I tend to try 494 00:21:09,066 --> 00:21:11,800 to avoid things or, even things that I love, 495 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,700 I'm just like, "Nyuh, we'll see about that." 496 00:21:14,700 --> 00:21:17,300 And he's somebody who really jumps into it, 497 00:21:17,300 --> 00:21:19,366 and really has a dedication, and he sets the pace 498 00:21:19,366 --> 00:21:22,466 for that show, and I think that's a really... 499 00:21:22,466 --> 00:21:25,100 That's a really hard character to be, 500 00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:28,766 if you think about it, because half of 24 is... 501 00:21:28,766 --> 00:21:31,300 I don't wanna say ridiculous, it's an amazing show, 502 00:21:31,300 --> 00:21:32,666 half of it is like, unbelievable. 503 00:21:32,666 --> 00:21:33,633 - It's fantastical. 504 00:21:33,633 --> 00:21:35,100 - It's fantastical. You're like, 505 00:21:35,100 --> 00:21:36,566 "No way would that ever happen." 506 00:21:36,566 --> 00:21:40,833 The other half is rooted in real things that are happening. 507 00:21:40,833 --> 00:21:42,933 And he rides that line. 508 00:21:42,933 --> 00:21:45,533 - He threw himself fully into every episode. 509 00:21:45,533 --> 00:21:48,233 - But in a sense that he didn't... 510 00:21:48,233 --> 00:21:49,900 I don't know quite how to articulate it, 511 00:21:49,900 --> 00:21:53,900 but it's not like he...you believe him as that guy. 512 00:21:53,900 --> 00:21:56,633 He's not over the top, and he's not too understated. 513 00:21:56,633 --> 00:21:59,666 He knows how to play it, and I think there's 514 00:21:59,666 --> 00:22:02,200 very few people that can pull that off. 515 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,066 - Except that you made that character you, 516 00:22:05,066 --> 00:22:07,200 and indistinguishable from you, and in fact, 517 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,400 we've talked to you for a short little time here, 518 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:11,300 you get a sense of the personality that you have 519 00:22:11,300 --> 00:22:12,533 and the personality of the characters 520 00:22:12,533 --> 00:22:15,433 are not that different. - [Mary Lynn] Really? 521 00:22:15,433 --> 00:22:17,800 - Don't you think you made that 522 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:19,633 character to be more like you? 523 00:22:19,633 --> 00:22:21,033 - Yes. 524 00:22:21,033 --> 00:22:23,233 - Was the character necessarily written to be that way? 525 00:22:23,233 --> 00:22:24,533 Or did it just basically happen 526 00:22:24,533 --> 00:22:25,733 because of how you evolved it? 527 00:22:25,733 --> 00:22:29,366 - They wrote to me, and I did my version 528 00:22:29,366 --> 00:22:33,333 of what I would be like if I were a computer genius 529 00:22:33,333 --> 00:22:35,200 who could save the world from a terrorist attack. 530 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:36,633 - Right, nothing big, no. 531 00:22:36,633 --> 00:22:38,566 But if you go back to the time you were in art school, 532 00:22:38,566 --> 00:22:39,933 or the performance art you did, or the comedy scene 533 00:22:39,933 --> 00:22:41,900 on the West Coast, would you have imagined 534 00:22:41,900 --> 00:22:43,500 that this would have been the part 535 00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:44,866 that would have been the defining part? 536 00:22:44,866 --> 00:22:46,066 - [Mary Lynn] Never. - [Evan] You would agree 537 00:22:46,066 --> 00:22:47,400 that is the defining part of your career? 538 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:48,600 - [Mary Lynn] Yes. - [Evan] People probably 539 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:50,033 see you on the street and, if they're 540 00:22:50,033 --> 00:22:51,033 gonna yell anything, they'll probably yell, "Chloe." 541 00:22:51,033 --> 00:22:52,500 - Absolutely. 542 00:22:52,500 --> 00:22:54,500 - You're comfortable with that, you're good with that? 543 00:22:54,500 --> 00:22:56,700 - Sure, what am I gonna do? 544 00:22:56,700 --> 00:22:58,933 - Well, nothing. 545 00:22:58,933 --> 00:23:00,733 It wasn't the answer exactly that I was looking for. 546 00:23:00,733 --> 00:23:02,366 But that's okay. 547 00:23:02,366 --> 00:23:03,866 - I'm learning, I'm learning. 548 00:23:03,866 --> 00:23:05,000 - We have a couple minutes left. 549 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,866 So TV has been a big part of your... 550 00:23:06,866 --> 00:23:08,600 you've done a bunch of parts in movies... 551 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,133 - That was the worst...I give the worst answers. 552 00:23:11,133 --> 00:23:12,433 - No, that's okay, it's fine. I just keep going. 553 00:23:12,433 --> 00:23:15,466 - I'm such a petulant child, "Yeah, I dunno. 554 00:23:15,466 --> 00:23:18,766 "What do you think?" I'll work on that. 555 00:23:18,766 --> 00:23:20,866 - We'll just edit that out in post. 556 00:23:20,866 --> 00:23:25,266 - For my Oscars speech, "Yeah, cool, you guys. I guess." 557 00:23:25,266 --> 00:23:29,433 - You're continuing to work in TV, or what passes for TV. 558 00:23:29,433 --> 00:23:33,166 You had mentioned that you had just done a pilot for Amazon. 559 00:23:33,166 --> 00:23:35,333 - [Mary Lynn] Yes. - [Evan] I guess that's TV. 560 00:23:35,333 --> 00:23:36,966 Right? Do we think of Amazon and Netflix 561 00:23:36,966 --> 00:23:38,466 - [Mary Lynn] Sure is. - [Evan] ...and Hulu and 562 00:23:38,466 --> 00:23:43,033 all those non-connected, cable-corded shows as TV? 563 00:23:43,033 --> 00:23:46,266 - In Hollywood, in the world of getting acting jobs, 564 00:23:46,266 --> 00:23:48,800 it's as much TV as anything else. 565 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:50,966 - In fact, if you look at the award nominations, 566 00:23:50,966 --> 00:23:53,666 which you know are worth basically the statues 567 00:23:53,666 --> 00:23:55,633 that are produced for them, so what? 568 00:23:55,633 --> 00:23:58,966 But it's all Netflix and Amazon and a lot of the 569 00:23:58,966 --> 00:24:01,633 cable programs that maybe once upon a time 570 00:24:01,633 --> 00:24:03,966 wouldn't have been thought to be... 571 00:24:03,966 --> 00:24:08,733 - Right, from my end as an actor and a performer 572 00:24:08,733 --> 00:24:13,066 you look for interesting, good material that has integrity, 573 00:24:13,066 --> 00:24:16,266 and then you hope for eyeballs on it. 574 00:24:16,266 --> 00:24:18,166 Obviously you hope the project comes together, 575 00:24:18,166 --> 00:24:20,033 and then you want viewers, 576 00:24:20,033 --> 00:24:22,833 so that's the interesting part for me. 577 00:24:22,833 --> 00:24:25,300 I loved working with Amazon. 578 00:24:25,300 --> 00:24:28,133 They really took time and care 579 00:24:28,133 --> 00:24:30,666 to put together all the aspects of it. 580 00:24:30,666 --> 00:24:32,800 We'll see how it comes out, we'll see if people watch it. 581 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:34,633 - And the principal creative force behind that program 582 00:24:34,633 --> 00:24:38,000 was somebody who had been connected with the film Nebraska. 583 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:43,000 - Yes, the writer of the pilot wrote the movie Nebraska, 584 00:24:43,133 --> 00:24:47,266 the directors...the husband and wife team that directed 585 00:24:47,266 --> 00:24:50,766 Little Miss Sunshine, 586 00:24:50,766 --> 00:24:53,033 and it's about a kid who 587 00:24:53,033 --> 00:24:54,633 sees imaginary people. 588 00:24:54,633 --> 00:24:56,066 He's 19 years old. 589 00:24:56,066 --> 00:24:58,433 I play his mother, Chris Parnell plays his father, 590 00:24:58,433 --> 00:25:01,233 and we're very well-meaning, and we don't know whether 591 00:25:01,233 --> 00:25:06,066 to have him committed or not, and we support him 592 00:25:06,066 --> 00:25:08,800 but we let him know he's not normal, and... 593 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:10,000 - I'm guessing it's a comedy. 594 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:11,700 - It's a comedy, it's a very dry comedy. 595 00:25:11,700 --> 00:25:15,200 But the people that he's talking to, you see them 596 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,333 as an audience member, you see what he sees, 597 00:25:17,333 --> 00:25:22,333 so it was Shaquille O'Neal and Flea... 598 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:23,900 Actually, I don't know if I'm supposed to be 599 00:25:23,900 --> 00:25:26,700 saying this or not...you'll cut this out if I'm going 600 00:25:26,700 --> 00:25:28,800 to get in trouble, right? - [Evan] Nobody on PBS knows 601 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,066 who Flea is except for you and me, so it's okay. 602 00:25:31,066 --> 00:25:34,033 - I think that's supposed to be a surprise announcement 603 00:25:34,033 --> 00:25:36,433 for later, I got carried away. 604 00:25:38,333 --> 00:25:39,666 With the relaxed atmosphere here. 605 00:25:39,666 --> 00:25:41,633 - I like you carried away, that's good. 606 00:25:41,633 --> 00:25:44,300 Mary Lynn Raskjub, great to have a chance to talk to you 607 00:25:44,300 --> 00:25:46,900 and fun to go back and listen to your stories. 608 00:25:46,900 --> 00:25:48,466 - Thank you. Thanks for having me. 609 00:25:48,466 --> 00:25:50,233 - Good luck with everything you're doing. 610 00:25:50,233 --> 00:25:52,766 Mary Lynn Raskjub, thanks very much. 611 00:25:52,833 --> 00:25:55,200 - [Voiceover] We'd love to have you join us in the studio. 612 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,933 Visit our website at klru.org/overheard 613 00:25:58,933 --> 00:26:01,200 to find invitations to interviews, 614 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:03,300 Q and A's with our audience and guests, 615 00:26:03,300 --> 00:26:06,266 and an archive of past episodes. 616 00:26:06,333 --> 00:26:08,600 - The fictional TV show that's in Californication, 617 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,033 I play a writer on that show, and I was surrounded by men, 618 00:26:11,033 --> 00:26:16,033 and I really hated men, and instead of being nude 619 00:26:16,766 --> 00:26:18,933 and having sex like everybody does on that show 620 00:26:18,933 --> 00:26:23,333 I got to trade that for vomiting, so that was a really... 621 00:26:23,333 --> 00:26:25,433 - [Voiceover] Funding for Overheard with Evan Smith 622 00:26:25,433 --> 00:26:29,333 is provided in part by MFI Foundation, 623 00:26:29,333 --> 00:26:32,833 improving the quality of life within our community. 624 00:26:32,833 --> 00:26:35,200 Also by Hillco Partners, 625 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,633 a Texas government affairs consultancy. 626 00:26:37,633 --> 00:26:41,733 And by the Alice Keberg Reynolds Foundation.