August 24, 2023 • 26 mins
It's a real HONOR to have Devon Sorvari with us! She's Logan's big sister! She's a Huntzberger! She's engaged to Josh! She's here!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I Am all In.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Oh, Let's kiss you. I Am all in with Scott Patterson,
an iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Everybody, Scott Patterson I Am all In podcast, one on
one interview with Devin Servari. She first appeared as Honor
Huntsburger for four episodes two thousand and five two thousand
and six. First appearance season five, episode nineteen, But I'm
a Gilmour. Last appearance season six, episode twenty, Super Cool
(00:42):
Party People. Her character is Logan Huntsburger's sister. She's first
seen waiting in Logan's Sweet at Yale to be announced
that she's gonna marry Josh and that Logan needs to
come home for dinner so that the parents will be
in a good mood. She meets Rory for the first
time here too, and proceeds to spill and Garrison childhood
secrets about her brother Logan. Her bio very impressive by
(01:05):
the way. She was born in Ontario, Canada, to American parents.
Her family soon moved to New Mexico to be near
a very large Array Astronomical Radio Observatory, and then to Massachusetts.
She earned her equity card at age of eleven and
acted in productions in Boston, include many at Wheelock Family Theater.
(01:25):
She also danced leading roles at the Acting School of Ballet.
She graduated from Acton Boxboro Regional High School, moved to
New York City on her eighteenth birthday. She graduated from
the prestigious NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she
studied at Circle and Square Theater School and the Classical Studio.
She worked for many years in regional theater before touring
(01:48):
the country as Elaine Robinson in the first national tour
of the Graduate Wow. Missus Robinson was played on the
tour by Jerry Hall, Linda Gray, Lorraine Broco, Kelly Megillis
at separate times. They didn't play at all together at once, obviously.
Her subsequent move to Los Angeles introduced her to both
(02:09):
the Antist Theater Company, which became her theatrical home base,
and to her husband, actor Stephen Brand. In addition to
her work in theater, film and TV. Devon is an
audiobook narrator specializing in young adult fiction Ladies and Gentlemen.
The One and the Only Honor Huntsberger Devon Sarvari Hi, Devin, Hi,
(02:34):
how you doing.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I'm good?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I'm fine? In dandy, and thanks for coming on, very
very excited to talk to you. Your resume is very impressive,
and I want to get into all of that, but
let's get into this. How'd you start your career?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I guess technically, when I was eleven, I was taking
singing and acting classes at the Center for Performing Arts
in Maynard, Massachusetts. And the guy that was teaching the
drama class new people, and they were doing Brighton Beach
Memoirs in Stoughton, Massachusetts. And I was obviously right for
(03:17):
a Jewish character, of course, but I got the job.
I dyed my hair brown. I got my equity card
when I was eleven.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
But I.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I was born like this, like I always wanted to
do that, So I did school plays beforehand. I always
loved it. So I was just really, really lucky that
that opportunity came along.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
What was it about acting that grabbed you that's on
such a deep level at such a young age.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
You know, I think about that a lot, because I
would say, now, it's that my fundamental shyness makes it
easier to be someone else than myself. But when I
was little, that wasn't true. I was not shy when
I was little so I don't know. Maybe maybe I
just liked the attention when I was little, and now
(04:10):
it's the only way I can, I don't know, feel
as free to play or something. Yeah, yeah, I don't know.
I just I put on really Rosie in the backyard
with the other neighborhood kids, but I made them let
me sing all the parts, like yeah, how is that kid?
Speaker 1 (04:31):
It's always always a fascinating answer that I get when
I ask people that, because because I can't answer what
possessed me to do this crazy job, or except for
the love of exploring characters, the love of doing research
and knowing full well, I'm not going to get the
(04:51):
psychology of any character one hundred percent, or even fifty percent,
or maybe even twenty five percent. You're lucky if you
get ten percent, or you know, you get you get
some portals, You open some portals into a personality, and
something clicks, and then that's there's your performance. And it
could be such a little thing. It could be the shoes,
a piece of wardrobe, it could be a mannerism, it
could be something. Then then the whole flood, the floodgates
(05:14):
open up. That's what fascinated me about it.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And then and then once you once you know how
to get into another character, you just have you now
know what that kind of person is like you you
just broaden your empathy across the board. The more the
more kinds of people you figure out how to get into,
the more you're like, oh right, okay, I recognize you.
I recognize you, you know, m m yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
And also you learn when you have your process, you
learn what you know. It could still fascinates you, but
there's no you know, there's no way you could play
that role or do it justice. And you have to
be honest with yourself. There's you can't play everything. And
if you're one of those people that can, you know,
there are those people. But you know, it always gave
me this this reality smacking me in the face. Ay, Scott,
(06:05):
you're not going to do this role. But there's you
can still be fascinated with the character, you.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Know, Yeah, yeah, I mean at n YU, we played
all the roles. We played old men and like, and
that was great and all, but then you get out
of school and it's like, well, no, here's who you're
going to play. And if you're if you're lucky, if
you're lucky, you get to play the your type of parts.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
So did you do a lot of Shakespeare at the
n YU?
Speaker 2 (06:37):
I did. My third year I did Shakespeare Intensive. But
the first two years I was at Circle in the
Square Theater school, which is great because they do it's
like a Schmortes board of all sorts of techniques, which
I really liked. And then for the third year it
was a Shakespeare intensive.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Did you know I did a I did a. I
actually saw Diane Veanora at the Public Theater doing the
lead role in Hamlet, and then I did a film
with her. So I just I mean, I was just like,
I was so annoying. I just hammered her with questions
every day at lunch. She's like Scott really again? But
she fascinated me. And did you ever get to play
(07:15):
a male Shakespeare role in college?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I did. I played Prince hal in Henry the Fourth
Part one in college and it was really fun. I mean,
who knows what it was like, but as an experience,
a growth experience, it was great.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
And what do you think it gave you over people
that hasn't have not studied classical theater? You think it
gave you a leg up?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Well, certainly it's difficult for me not to segue into
audio books, which is my that's my main gig these
days and has been for a while, so I'm going
to do it. When I first started, I was doing
this twenty four hour science fiction book and I it
(08:04):
was really hard, and it was long nights, and I
at one point I was like, oh my god, I wouldn't.
I could not do this. If I hadn't been to
NYU and specifically the classical studio, I couldn't do it.
I just wouldn't. My mouth wouldn't be able to do it.
My endurance, my focus, No way would I've been able
(08:25):
to do that. And I felt really grateful for that.
And I also felt like having done Shakespeare gave me
a lot of confidence just in general, like, well, if
I can do that, I can probably play nervous shy
Girl number two. You know. So it works. It suited me.
(08:47):
I loved it, and it also was like the right
path for me, right.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah. Every young actor that approaches me, whether I'm interviewing
somebody or they asked me, how do I embark on
her career? I said just I said, just study your
Shakespeare said, just nail it and own it and know
that if you go to London they're gonna mock you.
And just fight the good fight and.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Us anyway, I have a go study with the best
and don't settle for less.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
And really own that stuff and then let the business
chase you. You know, we just saw your character on Her
and you came on like a tornado onto the screen.
And as soon as I saw this episode, I I
I called my executive producer. I said, get her on
(09:39):
the show. She's she's something, She's she's one of these
great actresses that got a small role on a great
show and I want to talk to her. And I
didn't know your resume, but I wasn't surprised when I
when I read off the list. But anyway, let's talk
about the dinner scene, the class dinner scene. It's probably
(10:02):
my favorite scene in all of Gilmour Girls. And there's
only well there's Logan and Rory in the scene, but
the woman who played your mother or the grandfather, I
mean the dialogue. It was hysterical. Yes, it was just
the funniest. What do you remember about filming that?
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Oh, well, it was the first. I'm sure you've done
many a dinner scene. It was my first time doing
a dinner scene on camera, and man's that slow.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, since endless, those days are endless.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
There's just so much coverage. It's just unbelievable. It just
takes forever, just a scene that just zips by so delightfully.
I was like, oh boy, wow, this.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
This took all day.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
But it was yeah. I mean, other than that, it
was it was I forget I should remember where we were.
It was in a gorgeous place. It was just kind
of nice to be and because I think there were
so many people at the table, it was a nice
opportunity for me to get to watch people working. There
was so much that was that I was not in,
(11:11):
but I was still there, so it was like a
little mini workshop. How does she make that look so easy?
How she make that look so funny?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
You know exactly? Yeah, it really was a case. It
was like a masterclass of acting. That whole thing. That
scene was just amazing. I rewatched it many times. First
down set. You remember your first down set?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Tell us what it's like, Well, it's a blur, it was.
It was well. First of all, I was a huge
fan of the show before getting the job, and I
had almost no on camera experience. So I was both
a fangirl and a nervous wreck, so I was amped up.
(12:00):
But what I remember people being extremely kind, maybe because
they were like, oh my god, this girl needs help,
but I remember everyone being really gentle and kind and supportive.
So yeah, it's a blur. It is a blur. Though.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
What about meeting Matt Zuger for the first time? Tell
us about that.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
He was great? He wasn't We didn't like hang out
much beforehand, but but again, he seemed he I could
tell that he could tell that I was nervous, so
he was like making sure. I was like, okay, you
got it, you got it. He was taking care of
me a little bit.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
But yeah, yeah that's Maddie. That sounds like Maddie. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
It was great, It was It was a really it
was the scene the first time you see me is
when I'm going to the dorm and yeah, so that
was my first scene, you know, the way we shot it,
that was the first one.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Right. We have some questions as to why Logan didn't
have a key to the house. Oh god, right, why
did he have to knock or ring the bell? It's
his home, that's right.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
I never thought of that. That's such a good idea.
I mean, obviously, so I could have an.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Entrance, right exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
That's the real reason.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
That's the real reason, and that is that's the conclusion
we all came to. Finally we had to get her
into the scene. How are we going to do it?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yeah, that's also just one little anecdote about the coming
to the door scene. Yeah. I was really excited to
have gotten this job because I speak very quickly naturally,
and I was like, yeah, I was finally the show
for me where I can speak as fast as I want.
That scene where I opened the door, first note, I
get slow down.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
No, that's the first person we have ever interviewed that
got a note to slow down.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I was talking too fast for the Gilmore girl. I
couldn't believe it.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
I mean I do believe it, because listen, but it
was a bit of a shock.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I'm telling you. We got to call the Guinness Book
of World Records because that's got to be a land
speed record on talking speed. You might be the fastest
talker in the world.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Where do I get my prize?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
We'll be in touch. Okay, good, We're going to we're
going to get on this man. Maybe we'll just have
you back on do the ceremony and present you with
the plaque and the check and the whole.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Deal, and I'll have a ten thousand word acceptance speech.
It'll be over in two minutes.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And if you don't, they'll take everything away from you.
So did you know when you booked the job initially
how long you were going to have the job for
or did you feel pressure to do a good job
so they'd bring your character back?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I did not. I think it was like possible recurring,
it said on the breakdown. So I didn't know, and
it was it was a while. I think maybe there
was a season break. Anyway, it was a while between
the first one and getting the call for the second one.
(15:33):
So I did. I didn't know what to expect. I mean,
I'd never done anything like this before. I didn't like
when I didn't immediately have all the episodes and all
the dates. When I showed up on day one, I
was like, well, I don't know, maybe it'll never happen.
Maybe it's just the one who knows. So each each
I did four, and so each time the next episode
came along, it was an extremely welcome call for me,
(15:59):
especially episode the second one I did the second episode.
That call came at an excellent time, so I was
very grateful.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
I'm glad they took good carry. Everybody took good carrier.
That's great. Your husband's and actor. Did you two meet
on the set of a show or movie you did together,
or how'd you guys meet?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
We met doing a play. I'm a member of the
NTS Theater Company classical theater company out here in LA
and we were doing Noel Coward's Tonight at eight thirty,
which is actually a collection of short plays. We did
eight of them and rep over two different nights, so
it was this big, whole complicated thing. And ants used
(16:40):
to do double casting all the time, so we needed
twice the actors, and we needed more people who could
do English accents. And the autistic director at the time
had coached him separately. She asked him to come in
as a guest star, and I.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Kept him and you cast him as the lead.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I cast him as Ma Lee.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
In the movie of Your Life. Yeah, and I you
know you talked about your audio books, uh at the
top of this, tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
So that came about also through my theater company audiobook
one one producer in particular was like, I bet if
people can do Shakespeare, they can do audio books. And
so he would call the theater asking for people to
audition for various projects. And he called and I answered
the phone one day and he was calling for another
(17:40):
woman's number, and I was like, yes, I will give
that to you if you let me audition too, which
was uncharacteristically cheeky of me, but I did it anyway.
He got that one, but I got the next one,
and so yeah, So it was just it was because
(18:01):
of theater company that I got introduced to the first
the first company, and then another another actor at the
company introduced me to a really big producer in town.
And then it was like a slow build for a
long time until a couple of years ago when I
picked up a new client that allowed me to quit
(18:24):
my day job.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
There you go, good, good, good good. You played Elaine
Robinson in a stage version of The Graduate, one of
my favorite old time movies, one of my favorite all
time lead characters. Tell us what that was like. Did
you see the movie first you? Did you avoid the
(18:46):
movie or did you did you want to see.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
The movie, and oh I had seen it.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
You had already seen multiple.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Times before, and I agree that it's a brilliant thing.
I didn't rewatch it when I got the job. I
didn't rewatch it because the play is based more closely
upon the book. The film has a different tone than
the book, particularly in the main character of Benjamin. In
(19:15):
the book, he's a golden boy, you know, whatever your
image of a California golden boy.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Mike Nichols wanted Dustin Hoffman, right, yes.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
So, and I and I think that was a great choice.
The movies, absolutely, but the so the play is a
little but.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
It's a whole different film. I mean, it's just a
completely different Dustin took it into areas that it couldn't
possibly have been taken into totally.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Yeah. So so no, I didn't rewatch it for that reason,
and I didn't want to. I think I'm susceptible to
copying performances that I like, so I didn't want to
do that. So yeah, but it was amazing. We were
on It was a year. We got toured all around
the country. I had four different missus Robinson's, the first
(20:03):
of whom was Jerry Hall.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
What was she likes she's not an actor, but did
she pull it off?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
She yes, anything, anything she did would have been right
because she's this crazy. She was like London and Texas,
shake and bake. She's amazing. She It was a lot
of fun, just sort of standing in awe watching her
(20:31):
stride through the world.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Linda Gray, Lorraine broco Kelly McGillis. Wow, what was Lorraine
brocco Is? Died in the World New York Actors Studio. Badass.
You know, tell us, tell us what she was like
to work with.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
You know that she was such a because I think
she came right after Jerry, just such a such a change,
you know, she was basically I remember she was super cool.
She wasn't with us too long. I think maybe two
months or something. She was just so cool. I remember
we were on we were heading to the theater one
(21:11):
day and I was like, oh my god, those are
such cool sunglasses. Her jacket is so cool. And I
was like, oh my god, I'm picking this woman apart
and just making notes like I'm going to be her.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Sure, she gave a she was she was ferocious as
Miss Robinson.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Wow, what a role. Yeah, who played Benjamin in your version.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
It started with Rider Strong, right Strong was our first
Benjamin for the first three months for all of rehearsal
tech Uh, San Francisco, La San Diego. I think he
so he was. He was our first one, and then John,
but he was only scheduled to do a certain amount
of time, and then Jonathan, an actor named Jonathan Kaplan
(21:57):
came in and took over for the the other eight
months or something.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
So we're gonna play a little game called rapid Fire,
which is not necessarily rapid it all. I'm just going
to ask you some questions related to that thing we're
not supposed to be talking about Gilmore Sure, okay, all right?
You ready? Here we go.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I hope I know any of the answers. We'll see.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
If you don't know, I'll give you the answers no worse.
How do you like your coffee.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Black?
Speaker 1 (22:30):
There you go? Have you binged the entire Gilmore Girls series?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
I have not?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Are your team Logan Team Jess or Team Dean Team Logan?
There you go? We love Logan on the podcast, We
love Logan. Uh. What would you order at Luke Steiner?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Uh? Coffee coffee, coffee, coffee.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Coffee Harvard or Yale.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Oh what what did you think? You thought I was
gonna say Yale? Didn't I did? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Because a Yale rap.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
No, I should have said Yale. That would have been
more in line. It would have been more on.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Said Harvard?
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Why? Because I grew up in Massachusetts and like that
was the fanciest one. There you go, and I have
like a little bit of a snob, even though I
couldn't have gone to Harvard.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
A lot of people, a lot of people that have
gone to Harvard shouldn't have gone to Harvard. Who from
Gilmour would you not want to be stuck on a
desert island.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
With oh gosh, oh that's copyrighted.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Oh no, I would not be on a desert island
Laura because she would drink all the coffee.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
There you go. Who would you want to be stuck
on a desert island? Let's be fair.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Suki?
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Why Suki? Because she could she could cook up a
storm and keep you in stitches.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Yeah, we'd find Yeah, she can cook up a storm
and keep me in stitches. Yeah, we'd find like edible
things growing and she would like, wow, watch this and
then she'd make it right.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Best memory of Gilmore Girls.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Rapid fire if I start moving, that count as an answer.
Best memory of Gilmore Girls Bride'smaids revisited episode The Wedding
Dress Day.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Gotcha? Okay, show your binge watching right now.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Oh, Couple's Therapy.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Gotcha? Cast member you texted most recently?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Oh, Nick Holmes.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Nick, We just talked to him. Nice something in your life.
You are all in on storytelling. Beautiful Devin Sorvari, brilliant
talking to you. We would love to have you back.
Good luck with everything, Thank you for your time.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Thank you very much. This has been a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Oh, absolute pleasure on our part. And and good luck
with everything. Well, hopefully talk to you very soon. Okay,
all right, bye, Hey everybody, and don't forget Follow us
(25:48):
on Instagram at I Am All In podcast and email
us at Gilmour at iHeartRadio dot com.
I Am all In.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Oh, Let's kiss you. I Am all in with Scott Patterson,
an iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Everybody, Scott Patterson I Am all In podcast, one on
one interview with Devin Servari. She first appeared as Honor
Huntsburger for four episodes two thousand and five two thousand
and six. First appearance season five, episode nineteen, But I'm
a Gilmour. Last appearance season six, episode twenty, Super Cool
(00:42):
Party People. Her character is Logan Huntsburger's sister. She's first
seen waiting in Logan's Sweet at Yale to be announced
that she's gonna marry Josh and that Logan needs to
come home for dinner so that the parents will be
in a good mood. She meets Rory for the first
time here too, and proceeds to spill and Garrison childhood
secrets about her brother Logan. Her bio very impressive by
(01:05):
the way. She was born in Ontario, Canada, to American parents.
Her family soon moved to New Mexico to be near
a very large Array Astronomical Radio Observatory, and then to Massachusetts.
She earned her equity card at age of eleven and
acted in productions in Boston, include many at Wheelock Family Theater.
(01:25):
She also danced leading roles at the Acting School of Ballet.
She graduated from Acton Boxboro Regional High School, moved to
New York City on her eighteenth birthday. She graduated from
the prestigious NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she
studied at Circle and Square Theater School and the Classical Studio.
She worked for many years in regional theater before touring
(01:48):
the country as Elaine Robinson in the first national tour
of the Graduate Wow. Missus Robinson was played on the
tour by Jerry Hall, Linda Gray, Lorraine Broco, Kelly Megillis
at separate times. They didn't play at all together at once, obviously.
Her subsequent move to Los Angeles introduced her to both
(02:09):
the Antist Theater Company, which became her theatrical home base,
and to her husband, actor Stephen Brand. In addition to
her work in theater, film and TV. Devon is an
audiobook narrator specializing in young adult fiction Ladies and Gentlemen.
The One and the Only Honor Huntsberger Devon Sarvari Hi, Devin, Hi,
(02:34):
how you doing.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I'm good?
Speaker 3 (02:36):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I'm fine? In dandy, and thanks for coming on, very
very excited to talk to you. Your resume is very impressive,
and I want to get into all of that, but
let's get into this. How'd you start your career?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I guess technically, when I was eleven, I was taking
singing and acting classes at the Center for Performing Arts
in Maynard, Massachusetts. And the guy that was teaching the
drama class new people, and they were doing Brighton Beach
Memoirs in Stoughton, Massachusetts. And I was obviously right for
(03:17):
a Jewish character, of course, but I got the job.
I dyed my hair brown. I got my equity card
when I was eleven.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
But I.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
I was born like this, like I always wanted to
do that, So I did school plays beforehand. I always
loved it. So I was just really, really lucky that
that opportunity came along.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
What was it about acting that grabbed you that's on
such a deep level at such a young age.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
You know, I think about that a lot, because I
would say, now, it's that my fundamental shyness makes it
easier to be someone else than myself. But when I
was little, that wasn't true. I was not shy when
I was little so I don't know. Maybe maybe I
just liked the attention when I was little, and now
(04:10):
it's the only way I can, I don't know, feel
as free to play or something. Yeah, yeah, I don't know.
I just I put on really Rosie in the backyard
with the other neighborhood kids, but I made them let
me sing all the parts, like yeah, how is that kid?
Speaker 1 (04:31):
It's always always a fascinating answer that I get when
I ask people that, because because I can't answer what
possessed me to do this crazy job, or except for
the love of exploring characters, the love of doing research
and knowing full well, I'm not going to get the
(04:51):
psychology of any character one hundred percent, or even fifty percent,
or maybe even twenty five percent. You're lucky if you
get ten percent, or you know, you get you get
some portals, You open some portals into a personality, and
something clicks, and then that's there's your performance. And it
could be such a little thing. It could be the shoes,
a piece of wardrobe, it could be a mannerism, it
could be something. Then then the whole flood, the floodgates
(05:14):
open up. That's what fascinated me about it.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And then and then once you once you know how
to get into another character, you just have you now
know what that kind of person is like you you
just broaden your empathy across the board. The more the
more kinds of people you figure out how to get into,
the more you're like, oh right, okay, I recognize you.
I recognize you, you know, m m yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
And also you learn when you have your process, you
learn what you know. It could still fascinates you, but
there's no you know, there's no way you could play
that role or do it justice. And you have to
be honest with yourself. There's you can't play everything. And
if you're one of those people that can, you know,
there are those people. But you know, it always gave
me this this reality smacking me in the face. Ay, Scott,
(06:05):
you're not going to do this role. But there's you
can still be fascinated with the character, you.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Know, Yeah, yeah, I mean at n YU, we played
all the roles. We played old men and like, and
that was great and all, but then you get out
of school and it's like, well, no, here's who you're
going to play. And if you're if you're lucky, if
you're lucky, you get to play the your type of parts.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
So did you do a lot of Shakespeare at the
n YU?
Speaker 2 (06:37):
I did. My third year I did Shakespeare Intensive. But
the first two years I was at Circle in the
Square Theater school, which is great because they do it's
like a Schmortes board of all sorts of techniques, which
I really liked. And then for the third year it
was a Shakespeare intensive.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Did you know I did a I did a. I
actually saw Diane Veanora at the Public Theater doing the
lead role in Hamlet, and then I did a film
with her. So I just I mean, I was just like,
I was so annoying. I just hammered her with questions
every day at lunch. She's like Scott really again? But
she fascinated me. And did you ever get to play
(07:15):
a male Shakespeare role in college?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I did. I played Prince hal in Henry the Fourth
Part one in college and it was really fun. I mean,
who knows what it was like, but as an experience,
a growth experience, it was great.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
And what do you think it gave you over people
that hasn't have not studied classical theater? You think it
gave you a leg up?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Well, certainly it's difficult for me not to segue into
audio books, which is my that's my main gig these
days and has been for a while, so I'm going
to do it. When I first started, I was doing
this twenty four hour science fiction book and I it
(08:04):
was really hard, and it was long nights, and I
at one point I was like, oh my god, I wouldn't.
I could not do this. If I hadn't been to
NYU and specifically the classical studio, I couldn't do it.
I just wouldn't. My mouth wouldn't be able to do it.
My endurance, my focus, No way would I've been able
(08:25):
to do that. And I felt really grateful for that.
And I also felt like having done Shakespeare gave me
a lot of confidence just in general, like, well, if
I can do that, I can probably play nervous shy
Girl number two. You know. So it works. It suited me.
(08:47):
I loved it, and it also was like the right
path for me, right.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Yeah. Every young actor that approaches me, whether I'm interviewing
somebody or they asked me, how do I embark on
her career? I said just I said, just study your
Shakespeare said, just nail it and own it and know
that if you go to London they're gonna mock you.
And just fight the good fight and.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Us anyway, I have a go study with the best
and don't settle for less.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
And really own that stuff and then let the business
chase you. You know, we just saw your character on Her
and you came on like a tornado onto the screen.
And as soon as I saw this episode, I I
I called my executive producer. I said, get her on
(09:39):
the show. She's she's something, She's she's one of these
great actresses that got a small role on a great
show and I want to talk to her. And I
didn't know your resume, but I wasn't surprised when I
when I read off the list. But anyway, let's talk
about the dinner scene, the class dinner scene. It's probably
(10:02):
my favorite scene in all of Gilmour Girls. And there's
only well there's Logan and Rory in the scene, but
the woman who played your mother or the grandfather, I
mean the dialogue. It was hysterical. Yes, it was just
the funniest. What do you remember about filming that?
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Oh, well, it was the first. I'm sure you've done
many a dinner scene. It was my first time doing
a dinner scene on camera, and man's that slow.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, since endless, those days are endless.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
There's just so much coverage. It's just unbelievable. It just
takes forever, just a scene that just zips by so delightfully.
I was like, oh boy, wow, this.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
This took all day.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
But it was yeah. I mean, other than that, it
was it was I forget I should remember where we were.
It was in a gorgeous place. It was just kind
of nice to be and because I think there were
so many people at the table, it was a nice
opportunity for me to get to watch people working. There
was so much that was that I was not in,
(11:11):
but I was still there, so it was like a
little mini workshop. How does she make that look so easy?
How she make that look so funny?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
You know exactly? Yeah, it really was a case. It
was like a masterclass of acting. That whole thing. That
scene was just amazing. I rewatched it many times. First
down set. You remember your first down set?
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Tell us what it's like, Well, it's a blur, it was.
It was well. First of all, I was a huge
fan of the show before getting the job, and I
had almost no on camera experience. So I was both
a fangirl and a nervous wreck, so I was amped up.
(12:00):
But what I remember people being extremely kind, maybe because
they were like, oh my god, this girl needs help,
but I remember everyone being really gentle and kind and supportive.
So yeah, it's a blur. It is a blur. Though.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
What about meeting Matt Zuger for the first time? Tell
us about that.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
He was great? He wasn't We didn't like hang out
much beforehand, but but again, he seemed he I could
tell that he could tell that I was nervous, so
he was like making sure. I was like, okay, you
got it, you got it. He was taking care of
me a little bit.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
But yeah, yeah that's Maddie. That sounds like Maddie. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
It was great, It was It was a really it
was the scene the first time you see me is
when I'm going to the dorm and yeah, so that
was my first scene, you know, the way we shot it,
that was the first one.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Right. We have some questions as to why Logan didn't
have a key to the house. Oh god, right, why
did he have to knock or ring the bell? It's
his home, that's right.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
I never thought of that. That's such a good idea.
I mean, obviously, so I could have an.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
Entrance, right exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
That's the real reason.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
That's the real reason, and that is that's the conclusion
we all came to. Finally we had to get her
into the scene. How are we going to do it?
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yeah, that's also just one little anecdote about the coming
to the door scene. Yeah. I was really excited to
have gotten this job because I speak very quickly naturally,
and I was like, yeah, I was finally the show
for me where I can speak as fast as I want.
That scene where I opened the door, first note, I
get slow down.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
No, that's the first person we have ever interviewed that
got a note to slow down.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I was talking too fast for the Gilmore girl. I
couldn't believe it.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
I mean I do believe it, because listen, but it
was a bit of a shock.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I'm telling you. We got to call the Guinness Book
of World Records because that's got to be a land
speed record on talking speed. You might be the fastest
talker in the world.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Where do I get my prize?
Speaker 1 (14:34):
We'll be in touch. Okay, good, We're going to we're
going to get on this man. Maybe we'll just have
you back on do the ceremony and present you with
the plaque and the check and the whole.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Deal, and I'll have a ten thousand word acceptance speech.
It'll be over in two minutes.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And if you don't, they'll take everything away from you.
So did you know when you booked the job initially
how long you were going to have the job for
or did you feel pressure to do a good job
so they'd bring your character back?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
I did not. I think it was like possible recurring,
it said on the breakdown. So I didn't know, and
it was it was a while. I think maybe there
was a season break. Anyway, it was a while between
the first one and getting the call for the second one.
(15:33):
So I did. I didn't know what to expect. I mean,
I'd never done anything like this before. I didn't like
when I didn't immediately have all the episodes and all
the dates. When I showed up on day one, I
was like, well, I don't know, maybe it'll never happen.
Maybe it's just the one who knows. So each each
I did four, and so each time the next episode
came along, it was an extremely welcome call for me,
(15:59):
especially episode the second one I did the second episode.
That call came at an excellent time, so I was
very grateful.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
I'm glad they took good carry. Everybody took good carrier.
That's great. Your husband's and actor. Did you two meet
on the set of a show or movie you did together,
or how'd you guys meet?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
We met doing a play. I'm a member of the
NTS Theater Company classical theater company out here in LA
and we were doing Noel Coward's Tonight at eight thirty,
which is actually a collection of short plays. We did
eight of them and rep over two different nights, so
it was this big, whole complicated thing. And ants used
(16:40):
to do double casting all the time, so we needed
twice the actors, and we needed more people who could
do English accents. And the autistic director at the time
had coached him separately. She asked him to come in
as a guest star, and I.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Kept him and you cast him as the lead.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I cast him as Ma Lee.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
In the movie of Your Life. Yeah, and I you
know you talked about your audio books, uh at the
top of this, tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
So that came about also through my theater company audiobook
one one producer in particular was like, I bet if
people can do Shakespeare, they can do audio books. And
so he would call the theater asking for people to
audition for various projects. And he called and I answered
the phone one day and he was calling for another
(17:40):
woman's number, and I was like, yes, I will give
that to you if you let me audition too, which
was uncharacteristically cheeky of me, but I did it anyway.
He got that one, but I got the next one,
and so yeah, So it was just it was because
(18:01):
of theater company that I got introduced to the first
the first company, and then another another actor at the
company introduced me to a really big producer in town.
And then it was like a slow build for a
long time until a couple of years ago when I
picked up a new client that allowed me to quit
(18:24):
my day job.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
There you go, good, good, good good. You played Elaine
Robinson in a stage version of The Graduate, one of
my favorite old time movies, one of my favorite all
time lead characters. Tell us what that was like. Did
you see the movie first you? Did you avoid the
(18:46):
movie or did you did you want to see.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
The movie, and oh I had seen it.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
You had already seen multiple.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Times before, and I agree that it's a brilliant thing.
I didn't rewatch it when I got the job. I
didn't rewatch it because the play is based more closely
upon the book. The film has a different tone than
the book, particularly in the main character of Benjamin. In
(19:15):
the book, he's a golden boy, you know, whatever your
image of a California golden boy.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Mike Nichols wanted Dustin Hoffman, right, yes.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
So, and I and I think that was a great choice.
The movies, absolutely, but the so the play is a
little but.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
It's a whole different film. I mean, it's just a
completely different Dustin took it into areas that it couldn't
possibly have been taken into totally.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Yeah. So so no, I didn't rewatch it for that reason,
and I didn't want to. I think I'm susceptible to
copying performances that I like, so I didn't want to
do that. So yeah, but it was amazing. We were
on It was a year. We got toured all around
the country. I had four different missus Robinson's, the first
(20:03):
of whom was Jerry Hall.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
What was she likes she's not an actor, but did
she pull it off?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
She yes, anything, anything she did would have been right
because she's this crazy. She was like London and Texas,
shake and bake. She's amazing. She It was a lot
of fun, just sort of standing in awe watching her
(20:31):
stride through the world.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Linda Gray, Lorraine broco Kelly McGillis. Wow, what was Lorraine
brocco Is? Died in the World New York Actors Studio. Badass.
You know, tell us, tell us what she was like
to work with.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
You know that she was such a because I think
she came right after Jerry, just such a such a change,
you know, she was basically I remember she was super cool.
She wasn't with us too long. I think maybe two
months or something. She was just so cool. I remember
we were on we were heading to the theater one
(21:11):
day and I was like, oh my god, those are
such cool sunglasses. Her jacket is so cool. And I
was like, oh my god, I'm picking this woman apart
and just making notes like I'm going to be her.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Sure, she gave a she was she was ferocious as
Miss Robinson.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Wow, what a role. Yeah, who played Benjamin in your version.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
It started with Rider Strong, right Strong was our first
Benjamin for the first three months for all of rehearsal
tech Uh, San Francisco, La San Diego. I think he
so he was. He was our first one, and then John,
but he was only scheduled to do a certain amount
of time, and then Jonathan, an actor named Jonathan Kaplan
(21:57):
came in and took over for the the other eight
months or something.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
So we're gonna play a little game called rapid Fire,
which is not necessarily rapid it all. I'm just going
to ask you some questions related to that thing we're
not supposed to be talking about Gilmore Sure, okay, all right?
You ready? Here we go.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
I hope I know any of the answers. We'll see.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
If you don't know, I'll give you the answers no worse.
How do you like your coffee.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Black?
Speaker 1 (22:30):
There you go? Have you binged the entire Gilmore Girls series?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
I have not?
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Are your team Logan Team Jess or Team Dean Team Logan?
There you go? We love Logan on the podcast, We
love Logan. Uh. What would you order at Luke Steiner?
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Uh? Coffee coffee, coffee, coffee.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Coffee Harvard or Yale.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Oh what what did you think? You thought I was
gonna say Yale? Didn't I did? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Because a Yale rap.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
No, I should have said Yale. That would have been
more in line. It would have been more on.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Said Harvard?
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Why? Because I grew up in Massachusetts and like that
was the fanciest one. There you go, and I have
like a little bit of a snob, even though I
couldn't have gone to Harvard.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
A lot of people, a lot of people that have
gone to Harvard shouldn't have gone to Harvard. Who from
Gilmour would you not want to be stuck on a
desert island.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
With oh gosh, oh that's copyrighted.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Oh no, I would not be on a desert island
Laura because she would drink all the coffee.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
There you go. Who would you want to be stuck
on a desert island? Let's be fair.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Suki?
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Why Suki? Because she could she could cook up a
storm and keep you in stitches.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Yeah, we'd find Yeah, she can cook up a storm
and keep me in stitches. Yeah, we'd find like edible
things growing and she would like, wow, watch this and
then she'd make it right.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Best memory of Gilmore Girls.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
Rapid fire if I start moving, that count as an answer.
Best memory of Gilmore Girls Bride'smaids revisited episode The Wedding
Dress Day.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Gotcha? Okay, show your binge watching right now.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Oh, Couple's Therapy.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Gotcha? Cast member you texted most recently?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Oh, Nick Holmes.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Nick, We just talked to him. Nice something in your life.
You are all in on storytelling. Beautiful Devin Sorvari, brilliant
talking to you. We would love to have you back.
Good luck with everything, Thank you for your time.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Thank you very much. This has been a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Oh, absolute pleasure on our part. And and good luck
with everything. Well, hopefully talk to you very soon. Okay,
all right, bye, Hey everybody, and don't forget Follow us
(25:48):
on Instagram at I Am All In podcast and email
us at Gilmour at iHeartRadio dot com.
Hosts And Creators
Amy Sugarman
Danielle Romo
Scott Patterson
Tara Soudbaksh
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