Ep 12: MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD Discusses 'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off' and Some TV Topics

MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD Discusses 'Scott Pilgrim Takes Off' and some TV Topics in an interview that punches through the surface level discussion.

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Hey, where's the remote? It's time for TV Topics, where
those who love television discuss the series and
performances that should be on your radar.
Welcome back to TV TOPICS. I'm your host Stephen
Prasikowski. Hanging out today on the TV
TOPICS couch is an actress who dealt with a pair of Ewan
McGregor's in Fargo. Season three was looking a

(00:26):
little bit green while leading the troops in Ahsoka, but it has
with a crazed John Goodman in 10Cloverfield Lane and has been
showing off her multiple colors in Scott Pilgrim Versus the
World. And now in Netflix's Animated
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Of course I'm talking about the
great Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Hello, I'm Mary Elizabeth

(00:49):
Winstead, and today I'm hanging out with Steven Prusikowski on
TV Topics. Welcome to TV Topics, Mary.
We'll, we'll jump right in. We're going to get into your
work in Scott Pilgrim shortly. But before we do want to talk
some TV topics, remember there'sno pressure.
There's no right or wrong answers, and it's all just a bit
of fun. And actually, some of the wrong
answers are probably the right answers.

(01:10):
Oh. Boy.
OK, here we go. So what's your relationship with
TV been like looking back over the years?
Were you ATV, junkie, watched everything?
Were you very selective? You know, I guess it's, it's
just sort of depended on where I'm at in my life or how busy I
am and what I've got going on. But I would say in terms of my
life overall, TV has always played a pretty big role.

(01:31):
I was a big TV kid growing up. TV was really a huge part of my
daily life, a huge part of what I looked forward to, what I did
with my family, which, you know,a lot of people could look at
that in a negative way, but I, Istill look back on it pretty
fondly. All the sort of gathering around
the TV together to watch our favorite show.

(01:53):
And so, yeah, I'd say that it's always had a pretty firm place
in my life. I, I have less time for it now.
That's the only thing is I don'tsee everything I want to see
anymore where I before I had kids and and, you know, busy
life that I have now. I'd say I tried to see
everything that was kind of likein the zeitgeist that people

(02:15):
were talking about, you know, and now I miss things.
Yeah. It's a challenge.
It's all over. Even when I watch, you know, on
a daily basis, I'm watching themfor conversational purposes or
whatever. I can't keep up.
There's always like, wait, I didn't see that yet.
How how that happened. Yeah, I know.
How big of a family did you have?
I'm the youngest of five kids, so pretty big family.

(02:37):
I mean, my two oldest sisters were pretty much out of the
house by the time I came along. So they were still, you know,
kind of in late high school but went into college.
And and so it was kind of more like me and my brother and
sister hanging around. But but yeah, we definitely
always loved watching TV together.
He's huge. I'm in the middle of six so.

(02:59):
Oh awesome. Your scenario sounds very
similar to mine. We did a lot of TV sharing.
We had to because you didn't have ATV in every room.
You didn't have your phones. It was, you know, this is it.
This is it. And, and, and you had to sort of
find things that everybody likedthat everybody could cheer in
together, which was kind of a fun challenge in a way, but also
great for bonding as well. Yeah, exactly.

(03:22):
We still talk. We still reference things that
we watched when we were, you know, 5-6, seven years old, You
know, all the way up into our teen years.
We were, you know, it was very much.
And I know, you know, like you said, people frown upon TV, but
I'm like, you know, especially current television there in in
your show being one of them. Scott Pilgrim takes off.
There's good, there's a lot of good stuff in there.

(03:42):
There's there's a lot worthy of having discussions about and and
some compositive messaging. So.
And that's the key, I think is, is if you are talking about it
and being part of a community that is also watching it and you
can use that to connect with other people, then that's
really, really amazing. Whether it's people in your

(04:03):
family or people online or whatever it is.
I think that's what kind of makes it, you know, transcend
just being something that you're, you know, sort of tuning
out and watching. Yeah.
Mindlessly consuming yes yeah I,I with my daughters, we watch a
lot and I'll try to have conversations because sometimes
I see like you're not even laughing at the jokes and I, I,

(04:25):
you know it's. Yeah, that's the thing.
It's like, you know, are they looking at their phones and half
watching and trying to encouragelike no, great, go to watch it,
go to watch it. And is there a first prime time
series that you remember really loving?
First one, that's a really good question.
I mean. Or just an early one that that
that really. Yeah, I, I have fond memories of

(04:49):
like, you know, tgi Friday's andthings like that.
I always looked forward to that as a kid.
I also really, really remember the Wonder Years as being
something that I really connected to.
I think it was in reruns by the time I kind of discovered it,
but I loved it. And that's the first one that I
remember being like I connected to from my heart, you know?

(05:11):
Like I felt so much for those characters and I laughed and I
cried and all of that. And it was amazing to have
something to that you could juststick with for so many seasons
and see them kind of grow up andfeel like you were growing up
with them. Yeah, and it and it closed out
well, I mean like it. It touched upon a lot of things
with war and then the brothers loss and the friendships and and

(05:32):
and and and. But in the end, you know, it
didn't just end like a happy note.
I think the father passed away, right.
And yeah, no. There was, there was a lot of
kind of sadness in there and, and complexity, you know, even
though it was kind of aimed at all ages, I guess, you know, it
was about a child, at least in the, in the beginning.
So, so kids were drawn to watching it, but it kind of felt

(05:54):
like it, it allowed that complexity of, you know, that
kids could watch it and grown-ups could watch it and,
and the kids could kind of couldkind of try and understand
something that was maybe a bit above their level.
But I think that's what made it more intriguing in that way.
So do you have a show that makesyou laugh the most or one that
you put on for a pick me up or something like that?

(06:16):
I have a a show that I have re watched a lot over the years.
That's kind of one of those things that, you know, if I'm
feeling down or something that Ijust I just really like to put
on is the comeback with Lisa Kudrow.
I just think she's so funny. But also again, like she just
breaks my heart. And and so there's just

(06:37):
something comforting about watching her and watching her be
so amazing and also make a fool of herself.
And I sort of love, I love the character, but I also just kind
of love watching what she does with it.
I just think she's. So brilliant, it's a great show
and and she's so vulnerable in it that she puts herself out
there and the character and you know, and the actress and just

(06:57):
the way she just willing to do anything and and it's it's not
it is a comedy. It's very funny, but it also has
so many other, especially about,you know, getting older and your
career and all those things thatkeep people up at night.
It touches upon them while it's making you crack up, so.
It's, I know that's what's amazing about it is because it
is, it's it on the surface almost seems like a slapstick or

(07:18):
something. You know, the, the performance
and then you get kind of under the layers and you see how, how
much is really going on. And I think that's so impressive
and and such a, a, a great feat to be able to pull off.
And what is the last show that made you cry or really touched
you? Oh gosh.
Show that made me cry. I feel like I'm such a crier.

(07:42):
It doesn't have to be the last one it just just any show it
really it just I'm kind of curious what what type of show
would because I found after having children there's so much
that chokes me up. All the time.
I know I'm the same. Oh gosh, my memory and I'm like
blanking on anything that I've seen recently.
But yeah, I, I, I mean, maybe I'll come back around and I'll
it'll, I'll remember it later. But yeah, pretty much anything

(08:04):
with any sort of parental story to it these days makes me cry.
And it can be any sort of it doesn't even have to be a
particularly sense scene. It can just be any sort of scene
with like a parent connecting with their child is always, it
always makes me well up. So I'll I'm sure, yeah,
something will something will come back to me of what I've
seen recently that had that had that in there.

(08:24):
But there's definitely yeah, I can think of several movies and
things that I've been watching with my son that have made me
well up lately. But I have to think of a show,
think of when it comes it comes to.
Mind yeah it's I mean it's so much and it's when I was a kid
it was the kind of brother sibling relationships that
choked me up when I got like into my teen years into college.

(08:47):
But now once I've had children, it's anything with, you know,
father, daughter definitely justgoes for the heart.
Yes, yes, absolutely. So let's step into Scott Pilgrim
takes off before we do, you know, I do want to what?
Set that path off. Yeah, I guess I was always just
one of those performing kids since I was really, really

(09:08):
young. You know, I was always on a
stage, I think my first, you know, dance performance, I was
four. And, you know, like a lot of
kids, you start those kinds of lessons really early on and, and
sometimes it sticks for some kids and sometimes it doesn't.
And for me, it just really stuck.
That was all I wanted to do was I wanted to sing, I wanted to

(09:29):
dance, I wanted to act. I remember going to my first
like Broadway show when I was about 7, which was Les
Miserables. And, and I just was looking at
the people on that stage going, Oh my God, that that's all I
want to do. So I, I was just always looking
for every opportunity I could tobe performing.
And so acting was kind of just an, an extension of that, a

(09:52):
natural progression. And, and when TV shows started
coming to my city, which was Salt Lake City at the time, I
was a kid, I just started begging my parents to get me an
agent so that I could do that too.
You know, I wanted to, I wanted to see what that was like.
And I, I knew that kids were actors and when I would see them
on ATV show, I'd think I could do that.

(10:12):
I would, I wanna try that. So they kind of they let me give
it a whirl and and it was just the most amazing experience.
I think Touched by an Angel was my first audition and I got
really lucky and, and got this small part and small guest
starring role and it was such anamazing experience that there
was no really going back for me.That was that was all I wanted

(10:33):
to do. That's fantastic.
You mentioned Broadway. I, I swear when you go to
Broadway, even as an adult, every single time I leave the
theater, I'm like, so like mesmerized or not mesmerized,
but just changed. I feel like I'm like you, you
walk out a different person. It's just amazing.
What you know, all live in frontof you in real time, no safety
net, hundreds of people's work coming to life.

(10:57):
It's like it's such an inspiration.
Incredible. Yeah.
I was just so in awe. And I think I, I wore out that
CD on a little, you know, portable CD or maybe it was even
a tape at that time. But I just listened to it over
and over and over again. And I learned every single word,
you know, to the show. And I would just go around the
house performing it all the time.

(11:19):
Yeah, it definitely had a huge impact on me.
When you first played Ramona forthe film, did you feel her story
was incomplete? Did you feel it back then?
You know, I don't think I ever felt it was incomplete in terms
of wanting to know desperately what was kind of going to happen
next or anything like that. I, I, I did think that there was

(11:40):
a lot more to her that I would have loved to explore.
You know, obviously when you're,you're making something that's
based on a book or based on a series of books, there's gonna
be a lot more in there than you're able to capture in in one
film. So I think I, I always felt it
would be fun to be able to explore all these other little
bits and pieces that we didn't get to see of her in the film.

(12:02):
But I wasn't exactly wondering what's gonna happen next 'cause
I thought it was such a lovely ending, you know, the way that
that film wrapped up and I thought it was really perfect.
So, you know, whenever ideas about sequels were bandied
about, I was sort of like, Oh yeah, that'd be great.
But I didn't really ever take ittoo seriously because I thought
it was kind of like the perfect,you know, full circle.

(12:23):
But that the way it was handled in the film.
So what was your first reaction when or your initial reaction
when you found out that Ramona was going to be the fun and
Center for this series? You know, it was really
unexpected and, and, and lovely.I think I thought, I thought it
was gonna be amazing, but I, I don't think I really realized
what it was gonna feel like until I was there doing it And

(12:47):
it, I didn't realize how much itwas gonna mean to me.
It really, it really meant a lotto me to be able to have Ramona
kind of telling the story in herown way and to be kind of taking
the reins because I, I think fora lot of the film, she was a bit
passive. You know, she's sort of watching
all this happen around her and because of her, but there's only
a few kind of points in the movie where she gets to actually

(13:10):
kind of take charge. And now in this series, she's
doing it throughout the whole series.
And that was incredibly cathartic and meaningful for me
to get to do that. And did you have an opportunity
to discuss with Brian and Ben David about, you know, who
Ramona was gonna be and and maybe provide some input to
that? You know, we didn't have too

(13:31):
many discussions. I think there was something
really, it's hard to describe, but I think we're also kind of
connected to one another from having been on this journey
together. And funnily enough, Ben David
wasn't involved in the film, butI've known him since that film
came out. You know, we've, we've been
friends and, and kind of in eachother's social, social circle.

(13:53):
And I know that he's like the biggest Scott Pilgrim fan in the
world. So there was always this kind of
connection between all of us andwe all know each other so well
that not a lot had to really be discussed.
I think it was kind of more likereading the scripts and going,
oh, I get what they're saying here.
I get what they're trying to do.And of course when we were doing

(14:13):
it, they would be directing me and here and there just sort of
lean into certain things or, and, and things like that in a
very lovely way. But the bigger picture of it was
kind of unspoken because I thinkwe we just kind of got it.
Yeah, and, and I love the the meta aspect of it and how it
opens up this series for much more than than I think anyone

(14:34):
expected it it. It provides some closure for
just about every single character and and kind of
provides closure for the film too.
So were you surprised about how much it tackled and how
effectively it did so? Absolutely.
I don't think I ever expected something so kind of profound to

(14:55):
come out of this, you know, I just thought it would be so much
fun to get to all get back together and do a fun, you know,
animation together. And it would be great for the
fans of the film to have a little something extra that they
could all kind of partake in. But I, I don't think I expected
something so special to come outof it that would, that would be
on par with the film that we made, you know, And so I'm still

(15:19):
in awe that Brian and Ben David were able to, to pull that off.
It, it seems like kind of an impossible feat.
And I think that they did it. And I think that that's because
there was this decade of time ofgrowth that Ben, David or sorry,
Brian was able to to use to create something totally new.

(15:41):
A perspective on the whole experience, the experience of
being in your 20s, which was kind of the Scott Pilgrim
experience for the characters and for all of us personally and
kind of bringing the wisdom of time to that.
And I think he, he created something so beautiful.
And, and I'm just continually impressed by his ability to kind

(16:05):
of take those inner feelings andturn it into something poppy and
fun and colorful and funny, but also really heartfelt.
I think it's really, really wonderful.
By the time this film's done, it's kind of gives a, an
opportunity for like some redemption and some
clarification and, and, and justa better exploration of them
all. And there's these very moving

(16:26):
moments with, like, Roxy, I thought was one of the first
that really kind of, you know, kind of connected with me in
that way and which also I did not expect.
I'm like, well, Scott Pilgrim isnot about.
It's not as that. You know, I wasn't crying after
the film, but during this I might get hit on so many
different things. Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, I think, you know, what we're all kind of reflecting on

(16:48):
in this is, is the mistakes thatyou make in your your 20s and,
and the film, I think is lookingat that as well, but in, you
know, a largely more kind of humorous way.
And even though this is also very funny, I think there's a
lot of kind of regret that it tackles as well.
And, and able to kind of look atyour life and, and say, oh, wow,

(17:11):
I've made a lot of mistakes. I've hurt people.
I have regret over that. But I can also look and see how
life is beautiful and I'm grateful for it all as well.
And I think, you know, those arethings that come with time and
with age and, and like, you know, it sounds like you're
similar to me. Everything makes me cry now.
So I think for all of us, the older we get, the more emotional

(17:34):
we are. And so I think that emotion is
kind of being brought out in this because of where we're at
in our lives. You know, life is beautiful.
And I don't think you realize ituntil you're, you know, maybe on
the other side of the, of the hill, kind of watching it go by,
you know, and you see it throughother people's eyes.
And I know for me, parenthood was a big part of that.

(17:55):
Yeah, it's opened, opened you upand and made you able to access
those or access those kind of emotions.
And once you're accessing them, it's most like the floodgates
are. It's if I don't mention my
daughter's in an interview, thenI didn't do an interview.

(18:16):
What I really like about this series is how it deep dives into
Ramona's vulnerabilities. So it seems like she's running
from her past and I didn't see it's so much until now.
And her dyeing her hair seems tobe like taking on a new identity
and stepping in and like kind ofdisguising herself to escape
that past self that she doesn't feel like or want to or cannot

(18:37):
deal with. So anyway, it's just like
thought how the self reflectiveness of this series
with not just her but Scott alsoand how they look at themselves
sometimes quite literally, was really amazing.
So what was it like to explore her and like to really dig deep
into what caused the pain and and how she dealt with it?
I mean, I was just so grateful to have the opportunity to do

(18:57):
that because, you know, I think it was all kind of there when we
were doing the movie and I, I kind of felt all of these things
for her. And I really felt a lot of
empathy for her in terms of how she was feeling and, and, and,
and that vulnerability that she was covering up and that she was

(19:18):
afraid of and, and all of those things.
But I think, you know, it wasn'treally her story, so we didn't
really get to see so much of what was underneath that
guardedness. So I felt really grateful to get
to kind of unveil that a little bit more and behind that curtain
and and to get to see her have that realization about herself.

(19:38):
You know, I think in that scene with Roxy is when it really kind
of clicks for her what she's been doing her whole life, that
she's just runs away when she gets scared or when she people
get too close to her and you know, and, and feeling regret
for that. And so that was, it was great to
get to humanize her in that way that that there are that she is

(19:58):
vulnerable and that she is a loving person, but that she's
afraid. And so it was, I was just really
thankful to get to show that because I love her so much as a
character and she's so close to me because of, you know, what a
a huge impact this film had on on our lives for all of us who
made it so. It was just special to get to

(20:19):
show all those different qualities for her.
Is there something that you hopepeople take away from this?
You know, I guess everyone's gonna take something different
depending on where they're at intheir lives.
And I think certainly people whoare, you know, pushing 40 like
me, who who saw the film when they were in their 20s and had a

(20:41):
certain relationship with it andcan now have a a new
relationship to it. I think through this show, we'll
probably have similar feelings that that we who made it had,
you know, in terms of, you know,going through your 20s and
coming to a very different placein your life and getting to
reflect on that. I'm also really interested to
see what young people think about it and how they connect

(21:03):
with it and what their thoughts are on these characters and
where they've ended up at this point.
And I hope that it makes them kind of think about their lives
and, and, and where they're at and their regrets and, and their
hopes and, and all of those things.
But I'm, I'm, I'm curious, I think everyone will, will, will

(21:24):
take something different. Hopefully they connect to it and
they have fun with it. Ultimately, is the most
important thing. What was it like?
You know, I'm sure you're an actor, so it's not that big of a
deal, but did you have to do hours of like and like?
There's like, especially the anime it seems like half the
dialogue is. That that was probably what I

(21:44):
needed the most kind of direction on because most of it
it was it was really they were just telling me just be natural,
be, you know, however you think Ramona should be in the scene
and and they were very kind of hands off with it.
But when it came to those sounds, it wasn't just do
fighting noises. It was like, OK, it needs to be
fighting noises, but anime fighting noises.

(22:04):
So there's a specificity to thatthat they wanted me to bring.
And so I was, I was just glad that they were kind of
eventually I would just be like,OK, just tell me what you want
it to sound like just so I can hit all the beats, like exactly
how you want it to be. So they kind of helped guide me
in that. But yeah, that was that's the
kind of thing you have to just really let go of any shame or

(22:25):
embarrassment and just make weird noises by yourself in a
recording booth. It's all, it's all good.
I mean, not everyone can I, I can't do it.
You know, it's like, I know I, I, even though, you know, people
say you'd be great, you're no problem for you.
I, I start doing what I just did, I start to stammer and like
something gets triggered that I'm like, I don't know, I turn
off. There's, you know, even more

(22:47):
awkward is probably doing the scenes where we had to kiss.
I mean, that's really awkward tostand in a recording booth and
try to make kissing noises, fires, as really I was just like
sort of kissing my hand and trying to make it really
audible, which is just very, very silly and uncomfortable.

(23:07):
Yeah, that does not sound like fun.
So after reconciling with her exes and with herself, she
finally wears Ramona, finally wears her true hair color.
I was wondering if you talk a little bit about the importance
of her hair color. You know, you know her doing
that. Yeah, I mean, it was really
interesting watching this show because I actually got something

(23:29):
from it, you know, just watchinghow they animated those parts
where she's dyeing her hair because I sort of realized, you
know, that it was almost like therapeutic for her as well.
You know, obviously, like you said, I think in the film, I'd
always kind of seen it as she's running away, she's sort of

(23:50):
becoming a new person. She's shedding this last
identity. And that is what it is.
But there's also something, there's also a comfort to it for
her. And, and, and that's the way
that they animated that kind of showed that to me with, you
know, just the music they chose.And there was something so kind
of soft and beautiful about it. And, and so I could see how it
wasn't as as negative of a thingas maybe it might have appeared

(24:12):
to be. So the fact that she could kind
of let go of something that was really maybe her main source of
coping in a way by the end of it, I think really speaks a lot
to her gross, you know, that shecould say, OK, I don't need that
anymore. It's like my security blanket
and I can I can let go. I think says a lot.

(24:32):
But I thought it was really beautiful the way that they
chose to to to animate that and handle that.
Yeah, and I like that they went.Then they showed, revealed that
there was the blonde hair underneath.
There was this other person. It didn't just go from one color
to the next. They're like, oh wait, you know,
that's who she is and she's covering it up.
That's like, that's when I really started like, oh wait,
that makes much more sense now. And, and it makes, you know, a

(24:54):
lot of sense with the way that the, the, the, the way that
things wrap up with her choosingherself, you know, ultimately
she has to learn to do, which is, is, is really cool because
that's what Scott kind of had tolearn to do in in the film, even
though, as we can see, you know,he still struggled with it
throughout the course of this show.
But you know, the fact that Ramona gets to go on that self

(25:16):
love journey, it's a really amazing thing.
Yeah, I thought that was beautiful.
I you know, my, I kind of saw itcoming right at the end and I
would, but wouldn't happen. It still gave me the chills.
I was like, you know what, you know, go, you get, you got this.
You know, it's like everyone else could be.
It's forgotten. It's it's looking at yourself
and, and seeing that how important you are to who you

(25:36):
are. And so back to the hair really
quick at the end, though, she does put a keep a little bit of
that color in there is like, is there reason behind that?
You, you know, do you see a meaning behind that?
Gosh, you know, or. Is it just her being styling?
Yeah, I think it is a part of her, a part of who she is.
You know, I think she has to, I,I think, you know, if, if you
want to sort of look at it and analyze it a bit, I think, you

(25:59):
know, you do have to sort of carry with you the person you
were before, you know, and that's, that's a part of it for
her as she's got to be, she's got to be her true self.
But every part of who she's beenleading up to now has also been
part of her, you know, the people that we are when we're
young and confused and trying ondifferent identities, is, is, is

(26:21):
still us, you know, So it's kindof cool to be able to still keep
a bit of of, you know, her younger self with her as she, as
she, you know, kind of finds outwho she really is underneath.
That's so true. And then you like, you know,
she's always walked away and never said goodbye.
And this time she walks away anddoesn't say goodbye 'cause she's

(26:42):
taking it with her. She's keeping keeping it part of
her going forward on that journey.
So very interesting. I, I love when you can, you
know, I mean, I don't, I didn't mean to be breaking this down to
that, you know, granular level, but I love when you have shows
and stuff that you know, and, and, and series and characters
that are so well written and so well thought out that there's

(27:03):
like there is room for analysis.There is room to explore and to
see yourself in it. It hits much deeper.
Yeah, yeah, I know Ryan and Ben,David, It's just, I think they
created something that's just filled with that.
I think you could watch it over and over again and sort of glean
deeper meanings from so many things, which is so impressive.
I I love that. So do Ramona and Scott have a

(27:27):
future together and does it matter at this point?
You know, I, I, I don't think it, it really matters so much in
the sense that I think they'll both be happy, you know,
whatever happens and whether they're together or not or, and,
and that was kind of in a way what the film was saying also,

(27:50):
you know, it was sort of like, we're just gonna try and, and
whatever happens, happens. And I think in this, at the end
of this, that's kind of what youfind out is that people are not
perfect and you can't control what happens in life.
All you can do is, is try and beyour best self and, and kind of
go forward every day from there and, and realize that like we

(28:12):
were saying, life is, life is beautiful.
We're lucky to have the chance to, to be alive.
And if we look at it from that perspective, then maybe we'll be
able to sharing it together and and make something out of it or
not. You know, I like it.
Let's let's end that segment on that very nice note and I'll
have a few more TV topics questions and and get you on

(28:33):
your way. So and thank you though.
I really, I love hearing this stuff and I now makes me want to
kind of watch it again and and. Yeah, me too.
I know. My gosh.
Watch it multiple times to get you know.
I watched it with my daughter and she really, she really
enjoyed it. And I was, it didn't have time
to talk to her. How old did?
She's 13. Oh.
Perfect. That's great.

(28:55):
Awesome, great age. It's gone from the I don't care
how I look to she just wants to be herself and she wants to go
and do these things and like, I think Ramona's a great character
for her to watch and. That's so cool.
Especially where she ends up. Yes, yeah.
The importance of of just being who you are, whether you've got,
you know, whether you're trying out green hair or like blue

(29:17):
lipstick or whatever it is, it'slike ultimately you know, loving
yourself is the most important thing all.
Right, so the TV topics, you grab your remote control, a
genie flies out, he grants you ATV wish.
Based on this question, what TV show would you like one more
season of? And this season can be, it's a
magic season. So it can have all the original
actors and everything. And you know, time is stopped,

(29:40):
it's shot. And it could be a prequel
season. It could be a season in between
some of the seasons that exist, or it can be a season following
up with the characters after theseason it ended so.
You know what, one of my favorite shows as a kid, but I
always wanted another season of was my so-called Life.
So it would be kind of great to see a season like, but now with

(30:04):
all of them at the age they are now and to see kind of where
they've all ended up, you know, from how they were in high
school and to sort of what they would be like now at at this
age. I think that would be really
cool. That's a great one.
Nostalgic reasons for me, I would love it.
Yeah, the that show famously hadone season and it was like, how?

(30:26):
How do you stop there? No, it's just.
One of those amazing to have like a show that had one season
that has stood the test of time like that.
I think there's something. And it gave us Claire Danes, who
was fantastic. Amazing.
She's just brilliant. So of course you're married to
the great Ewan McGregor, and I'mwondering when you watch TV
together, who controls the remote and who picks or suggests

(30:49):
the shows? And do you have a favorite one
that you watch together? Oh gosh, I think we're pretty.
What's the word, you know, fair and equal.
When it comes to the remote, there's certain things that he
will watch that are like his shows that he watches when I'm

(31:10):
not around and vice versa that we kind of know.
All right, You know, we, we spend enough time apart with
work and stuff that we know whenwe're apart.
There's the shows that we'll watch and we try to save the
shows that we know are like really, really good for when
we're together because it's justmore fun to watch really great
shows when you're with one another.
So the last show that we watchedtogether was Ripley, which was

(31:34):
really great. And I feel like we had, you
know, we, we've been, he's working away right now.
So we've been kind of, I've beenvisiting and then away and then
visiting. And so I've been like, OK, you
can't finish it until we're together again.
So I'll have to take these big pauses between and then and then
watch more when we're together. So we were able to finally
finish it. So yeah, we, we kind of have a

(31:55):
little bit of a system. So he doesn't sort of demand to
watch things that aren't really my thing because he knows, OK,
I'll watch that. I'll watch that when I'm on my
own. I I think my wording is still
goes back to being a kid and it was like, who has a remote?
You know, like we had six kids sitting on the couch and no, I
don't want to watch that. And and then we vote on it.
We'd have if you stand up and goto the bathroom, then we can

(32:16):
change the station. We have so many rules.
It was a crazy existence. So looking back on all the the
TV characters, you played you well, actually, I'm sorry, real
quick before I go into that, youwork together in Fargo.
Did you watch that together? I don't think we ever watched it
together. Don't you mean the season that
we're that we're in? Yes, yes, the season you're in.

(32:39):
So yeah, I don't think we ever watched that together.
No. It'd be fun to revisit it one
day. It would be cool.
It's an amazing series and and that season's fantastic.
It's. I I love.
Some of the best TV out there. So great.
It's just so much fun. Just the, it's just the writing
is so brilliant and the performances, it's just, it's
such a treat to have been able to be a part.

(32:59):
And so you played so many characters, Nikki and Fargo and
Hira in Sooka and Ramona, of course.
Which one of them, or which one of the TV characters that you've
played before, would you want tobackpack across Europe with?
How interesting, Who would I want to backpack across Europe
with? I think probably.

(33:22):
I mean, Nikki Swango from Fargo would be a lot of fun because
she definitely would be getting you into some like really kind
of shady stuff that would also be really entertaining.
So it would definitely be an adventure.
So that might be fun. Or Ramona actually, because you

(33:43):
could do some sort of cool subspace travel and go like
everywhere in one night. I mean, that would be maybe the
most fun of all actually. Sounds good.
Is there a favorite current showthat you're watching?
The continuing show. Not a a limited series, but
something that you watch season to season.
Yeah, You know, I, I love all the shows that are kind of in

(34:11):
the in that world of like Atlanta and Dave and Beef and
all those are all probably like the trifecta of my favorite
shows. And I'm always kind of like
confused on whether any of them are getting another season or
not. So I don't really know, but I
just kind of wait around and, and hope for the best.

(34:32):
But I would say those are those are some of my favorite shows at
the moment that I'm I'm always waiting to hear what's coming or
not coming. And you have a guilty pleasure,
sure that it would surprise yourfans if they heard you watch.
You know, I, I'd like to try andhave like 1 trashy reality show
that I, that I watch and that tends to be, that's like when
I'm by myself and I'm just like,OK, no judgement, no shame.

(34:56):
I'm on my own. I'm gonna just put something on
after I put my son to bed. And right now that's Vanderpump
Rules just because that is just like I'm just there for the
drama and I can kind of tune outand I don't have to think too
hard. So yeah, that's that's my guilty
pleasure at the moment. I, I think that's, that's how

(35:17):
those work. They're so therapeutic because
you don't have to when it's over, you can like it's gone.
It's, it happened, but you had that hour so that you can just
kind of be in that world and like, all right, I'm just chill.
And then, you know, you can eventhink and do things like your
taxes or whatever you have to doand then.
Your emails you can have, your snacks you can do.

(35:37):
Yeah, it's it's nice and easy. Easy that way, Easy watching.
It's good to have once in awhile.
And finally, if you could live in one TV show so you can pop in
and out whenever you want, you don't have to give up your real
life at all. It's like, say, a magic door.
You'd open up, get to walk in, and you could be on.
Not the set, but you can be. In the world of a show, which
would it be and why? I feel like it would probably

(36:03):
be, you know, some sort of show,nostalgic show from when I was a
kid, like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air or something like that,
You know, where everything was just kind of like kind of
perfect and, and even the problems are solvable by the end
of the episode. And there's something really

(36:23):
comforting about that thought oflike how kind of, you know,
we're full house, all those shows where it's just kind of
like there's like warm, it's just warm and fuzzy and life is
easy and, and nothing really hurts too bad for a little
while, for a little while. That would be nice.
I'm sure eventually you'd lose your mind, but for a little

(36:43):
while. I've actually like, can we get
some pain here? It's kind of like a
Pleasantville that's has that You're like, wait, you're you're
just like everything's the same day in, day out.
Yeah, yeah. It's a little, little
Pleasantville, but for, you know, for a couple weeks it
would be nice. Excellent.
So, well, thank you so much for your time.
Thank you for all of your amazing work across the board.

(37:04):
But your work as Ramona has really connected with so many
people. It's and it's beautiful to see
that you know how far it's been taken and and what it explores.
So thank you for that and best of luck with everything you have
going forward. Thank you so much.
Yeah, nice to talk to you it. Was nice to talk to you as well.
Have a great day. Thanks to Mary for being our

(37:25):
guest on TV Topics. Be sure to watch her work on
Netflix's Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Plus on Paramount Plus, A
Gentleman in Moscow, where she stars with her husband Ewan
McGregor, and on Disney's Ahsokaand so much more.
A shout out also to Emily Au forour funky theme song and to our

(37:45):
announcer, Kari Loya. You can find him on
kariloya.com. It's in our profile.
You can follow me directly on Twitter, Letterbox and
Instagram, all at Film Store. And as always, thank you for
listening. Stay tuned for more TV topics.
TV Topics is produced by Steven Pruzakowski.
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