September 15, 2025 • 48 mins
SAG Award-winning actor Michael Cyril Creighton joins Emily & Haley to discuss Season 5 of ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ how Michael’s character Howard went from a two episode gig to a beloved character of the series, and all the fabulous adjectives that describe Meryl Streep. Emily is in disbelief at Michael’s potato chip audition horror story, Haley digs into Michael’s iconic ’30 Rock’ role, and we all list our reasons for not becoming priests. So adopt a dog, take your squirrel out of the freezer, and ‘tits up’ as you enjoy Chapter 31 of ‘How To Make It.’
Season 5 of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.
Watch this interview on YouTube: @HowToMakeItPodcast
Follow us on Instagram: @HowToMakeItPodcast
Follow Emily: @emilycappello_
Follow Haley: @haleymuralee
Season 5 of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.
Watch this interview on YouTube: @HowToMakeItPodcast
Follow us on Instagram: @HowToMakeItPodcast
Follow Emily: @emilycappello_
Follow Haley: @haleymuralee
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Emily and I'm Hailey. After meeting online, we
became international best friends who bonded over how hard it
is to find success in the entertainment industry.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Join us and our celebrity co authors as they help
us write the book on how to make.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It and more importantly, uncover what making it even means?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
May that made us sound so much more serious than
we actually are? Should we switch roles on this time?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Okay, see that's the intro.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Hi, I'm Michael Cyril Creighton. And I wanted to be
a priest when I grew up.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yes, we've never had that now that has changed.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
That changed pretty quickly. That was, but it was like
between a priest and a toy maker. I actually have
a book, like my little book, you know, when you
write what you wanted to be when you were, when
you were when you grow up, and it was a priest,
a toy maker, and a cake maker. I am none
of those things. I played a priest before, but yeah,
I thought it would be a cool thing to be
(01:17):
until I realized absolutely not sure.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Wow, how incredibly wholesome?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
All three?
Speaker 3 (01:28):
What kind of toys like action figures, female action figures?
Because there were never enough, you can never find them.
They were always like they made less of them. I
always wanted them, so yeah, i'd be I would do that.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yeah, I like that. One. Was there one you were
trying to find that you couldn't ye Cheetara.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It was from the ThunderCats and there was a like
a female Thundercat named Chittara, and it was impossible to
find amazing that you had, Like when you're I, I
think you're probably much younger than I am. But when
these toys, they were not super articulated. So you would
get them finally and you try to turn their heads
so they could talk to other toys, and their head
(02:10):
would break off because they were not meant to turn
too much. So it's like you'd spend months trying to
find this action figure and then within two minutes you'd
break it because you were trying to make it, you know,
speak to other people.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Sad times. I was just looking up here because I'm
pretty sure I've got a he Man somewhere. Yeah, I've
got loads of random No it's not there. I think
it's upstairs. But yeah, I've got a he Man somewhere.
But no, I've got Lando from Star Wars here, which
is completely different. That's really cool. Like what was with
(02:44):
the priest thing? What do you think.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I grew up really Catholic, and when I was young,
like they were My family was friends with priests. I
went to Catholic school. I like like looked up to
a until I like you know, turned until I was older,
and then I realized maybe not. And I it was
something that, uh, you know, seemed like it would be
(03:09):
a good thing to be because you'd be able to
help people and you got to wear the cool outfit
and all that stuff. But as I got older, it
was definitely not for me. Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
You did, Yeah, I said, I quite fancied that, but
it's because I didn't understand it. It was the idea
of just the justice of it all. But before I
realized about religion, well, when you're.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Little, like you're just told what you are. And so
I was from like first through seventh grade, I was
voted Christian of the Year, which I don't know really
what that even, man, it just meant I was like
the nicest boy there was a boy and a girl.
I was the nicest boy from first through seventh grade,
and then seventh grade it like all went to hell.
You know, I was told the whole time growing up
(03:56):
that you know, I was Christ Like, that's psychotic. So
next thing to do, obviously, is to become a priest,
So I can, you know, wow follow my calling Anyway,
I had the.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
It would be nice to not have to think about
what you're wearing every day. But I also I also
had that that kind of like illusion stripped at a
very young age because our priests ended up going to
jail for embezzling like a ton of money from the God.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Wow, better thing than that's what he went to jail for.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
I mean, the people making donations were a little bit bumped.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Times. That's that's that's a better crime.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Anyway, I'll move us into our random facts section.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
I well, MLA because I was just about to take
us onto fleabags priest.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
This is a different kind of episode for us today.
I had a fact for you. I was going to
talk all about tennis and the US Open, and then
you posted your like August slideshow on Instagram and I
think you and I may enjoy going to the same
bar in Asbury Park.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Wow, that is a really interesting fact off the internet.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Interesting fact which bar with the Yeah, I mean, I
like the bar by the pool there, and yeah, it's
really fun. I love that pool like it's a place
where it feels like everybody's welcome, you know, it's just
very inclusive space. And yeah, I loved I love that bar.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
I was there on Sunday and one of the security
guards fell in.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Actually really, I never go at night, Like, I'm not
like we if we go to Asbury Park, it's like
either a day trip or like maybe a couple of
nights or whatever. But I'm not like a club person.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Oh no, neither.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
This was like the daytime around the pool is.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
This was six pm, and you can bet that my
I had to ride home at seven thirty. I was
home by eight o'clock. But I saw the picture and
I was like, wait a second.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I was just there, Yes, do.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
You live here? Raspberry Park?
Speaker 1 (06:14):
I'm like twenty minutes away.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
There's a really good restaurant there call Okay Judy's.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay, great, you should go there.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
It was a great restaurant. We had a good time.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
What kind of food is it?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
It's the whole concept is that it's a Judy is
like a Jewish woman who believes she's Italian. It's like
Jewish and Italian mixed together. It's the person's mother like
the owner's either the owner of the chef's mother and
the food and Harry's. Yes, that's exactly it. Bar in
the front is called Harry's, and I guess it's named
(06:47):
after the father, the Judy's husband. I don't know. Is
this what your interviewser usually like herself.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
This looks amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Bailey likes to do research in real time, as if
she's gonna say.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Too, yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
It drives Emily and said She's like, you're looking at
your phone, looking at your phone. I'm just looking up
the menu. It looks amazing. They've got some lacker yep,
the lack of good amazing. Anyway, anyway, take me away, Harley.
I'm here. Sorry, I'm back in the zone. I'm just
really hungry. You made me hungry. You are the jeans
(07:33):
guy on thirty Rock.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Yes, that was my first TV audition ever. That's so cool,
my first TV audition, my first job on TV, and
I love that episode. It's so funny. So yeah, someone
else about this. I had no I've had, like from
the beginning, I've been acting with idols of mine, so
it's like I have no time to be starstruck or
(07:59):
you know, nerve about it. I just kind of have
to go in and do my job. So I really
kind of lucked out that was my first job because
I'm such a Tina fe fan. Yeah, and it was
such a memorable you know, everything on thirty Rock is
so memorable. But it's a very quotable role.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
These genes are singing Halliburton bitch. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I love it. Such a good episode of all the
episodes to be in in your first audition, I.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Know, TV audition nailed it, got it.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
What do you think got you that role? What was
good about that audition?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
I think, uh the cast. I met the casting director
at an opening night party of a play. Her Tachia
blick Felt is her name, and I didn't know who
she who she was or what she cast. And we
were just having a conversation. She was talking about the
web series that I made and how she liked it.
She's like, there might be something for you on the
show that I work on, and I was like, oh cool,
what's the show? And she's in thirty Rocks. I was like,
(08:57):
So I went into that situation not knowing who she
was and being able to just talked to her like
a person. And then, you know, because it was my
first ever audition, it seemed like it was going to
be first ever TV audition. It felt like it was
going to be It felt so far off, it felt
like it wasn't real. Yeah, so I think I just
went in and did it, and she was definitely in
(09:17):
my corner. She later created High Maintenance and and oh
I got to play a beautiful role on that. So
she was always a big supporter. But she and Jessica
Daniels and Jennifer McNamara, that casting team are the ones
that gave me my first shot.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah. So making those contacts and then sharing them the goods.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Yeah, it doesn't always happen that way, but it worked.
It was easy that day.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
You have a habit of working with the same people
because Tina Fey then ended up in Only Murders in
the Building. Yeah, And I know there's another character that
was in your on your YouTube in Jack in the
Box and it Up.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Oh yeah, Jackie Hokson and Peter Bartlett, who was in
season three. There's a lot of people who are on
my web series from like two thousand and nine that
have and then uh, yeah, I have some repeats like
I worked with Rachel McAdams twice, once in Spotlight and
once speaking to priests like that, and once in Game Night. Yeah.
(10:27):
I luck out. I get to work with a lot
of great people.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
This is incredible amount of But I also think like
I had seen you in Jack in the Box a
million years ago. Wow, And so I feel like I've
seen you. And then I watched Time Maintenance and then
I feel like I've seen you pop up and I
love Howard so much and I feel like he like
(10:53):
your first like really meaty scene in season one is
the whole cat and the freezer yeah thing, and that's
like the first like real belly laugh I had from
the show is here. It's like a very physical role,
and I feel like did it was it going to
be smaller and then it grew into this bigger roller?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Did you know? It?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Was?
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Funny thing about that episode I'll tell you in a second,
but it was supposed to be two episodes. It was
supposed to be the episode where you find out my
cat died and I'm crying at the meeting, and then
the second episode was that I was hired for was
that one. So the first episode where I'm crying in
the lobby and like wiping my face and wiping my
nose the whole time. I got COVID during that episode,
(11:37):
right in the height of everything. So the next episode,
I was sick and I was like, well, they're going
to replace me or they're going to change the script.
But they waited till I was better. They waited the
fourteen days and then to be extra extra safe because
it was like back in the day before vaccines and stuff,
they had me shoot separately, so I actually was not
(11:58):
in the room with them when for that scene. And
for me, when I watch it, I can tell and
it makes me I don't like that. However, it plays
so well for other people that I just have to believe.
But yeah, Stephen Selena were you know, did the scene
with my body double who is now my stand in
(12:18):
the sky Jordan, who's fantastic and has been around for
the whole five years. They did the scene with him.
I was in another room by myself. I watched the
scene on an iPad like he held the iPad up
to his face for a minute, and I did the
scene with them once and then after they were done.
They brought me in and I just did it by
myself for like, you know, like forty minutes, maybe maybe
(12:39):
half an hour, and.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
You cannot you cannot tell.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
I'm so happy to hear that. Still, I'm so happy
to hear that.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
And I feel compelled to tell you that. In twenty twenty,
I was taking an online zoom improv class, which was
really difficult, but it was you see b and it
was like all, you know, all we could do. And
my teacher paused one class to show us the frozen
squirrel that he had in his freezer.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
No why.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
He had, like had it as a prop and then
he like wanted to keep it. And one of the
girls in my class was like, it's right next to
your food. And then when that's like one of the
lines and that.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Isn't it crazy?
Speaker 1 (13:25):
And then we called ourselves the frozen squirrels.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
That is really creepy.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Was he a good teacher?
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah? Yeah, I mean the you shouldn't do improv on
zoom because it would be like, okay, two people, turn
your cameras on when you're ready, and then four of
us would do it and then we'd be like, oh sorry,
and then we'd all turn our cameras off in that
and then we'd be like whoops, and so it was.
But anyway, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
I'm gonna which which prop would you secretly kind of
wish you had at home from.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
The show On the show. Oh, that's a very good question.
Oh what prop? I mean, there's a lot of sweaters
that I do wish I was able to take. I
have got I got one or two of them. But
what prop? That is excellent?
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
I think it would be fun to have one of
the bloody knitting needles. Oh yeah, frame it like, frame
the two little bloody knitting needles. That would be kind
of cool. I think the frozen cat would be amazing
except creep me out a little bit. I think I
would say the blood knitting needle cool.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Yeah, the frozen cat. You could take inspiration from Emily's
story and just bring it out into random zooms.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Yeah, sometimes just have it behind you on a shelf.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Yeah, dog would not love that. She would not know.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
As ltely not. Oh you're an animal person, yes, big, big,
big animal person on screen and off screen.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
On screen, off screen, on screen. I think I've counted
how many on the show. A kitten, a bird, a pig,
a dog, a parrot. Yes, so five five animals so
far on the show and in life. I have one dog,
(15:28):
an amazing, incredible dog. Oh.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I read on the internet about your animal advocacy m
HM with a adoption agency.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
I like, anytime I can advocate for animals, I will.
You know, I got Sharon from Sharon is my dog's.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Name A great Dog's Day.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
It was originally Fiona when we adopted her, and that
was just like too Irish for me, Like it's too
like a like distinct name Fiona, And I was like,
I want to I wanted to be Sharon, so we
changed your name. But she we got her from this
place called Muddy Pause, which is an incredible rescue here
in New York. And then there's this place, Best Friend's
(16:13):
Animals Sanctuary that I, you know, go support and go
to their benefits and things like that. But you know,
I'm I'm any way I can advocate for and I'm
so pro dog adoption. I just think it like completely
changed my life in such a good way. I think
everybody should do it. It seems so scary, right, like
I was like, oh, I don't know how I'm gonna
(16:33):
make time or how my schedule's going allowed, and it
just works perfectly, makes me so much calmer.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
It kind of just happens, doesn't it.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yeah, do you have animals?
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Oh, Dally, yes, your your whole cat story is Oh.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Yeah, yeah, there's that as well. But also I've had
a lady coming in looking after my dog while I
was on holiday last week, and in the hour and
a half that they were on their own, they completely
destroyed my sofa. My sofa, so they cannot be alone
(17:08):
for any period of time.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
What kind of dogs, Well, there.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Were a nightmare. There are a cross beagle and body collie.
They need a lot of but which they usually get.
But yeah, that was not an option, but it's mine. Whatever,
But yeah, I had a cat. We basically my husband
was driving home from work and there was a there
(17:34):
was some kittens. He saw some kittens on the ground
on this really busy road. He got up to try
and rescue it. It disappeared. He thought it must have
run off, and then our car randomly started making noises
when we got home, and I was like, what are these?
Why used the calm meowing? And this little tiny kitten
just kind of crawled into this little bit underneath the
(17:57):
car kind even in between the wheel arch, and it's
done so much. My legit had been all the way
to Liverpool and back, like I don't know, nobody understands
how it's live. It's Calledlando. This is the second so yeah, Lando,
after the F one driver, was also named after the
Star Wars character Anyway. AnyWho.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
So, yeah, it's a big.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Animal house over here. Haven't you got any Emily?
Speaker 3 (18:26):
No, Emily, you have to on it, my friend.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
I'm so sorry, guys, I'm so allergic to everything. Yeah,
I just I tried dog sitting once and I had
five days in Oh yeah. I had to call and
be like, I think I might be dying. And then
thankfully I went and got allergy tested. I'm so sorry
we're talking about this. I went and got allergy tested,
(18:52):
and the woman was like, okay, i'll come back in
fifteen minutes, and before she even left the room she
was like, oh my god, you're allergic to like every
my that was like, so I was like, at least
I was correct and I didn't like but yeah, it's yeah,
I have I have a jellycat stuffed animal.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Is that okay?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
You know what as long as you have something to
give love to that.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Yeah, I'm gonna steer us back.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
I'm well done, because I was about to go on.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I'm gonna steer us back to you and only murders
of the building. I I have so many questions, but
I know I have to pick and choose my favorites.
I want to ask about the reason I love your
character so much is because, well, so many reasons, but
(19:42):
I feel like the physicality of the character is like
you can just be be being physical or not talking
at all, and I still laugh out loud, And I'm
wondering if you can describe what it was like to film.
My favorite scene in the series is the season two
Killer reveal party, and anytime you pass out, I'm I'm like.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I mean that was so fun. I every episode.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, when Steve sits back up with the knife and
you faint again and then you're like, I only fainted
for real one time, Like, can you just Scott, can
you just tell me anything you can tell me about
how you heared that incredible?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
That was an incredible scene to film because we had
to film it over it felt like a million days
because nobody was available. Again, nobody was available at the
same time. There was a lot of scheduling things, a
lot of stuff, so like there are certain days we'd
film it and I wouldn't be there because I was
doing Missus Mason at the time. There were certain days
that Jackie Hoffman wasn't available, so she wouldn't be there.
(20:45):
Tina fe wasn't available for a large chunk of it,
so we were acting with a body double of hers,
and somehow it edits all together again seamlessly, and you
can't tell that we're all there at different times, but
I do feel like that was a moment where Howard
really a new part of him got unlocked. Sort of
this character every season there's like a new part of
(21:06):
him that I am able to unlock in my brain.
And this, knowing that he wanted to be an actor
and wasn't very good at it, was such an exciting, delicious,
like fun thing to play. Yes, and just sort of
he's always sort of outside of his body, watching himself
in a way, so like his movements are so I
(21:30):
don't plan them out, but it just feels like I
guess I thought about, like how would someone move if
they were like constantly so self conscious that it was
almost like they were standing next to themselves watching themselves
say a line. So that's sort of where the movement
comes from. Like, a big part of him is that
he's constantly very aware of himself to a fault, and
(21:55):
I think it changes the way he moves and the
way he the way he acts. Like I always say
that he's a very amped up version of me.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
I sometimes can feel like I'm outside of myself watching myself.
But Howard, it's like times a million.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
It's so incredible.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Thanks, Oh, I love it. Which cast mate do you
think would solve a real murder the fastest in real life?
Speaker 3 (22:28):
That is a really good question. I think it would be.
I think I feel like Selena would would. I know
she's like very into mystery. She's very into She's very
into the mystery of the show. She likes to find
things out as we go and try to solve it
(22:48):
on her own. I think she is like very sharp
and smart, and uh, I feel like she would be
really good at solving a real life mystery.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
That's a good one.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
So not you, not me, No, I'm bad at it.
I try to solve it every single season. I'm always
wrong here.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
You thinking.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
I was thinking, probably not Steve Martin or Tina Fey
seems I mean she seems like she maybe would be
because she's like a writer. I mean you too, Michael
is like anyone who's a writer maybe could work backwards. Yeah,
but no, I did one escape room one time, and.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
I don't have the patience for it.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
No.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
I'm always like I'm yeah, I'm always very way off,
way off on my mystery solving, Like I always every
season I think I did it or I'm dead every
single season, and so far we can't speak about five.
But like, so far, up until this point, I've always
been wrong.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, yeah, we well we can't kill how that would be?
That would be I would be like no, especially because
you just you just won us a sag Award I did.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
With the ensemble, which was so cool. It was so awesome,
very very surprising. We did not expect it. It was
really amazing. I'm looking at it now, it's in my bedroom.
It's uh. It was really cool. It was really unexpected.
We've been nominated every year and it was it was
(24:31):
really nice to be recognized among the whole cast, the
whole ensemble. It was very very cool and it was
a really fun night.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
I'm sure.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Yeah, I recommend it, Emily.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Do you want to?
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Oh sorry, yes, yes I will looking at.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Your big list of only murders in the building questions.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
I know, I know, I'm just.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
I'm encouraging you onwards, my friends.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Okay, Okay, thank you. Okay, So I'm gonna I'm going
to perhaps misquote you, and you tell me if what
I read from this quote from you is not correct,
and then we can skip it. So I read allegedly
that you had said something along the lines of like,
(25:20):
Howard has a lot of parts of you and him,
and then there was something along the lines of it,
like some parts that you didn't think would help you
be a successful actor that have Now.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Yeah, yeah, I know what you're talking about. Yeah, you're
you're like sort of quoting me. I understand what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Okay, great, I'm wondering. I'm wondering if you can elaborate
that and then and then how you kind of learned
to unlock that, because it's obviously worked out incredibly well
for you.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Maybe I can solve the mystery. So I I always say, yes,
he is parts of me amped up to like a
thousand like he's you know, some of the good parts
of me and some of the very bad parts of me,
you know, very much elevated an elevated version of that.
And I I think for a long time I was
(26:17):
trying to as an actor, and when I was auditioning
and stuff, trying to fit into a mold that really
wouldn't doesn't exist for me, like, you know, trying to
do what I thought people wanted me to do, or
what I thought was the right way to approach a character,
as opposed to the way I wanted to approach it.
So I think once I started not worrying about what
(26:42):
other people wanted and sort of just approached the script
and the text and the parts the way that felt
organic to me, that's when I started booking things, you know,
when I wasn't trying to be something I'm not. Once
I embraced all of my the things that make me me,
my voice, my shape, my sense of humor, the way
(27:04):
my brain works, like all of that stuff, as opposed
to fighting against it and thinking of them as liabilities
to having a career. I sort of realized, oh, the
things that make me different are the things that will
get me jobs. And are why I work and are
why people want to work with me. So that was
a game changer once I started embracing the stuff that
for a while, especially in college and whatnot, I thought
(27:26):
were liabilities. You know, oh, people don't sound like this,
or I'm too effeminate to play that kind of part,
or nobody with this type of body plays that kind
of role. And that was all garbage that was in
my head. Once I got to let it go, it
really opened up the kind of roles that I got
to play.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Did you have a moment, like a moment that switched
that or did it happen slowly?
Speaker 3 (27:50):
It sort of happened slowly. I think. I still sometimes
can fall into typing myself, but anytime I like typing
my helf out. But that is I've realized so foolish
because I've gotten roles that if I was left to
my own devices, I wouldn't have auditioned for because I
(28:12):
thought that's it wasn't my type of role. And then
those roles have changed my life, you know, like those
you know, there's all sorts of peaks and valleys to
it all, I think, and I've just been I've been
really lucky that I've gotten to play so many different
types of characters, even though I'm such a specific type
(28:32):
of actor. You know, I never feel like I'm playing
the same guy. They all look and sound like this,
because that's who I am. But I don't feel like
I'm doing you know, repeats all the time. You know,
the guy that I played on Missus Masel is so
incredibly different than Howard, who is so incredibly different than
the guy I played on Dexter. Like they're just they're
(28:55):
all different. They all most of them like animals and
happen to be.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
You've got You've got range, You've got rang your website,
greets us with actor writer dreamboat. That's range. Which of
those you wake up as most mornings.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Which actor on most mornings? Those are the two that
are like always. That's a baseline, and then it takes
me a little more work to like write.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Louis, I'm gonna move us on to the next sex section,
which we call the story Okay, and this is basically,
have you had something happen in your career when you've
just kind of looked around yourself and gone like this
(29:50):
is ridiculous. What am I doing? What am I doing?
Speaker 3 (29:53):
This?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
For why, like it's it's almost your game over and
then you can come out of it.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
So many times, Yes, I have had that. I have
had so many times where I was ready to give
up until I wasn't, you know, like until I was like, Okay,
well that's not an option. I don't really have any
backup plan. But there was a moment where I was like,
what am I doing this? This story I find so
(30:22):
embarrassing and so funny. Yes, audition. I have not been
able to book a commercial ever, Like, for the life
of me, I can't book a commercial. I booked one
commercial once for someplace in Amsterdam. The whole company went bankrupt.
I never got paid. It was three spots. It just
was like, there's just these three commercials that I did
(30:43):
for free somewhere in Amsterdam. But I can't I can't
seem to book commercials and I don't really go out
for them that really at all anymore. But there was
this point where I got a commercial for an Irish
potato chip and it was the audition was I was
like very excited. I was like, I might get to
(31:03):
a film in Ireland. This is a very big deal.
I forget what the name of the Pastado ships were,
but the spot was they were like wear shorts and
a short sleeve shirt to the audition. I was like, okay,
I have shorts. And it was a play on this,
like I think it was a Good Diver or some
sort of chocolate ad where it was a woman laying
in a bathtub biting a chocolate and then having like
(31:26):
in organsm. She was like an ecstasy. So it was
supposed to be this but with like a guy in
a bathtub eating potato chips. So they have like this.
They have this like cardboard cut out of a bathtub,
and they have a couple like blocks behind it to
(31:46):
sit on, and they have They're like, can you just
roll up your shorts like really high, like roll them
up really high so it looks like when you're in
the bathtub you're not wearing any shorts. And I'm like okay, sure,
and they're like can you yeah and take off your
shirt and get in the bathtub And I'm like okay.
So I'm like in a pair of shorts rolled up
so much they look like a diaper. I have no
(32:06):
shirt on. I am sitting on these two blocks in
behind a cardboard cutout of the bath tub and pretending
to eat potato chips and have an orgasm, and I
fall out of bathtub. So I am like, I'm like hmm,
and I like move and it's so precarious that I
fall out. I'm laying on top of the cardboard cutout.
(32:29):
I am everything is in disarray, the blocks are all
over the place, and I like, just look up and
everyone at the table is like covering their faces, shoulders
shaking like you're you know, like the kind of giggling
you get when you're not supposed to giggle. And then
like one of them finally was like I'll help I'll
help them up. I'll help them out and help me out.
(32:51):
And that was that and I left and I was like,
this couldn't get any worse. This could not get any worse.
This I was like, this was a commercial for potato chips.
And I ended up laying half naked on the floor,
unable to get get up. It was horrible. I later
did that as a performance piece, like a like a
(33:12):
performance and someone came up to me afterwards and was
like that was so brave, so brave. My shirt off.
It was. So that was the moment where I was
like what the am I doing? But then there's like
more you know, more practical things. You know, there's like,
you know, I've really gotten close to things and they
(33:35):
didn't pan out. That's everybody's story. I've had roles that
were written for me or like written with details of
my life that I just didn't get for one reason
or another. And that's all just stuff that like I
learned to be resilient about. And uh, it really does
help obviously that I work a lot. So once I
(33:56):
was able to stop thinking that each job was going
to be my salvation, that it was going to get
me out of my situation, or you know, I wouldn't
have to work my day job if I just got
that one thing, And then you get that one thing
and you're like, whoa, I need twenty of these things
to even take a week off of my day job.
You know, once that all sort of once I put
less pressure on everything and started working more, I had
(34:20):
less of those moments obviously of wanting to you know,
hang in the towel. But I don't know if it'll
ever I mean that might come again, who knows.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
Really.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Right now, I'm so happy to be working so regularly,
especially on this show that I love so much that
I feel like the only thing to do is to
enjoy this time and trust that the work will keep
coming in the future. So that's a good place to be.
It's a horrible place to be, Like most actors, it's
a horrible place to like have that feeling of wanting
(34:53):
to give up. Yeah, but isn't that how everybody's story
turns out? Like they're like, and then I said I
was going to ge up and I got a series
regular and blah blah blah, Like you know, everybody's story
sort of begins with them wanting to give up. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Yeah, yeah, that's very me where I'm like, okay, yeah,
what's going on?
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Yeah, it's just sitting in it, isn't it? And like
how long you can sit in the discomfit of it?
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Yeah, it's hard.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Keeping all of that in mind. What would you say
your definition is of the phrase making it? So when
people say I've made it or or I want to
make it, Like, what in your world does that mean?
Speaker 3 (35:45):
For me? That means being able to make a living
as an artist and working. For me, it's like working
on material that makes you happy and you feel proud
of working on a show that or a movie or
a piece of theater that you would watch is like
(36:06):
for me absolutely making it like you could do a
million TV shows, but if it's something that you're not
proud of, I feel like that's not making it. I
feel like and then being able to trust you know, oh,
the work will keep coming. There might be breaks and
peaks and valleys like I said, but the work will
(36:26):
keep keep coming. This is the long road. For me.
That feels like making it. Just knowing that this is it,
this is I will. I am an actor. Saying I
am an actor and not saying it with any sort
of shame is making it right. Like that takes so long,
at least it did for me to say I am
an actor and not feel like I was apologizing or
(36:48):
being like, no, really I am I swear like just
to say I'm an actor, That's what I do. That
to me feels like making it for sure.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
Yeah, when you were like back working theater box office,
did you ever see yourself getting there? Like, could you
envisage that.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
I have surpassed my vision of where I would be?
For sure? I did think I would. I thought I
was going to be doing theater like all the time,
and I thought that would be my world that I
was in and that's where I would find my success.
And it turned out that it was TV and film,
(37:30):
and I'm so thrilled with how it's turned out. Like
I love the medium of TV. I do miss theater
a bit. I would love to do a play. But yeah, no,
I didn't. I I in my wildest dreams. I guess
part of me thought like, oh, yeah, you will be
(37:51):
a success and you'll work with great people. But right
now I'm working with so many great people that it's
like almost much. It's like, you know, no, I wasn't
sitting in the box office being like, you're gonna be
on a TV show with Steve Martin, Martin schwartzlinighm az Uh,
Meryl Streep McClain one year, Like it's like so over
(38:15):
the top in a great way that Yeah, I didn't
manifest that this was not I wasn't thinking it would
be this.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Great Meryl Streep. Yeah, like in real life.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Absolutely, I think absolutely what you think she would be. Like.
She's lovely, disarming, kind cool, so fun to listen to,
She's so smart and really just like lights up a room.
She's everything she's She's Meryl Streep, She's everything you think
she would be. I met her the first time on
(38:51):
The Post when I did that movie, very briefly, but
I got to watch her work a lot in that
and that was invaluable. Like getting to watch their scene
where the camera is swirling around her while she's on
the phone in the Post. Yes, and it's one of
the most amazing things. And it was one of the
most amazing things to watch, and then to get to
it again on Only Murders, like watching her in season
(39:13):
three do the Lullaby, Sing the Lullaby over and over again.
I love it. Was one of the greatest days on
set for sure. So yeah, she's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
I think I'm responsible for like twenty thousand of the
streams of that Spotify.
Speaker 3 (39:30):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
I love it so much. Do you have a moment
obviously no spoilers, but a moment that you're particularly looking
forward to people seeing for season five?
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Yeah? I think that Howard's arc is really you haven't
seen it all, have you? No, you don't get any
episodes or anything. No, okay, well, Howard's arc is really satisfying.
I think for me and I think we get to
see different again, different versions of him. He's a little
(40:04):
ornery and sort of like trying to be independent. In
the first part of the season, he you know, there's
he gets a new friend that is ridiculous, and then uh,
there's a really amazing payoff. I think there's a great
there's something I'm very excited for people to see. Uh,
sort of sort of a grounded Howard at one point.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Okay, great, I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
You love it so much.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
I I listen, I have seen the Posts, and I've
I've seen Spotlight, and I watched Missus maisl In fact,
my dad has now taken to saying to me like,
anytime I'm about to do this recording, he'll be like,
tits up and I'm like, I don't think we have
the same Yeah, but I love I love only Murders
(40:54):
in the building because it's one of those things where
there's a few shows and films and plays. I'd throw
like death becomes her in there too, the play, but
where you're watching it and you're like, I can't believe
that this all came together, and like, if you think
about it too much, it's somehow going to disappear, like
the fact that this was coming together and now I
(41:14):
get to enjoy it. That's how I feel about Only Murders,
and then that I love the music, and yeah, I
love that. You know. Anyway, if you had to give
a title to your career so far, so like if
it was a chapter in a book and you were
giving it a title, what would that be and you
(41:37):
can have as much time as.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
Yes, I would call it obviously very specific, because that
is a note that a very good casting director gave along.
Like right around that time where I was like, I'll
never work. I don't know where I fit in. I
was pitched for some play and the casting director said, well,
we love Michael, but you know, he's obviously very specific,
(42:05):
and that's a good thing. But I learned that's a
really really good thing. But for a while I was like,
that's such a bad thing. So I think that would
be the title because I think it's the story of
learning that you can take things two ways. You can
think about something as a negative or a positive, and
it's so much easier to think of it as a positive.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Yeah, the mental load of it is so much easier
and lighters.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
Yeah, it's like I was just watching that show Couple's
Therapy on HBO. Do you watch it? So there's a
season where there's like one of the wives is like
just constantly can't stop herself from yelling and screaming, and
the therapist is like, you're doing so much work right now,
just let me do the words don't do so much work,
And I was like, that is such a great note,
(42:49):
like what a good therapist. Don't don't work so hard.
You don't have to work so hard, Like we get it. So, yeah,
it's easier to think of things positively.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
If you were at a memoir that that that has
to be obviously very specific. Should a thousand percent be
the title title?
Speaker 3 (43:06):
Right?
Speaker 1 (43:06):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (43:07):
Yeah, we've never had one quite like that before.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
No, it's mostly people in a panic about never working again.
Speaker 3 (43:16):
Oh oh.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
Yeah, they're very successful. Like you said, they have it
in their mind that.
Speaker 3 (43:26):
Like I can't do it. I think about I can't
do it anymore like that. That is like a default.
That would be like the base for me to be like,
oh my god, the show's not going to run forever,
and then what am I going to do next? I
cannot do it because it just will make me crazy.
So I want to do less work in that regard
and just at least for now while I'm happy and
while I am working, trust that it's going to be okay. Yeah,
(43:49):
get in touch with me if you know the show
ever ends and I'm like unemployed for a while, I'll
probably change my tune. But like it's just much better too,
I think for me to try to find the positive.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
When we interviewed John Macgaro, he was he said the
same thing. He was like, contact me next year and
I'll let you know my title has changed, and he
was like hashtag. It was twenty twenty four, so he
was like, this is datemarked.
Speaker 3 (44:17):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
Oh, thank you for having me. This was so fun.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
This was I'm glad.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
I know I'm always like I'm like, yay, having a
good time.
Speaker 3 (44:37):
Uh wait, how do you know each other?
Speaker 2 (44:41):
Emily?
Speaker 1 (44:43):
So in twenty twenty, I was working at Warner Brothers.
I was living in LA I was working at Warner
Brothers as a cast assistant, and I'm a networking fiend
and I reached out to Haley on LinkedIn and she
ghosted me. And then three months later I was like, hey,
it's me again.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
I was also working at Warner Brothers.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Yes, so she was working at Warner Brothers in the UK,
and so I was like, let's talk about working at
Warner Brothers together. And then I eventually got her to
FaceTime with me, and then I have been bugging her
every day for the last five years.
Speaker 3 (45:26):
Oh my god, looking, hey, are you casting in the UK?
You working castine?
Speaker 2 (45:32):
No, I'm an intimacy coordinator. Oh my god, So yeah,
I do. I do that.
Speaker 3 (45:38):
I have a friend who's an actress there from America
who I wonder if you know her. But her name's
desre Birch. Ooh, she's she was on Taskmaster. She's the
voice of Too Hot to Handle.
Speaker 1 (45:49):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (45:52):
One of my best friends and one of the greatest people.
And she she's like a great story because she was
always one of the She was always the smartest, funniest
woman in the room, and just New York was not
embracing her. And then she went to Edinburgh and did
her solo show which was called fifty two Man pick
Up and a Guy, and then she moved to London.
(46:14):
Then her and the guy didn't stay together, but she
sort of created this career and she's got an incredible
career in London, Like, she works there and she has
a house there, and she's a new boyfriend and I'm
so proud of her.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
Let's get her on the pod.
Speaker 2 (46:28):
I love Task Muster.
Speaker 3 (46:32):
Yeah, she's a show.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
Yeah, Haley's a big, a big deal over there coordinating
me intimacy, She's.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
I do the sex scenes.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
She's one of the best in the Yeah, I do
know who she is.
Speaker 3 (46:46):
Fabulous, she's awesome.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
But yes, if she needs any sex scenes coordinating, I
will let you know.
Speaker 3 (46:55):
I love you well. Thank you so much for having me.
It was so nice to meet both.
Speaker 1 (46:58):
Of you, to see you uh in Asbury sometimes.
Speaker 3 (47:03):
What's what's a year?
Speaker 1 (47:05):
Okay next next August?
Speaker 3 (47:08):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
How to Make It is recorded from a closet in
New Jersey and a basement in Leeds, United Kingdom. It's
produced by Emily Capello and Haley Miurleidarn. For full length
videos of our episodes, subscribe to our YouTube channel at
how to Make It Podcast. For more adventures with Emily
and Haley. Follow us on Instagram at how to Make
(47:32):
It Podcast, where you'll find clips from today's episode, mini
episode clips, and more random nonsense like and subscribe to
our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever other fine
podcasts are found. O
Hi, I'm Emily and I'm Hailey. After meeting online, we
became international best friends who bonded over how hard it
is to find success in the entertainment industry.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Join us and our celebrity co authors as they help
us write the book on how to make.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It and more importantly, uncover what making it even means?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
May that made us sound so much more serious than
we actually are? Should we switch roles on this time?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Okay, see that's the intro.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Hi, I'm Michael Cyril Creighton. And I wanted to be
a priest when I grew up.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yes, we've never had that now that has changed.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
That changed pretty quickly. That was, but it was like
between a priest and a toy maker. I actually have
a book, like my little book, you know, when you
write what you wanted to be when you were, when
you were when you grow up, and it was a priest,
a toy maker, and a cake maker. I am none
of those things. I played a priest before, but yeah,
I thought it would be a cool thing to be
(01:17):
until I realized absolutely not sure.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Wow, how incredibly wholesome?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
All three?
Speaker 3 (01:28):
What kind of toys like action figures, female action figures?
Because there were never enough, you can never find them.
They were always like they made less of them. I
always wanted them, so yeah, i'd be I would do that.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yeah, I like that. One. Was there one you were
trying to find that you couldn't ye Cheetara.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It was from the ThunderCats and there was a like
a female Thundercat named Chittara, and it was impossible to
find amazing that you had, Like when you're I, I
think you're probably much younger than I am. But when
these toys, they were not super articulated. So you would
get them finally and you try to turn their heads
so they could talk to other toys, and their head
(02:10):
would break off because they were not meant to turn
too much. So it's like you'd spend months trying to
find this action figure and then within two minutes you'd
break it because you were trying to make it, you know,
speak to other people.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Sad times. I was just looking up here because I'm
pretty sure I've got a he Man somewhere. Yeah, I've
got loads of random No it's not there. I think
it's upstairs. But yeah, I've got a he Man somewhere.
But no, I've got Lando from Star Wars here, which
is completely different. That's really cool. Like what was with
(02:44):
the priest thing? What do you think.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I grew up really Catholic, and when I was young,
like they were My family was friends with priests. I
went to Catholic school. I like like looked up to
a until I like you know, turned until I was older,
and then I realized maybe not. And I it was
something that, uh, you know, seemed like it would be
(03:09):
a good thing to be because you'd be able to
help people and you got to wear the cool outfit
and all that stuff. But as I got older, it
was definitely not for me. Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
You did, Yeah, I said, I quite fancied that, but
it's because I didn't understand it. It was the idea
of just the justice of it all. But before I
realized about religion, well, when you're.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Little, like you're just told what you are. And so
I was from like first through seventh grade, I was
voted Christian of the Year, which I don't know really
what that even, man, it just meant I was like
the nicest boy there was a boy and a girl.
I was the nicest boy from first through seventh grade,
and then seventh grade it like all went to hell.
You know, I was told the whole time growing up
(03:56):
that you know, I was Christ Like, that's psychotic. So
next thing to do, obviously, is to become a priest,
So I can, you know, wow follow my calling Anyway,
I had the.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
It would be nice to not have to think about
what you're wearing every day. But I also I also
had that that kind of like illusion stripped at a
very young age because our priests ended up going to
jail for embezzling like a ton of money from the God.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Wow, better thing than that's what he went to jail for.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
I mean, the people making donations were a little bit bumped.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Times. That's that's that's a better crime.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Anyway, I'll move us into our random facts section.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
I well, MLA because I was just about to take
us onto fleabags priest.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
This is a different kind of episode for us today.
I had a fact for you. I was going to
talk all about tennis and the US Open, and then
you posted your like August slideshow on Instagram and I
think you and I may enjoy going to the same
bar in Asbury Park.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Wow, that is a really interesting fact off the internet.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
Interesting fact which bar with the Yeah, I mean, I
like the bar by the pool there, and yeah, it's
really fun. I love that pool like it's a place
where it feels like everybody's welcome, you know, it's just
very inclusive space. And yeah, I loved I love that bar.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
I was there on Sunday and one of the security
guards fell in.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Actually really, I never go at night, Like, I'm not
like we if we go to Asbury Park, it's like
either a day trip or like maybe a couple of
nights or whatever. But I'm not like a club person.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Oh no, neither.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
This was like the daytime around the pool is.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
This was six pm, and you can bet that my
I had to ride home at seven thirty. I was
home by eight o'clock. But I saw the picture and
I was like, wait a second.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I was just there, Yes, do.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
You live here? Raspberry Park?
Speaker 1 (06:14):
I'm like twenty minutes away.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
There's a really good restaurant there call Okay Judy's.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Okay, great, you should go there.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
It was a great restaurant. We had a good time.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
What kind of food is it?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
It's the whole concept is that it's a Judy is
like a Jewish woman who believes she's Italian. It's like
Jewish and Italian mixed together. It's the person's mother like
the owner's either the owner of the chef's mother and
the food and Harry's. Yes, that's exactly it. Bar in
the front is called Harry's, and I guess it's named
(06:47):
after the father, the Judy's husband. I don't know. Is
this what your interviewser usually like herself.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
This looks amazing.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Bailey likes to do research in real time, as if
she's gonna say.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Too, yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
It drives Emily and said She's like, you're looking at
your phone, looking at your phone. I'm just looking up
the menu. It looks amazing. They've got some lacker yep,
the lack of good amazing. Anyway, anyway, take me away, Harley.
I'm here. Sorry, I'm back in the zone. I'm just
really hungry. You made me hungry. You are the jeans
(07:33):
guy on thirty Rock.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
Yes, that was my first TV audition ever. That's so cool,
my first TV audition, my first job on TV, and
I love that episode. It's so funny. So yeah, someone
else about this. I had no I've had, like from
the beginning, I've been acting with idols of mine, so
it's like I have no time to be starstruck or
(07:59):
you know, nerve about it. I just kind of have
to go in and do my job. So I really
kind of lucked out that was my first job because
I'm such a Tina fe fan. Yeah, and it was
such a memorable you know, everything on thirty Rock is
so memorable. But it's a very quotable role.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
These genes are singing Halliburton bitch. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I love it. Such a good episode of all the
episodes to be in in your first audition, I.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Know, TV audition nailed it, got it.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
What do you think got you that role? What was
good about that audition?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
I think, uh the cast. I met the casting director
at an opening night party of a play. Her Tachia
blick Felt is her name, and I didn't know who
she who she was or what she cast. And we
were just having a conversation. She was talking about the
web series that I made and how she liked it.
She's like, there might be something for you on the
show that I work on, and I was like, oh cool,
what's the show? And she's in thirty Rocks. I was like,
(08:57):
So I went into that situation not knowing who she
was and being able to just talked to her like
a person. And then, you know, because it was my
first ever audition, it seemed like it was going to
be first ever TV audition. It felt like it was
going to be It felt so far off, it felt
like it wasn't real. Yeah, so I think I just
went in and did it, and she was definitely in
(09:17):
my corner. She later created High Maintenance and and oh
I got to play a beautiful role on that. So
she was always a big supporter. But she and Jessica
Daniels and Jennifer McNamara, that casting team are the ones
that gave me my first shot.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah. So making those contacts and then sharing them the goods.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Yeah, it doesn't always happen that way, but it worked.
It was easy that day.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
You have a habit of working with the same people
because Tina Fey then ended up in Only Murders in
the Building. Yeah, And I know there's another character that
was in your on your YouTube in Jack in the
Box and it Up.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Oh yeah, Jackie Hokson and Peter Bartlett, who was in
season three. There's a lot of people who are on
my web series from like two thousand and nine that
have and then uh, yeah, I have some repeats like
I worked with Rachel McAdams twice, once in Spotlight and
once speaking to priests like that, and once in Game Night. Yeah.
(10:27):
I luck out. I get to work with a lot
of great people.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
This is incredible amount of But I also think like
I had seen you in Jack in the Box a
million years ago. Wow, And so I feel like I've
seen you. And then I watched Time Maintenance and then
I feel like I've seen you pop up and I
love Howard so much and I feel like he like
(10:53):
your first like really meaty scene in season one is
the whole cat and the freezer yeah thing, and that's
like the first like real belly laugh I had from
the show is here. It's like a very physical role,
and I feel like did it was it going to
be smaller and then it grew into this bigger roller?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Did you know? It?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Was?
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Funny thing about that episode I'll tell you in a second,
but it was supposed to be two episodes. It was
supposed to be the episode where you find out my
cat died and I'm crying at the meeting, and then
the second episode was that I was hired for was
that one. So the first episode where I'm crying in
the lobby and like wiping my face and wiping my
nose the whole time. I got COVID during that episode,
(11:37):
right in the height of everything. So the next episode,
I was sick and I was like, well, they're going
to replace me or they're going to change the script.
But they waited till I was better. They waited the
fourteen days and then to be extra extra safe because
it was like back in the day before vaccines and stuff,
they had me shoot separately, so I actually was not
(11:58):
in the room with them when for that scene. And
for me, when I watch it, I can tell and
it makes me I don't like that. However, it plays
so well for other people that I just have to believe.
But yeah, Stephen Selena were you know, did the scene
with my body double who is now my stand in
(12:18):
the sky Jordan, who's fantastic and has been around for
the whole five years. They did the scene with him.
I was in another room by myself. I watched the
scene on an iPad like he held the iPad up
to his face for a minute, and I did the
scene with them once and then after they were done.
They brought me in and I just did it by
myself for like, you know, like forty minutes, maybe maybe
(12:39):
half an hour, and.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
You cannot you cannot tell.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
I'm so happy to hear that. Still, I'm so happy
to hear that.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
And I feel compelled to tell you that. In twenty twenty,
I was taking an online zoom improv class, which was
really difficult, but it was you see b and it
was like all, you know, all we could do. And
my teacher paused one class to show us the frozen
squirrel that he had in his freezer.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
No why.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
He had, like had it as a prop and then
he like wanted to keep it. And one of the
girls in my class was like, it's right next to
your food. And then when that's like one of the
lines and that.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Isn't it crazy?
Speaker 1 (13:25):
And then we called ourselves the frozen squirrels.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
That is really creepy.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Was he a good teacher?
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah? Yeah, I mean the you shouldn't do improv on
zoom because it would be like, okay, two people, turn
your cameras on when you're ready, and then four of
us would do it and then we'd be like, oh sorry,
and then we'd all turn our cameras off in that
and then we'd be like whoops, and so it was.
But anyway, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
I'm gonna which which prop would you secretly kind of
wish you had at home from.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
The show On the show. Oh, that's a very good question.
Oh what prop? I mean, there's a lot of sweaters
that I do wish I was able to take. I
have got I got one or two of them. But
what prop? That is excellent?
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
I think it would be fun to have one of
the bloody knitting needles. Oh yeah, frame it like, frame
the two little bloody knitting needles. That would be kind
of cool. I think the frozen cat would be amazing
except creep me out a little bit. I think I
would say the blood knitting needle cool.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Yeah, the frozen cat. You could take inspiration from Emily's
story and just bring it out into random zooms.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Yeah, sometimes just have it behind you on a shelf.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Yeah, dog would not love that. She would not know.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
As ltely not. Oh you're an animal person, yes, big, big,
big animal person on screen and off screen.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
On screen, off screen, on screen. I think I've counted
how many on the show. A kitten, a bird, a pig,
a dog, a parrot. Yes, so five five animals so
far on the show and in life. I have one dog,
(15:28):
an amazing, incredible dog. Oh.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
I read on the internet about your animal advocacy m
HM with a adoption agency.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
I like, anytime I can advocate for animals, I will.
You know, I got Sharon from Sharon is my dog's.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Name A great Dog's Day.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
It was originally Fiona when we adopted her, and that
was just like too Irish for me, Like it's too
like a like distinct name Fiona, And I was like,
I want to I wanted to be Sharon, so we
changed your name. But she we got her from this
place called Muddy Pause, which is an incredible rescue here
in New York. And then there's this place, Best Friend's
(16:13):
Animals Sanctuary that I, you know, go support and go
to their benefits and things like that. But you know,
I'm I'm any way I can advocate for and I'm
so pro dog adoption. I just think it like completely
changed my life in such a good way. I think
everybody should do it. It seems so scary, right, like
I was like, oh, I don't know how I'm gonna
(16:33):
make time or how my schedule's going allowed, and it
just works perfectly, makes me so much calmer.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
It kind of just happens, doesn't it.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Yeah, do you have animals?
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Oh, Dally, yes, your your whole cat story is Oh.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Yeah, yeah, there's that as well. But also I've had
a lady coming in looking after my dog while I
was on holiday last week, and in the hour and
a half that they were on their own, they completely
destroyed my sofa. My sofa, so they cannot be alone
(17:08):
for any period of time.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
What kind of dogs, Well, there.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Were a nightmare. There are a cross beagle and body collie.
They need a lot of but which they usually get.
But yeah, that was not an option, but it's mine. Whatever,
But yeah, I had a cat. We basically my husband
was driving home from work and there was a there
(17:34):
was some kittens. He saw some kittens on the ground
on this really busy road. He got up to try
and rescue it. It disappeared. He thought it must have
run off, and then our car randomly started making noises
when we got home, and I was like, what are these?
Why used the calm meowing? And this little tiny kitten
just kind of crawled into this little bit underneath the
(17:57):
car kind even in between the wheel arch, and it's
done so much. My legit had been all the way
to Liverpool and back, like I don't know, nobody understands
how it's live. It's Calledlando. This is the second so yeah, Lando,
after the F one driver, was also named after the
Star Wars character Anyway. AnyWho.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
So, yeah, it's a big.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Animal house over here. Haven't you got any Emily?
Speaker 3 (18:26):
No, Emily, you have to on it, my friend.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
I'm so sorry, guys, I'm so allergic to everything. Yeah,
I just I tried dog sitting once and I had
five days in Oh yeah. I had to call and
be like, I think I might be dying. And then
thankfully I went and got allergy tested. I'm so sorry
we're talking about this. I went and got allergy tested,
(18:52):
and the woman was like, okay, i'll come back in
fifteen minutes, and before she even left the room she
was like, oh my god, you're allergic to like every
my that was like, so I was like, at least
I was correct and I didn't like but yeah, it's yeah,
I have I have a jellycat stuffed animal.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Is that okay?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
You know what as long as you have something to
give love to that.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Yeah, I'm gonna steer us back.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
I'm well done, because I was about to go on.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I'm gonna steer us back to you and only murders
of the building. I I have so many questions, but
I know I have to pick and choose my favorites.
I want to ask about the reason I love your
character so much is because, well, so many reasons, but
(19:42):
I feel like the physicality of the character is like
you can just be be being physical or not talking
at all, and I still laugh out loud, And I'm
wondering if you can describe what it was like to film.
My favorite scene in the series is the season two
Killer reveal party, and anytime you pass out, I'm I'm like.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
I mean that was so fun. I every episode.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, when Steve sits back up with the knife and
you faint again and then you're like, I only fainted
for real one time, Like, can you just Scott, can
you just tell me anything you can tell me about
how you heared that incredible?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
That was an incredible scene to film because we had
to film it over it felt like a million days
because nobody was available. Again, nobody was available at the
same time. There was a lot of scheduling things, a
lot of stuff, so like there are certain days we'd
film it and I wouldn't be there because I was
doing Missus Mason at the time. There were certain days
that Jackie Hoffman wasn't available, so she wouldn't be there.
(20:45):
Tina fe wasn't available for a large chunk of it,
so we were acting with a body double of hers,
and somehow it edits all together again seamlessly, and you
can't tell that we're all there at different times, but
I do feel like that was a moment where Howard
really a new part of him got unlocked. Sort of
this character every season there's like a new part of
(21:06):
him that I am able to unlock in my brain.
And this, knowing that he wanted to be an actor
and wasn't very good at it, was such an exciting, delicious,
like fun thing to play. Yes, and just sort of
he's always sort of outside of his body, watching himself
in a way, so like his movements are so I
(21:30):
don't plan them out, but it just feels like I
guess I thought about, like how would someone move if
they were like constantly so self conscious that it was
almost like they were standing next to themselves watching themselves
say a line. So that's sort of where the movement
comes from. Like, a big part of him is that
he's constantly very aware of himself to a fault, and
(21:55):
I think it changes the way he moves and the
way he the way he acts. Like I always say
that he's a very amped up version of me.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
I sometimes can feel like I'm outside of myself watching myself.
But Howard, it's like times a million.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
It's so incredible.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Thanks, Oh, I love it. Which cast mate do you
think would solve a real murder the fastest in real life?
Speaker 3 (22:28):
That is a really good question. I think it would be.
I think I feel like Selena would would. I know
she's like very into mystery. She's very into She's very
into the mystery of the show. She likes to find
things out as we go and try to solve it
(22:48):
on her own. I think she is like very sharp
and smart, and uh, I feel like she would be
really good at solving a real life mystery.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
That's a good one.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
So not you, not me, No, I'm bad at it.
I try to solve it every single season. I'm always
wrong here.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
You thinking.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
I was thinking, probably not Steve Martin or Tina Fey
seems I mean she seems like she maybe would be
because she's like a writer. I mean you too, Michael
is like anyone who's a writer maybe could work backwards. Yeah,
but no, I did one escape room one time, and.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
I don't have the patience for it.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
No.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
I'm always like I'm yeah, I'm always very way off,
way off on my mystery solving, Like I always every
season I think I did it or I'm dead every
single season, and so far we can't speak about five.
But like, so far, up until this point, I've always
been wrong.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, yeah, we well we can't kill how that would be?
That would be I would be like no, especially because
you just you just won us a sag Award I did.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
With the ensemble, which was so cool. It was so awesome,
very very surprising. We did not expect it. It was
really amazing. I'm looking at it now, it's in my bedroom.
It's uh. It was really cool. It was really unexpected.
We've been nominated every year and it was it was
(24:31):
really nice to be recognized among the whole cast, the
whole ensemble. It was very very cool and it was
a really fun night.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
I'm sure.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
Yeah, I recommend it, Emily.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Do you want to?
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Oh sorry, yes, yes I will looking at.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Your big list of only murders in the building questions.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
I know, I know, I'm just.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
I'm encouraging you onwards, my friends.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Okay, Okay, thank you. Okay, So I'm gonna I'm going
to perhaps misquote you, and you tell me if what
I read from this quote from you is not correct,
and then we can skip it. So I read allegedly
that you had said something along the lines of like,
(25:20):
Howard has a lot of parts of you and him,
and then there was something along the lines of it,
like some parts that you didn't think would help you
be a successful actor that have Now.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Yeah, yeah, I know what you're talking about. Yeah, you're
you're like sort of quoting me. I understand what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Okay, great, I'm wondering. I'm wondering if you can elaborate
that and then and then how you kind of learned
to unlock that, because it's obviously worked out incredibly well
for you.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
Maybe I can solve the mystery. So I I always say, yes,
he is parts of me amped up to like a
thousand like he's you know, some of the good parts
of me and some of the very bad parts of me,
you know, very much elevated an elevated version of that.
And I I think for a long time I was
(26:17):
trying to as an actor, and when I was auditioning
and stuff, trying to fit into a mold that really
wouldn't doesn't exist for me, like, you know, trying to
do what I thought people wanted me to do, or
what I thought was the right way to approach a character,
as opposed to the way I wanted to approach it.
So I think once I started not worrying about what
(26:42):
other people wanted and sort of just approached the script
and the text and the parts the way that felt
organic to me, that's when I started booking things, you know,
when I wasn't trying to be something I'm not. Once
I embraced all of my the things that make me me,
my voice, my shape, my sense of humor, the way
(27:04):
my brain works, like all of that stuff, as opposed
to fighting against it and thinking of them as liabilities
to having a career. I sort of realized, oh, the
things that make me different are the things that will
get me jobs. And are why I work and are
why people want to work with me. So that was
a game changer once I started embracing the stuff that
for a while, especially in college and whatnot, I thought
(27:26):
were liabilities. You know, oh, people don't sound like this,
or I'm too effeminate to play that kind of part,
or nobody with this type of body plays that kind
of role. And that was all garbage that was in
my head. Once I got to let it go, it
really opened up the kind of roles that I got
to play.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Did you have a moment, like a moment that switched
that or did it happen slowly?
Speaker 3 (27:50):
It sort of happened slowly. I think. I still sometimes
can fall into typing myself, but anytime I like typing
my helf out. But that is I've realized so foolish
because I've gotten roles that if I was left to
my own devices, I wouldn't have auditioned for because I
(28:12):
thought that's it wasn't my type of role. And then
those roles have changed my life, you know, like those
you know, there's all sorts of peaks and valleys to
it all, I think, and I've just been I've been
really lucky that I've gotten to play so many different
types of characters, even though I'm such a specific type
(28:32):
of actor. You know, I never feel like I'm playing
the same guy. They all look and sound like this,
because that's who I am. But I don't feel like
I'm doing you know, repeats all the time. You know,
the guy that I played on Missus Masel is so
incredibly different than Howard, who is so incredibly different than
the guy I played on Dexter. Like they're just they're
(28:55):
all different. They all most of them like animals and
happen to be.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
You've got You've got range, You've got rang your website,
greets us with actor writer dreamboat. That's range. Which of
those you wake up as most mornings.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Which actor on most mornings? Those are the two that
are like always. That's a baseline, and then it takes
me a little more work to like write.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Louis, I'm gonna move us on to the next sex section,
which we call the story Okay, and this is basically,
have you had something happen in your career when you've
just kind of looked around yourself and gone like this
(29:50):
is ridiculous. What am I doing? What am I doing?
Speaker 3 (29:53):
This?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
For why, like it's it's almost your game over and
then you can come out of it.
Speaker 3 (30:00):
So many times, Yes, I have had that. I have
had so many times where I was ready to give
up until I wasn't, you know, like until I was like, Okay,
well that's not an option. I don't really have any
backup plan. But there was a moment where I was like,
what am I doing this? This story I find so
(30:22):
embarrassing and so funny. Yes, audition. I have not been
able to book a commercial ever, Like, for the life
of me, I can't book a commercial. I booked one
commercial once for someplace in Amsterdam. The whole company went bankrupt.
I never got paid. It was three spots. It just
was like, there's just these three commercials that I did
(30:43):
for free somewhere in Amsterdam. But I can't I can't
seem to book commercials and I don't really go out
for them that really at all anymore. But there was
this point where I got a commercial for an Irish
potato chip and it was the audition was I was
like very excited. I was like, I might get to
(31:03):
a film in Ireland. This is a very big deal.
I forget what the name of the Pastado ships were,
but the spot was they were like wear shorts and
a short sleeve shirt to the audition. I was like, okay,
I have shorts. And it was a play on this,
like I think it was a Good Diver or some
sort of chocolate ad where it was a woman laying
in a bathtub biting a chocolate and then having like
(31:26):
in organsm. She was like an ecstasy. So it was
supposed to be this but with like a guy in
a bathtub eating potato chips. So they have like this.
They have this like cardboard cut out of a bathtub,
and they have a couple like blocks behind it to
(31:46):
sit on, and they have They're like, can you just
roll up your shorts like really high, like roll them
up really high so it looks like when you're in
the bathtub you're not wearing any shorts. And I'm like okay, sure,
and they're like can you yeah and take off your
shirt and get in the bathtub And I'm like okay.
So I'm like in a pair of shorts rolled up
so much they look like a diaper. I have no
(32:06):
shirt on. I am sitting on these two blocks in
behind a cardboard cutout of the bath tub and pretending
to eat potato chips and have an orgasm, and I
fall out of bathtub. So I am like, I'm like hmm,
and I like move and it's so precarious that I
fall out. I'm laying on top of the cardboard cutout.
(32:29):
I am everything is in disarray, the blocks are all
over the place, and I like, just look up and
everyone at the table is like covering their faces, shoulders
shaking like you're you know, like the kind of giggling
you get when you're not supposed to giggle. And then
like one of them finally was like I'll help I'll
help them up. I'll help them out and help me out.
(32:51):
And that was that and I left and I was like,
this couldn't get any worse. This could not get any worse.
This I was like, this was a commercial for potato chips.
And I ended up laying half naked on the floor,
unable to get get up. It was horrible. I later
did that as a performance piece, like a like a
(33:12):
performance and someone came up to me afterwards and was
like that was so brave, so brave. My shirt off.
It was. So that was the moment where I was
like what the am I doing? But then there's like
more you know, more practical things. You know, there's like,
you know, I've really gotten close to things and they
(33:35):
didn't pan out. That's everybody's story. I've had roles that
were written for me or like written with details of
my life that I just didn't get for one reason
or another. And that's all just stuff that like I
learned to be resilient about. And uh, it really does
help obviously that I work a lot. So once I
(33:56):
was able to stop thinking that each job was going
to be my salvation, that it was going to get
me out of my situation, or you know, I wouldn't
have to work my day job if I just got
that one thing, And then you get that one thing
and you're like, whoa, I need twenty of these things
to even take a week off of my day job.
You know, once that all sort of once I put
less pressure on everything and started working more, I had
(34:20):
less of those moments obviously of wanting to you know,
hang in the towel. But I don't know if it'll
ever I mean that might come again, who knows.
Speaker 2 (34:30):
Really.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
Right now, I'm so happy to be working so regularly,
especially on this show that I love so much that
I feel like the only thing to do is to
enjoy this time and trust that the work will keep
coming in the future. So that's a good place to be.
It's a horrible place to be, Like most actors, it's
a horrible place to like have that feeling of wanting
(34:53):
to give up. Yeah, but isn't that how everybody's story
turns out? Like they're like, and then I said I
was going to ge up and I got a series
regular and blah blah blah, Like you know, everybody's story
sort of begins with them wanting to give up. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Yeah, yeah, that's very me where I'm like, okay, yeah,
what's going on?
Speaker 3 (35:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Yeah, it's just sitting in it, isn't it? And like
how long you can sit in the discomfit of it?
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Yeah, it's hard.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Keeping all of that in mind. What would you say
your definition is of the phrase making it? So when
people say I've made it or or I want to
make it, Like, what in your world does that mean?
Speaker 3 (35:45):
For me? That means being able to make a living
as an artist and working. For me, it's like working
on material that makes you happy and you feel proud
of working on a show that or a movie or
a piece of theater that you would watch is like
(36:06):
for me absolutely making it like you could do a
million TV shows, but if it's something that you're not
proud of, I feel like that's not making it. I
feel like and then being able to trust you know, oh,
the work will keep coming. There might be breaks and
peaks and valleys like I said, but the work will
(36:26):
keep keep coming. This is the long road. For me.
That feels like making it. Just knowing that this is it,
this is I will. I am an actor. Saying I
am an actor and not saying it with any sort
of shame is making it right. Like that takes so long,
at least it did for me to say I am
an actor and not feel like I was apologizing or
(36:48):
being like, no, really I am I swear like just
to say I'm an actor, That's what I do. That
to me feels like making it for sure.
Speaker 2 (36:56):
Yeah, when you were like back working theater box office,
did you ever see yourself getting there? Like, could you
envisage that.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
I have surpassed my vision of where I would be?
For sure? I did think I would. I thought I
was going to be doing theater like all the time,
and I thought that would be my world that I
was in and that's where I would find my success.
And it turned out that it was TV and film,
(37:30):
and I'm so thrilled with how it's turned out. Like
I love the medium of TV. I do miss theater
a bit. I would love to do a play. But yeah, no,
I didn't. I I in my wildest dreams. I guess
part of me thought like, oh, yeah, you will be
(37:51):
a success and you'll work with great people. But right
now I'm working with so many great people that it's
like almost much. It's like, you know, no, I wasn't
sitting in the box office being like, you're gonna be
on a TV show with Steve Martin, Martin schwartzlinighm az Uh,
Meryl Streep McClain one year, Like it's like so over
(38:15):
the top in a great way that Yeah, I didn't
manifest that this was not I wasn't thinking it would
be this.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
Great Meryl Streep. Yeah, like in real life.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
Absolutely, I think absolutely what you think she would be. Like.
She's lovely, disarming, kind cool, so fun to listen to,
She's so smart and really just like lights up a room.
She's everything she's She's Meryl Streep, She's everything you think
she would be. I met her the first time on
(38:51):
The Post when I did that movie, very briefly, but
I got to watch her work a lot in that
and that was invaluable. Like getting to watch their scene
where the camera is swirling around her while she's on
the phone in the Post. Yes, and it's one of
the most amazing things. And it was one of the
most amazing things to watch, and then to get to
it again on Only Murders, like watching her in season
(39:13):
three do the Lullaby, Sing the Lullaby over and over again.
I love it. Was one of the greatest days on
set for sure. So yeah, she's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
I think I'm responsible for like twenty thousand of the
streams of that Spotify.
Speaker 3 (39:30):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
I love it so much. Do you have a moment
obviously no spoilers, but a moment that you're particularly looking
forward to people seeing for season five?
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Yeah? I think that Howard's arc is really you haven't
seen it all, have you? No, you don't get any
episodes or anything. No, okay, well, Howard's arc is really satisfying.
I think for me and I think we get to
see different again, different versions of him. He's a little
(40:04):
ornery and sort of like trying to be independent. In
the first part of the season, he you know, there's
he gets a new friend that is ridiculous, and then uh,
there's a really amazing payoff. I think there's a great
there's something I'm very excited for people to see. Uh,
sort of sort of a grounded Howard at one point.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Okay, great, I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
You love it so much.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
I I listen, I have seen the Posts, and I've
I've seen Spotlight, and I watched Missus maisl In fact,
my dad has now taken to saying to me like,
anytime I'm about to do this recording, he'll be like,
tits up and I'm like, I don't think we have
the same Yeah, but I love I love only Murders
(40:54):
in the building because it's one of those things where
there's a few shows and films and plays. I'd throw
like death becomes her in there too, the play, but
where you're watching it and you're like, I can't believe
that this all came together, and like, if you think
about it too much, it's somehow going to disappear, like
the fact that this was coming together and now I
(41:14):
get to enjoy it. That's how I feel about Only Murders,
and then that I love the music, and yeah, I
love that. You know. Anyway, if you had to give
a title to your career so far, so like if
it was a chapter in a book and you were
giving it a title, what would that be and you
(41:37):
can have as much time as.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
Yes, I would call it obviously very specific, because that
is a note that a very good casting director gave along.
Like right around that time where I was like, I'll
never work. I don't know where I fit in. I
was pitched for some play and the casting director said, well,
we love Michael, but you know, he's obviously very specific,
(42:05):
and that's a good thing. But I learned that's a
really really good thing. But for a while I was like,
that's such a bad thing. So I think that would
be the title because I think it's the story of
learning that you can take things two ways. You can
think about something as a negative or a positive, and
it's so much easier to think of it as a positive.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Yeah, the mental load of it is so much easier
and lighters.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
Yeah, it's like I was just watching that show Couple's
Therapy on HBO. Do you watch it? So there's a
season where there's like one of the wives is like
just constantly can't stop herself from yelling and screaming, and
the therapist is like, you're doing so much work right now,
just let me do the words don't do so much work,
And I was like, that is such a great note,
(42:49):
like what a good therapist. Don't don't work so hard.
You don't have to work so hard, Like we get it. So, yeah,
it's easier to think of things positively.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
If you were at a memoir that that that has
to be obviously very specific. Should a thousand percent be
the title title?
Speaker 3 (43:06):
Right?
Speaker 1 (43:06):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (43:07):
Yeah, we've never had one quite like that before.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
No, it's mostly people in a panic about never working again.
Speaker 3 (43:16):
Oh oh.
Speaker 1 (43:21):
Yeah, they're very successful. Like you said, they have it
in their mind that.
Speaker 3 (43:26):
Like I can't do it. I think about I can't
do it anymore like that. That is like a default.
That would be like the base for me to be like,
oh my god, the show's not going to run forever,
and then what am I going to do next? I
cannot do it because it just will make me crazy.
So I want to do less work in that regard
and just at least for now while I'm happy and
while I am working, trust that it's going to be okay. Yeah,
(43:49):
get in touch with me if you know the show
ever ends and I'm like unemployed for a while, I'll
probably change my tune. But like it's just much better too,
I think for me to try to find the positive.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
When we interviewed John Macgaro, he was he said the
same thing. He was like, contact me next year and
I'll let you know my title has changed, and he
was like hashtag. It was twenty twenty four, so he
was like, this is datemarked.
Speaker 3 (44:17):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (44:19):
Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (44:28):
Oh, thank you for having me. This was so fun.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
This was I'm glad.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
I know I'm always like I'm like, yay, having a
good time.
Speaker 3 (44:37):
Uh wait, how do you know each other?
Speaker 2 (44:41):
Emily?
Speaker 1 (44:43):
So in twenty twenty, I was working at Warner Brothers.
I was living in LA I was working at Warner
Brothers as a cast assistant, and I'm a networking fiend
and I reached out to Haley on LinkedIn and she
ghosted me. And then three months later I was like, hey,
it's me again.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
I was also working at Warner Brothers.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
Yes, so she was working at Warner Brothers in the UK,
and so I was like, let's talk about working at
Warner Brothers together. And then I eventually got her to
FaceTime with me, and then I have been bugging her
every day for the last five years.
Speaker 3 (45:26):
Oh my god, looking, hey, are you casting in the UK?
You working castine?
Speaker 2 (45:32):
No, I'm an intimacy coordinator. Oh my god, So yeah,
I do. I do that.
Speaker 3 (45:38):
I have a friend who's an actress there from America
who I wonder if you know her. But her name's
desre Birch. Ooh, she's she was on Taskmaster. She's the
voice of Too Hot to Handle.
Speaker 1 (45:49):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (45:52):
One of my best friends and one of the greatest people.
And she she's like a great story because she was
always one of the She was always the smartest, funniest
woman in the room, and just New York was not
embracing her. And then she went to Edinburgh and did
her solo show which was called fifty two Man pick
Up and a Guy, and then she moved to London.
(46:14):
Then her and the guy didn't stay together, but she
sort of created this career and she's got an incredible
career in London, Like, she works there and she has
a house there, and she's a new boyfriend and I'm
so proud of her.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
Let's get her on the pod.
Speaker 2 (46:28):
I love Task Muster.
Speaker 3 (46:32):
Yeah, she's a show.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
Yeah, Haley's a big, a big deal over there coordinating
me intimacy, She's.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
I do the sex scenes.
Speaker 1 (46:43):
She's one of the best in the Yeah, I do
know who she is.
Speaker 3 (46:46):
Fabulous, she's awesome.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
But yes, if she needs any sex scenes coordinating, I
will let you know.
Speaker 3 (46:55):
I love you well. Thank you so much for having me.
It was so nice to meet both.
Speaker 1 (46:58):
Of you, to see you uh in Asbury sometimes.
Speaker 3 (47:03):
What's what's a year?
Speaker 1 (47:05):
Okay next next August?
Speaker 3 (47:08):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
How to Make It is recorded from a closet in
New Jersey and a basement in Leeds, United Kingdom. It's
produced by Emily Capello and Haley Miurleidarn. For full length
videos of our episodes, subscribe to our YouTube channel at
how to Make It Podcast. For more adventures with Emily
and Haley. Follow us on Instagram at how to Make
(47:32):
It Podcast, where you'll find clips from today's episode, mini
episode clips, and more random nonsense like and subscribe to
our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever other fine
podcasts are found. O
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