Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Allison Janney — on feeling like a rockstar during ‘The West Wing’ and behind-the-scenes of ‘The Diplomat’

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

‘Palm Royale’ star Allison Janney joins the show. Over taglionlini al limone, we get into the iconic ‘Primary Colors’ moment that led to playing CJ, how she shaped an iconic scene from ‘I, Tonya,’ playing opposite my friend Keri Russell in Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat,’ and we get some hints at what’s to come on this season of the Apple TV + series ‘Palm Royale,’ which she stars in alongside Kristen Wiig and Ricky Martin. This episode was recorded at Angelini Osteria in Los Angeles, CA.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Learn more at pcexpress.ca. Hi, it's Jesse. Today on the show you know her for her four times. Emmy Award-winning performance as CJ on the West Wing and her Oscar-winning role in I Tanya. She's now on the Apple TV Plus series, Palm Royale. It's Alice and Janie. That's why I think I'm awkward socially because no one has, I don't have a script. I don't know what to say. I don't have any line. This is Dinner's On Me, and I'm your host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Alice and Janney has got to be one of my all-time favorite. actors on television and on stage and in film. I just think she's absolutely stunning, and I am so impressed with her range. She's one of those actors who truly, if you said, like, Jesse, whose career do you wish to have one day? It would be Allison Janney. I just think she's absolutely spectacular. And I am so thrilled that I am now buddies with her. We met when I was doing Modern Family and she was doing mom, and I would get to see her at, you know, the Emmy Awards, and she was almost always picking up an Emmy. She has like 900 Emmys at this point. Today, I'm at Angelini Osteria, a cozy gym on Beverly Boulevard, where chef Gino Angelini has been quietly

elevating L.A.'s Italian scene for over 20 years now, raised in northern Italy and cooking since he was a teenager, from delicate handmade pastas to his legendary lasagna verde, a dish that earned cult status in this city. I actually think I'm going to get one of those for myself today. It feels just right for chatting with Allison. You know, I'm pretty sure Evelyn, her character on Palm Royale, would absolutely approve of this chic but classic vibe going on here, though she might try to cut the line for a table.

Okay, let's get to the conversation. Are you drinking these days or not drinking these days? I'm not drinking. Well, the first time I asked you out to dinner, you weren't drinking because it was when we were in Canada. That's right. I was doing 100 days. I do that every once in a while to...

Really impressive. And that was right before you were going off to do cocaine bear. Cocaine Bear, where I met for the first time and worked with Carrie Russell, who you are now looking with. Who is divine. And then I just worked with Rory Kinnear. Oh, that's right. In London. With Joe Mantello.

With Joe Mantello. And, you know, you are obviously on the diplomat with him. And so Carrie gave me a little... Because when she first came on, she was like, have you ever worked with Alice and Janie? I was like, actually, I've never worked with Alice and Jenny. I was like, actually, I've never worked with her, but we're friends. I know. And that is weird that we haven't worked together.

I actually Googled us. I put our names in because I was like, surely we've worked together. We popped up the photos together. And it's like, they, in Google, it says that they see each other a lot of events. And AI, it's true. GPT said, yeah, yeah, yeah. We see each other a lot of events. And also, darling, we did a campaign together for VOIA.

That's right. We did. Yeah, remember that? We did do a campaign together for VOIA. Oh, boy, yeah, with the squirrel and everything. We didn't do it together, but we were part of that campaign. We had spots that around at the same time. And also we did James Corden together.

That's right. That's right. And we had a really funny sketch that happened that we did on James Corden together. What was our sketch that we did? The sketch was that we were on the couch together. We had both just been at the Emmys. You had won for Mom. Okay.

And I had not won for Modern Family. And James was asking us about it. And you were talking about how, you know, you, you, I kept trying to interject myself. And James was like, oh, no, no, no, we kind of like stop interrupting Allison. And you're going on and on and on about your Emmy. And then all of a sudden I grab a microphone out from behind the couch and the music starts and that spotlight hits me. And I sing this song about when will it be my turn to talk?

And you and James continue to have a conversation and pantomime. Do you remember this? Is it like a fever dream? This sounds like a fever dream. I have to watch this again. Yeah, it's actually really funny. That sounds hilarious. I do this whole thing, I get up, and then James gets up, and you're just, like, talking to yourself as if James is still sitting there.

What is wrong with me that I don't remember that? Because it was so weird. And we, like, barely rehearsed. I rehearsed it. Like, I came in earlier that day to actually, like, rehearsed with the band. I wish you could stop right now and put it up on a screen and watch it. When I go home tonight, I am mirroring it on my TV to watch it. It's actually really funny.

It sounds like a really funny skin. I wish I'd been there. My favorite part is that you're just, like, talking to thin air at one point. And I just can't stop. talking about myself. I'm like laughing about a joke you said, but like, well, no one's there. It's really good.

That sounds hilarious. I mean, you could see why you want an Emmy. Oh my God. I love that we did that. So we kind of have work together. I'm trying to. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you for having us. Anything I can do in the morning? Would you like glass of water? You want water? I definitely want still water and I would love a glass of whispering angel. Whisper angel. Yes. And is a, oh, shh.

I love the slice. I love it, too. And should we order two or no? And I'm going to do the lemon pasta. The lemon pasta? I have to. That's what I want. I think I'm going to do the lasagna bareda.

Okay. And you weren't as excited, though. You got excited about the lemon pasta. You're famous for the lasagna. Actually, you only got the best pasta in the egg. Wow. I got sushi. I love it.

No, that sounds delicious. Also, I'm going to do a sparkling water. Okay. And could I have the orange spritz? Sounds good. The orange spritz. Thank you. Whispering.

Thank you. Orange spreads. With, with CJ on West Wing, did you, that, I mean, I assume that was probably, like, your first, like, big role that, you know, certainly the one that I think most people started to know you for. Well, yeah, definitely my first big role that was so seen by more people than any of my Broadway shows that I had done. I certainly felt like my Broadway debut doing present laughter,

Noel Coward play with Frank Langella. Yes, which I saw. I did. I moved to New York in 94. Oh, my God. Yeah, I was there. That was my Broadway debut. So that was huge moment for me.

So, yeah, to get West Wing was a big moment for me. And I didn't know that it was, I mean, both Brad and I were doing a press junket today for the diplomat. And talking about West Wing and how we thought, well, this will never, this will never go. You know, who's going to want to watch a show about politics? And we had no idea that it was going to be. And then from then you got, you know, House of Cards. You got all the other political shows.

Well, and the gentleman now. I mean, they're all, I think, I think West Wing held the door open for so many shows. And also just generated an interest in politics that I think, you know, a lot of people didn't know they had. Yeah. I think, you know, I know so many people who went into politics because of the West Wing. And I'm sure you've experienced us when you get to go to D.C. and speak with, you know, people there. Or if you've gotten to, like, the White House correspondent center. I mean, you must be a superstar those things. It is. We felt like rock stars when we would go to do exteriors in Washington because it was such a new idea of shining a light on people in public service and showing what they do behind what they, you know, it was, it was, they were so grateful for it. people for Aaron telling their stories and they thought we were just heroes to them. And it was such, it was the only time I've ever felt like a rock star was in Washington, D.C. I just, it was, we had to have, you know, we had to have security.

It was crazy. I'm sure. No, I'm sure. It was really kind of fun of, I did, um, I was with the Clintons when they opened up the, they had a big anniversary for the Clinton Library. Chelsea is a friend of mine and she asked me to come and there was a panel that they had with me

and someone else from Otta Family I can't remember who else came but also a lot of the West Wing cast and it was like they'd asked because we'd been friends of you know How are you friends with Chelsea? I met Chelsea because she sees a lot of theater and so she's a big supporter of the public theater

and I met her at a gala for the public theater and she had seen me and I've done seven Shakespeare in the parks now. Have you really? Yeah. Yeah. And so she had seen me in several of those and she asked if she could meet me and I went over and said hello.

She was just perfectly lovely. We had a very nice chat. And then a, like, I don't know, a year later we were at a wedding together and her husband Mark is also just the coolest, sweetest guy. We ended up spending like the whole, you know, evening with them. And now we like, we're theater buddies. We just hang out. Like, she's lovely.

But I, but when we were at the library and we had this event, And oh, and that was the other thing. I got to interview Bill. Thank you. That looks beautiful. Thank you. Oh, my God. It looks gorgeous.

Gorgeous. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. I got to meet him for the first time Bill Clinton when I went to an event for Obama. And he knew I was an actor. And so he like has like one Hollywood connection. And so he like went with that.

Like, you know, he talked about that one Hollywood connective tissue that we shared together. And then from there, we actually expand upon other conversations. But, like, he knows how to, you know, start conversations with people. He is a great conversationalist. And, I mean, I wish I had that skill. Me too. Can you imagine? No.

That's why I love playing people like CJ, like Grace Penn on Diplomat. Because they can do that. I think it's why I'm an actor, so I can be. Someone else writes it. Somebody else writes it and I say it. That's why I think I'm awkward socially because no one has, I don't have a script. I don't know what to say. I don't have any line.

This is so freaking good. Can I try that? Yeah. Uh-huh. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Allison tells me what was going on internally while filming a challenging scene and the diplomat. And we gush over the legendary Margot Martindale. Okay, be right back.

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See totalwine.com for details. Spirits not sold in Virginia and North Carolina. Drink responsibly. B-21. And we're back with more dinners on me. The episode I just watched last night of the diplomat. Get in there. Which one?

The last episode of Season 2. Which is great But when you drag in that map And it's you and Carrie And you drag in this map And you put on an easel And you go over to the fireplace And you get a piece of coal

And you start drawing on this map And you have a speech That I must have been like Three pages long Yeah, it was something It was a bear to memorize Do you ever watch people work like that Because the first thing I thought about was like

Oh Allison had to learn this Yeah Yeah It was kind of like this a little bit because I really had to learn where those nuclear base, where Russia had bases, and I had to know on the map specifically. I had to learn that and do that at the same time while talking

and also do it in any. It was really hard, and I remember, this is just an added thing, another layer, so you know what I was dealing with. I had to put my dog down. One of my dogs. Oh, my God, I'm so sorry. And I was filming in London. We were filming that scene, and I had to purr down.

And I was like, oh my God, that day had, yeah. So I was doing it and I had to like, it was such a wild thing to have to film. You know, I had to take some moments to myself and have makeup, you know, touched up and go back at it. And, you know, I got through it, but it was just one of those moments that you just, God. And you're like on all days, like this day when I have so much. Yeah. God.

I'm sorry. No, no, it's fine. It's fine. Life goes on. Oh, my God. Please eat a bite of your food. Stop talking. Stop talking. Just have a moment of a silence and enjoy this. This is, did you, you didn't even comment on this. Did you taste the lemon? That is incredible, yeah. Oh, my God. And tell me about, I mean, my other favorite person that you worked with on cocaine bears, Margo Martindale. Margo Martindale. I mean, she is. What a treasure. She is. She's just a remarkable person. She's so fucking funny and how she started off as a detective. Yes. I know.

I mean, that in and of itself is more than I can imagine. I mean, I don't want to see her in that show. I want to see her play. She has the most colorful backstory. Yeah. She did an episode of this podcast like in the first season. He did? Yeah, yeah.

It's a really, it's a very enjoyable listen. I bet. No, the first time I met her was on set for Cocaine Bear. And so, you know, we were in Ireland, and their work hours also there were very strict. Like, you couldn't work long days. And because the movie took place basically during the day, we were always finished by Sunset. So we were always at an Irish pub by like, you know, 7 p.m. And the locals all ended up falling in love with Margot.

Yeah, she became the mayor of the town. Basically, the locals were, like, leaving her bait goods at her door because they all loved her so much. I remember one night, she was, like, waiting for Bill at the bar, and some, like, locals started flirting with her. You know, she's like, this hasn't happened in a while, so she was just enjoying it. Yeah, she enjoys other people. She enjoys talking to people, to strangers, to admirers. She's so generous. I wish I was better at that.

I do, too. I mean, I'm always kind to people, but I don't. encourage and she her just more and more she like bites a day it's absolutely stunning it's so great this is everything I want

it's so delicious yeah we were one of the first one to make this process it's so delicious do you give the recipe out or anything yes we do you all our recipes out there

is the Los Angeles time you know actually we have our sauce you know in the market but you know anytime yeah they have jars in the sauce in the back

yes it's so delicious Thank you very much. Enjoy you. I would try and make this and it just would not be nearly as good. That's what I feel like. No matter, you know, how easy, because I like to cook sometimes. I do, I've been, lately, I've been saving a lot of stuff on Instagram to cook a lot. And I started actually making them and having a lot of fun. I'm making, I've been making so many different tomato sauces. It's, it's, and I want to be a good cook. I want the amount of time I put into making something, be equal to what it tastes like. It should be taste as good as the amount of time. And it doesn't always happen that way. And I'm actually going to, I'm going to the Hamptons to do Ina Gartens and be my guest show. Oh my God. I'm so jealous. I'm so excited. I get to meet her and, and she's going to teach me how to make the perfect cacui pepe, which is one of my favorite

pastas of all time. Yeah. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to getting to meet her and get it, get an experience. My God. I, I mean, it, it, it, it, it, there are those moments sometimes when I because of what we do that I find myself you know getting to meet people like

in a garden that I'm like how is this happening I remember Eric Stone Street and I were chosen to be this is so crazy one of Barbara Walter's

like 10 most fascinating people of the year remember when she used to do that roundup oh my God that's so hard and it would always air like right before the Oscars yeah yeah

and so it was early modern family days. And so she chose Eric and I as a joint person. Oh my God. And I was just like, are you kidding me? That's a huge compliment. That's amazing. We flew in 14 or just for this. And I was flying in the first flight out from L.A. because I think we were sitting down with Barbara Walts was like at four. And that flight lands around two in New York. So we get to the air, we get to the hotel room. I open up my bag to put on my suit that I brought to be on Barbara Walters, 10 most fascinating people, and I had picked up someone else's suitcase. And it was like women's clothes and like, like, like, like,

toys for children. I was like, this is my mind. I was wearing like a sweatsuit. I was like, and I had to be like on her show in like an hour. That's just ridiculous. That's like, in a comedy movie. I mean, it's like it's basically like, what's up, Doc, but like the matching suitcases. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so. So, I don't know how, I mean, how this happened, but the person who had picked up my suitcase was part of a production that was filming in New York. They saw that they picked up the wrong bag. They called me, and I was like, yes, I have your bag as well. They happened to be like eight blocks away.

We traded suitcases, and I got to Barbara Walters in time. That's incredible. That's wild. Yeah. That is the, that's the wildest story. Absolutely insane. cute, cute story I've ever heard. I have a moment like that, which is different, a little different than that, but I am, I was at a

party that Cameron Mannheim was throwing. Love her. And I love her. And Monica Lewinsky was there. And this was, this was back in the days of, right in the beginning of West Wing, like 2000, 2001 or something like that. and Cameron had she lived on the canals

and she had a canoe and Monica and Cameron got in I was in the middle of the canoe and Monica was in the back and they rode me through the Venice canals canoed me through the Venice canals and there were people looking and I was like

I looked at it I was like yeah I know I have no idea I have no idea how I got here in my life it was one of those moments you go where am I right now how do I get here with Cameron and Monica I mean there are other

ones too when you get to be at the you know when we and when west wing when we got to go to the um the correspondence dinner i was at the russian embassy i'm like i'm at the russian embassy there's so many cool moments yeah i remember those but i just don't remember being on jane's cordon with you it's available on youtube it's a it's a fun watch um when i first met you i think i might have told you, you probably have forgotten, but one of my favorite things I've really honestly ever

seen on film is you in primary colors with this incredible pratfall that you do while walking down a set of stairs. It was the most insane.

Your character slips and grabs onto a banister and basically almost swings herself around the whole thing and you're in a pencil skirt if I remember or some sort of skirt and like in whoever I don't even remember

who else was in the scene John Travolta John Travolta he's like oh yeah you're embarrassed like you I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine and it doesn't have anything to do with the scene it's just she's

nervous and she falls first of all was that scripted I have so many questions about I'll tell you I'll tell you that was Mike Nichols, who I God rest his soul, I

adore him, and he always would put me in things and wanted to work with me and he put me in this role. Didn't ask me, the fall is in there. But literally I showed up on set that morning. I hadn't practiced that or done.

Like, I just was hoping that would work. Right. And I did it and held on with that one thing, so just made the rest of my body look crazy and it worked. And I was so fucking lucky. It was hilarious. I mean, because I'm so all arms and legs anyway.

And always have been into physical comedy. So that was a real gift that he gave me. I had no idea that I was going to hit out of the park. You know, I had no idea that it was going to work. And Mike was so pleased. He loved it so much. He wanted me to keep doing it. But that was a really wonderful moment I got to have on screen

that has brought me so much. much joy and having Steve Martin came up to me and said, that was a great, like, that was so cool to have him come up and that he noticed me because of that fall. I swear to this day, I think that's why I got West Wing because Aaron loved the fall I did and that. I mean, it's impeccably done. Thank you. Now for a quick break, but don't go away.

After the break, we discuss how I know her Palm Royale showrunner, hint, it involves my time as a theater bartender during cats, and she gives notes on her own Oscar-winning performance in I-Tanya. Okay, be right back. And we're back with more dinners on me. I know, the last time I saw you on stage was in six degrees of separation, which were so fantastic in. Thank you.

And I remember going backstage after. afterwards and you were in previews and we sat in your dressing room, me, you and John Benjamin Hickey. And Chris Perfretti was in that, right? Yes. Oh my God, sweet Chris. And yeah, and we were all sitting in your dressing room and you, you were, you had gotten a whole bunch of notes that day and you were dissecting it and like whether or not the audience had responded to, you know, what you had done and if you thought the audience was a little quiet, And like, you were just like, you know, you saw us in a moment. I saw you in like your, in the moment that we all are in, at some point during a process of being in front of a live audience.

And for me, I have to say, it was incredibly refreshing because what I had seen was just so brilliant. I don't know. I felt very invigorated by your guys's discomfort with the show. Yeah. Does that make sense? Yes, no, it makes total sense to watch actors be not sure if they did a moment right or. This isn't right. I still need to do this.

Still, you know, still working. It never stops. I don't think the whole time you perform, I never, I always think, how can I make that moment better? How can I, when you lose a moment on stage, when the audio, you're like, you spend the whole time trying to get it back. Like, what did I do? What did I do?

And it's sometimes an arm gesture or something. It's, it's infuriating sometimes. But it's also, I start thinking that it's like Groundhog Day. If I do it, if I just do it, write this one time. I won't have to do this. You'll be able to repeat it again, yeah. No, I want to have to do it again. Oh, you won't have to do it again.

So I keep looking for new moments and things. Right, like you conquer that one moment. Yeah, it makes me active on stage or something, but I've had some real stage fright during that one. Did you? Yeah, it was hard to overcome. Why did you think that that was? Because there were a lot of freezes in that play, a lot of freezes on stage. Uh-huh.

And so you had to sit there in a freeze while someone delivered a monologue. And it just gives you time to think. It gives you time to think. and this is what went through my mind. Am I going to get shot tonight? Oh, wow. Dark. Really dark. Really intrusive thoughts would come into my mind

that made me, stop it, stop it. Because, you know, Bruce Springsteen was playing in the theater around the corner and he had all this, you know, security and metal detectors. And not that anyone would, but it's just the climate we live in now. I actually thought about that. I don't, I don't, I don't.

I don't like thinking about that. My friend Celia Ken Bulger was doing To Kill a Mockingbird. Yeah. Aaron Sorkins, to kill a mockingbird at the Schubert Theater. And it was right, you know, it was right around the time that there was a surge of shootings in the state. Yeah. And there was a car that backfired right outside of the doors of the Schubert Theater. And the audience screamed and the, Celia said it was incredibly.

they had to stop the show because there were some people that were disturbed by the sound just like, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and it was so loud out of nowhere. And it was just such a confirmation that we're all living on edge right now around those things.

Absolutely, absolutely we are. And that just took me back to your performing at the Delacourt for so many seasons. The only time I did is I did Taming of the Shrew and Mario Cantone was in it with me and and we used to just do rain dances under that theater because we did not

want to perform it was so it was so hot yeah and we were we had to we couldn't perform in our costumes and we were like please we don't want to go out there it's so hot and I had to scream in that play so loud that the police would come almost every night people would call the cops because they were screaming in the park was wow I can't believe you did that seven times that's incredible I know I know I'm going to have One more bite of pasta. I'm almost finished my... Oh, look at us.

So good. I do. It happens to be my favorite food on the planet. I mean, this is my death row pasta. Oh, is it? I was talking about Palmer Oil. I mean, it's, first of all, it's one of the best-looking shows I've ever seen.

Isn't it ridiculous? It's absolutely incredible. So Abe Silva, who created it, is actually a buddy of mine. He's the best. He's the greatest. I adore him. I have to tell you how I know Abe Silva. Okay.

So Abe Silva, who created Palm Royale, and he's a great writer and a great director. So Abe was in Cats on Broadway for a while. Oh, I know. Yeah. I get to see him perform Cats sometimes, and I'm on a very lucky day. He's hilarious. He's so funny. He's so funny.

I also worked at the Winter Garden. You did? What did you do at the Winter Garden? I was a bartender at the rear balcony. And so I watched the show. every night. And because the cats would enter in different places of the audience, they would sometimes interact with us.

And they would, you know, we would like give them like, you know, like orange juice and soda water or like, you know, give them like little treats. Because like, you know, I was just like, oh, they're real actors. Like they're interacting with. I was like, what do you want? I'll put something out for you. So Abe and I would always have a little moment, you know, and I, he didn't, he wouldn't remember me at that time.

But like, we'd always have a little moment where I'd give him something to do. and then he'd make his entrances, you know, Mr. Mistofleys or whatever. Yeah. You're crawling over a patron onto the state. And around this time was when on the town was being cast at the Delicourt Theater. Okay. The Leonard Bernstein, Betty Condley, Adolf Breen Musical, and all of the guys who were in Cats were auditioning for these three male leads. Okay.

And somehow I was also auditioning for this. Fast forward, I got the part. Oh, my God. And years later, I become friends with Abe, and he's like, oh. Oh, yeah, I got to tell you, like, when that was all happening, we were all like, you know, everyone would come in every day, like, has anyone, how did everyone on the town audition go? And then finally, like, a week later, as they're putting on their cat's makeup, I was like, has anyone heard anything about cats? And someone else is like, yeah, the bartender got it. That is so I can see him

Just bitter. Bitter. Yeah, the bartender got it. The bartender got it. Isn't that great? I'm so proud of him. The show is so good. I mean, like I said, it's like one of the most beautiful shows I've ever seen.

It's candy. The costumes are absolutely insane. Alex Reedberg is just so beyond talented. And I just love what she's done for Evelyn. Every caftan I wear every, and Jill Crosby does my wigs, which are out of control. There's like, there's a whole symphony going on in my head all the time. And it's, um, and Kristen and Carol, I mean, come on. It's, it's crazy that I get to be with her in, in this life and we play word all together.

And I get a text from her every day, which makes me so happy. and to be, to call Kristen, my friend. I've just admired her, just been in, she's just... I like her so much. I do, too. Yeah, I mean, that whole cast is absolutely insane. I mean, Ricky Martin really surprised me. He's so lovely.

Isn't he a wonderful actor? He's amazing. Yeah. And I just, he's such a lovely man, too, which just, everyone adores him. Yeah. Mindy Cohen is so much fun. Mindy Cohen. Laura Dern.

Also, Leslie Bibb. Oh, God. Leslie, yes, she's incredible. It's a candy store of actors and costumes and sets. The most beautiful. I can't even believe when we walk on these sets, the detail and just the opulence. It's just stunning, you know? I saw a sizzle reel for it, and it's fantastic.

There's some dance routines that Ricky and Kristen do together that are just, they're just spectacular. I'm so excited and a lot of the storylines that I got were with Kristen we really buddied up this season we have a love-hate relationship but I got to do some really great stuff with her we were sort of

Lucy and Ethel together this season and Evelyn is married to Jason Canello's most handsome young man I'm just a very lucky actress to get to work with him. I can't believe that like you get to be a part of Pomeroyle and the diplomat at the same time.

Right? I mean, that's insane. It's insane. And it was insane filming them this past season. I was literally flying from New York back to L.A. going right to the set, Pomeriel, flying back to New York, working the night. It was back and, it was, it was nuts. And I realized how lucky I was to get to do that.

But, but boy, that was something else. And but luckily, the parts are so different. There's no, I couldn't possibly confuse. I know, but that's also what I'm like so. by is that you can juggle that you know i mean and also the opportunity just to get to play these incredibly different tones but also just i mean i don't know those worlds are so different and i don't know it's of course you do it brilliantly because you're like you're such a maverick at that like you can really just just like plays you know what i mean it's like theater doing a

Noel Coward play and then doing a Tennessee Williams play. You know, it's a totally different styles. And you put on those costumes. And I know who I am when I put on Evelyn's costume. And I know who I am when I put on Grace Penn's costume. It's just that and the hair and everything all helps me put me where I need to be put, you know. Yeah. I'm very grateful that there was a time when, you know, it was.

to hide a modern family. I was being invited to all of those incredible parties around like the award season and I got to be at the Vanity Fair party the year that you won your Oscar for I Tanya. Oh, my God. When you walked in and I think I have a picture of us somewhere on my phone.

Oh. With your Oscar and I was like, this is insane. First of all, it just no one was more deserving of that than you, but also just such a hard worker and to see that you had this moment in front of this community that have people that just adore you so much. It just felt very, I just feel like the whole room was so excited with you. I was like, it was so obviously surreal when you get to have that moment happen.

And it was more, it was such a relief for me because I was so worried about all the people who were cheering me on and if I didn't win it, they'd be so disappointed. It's a crazy thing where like there's precursors to that big award. Like, you win the Golden Globe and you win a sag. And, like, then everyone just sort of expects you to go all the way. Yeah, which sets you up to fail totally. And, you know, sometimes it doesn't happen. It doesn't.

I know that I read, I think I read somewhere that you, you initially wanted to be an ice skater when you were. Mm-hmm. I did. Did it ever, did it feel full circle that you were, you know, part of this Tanya Harding story? Yeah, it was kind of nice to come back back to that because, you know, I, you know, I, you know, I remember going through all that, the Tanya Harding scandal. I remember it very well. And I was part of the skating community.

I mean, I met a lot of the skaters who were big around the time that I was growing up with this. Actually, it was after I had quit skating because I had this accident where it went through a plate glass window and I stopped skating. And also, I wasn't that good. I was like, I was really graceful. Apparently not if you went through a plate glass window. Exactly. Exactly. I was very graceful because I took ballet in modern dance, and I'm a very graceful person. I could have done ice dancing, but the acrobatic part of figure skating, I couldn't, you know, I could do one double jump, a double sow cow. look it up

I will it sounds hard it's the easiest of the devil jumps I think but yeah I think I made the right decision getting out of figure skating but I love that I have that in my background

and I love that for a minute Steven Rogers who wrote it Tanya was going to write a little skating thing for Levana the character I played that she also had wanted to be a figure skater but it never made it in but did you shoot it? No we didn't we just talked about it

I was like wouldn't it be great Levana, you wanted to be a skater and you see her having a moment by herself and like, I could have been a catat. It would have been fantastic. Yeah, with the bird on the shoulder. Exactly, with the bird. I love that. I love that bird.

I love being thrown things that I don't, you know, I mean, that bird was, you know, Craig Gillespie, I love him so much, director, made me smoke in every scene. I was like, I don't want to, can I not? He's like, nope, you got to smoke. You got to smoke. In every scene you're smoking. And then we get to that bird scene. bird handler was like you can't smoke around this bird and and and he was like he was like no she's

smoking around the bird you don't understand she's like no she's not smoking around the bird right and i have to pat myself on the shoulder because i love that i went up to the prop guy and i said do you have one of those um those things that people have when they have um emphysema when they have and he's like oh yeah i've got it and then it was it saw i say i was so proud of myself that i thought of that because then I just had the cannula, whatever, up my nose and the oxygen tank there. So I could do the scene without smoking. I know, and I'm thinking right now, I should have had a cigarette in my hand anyway and not lit. I just had it.

I should have done that. See, this is when the good ideas happened. As actors, you always after, this is how many years later did I come up with that idea? Just now. God damn it. Fuck. I go back. That's hilarious.

What a missed opportunity. I totally should have had that cigarette just behind my ear. What if they were like, we would have given her an Oscar, but she held a cigarette and it was too much. Oh, my God. It was too far. You're right. That might have been a hat on a hat, on a hat. I love shit like that.

I do too. I'm really happy you did this. I'm really happy I did too. I mean, I can't think of anyone or rather end the day I had today with than you. I mean, seriously. I love you. I've loved you for, it was the first time I saw you in modern family, and then, seeing you at all our events that we see each other at. Yes. Yeah. I've always loved seeing you.

I know. I know. I adore you. So maybe we'll get to do something together at some point. It really is. It's ridiculous that it hasn't happened. It kind of is. I kind of thought it that it must have happened. Well, I'm going to watch that for sure. And let me know what you think. I thought it was very funny. I've got to, I cannot even believe it. But you really have to focus on you in the background having a full-long conversation with the air. Well, I'm going to watch it several times and watch focus on all of us and see and judge all of our performances. I can't wait to watch that. Oh, thanks for doing this. I love you.

You're so welcome. I love you so much. This episode of Dinner's On Me was recorded at Angelini Osteria in Los Angeles. Next week on Dinners On Me, she's a caviar connoisseur, DJ, and jeweler,

but you might know her best as a snowflake holding cast member of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. It's Meredith Marks. We'll get into starting the show during a low period in her marriage, and how she navigates the drama. I think it involves disengaging.

And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinner's On Me Plus. As a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also be able to listen completely ad-free. Just click try free at the top of the Dinners On Me show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today.

Dinner's On Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans Dale She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison.

Special thanks to Tamika Balanced Kalasney and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week. All right, craving something sweet. I'm always craving something sweet. Boar's had just launched their new Greek yogurt dessert dip collection, and I have to say it's become a bit of a hit at my house. There are three flavors, cinnamon churro, chocolate espresso, and key lime,

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