Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Margo Martindale

Episode Date: August 29, 2023

“The Americans” and “Cocaine Bear” star Margo Martindale joins the show. Over shrimp scampi and fancy fusilli, Margo talks about her odd jobs in her early acting days, such as working as a private eye, and what it was like to work together on the film “Cocaine Bear.” This episode was recorded on June 13th, 2023 at Marea in New York City’s Upper West Side. Want next week’s episode now? Subscribe to Dinner’s on Me PLUS. As a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, but you’ll also be able to listen completely ad-free! Just click “Try Free” at the top of the Dinner’s on Me show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today. A Sony Music Entertainment & A Kid Named Beckett production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode of Dinner's Ami was recorded on June 13th, 2023. Hi, it's Jesse. Today on the show, the star of Justified, the Americans and Cocaine Bear, the legendary Margot Martindale. We'll talk about her doing puppetry at a maximum security prison when she was 16, moonlighting as a private investigator during her early acting career, and why it makes total sense that she originated the role of Prove and Steel Magnolia's,

because she feels very at home in a hair salon. I was a beauty operator, and I would cut all the kids in the neighborhood's hair. Amazing. And send them home to their parents and just screaming, like, what? I would actually cut their hair. Oh, yeah.

This is Denner's On Me, and I'm your host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ I remember the moment that I heard that Marga Martindale was going to be the actress playing Ranger Liz, the character opposite of mine, and the Thumb cocaine bear. I recall being filled with excitement and nerves, but mostly I remember thinking, oh, this movie isn't just a joke.

Margot Martindale is game for this. It completely changed the way I approach the job. She is so wildly respected amongst actors. Working opposite of her on cocaine bear was such a blast. She's a consummate professional, yes, but she's also a game for a good time, and that desire to have fun extends way beyond the time on set. I had quite a few hangovers to play Margot for. I feel so lucky that I not only got to work with this woman who I so deeply admire, but

that I can now call her a genuine friend. A few people make me laugh hard that Margot does, and I have never not had a good time with her, so I was very excited to steal her away for a meal. Hi! I asked Margot to join me at Marrea, just off of Columbus Circle. Marrea is known for its Italian seafood and its amazing location right off of Central Park. It's a white tablecloth type of place. It's very classy. But you know, Margo is a classic New York City broad. She's been here 40 years. So I knew I needed to roll out the red carpet for her. And of course, I have some wine ready. You get a drink. I'm not going to have alcohol with you

because if I do this and I drink, I will not be. It's a drink. I'm not gonna have alcohol with you because if I do this and I drink I will not be. It's okay, but I want you to have one. I was like Margo's gonna be so disappointed. I'm not drinking with her. I'm not disappointed at all. Have one for me. Oh, they already know. It's a little strange to say. Yeah, I think so. Did you order that coming in? No, I was asked, but I like that. I said, of course.

It's a wonderful. I love it. I thought you'd call it ahead. Oh, you just call it, please. Get me a drink moment. I can have it poured in, ready. Oh, I get a cocktail. I get a little pompelmo.

Oh, I get something. Good. Cheers. Cheers, I get something. Good. Cheers. Cheers, honey. Great seeing you. So good to see you. Have you been here before? Oh, yeah.

I was thinking, I haven't seen you since the premiere of Cokane Bear. Really? Were you in that? I wasn't at. And that's actually a viral start. But I remember being so excited that I was going to be working with you and Kerry.

You were my only seam partners. Because I was just such a massive fan of the Americans. I mean, it's on my Instagram, but I took a photo of the first day we all worked together. I was like, I have to document this moment. I didn't even know you, too. And I was so, so honored to get to do that with you. I don't think I've ever had that much fun. Me either.

I told Justin he was like, how's it going? I was like, I only want to shoot cocaine bear for the rest of my life. So, so kidding. And somebody called me the other day and said, I don't know if this embarrasses you or not, but we watched cocaine bear and we said,

embarrasses me. I think it's one of the greatest things I've ever done. I know, I know. Agreed. I did not have some family members who like watched and didn't get it. It was just not their cup of tea. I was like, it's not for everyone, for sure. It's not for everyone.

Talk to me a little bit about what went through your head, because I've told my version of the story, but like, what went through your head when Liz called and asked if you do this? Well, Liz called and asked me if we could have dinner. Okay. You had met during Miss America. Missed America. Missed America. I said, oh sure, I'd love to. She said, I'll come to Connecticut and have no under with you.

So she came. She told me all about this movie. Mm-hmm. Never saying she wanted me to be in it. Okay. And I thought, oh, that just sounds great. Great. She was buttering you up but I don't know what she was doing But she wasn't saying come and do it. Yeah And then my agent called me as I had dinner with Elizabeth Banks last night and he said did she mention cocaine bear And I said was she talked all about it? I said, but she didn't mention anything about me in cocaine bear And he said,

that's so strange. So he had already knew that she was interested, but that they didn't know that. Are you sure she didn't say something to you? I swear. Oh, maybe she said something. I don't think there's enough money or something like that. Right. Right. Yeah. She did just the lead with that. She's like, it's a low budget. So what? We're spending all the money on the bear. Yeah. Good. Yeah. When you actually were there in Ireland, putting on that outfit, going through the stunts, we both did a lot of our own stunts. I mean, we had stunt doubles. I have such great behind-the-scenes of you and I doing a stunt where we are both ratcheted off, you know, the cameras sort of zooms in on both of us and then my characters ratchet it off and then yours goes off next.

Okay, mine goes off on Mr. Rogers Railroad. Right, like a trolley car on some sort of children's show. And your job was to sell that you were being ratcheted all along. And I did it backwards. And I looked up everybody in the crew and cast were on the ground laughing. It was tears of joy. That was probably one of the best memories for that entire shoot. Watching Margot do this stunt.

And we were put in such incredibly weird scenarios. I mean, crawling around with bushes and the bear had mulled you and had taken a chunk out of your ass and like, you were just so game. And I was like, well, if Margot's game, I'm game two. I was game. But I said to Elizabeth at one point, I looked up at her and she said, you didn't tell me I would be crawling around on the ground

Like this and she said you read the script yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I thought it would be somebody else not me and you did have a stunt double But you know you did a lot of your own stuff. Hello. Hello. Hi. I was thinking maybe we should look at the menu Let's look at the menu. What are you most known for? Maybe we should look at the menu. Let's look at the menu. What are you most known for? So the crudos, the two appetizers that I mentioned, and then the one dish that we are most famous for is the fuzzili.

Fuzzili pasta with the braised octopus and the bonero. Wow, that's so rich. Wow. But then if you like the Hollywood on the menus, but that's the best thing. Yeah, I was actually just seeing that halibut. Delicious for the halibut. Yeah, just for the seeing that halibut. Delicious for the halibut. Yeah, just for the halibut.

Halibut for the halibut. Would you have some crudo if I got some? Sure. The yellow fintuna? Yes. That's when I was eyeing. Yeah. Let's do that.

And then for my main, I think I'm going to do the halibut. I think I'll do the scampi. Scampi. Perfect. Scampi scampi. That's it. All right. Thank you. It's comfy, it's comfy. That's it. Alright, thank you. I would bring some for you for the table just in case.

Okay. Sure, let's try it. Thank you very much. Thank you. Anyway, yeah, that was most wonderful time, wonderful time. I am so happy for Liz. She took a big swing, so I'm so proud of her. Me too, and tonally.

It was perfect. It was perfect. It was perfect. Margot was biggest laugh because during the entire shoot, she would say, I'm just concerned about the tone. Are we all on the same page with the tone? Because there were some cast members who were from Ireland, a lot of people, obviously obviously Americans had to come in

and she just wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page. I'm worried about the tone. And then we find like third day three, she's like, I think we got a handle on the tone. Let's get some. Don't worry about the tone. Don't worry about the tone. I got it.

But it was just, it was such a magical time. And also, we got to live in Ireland for a period of time. Margot lived in this tiny little house in Dalky that was literally 10 paces across the way from the spot. Ten against pub. Finnegan's pub, the greatest. Good morning, Margot.

Good morning. You were like normed cheers, like everyone cheered when you walked in and I arrived a few days after you and I just remember like, wow, she's already established herself as a town's person here at Dolce. Everyone knows who she is. In Dolce, Ireland. Dolce, Ireland. Oh my.

Such a great time. This is the nicest people in the world. Yeah, it really was. It was a great time and I'm so glad that we got that. It's our introduction to one another. And I just thought of it. And all I remember is that maybe the first day or something you're doing one routine after another

that I thought I was gonna die. What was I doing? Singing and dancing. Oh my God, I was probably just like, it was just trying to win you over. It was exquisitely fabulous. And you did. I didn't know he could do all that.

Oh my God. Just my trick, my bag of tricks. Bag of tricks is pretty damn full. OK, I know we're in your neighborhood. Tell me again when you moved to the Upper West Side. 1974. And the place that you're in now, I know you've been there for quite some time, is that the place that you move to when you know

I moved first to 73rd Street and then I moved to Where I live now in 1978 and I've lived there ever since I think so amazing people are a little shocked when they see me sitting out in front of my building Yeah, because my building is a tenement and it is a walk up and it's where I grew up really I mean I spent all of my 20s in that apartment I mean it's astonishing to me that more than half your life you've been in that space Sometimes I think how long can I climb those stairs? Yeah, because building code did not exist back then dangerous

Yeah, sure. I mean you you're such a southerner to me, but yet you still have Patriot Duses in New York or you've lived here many decades. Way longer than Texas. Exactly. But you still have this like southern charm about you that I just I'm so drawn to and I love. Well, thank you. Yeah, well, talk to me a little bit about finding theater in Texas

and how you discovered like this passion for acting. Well, I, Jacksonville, Texas. Jacksonville, Texas, very good. You know, I'm always played in my backyard. I made to believe in my backyard. I had a great little playhouse. I had this little group of kids that were called the Alley Gang. That's the name of my company, Alley Gang.

And it was, you know, sometimes I had an orphanage and sometimes I was a beauty operator and I would cut all the kids in the neighborhood's hair. Amazing. And send them home to their parents and just screaming like, what? I would actually cut their hair. Oh, yeah, I cut their hair or do anything I wanted to do to them. Okay, wait, back up. You, I thought this was all make believe. No, you actually played Beauty Parlor and you would cut their hair. Oh, yeah. I discovered a new hairdo on Debrake White

and then I could pull her hair up in a ponytail like this and then cut the back of it and then she could have a bubble. Okay. Or do you take that part down and she could have long hair? You gave her a versatile look But the parents were like please stop How are you when you were doing this? Oh in good elementary school, I guess no way yeah elementary school

I put on Oklahoma now. I decided I wanted to play Curly, Aino Annie, Judd, and Will. Okay, so I let the girl Devin Dublin next door let her play. Aino Annie? Lori. Lori. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Who cared about that?

So talk me through like what a production of Oklahoma in your backyard was. I had one of those little red wood picnic tables that were for children. Yes. It was like a bleachers, you know, so I could stack them up like that. Yeah. And I make them all stand on that and sing Oklahoma. And I mean, at one time, it completely crashed.

No. Yeah. And the only person that really did anything was me. Right. Well, if you took all the roles. I took all the roles. I let Devon stand out there and do a few lines. I don't love it so much. It's so great.

Okay, here's a horrible story. Can I tell you this? Because I could get in trouble for it, but I could say, okay, when the children in my orphanage didn't do what I wanted to, oh wait, I forgot I got an orphanage. I had an orphanage too. When they didn't do what I wanted to. Oh wait, I forgot an orphanage. I had an orphanage too. When they didn't do what I wanted them to, we had a dog pin and kennels in my backyard. Sounds like

it was fancy, but it wasn't. And I would put them in the dog pin and sometimes I'd tie them up to the fence. Oh no, no, my God. Oh, they didn't't, they didn't do it. I tell them they said that they could come back to class. Oh my God, they're so good. What were the things that they were refusing to do, do you remember? No. This is beautiful. Isn't gorgeous? Yeah.

Thank you. Is this the Crudo? Yeah. And this is what, that's the lobster situation. Wow. When I was young, I did a Christmas pageant, every year, please taste it. I did a Christmas pageant every year in my living room.

And I grew up Catholic, so I would do the Nativity scene. And I would enlist all my cousins to do it. My cousin, Eric, was always the mule and the Nativity scene. He was annoyed because my sister would ride on his back as Virgin Mary and I would make tickets for my parents and make them buy them from the ring for like a dollar.

I needed to make my knot. You know, these things aren't free. And I always ended with the Christmas tree being lit up in the living room. It was like a rock and fall or a center or something. So I would crawl behind the Christmas tree and like at the right point in the music, I would plug it in and the tree would light up

and that was the grand finale. That was much production value, right? Very good. Well one year my siblings decided, it was, I started rehearsal around October and I was a tyrant. They quit the production after like three days of rehearsal. And so I was like fine, so I packed up the sets,

stored them in my closet, you know, I made sets out of like post-aborder stuff. Yeah. And then Christmas break came long, you know, mid-December, and my siblings were bored. And so they were like, can we do the Christmas pageant again? I was like, okay, under some conditions, I made them sign contracts. I wrote up contracts and made them sign them so that they wouldn't quit. And basically, the contract said, I won't quit. I don't listen to you.

Brought up my alley. See, I think we would have gotten along. Really, up my alley. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. I also made the children pull me down the alley in a wagon. Was as a parade? As a parade, just, but, I'm gonna go, we had the same childhood. But I was the only one in a wagon. Was it as a parade? As a parade. Just, but, Marco, we had the same childhood,

but I was the only one in the parade. Ah! And, I had them fan me with my most of palms. Uh-huh. I came by, like a queen.

That is so funny. I would, we did the same thing, we would tie like a wagon to a tricycle and like that, I would make like a long parade. That is so funny. We did the same thing. We would tie like a wagon to a tricycle and like that. I would make like a long parade. It was so good. Oh, we were very clever. Did you have an alley or did you have a... I had about out back alleyway, but we would do that. The parade would always happen on the street. Oh. I would actually manpower that with the bike. I would always always head

of the parade and then I'd put my siblings and stuff to animals. I would, I was always the head of the parade, and then I'd put my siblings and stuffed animals, we'd put them, you know, load up the stuff that I was doing. You were the head, though, that I was the head. I was doing a lot more work than I probably needed to be doing. You were smart enough to be like, you're gonna pull me. You're gonna pull me. Get it up.

So great dude, did your parents like think, okay, what are we gonna do with this child? Like, was it obvious that- They never even looked or cared. What did your parents do? My father was a lumber man, my mother was a homemaker. And when you decided to go to pursue the arts, you would start acting in high school.

High school, okay. Remember, I wore a body brace all during my team. Yes, you had scoliosis. Yes. They think I had polio when I was three or two or something like that But who knows we I can't verify it right right right so I wore it 24 hours a day 7th 8th and 9th grade I got to take it off to go to school and I put it on immediately when I got home from school I was voted cheerleader in the ninth grade

I took the brace off put on my outfit to try out for cheerleader, wasn't allowed to jump. Oh gosh. So I just kicked my leg and I got cheerleader and things sort of started to fall into place. Yeah, yeah. When I was in high school, the choir teacher came to me and said, you have a really loud voice, why don't you come audition for the musical? So I did. What was the musical, do you remember? Bye, bye, Bertie. Oh, who'd you play? Rosie Alvarez.

You know, and then I went and I taught drama. What is your name? Prison for criminally insane men. He might have told me a little bit about this. I was 16 and 17. When you were 16 and 17, you taught drama at a prison. From in a maximum security unit for criminally insane men.

Okay, okay. I need to hear, I really break this down for me. All the kids would go to Rusk, down the road, the county seat. Rusk is... Rusk Texas. Okay. And because it was where you could get a summer job. Great, okay.

And they took us into a room and they all said, the guy stood up and said, good afternoon boys and girls. Now, I have a real surprise for you this summer. We're going to take volunteers to go behind the fence. Meaning a prison? In prison. And what did I do?

I couldn't get my hand up fast enough. I thought the entire room would have their hand up. And I was the only one. Did you know that it was to teach drama? Or was it? Oh no, no, that's just so. Okay, I came up with.

Gotcha, okay, okay. Wow, you were the only one. Was the only one. And so once you've answered to do that with a like what do you want to do and you chose to teach drama? Basically I made puppets, paper mache puppets and I taught a drama class and put on a play.

Cast a play. I knew as much about the theatre as a 16 year old wood from past. I learned from the two plays that I'd done. Yeah. Well, you had all that experience in a backyard too. I did. I mean, you're a very confident person, like you walk into a room with authority. So I can only imagine that that's something you learned at the age of 16.

I can't imagine a 16 or walking into that situation and not having. Remember, I had been wearing a cage. True. For all that time. Yeah. It made me have to become more than what you saw. I remember a woman looking at me and going, I said, I'm fine, and you know, right? So this was a year Barca free

It's part and then going to work in a in a Caged-in prison. Wow It was quite quite something but wonderful absolutely wonderful, but I wasn't afraid That didn't come from anywhere except stupidity. Mm-hmm. You know how dumb you are as a kid. You don't expect anything to happen to you. Well, yeah, you're, I mean, many kids are fearless and you sound like you were fearless.

I was fearless, but I am full of fear now. I don't, you can imagine like going into that same situation now. No, thank you. That was so good. So delicious. Now for a quick break. But don't go away. When we come back, Margo and I talk about her odd jobs,

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for 37 years. Now, because I know you met Bill about 10 years after you... I met Bill in 1981. Okay. I got married like five years Bill in 1981. Okay. And got married like five years later. Yeah. Okay. What were you doing before meeting Bill?

Were you just like looking for work? I worked in a place in an office called Telecession Conference Center. Hello, Doctor. This is Margot with Telecession Conference Center. I'd like to talk to you about the management of mild-moderate essential hypertension. Oh. Oh. Oh. So it was a, you know, drug reps.

Yeah. And a lot of actors worked there. Okay. I did that. And then I'd got a job. I got my equity card in children's theater written by David Mammott. Wait, David Mammott wrote a children's show called, called, called, Fuck it.

Called, Binky Rudy Chen is two speed clock. Wow. wait david mammoth wrote a children show called uh... called fuck it uh... thank you rooted tennis to speak clock wow i mean to work with these people that have actually become pretty iconic in the industry i mean maybe you didn't know at that time i did you know that david mammoth was wildly talented or i did i did know david mammoth

okay i yeah he is already written other things about it already i think i think so yeah you meet bill you get married and David Mammoth. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you had already written other things about that. He had already written other things. Yeah, you meet Bill, you get married, and a year later, you do what I consider to be one of the most iconic plays in the canon of American plays, Steel Magnolias. Oh dear. Yeah. That looks so good.

You need to take a picture of this. Yeah, this is gorgeous. So tell me again what's in this, this is the... Red wine braised octopus. Wow! Wow! A decadent tomato sauce and a housemate fuzzi. It's gorgeous. A decadent maple sauce? No, no tomato. Tomato red wine. Mmm, no, no. Oh, to me. To me, to me.

Red wine. Mmm, my god. Not as so rich. Oh! There's layers of flavor on that. My god. That's great. Wow.

Okay, so right after you get married, you start work on the play that some people might know as Seal Magnolia's playing Truvi, which is an iconic play in itself, and went on obviously to have quite a lifetime, you know, and on, you know, it's been remade several times. The movie was such a huge hit. Talk to me about what it was like, did you know at that moment when you were working on it, that it was gonna be, it was the WPA,

which is a very, very small theater downtown, I think we're Little Shuffle Horror's actually started as well. But not at that space. It was still on Fifth Avenue. And that's where Howard Ashman, who wrote Little Shuffle Horror's, yeah. And Little Mermaid and a lot ofermaid, and all of that Disney things. He was there and there were a lot of shows that came out of there before they moved to

23rd Street. Yeah, we did it there and I tried to quit several times because the women were acting and treating me like a hairdresser. Which ironically, you had been a very good one in your backyard. I suddenly had an eye-couldful, a little bit of a woman- Really? Do hair.

At any way, I said, oh, fuck you all, I'm leaving, basically. Yeah. And then I'd come crawling back. And I still thought, I don't know if this is good or not. And you know when your southern you've heard all that stuff a lot because that Bobby did a great job with it and I came with the play so I'd kind of done all the backers

readings and all that because I met Bobby Harling through our commercial agent David Coatley, Robert Harling's author. When we got it put it in front of an audience, we played it as a drama. We had no idea it was funny. Oh yeah, it's very funny. So when we played it was so straight and the audience went crazy, it was the biggest surprise I'd ever had in my life

is that we had to hold for laughs. Yeah. And you weren't playing for laughs, but you were playing for laughs. At all. Which is key. Which is key. And I think so interesting because I'm going to just fast forward a little bit. I think, well, let's say cocaine bear, for example, like what was so great about your

performance and that is you were not playing for laughs. You were playing at dead serious. And that's what I always say, like, if comedy is funniest when you're not playing for the laughs, but to learn that kind of by accident in this production of still magnolia is. I looked at Connie Shulman and I went, Connie played, Connie played I now. And I looked at Connie and we just died laughing because we had no idea where the only two southerners in the show. And then it just blew up.

That was a huge hit. And you stayed with almost every iteration of it until it had its long run off Broadway, right? It played I think three years off Broadway. Right. I left in January because I was pregnant and I was having a little difficulty with my pregnancy. So I left.

And then I did the tour. After Maggie was born and we went on tour. Wow. This shrimp's campy is ridiculous. Is it really got us a super buttery? Super buttery, you want one of them. Yeah, take this one The whole thing I feel of a scampi

It's really really good. Oh, that's great. This is a winner. Oh, yeah, mm-hmm. That's really nice What does it feel like to be part of such an iconic Well, man, the history of fear a lot of people don't know that it was ever a play They know the movie was wildly popular wildly successful And here's the thing that's funny. We would meet after the show closed at the WPA for lunch for a month to try to think of a way that we could move the show to Broadway. No, just to move it to a commercial run. Okay. And what we ended up doing is I had no money whatsoever. And Connie's family had some money. Bobby's family had some money.

And the rest of us put in a portion of money. And we, as a cast, moved that play. Are you serious? The cast. The cast. Is responsible for like the longevity of that run. Cast is responsible for anybody seeing that play. That's remarkable.

I mean, there have been a lot of people seeing the play. I don't mean that. Sure, but it made a lot of noise. I mean, Lucille Ball and Elizabeth Taylor and... Wait, these were the people that were coming to see... That came to the WPA. Maybe they came to the Lucille Hotel. I can't remember.

Right, so it ended up moving to the Lucille Hotel. So that's not a result of you all putting in your own personal money to move it. Then we have owned a piece of it to 2000. Really? Oh wow. That's fantastic. It's a good story.

It is a great story. I mean, that's really remarkable. I mean mean what did it feel like to be a part of I imagine at that time it was sort of one of the big hits of the New York theater scene. I guess so I you know I know. I know. The seal balls coming like I'm just you're talking with these people these icons. Elizabeth Taylor. They're not just coming because someone said, oh yeah, this thing's good. They're coming because it's a cultural thing. It's a moment, it's a moment and people are curious. Did the eyeball just come off your scamping,

fall into your lap? Oh no, it's not. It wasn't, no, it was just a claw. But I think, you know what I mean? I feel like it was, it was a big thing. It was a big thing, but did it feel my way? Well, I was working, during the WPA, I was working a day job.

Okay, so you're working a day job in the day and then going to the spot tonight? When I was doing, I was a spa consultant. A spa consultant? Uh-huh. In like, like, tracking people into a spa? It was called spa finders. It was a place that had a catalog of spas.

Okay, anyway. So spa finders are in the data in this place. And when I did Miss Firecracker contest, which was at my aunt theater club, I hit play before then, in 84. I was a private investigator during the day. Talk a little bit about what that meant like what that involved well it was basically boring

There was a lot of telephone work a lot of spying on which room yeah, okay pretending to be someone else on the phone Right just like pretending you're someone else and trying to get information gotcha trying to verify Now there was another branch of us that did counterfeit rings like mostly fake purses okay you know those things like that in the sun yeah yeah sure and so that you were you were meant to find the people that were selling these and and then what do you do once you found break the ring? How did you how's how didn't do it you go say the guys did that okay? Way night was one of them really oh My gosh, I mean when there's the you talk about stories survival jobs

You really have like one list of survival jobs. I have a I have a lot of survival. I'm really you know Didn't make any money really for a long time. Right. Though I was Kind of successful. You were successful and busy. It sounds like. Mm-hmm. Can you pinpoint a job that felt like okay Now I'm hitting a new stride or this is I think when I got hooked up with Robert Benton and nobody's fool That made me something doing the firm that was something, doing Lorenzo's O'oyle, that was something. And then I did Sydney Lament series, 100th Center Street for two years,

and then I did Million Dollar Baby, and that sort of made the, and then I did Katana Haunt in Roof on Broadway. Right, which I was wanting to get to, because that was sort of like your return to your roots and theater. But ironically, your first time on Broadway. It was my first time and last time.

I'm willing it into existence that you're going to be back on Broadway. That's my hope. The world would not be a complete place if Margot Markdale's only done one show on Broadway. That's stupid. No one wants to live in that world. It has to be the right thing. I know, of course it does, of course it does. I mean, our dear mutual friend, Elizabeth Banks,

I always remember her saying to me, it's love and study wins a race. And I truly feel like that has been your career. I mean, you have always been working. And it's why like, you know, something like your alter ego in Bojack Horsemen is so brilliant, like, oh, I know her from something, because she's been in everything, truly. What's great about my career is that I didn't get it all quickly.

No. And so that when I got an Emmy at 60, I could appreciate all of it. Yeah. And I think then a lot of times when people get recognition around out out of the gate, it makes it harder. I agree with you. I want to be still in study. I that longevity for me is... But you are because you're a miracle. You're a union that keeps getting peeled back. That's very, very sweet of you to say. And that's the truth.

I mean, I had no idea who you were. Right. Right. From watching Modern Family. I didn't, yeah. But from seeing you and knowing you and all that, it's like a whole new world. And then seeing that you, and take me out last year, it was just unbelievable. Oh, thank you. It was unbelievable.

I love that. So, you're so sweet to come. But your career is one that I greatly admire and hope to emulate. I truly believe that. I'd like you to get very nervous when, for example, in something like Modern Family Hit, it was wonderful to have that job security. It was a job I deeply cared about. But there is that, since of having to crawl out from underneath the character and reinvent yourself, and great success for someone who wants great longevity can sometimes be scary because then people only think of you as that one thing.

It's hard. It is very hard. Yeah. I'm sorry, but I think you have made it that though. Because I never had that. I mean, you have. It's what I always wanted. Did you? Oh, I wanted to sit calm worse than anything. There's still time. Well, I did have one, last year, a year. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. With Walarnat, right? Walarnat.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Love him, love him. Such a great guy. So you talked about winning an Emmy at 60. And so being able to stand in front of your community and have them celebrate you when you won several Emmys But what did that feel like was there any sort of like ability to sort of step back and look at How hard you would work to get to that place?

No, I'm just I don't think so and study so it never was overwhelming Because here's the real truth. I always believed in myself. I love that Always believed in myself for whatever that means. Yeah, I mean, that's all you can really have if you choose to be in this business. If you don't have that I think you're immediately screwed like you have to have full believe in yourself. You have to believe that you can do all these things That's a hard part. Yeah, I mean and losing out of million times. Sure. Can I ask about bell just a little bit? Yes, so you guys have been married for 36 years 37 at 37 now and losing out a million times. Sure. Can I ask about Bill, just a little bit? Yes. So you guys have been married for 36 years? 37.

37 now? I mean, that's a really remarkable run. And you guys seem really happy together. We are. I can tell. But is there something that you feel like is a secret to? Well, I think you have to give in. Uh-huh. Oh, this is for Justin. Did you hear that Justin? Justin? Give in. Just give in.

Okay. I think giving in is big. Yeah. And meaning not always have to be right. Not always having to be right. Yeah. How did you two meet? He was waiting tables in a restaurant on the upper west side and my old boyfriend from college University of Michigan He introduced us because he was waiting tables there because I'd gotten him a job there. Gotcha And what was your courtship like it was a Spotting I was going to Louisville half the time right for the first three years maybe yeah So it wasn't like you met him. You're like, oh, I'm gonna marry the first three years, maybe. Yeah.

So it wasn't like you met him and you're like, oh, I'm an American person. Yes, it was exactly. I said that to him. I said, you know, I'm going to marry you. He went, how soon in, did you say that? Do not admit him. No, at the restaurant.

Oh, my God, he's like this woman that I'm waiting. He said he'll 32. He's saying. He's saying. Well, he's not wrong. I mean, we love your family. I said, where are you from?

He said Texas. That's where in Texas. He said Frisco, Texas. I said, I'm going to marry you. And you did. And I did. Yeah. Oh, I love that.

And now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Margo and I talk about what it's like to play an exaggerated version of herself in the animated series Bojack Horseman. Okay, be right back. Globally, humans are facing massive problems that are widely ignored by governments and the media. Like personal space invaders. Had it with these couples that sit on the same side of the booth.

Yak Mouth. Stupid stick figure bumper stickers. All in the milk. You cannot milk an almond. Hi, I'm Jennifer. And I'm Angie. We call her pumps. And we're the hosts of I've had it.

Pumps tell the listener where they can find us. Apple Spotify, Amazon or wherever you get your podcast. It's nailed it. See you next Tuesday. Hi, so if you have a few minutes to spare it, I'll help us if you thought the short listener survey. It'll let us learn more about our audience, which helps us sell ads that keep this podcast furry.

You can also share your opinions about the show so we know what you think is working and what we could do better. So please go to dinnersonme.fans to fill out the survey. Thanks. And we're back with more dinners on me. I just wanna finish by asking a little bit because when we were doing cocaine bear

and I was posting things about it I Was getting be like oh my god. That's a steamed character actress Margo Martin Dale And I wasn't aware of your all three ago in Bojack Horseman So I started looking at it like what? Talk to me about what that felt like for you to have What is it my hearing you to have, what was it? My hearing.

Got one in. But what was that phone call like? What has it been like for you to play that heightened version of yourself and to be known? Now, what is it that esteemed character actress, Margaret Martindale? Yes. Well, it wasn't the phone call.

It was that we're at rehearsal for the millers at a table where he will say, oh, you're going to come do my cartoon. I said, no, I'm not. I was promoting Augusto's H County at the time and trying to learn to do a multi-cam comedy. Sure. Giving all my all into that as well. And I said, well, I don't have time for that.

He said, oh, oh, no, you're going to. I said,, well, I don't have time for that. And he said, oh, oh, yeah, no, you're going to. I said, I said, I'm not going to do that. And he said, the part is esteemed character actress, Margot Martin Del, who else is going to do it? I said, I guess I am. So it was already established in the show. They had already kind of written it.

They had written it. Okay. Well, that's one surefire way to give an actress to say yes. No kidding. So I did. And, you know, I'm happy I did. It's ridiculous. I've watched some of it.

It is absolutely insane. It's very funny, Margo. People love it. Love it. Love it. And I have a whole world of fans that I wouldn't have had a whole world. I mean, there are fans that I would never, that are younger.

Yeah. From that show. Yeah. It definitely brought in a different demographic. I mean, it's, it's really fun. And it's, it's got to be said. That was will, it was will our net. Yeah.

You need to go faster, Margot. You can go faster. So I'm not Will Arnet. And you know, that sitcom world and Jimmy Burrows, they're going on. Oh, did Jimmy Burrows wreck that? All of it. Oh, he's the master.

Master, I'd go, well, I, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, go back, honey. Yeah. No eyes. Mm-hmm. Go back, honey. Yeah. No-os. Go back, honey. Oh, wow, OK. Um, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, go back, honey.

That's so interesting that you had struggles with it because I feel like as a theater actress, I mean, maybe I had to have been a while since you've done theater. But like, there's such an overlap between multi-camera shows and theater. You don't think so? The very first TV show I an overlap between multi-camera shows and theater. You don't think so? The very first TV show I did was a multi-camera show and then I had just come off of doing

spelling beyond Broadway and it just felt like this natural thing. But it's your very facile. I have a thought process. I don't mean that you don't. I'm just saying that my thought process is slower. Okay. And so it's not like, it's not ever on the tip of my tongue. Right.

So this is something I have to learn. Right, right, right, right. You do have to really know your lines. Well, I knew my fucking lines. I just wasn't ready to say them quickly yet. And also the thing that really stressed me out on the multi-camera sitcom so you know you're in front of the audience and a joke doesn't land, the artist doesn't laugh. So the writers come in and surround you and they start feeding you new lines. Repeat it back to us.

So you repeat it back to them and they're like, okay, let's go and shoot it. And like all of a sudden, this line that you're holding in your hands, like water in your palm, like it's just, the line that's dripping through your hands, like please let's shoot this fast before I completely lose what this line is. The pressure of that moment was so intense for me. Because a minute in James Bros who was also the director of the class, every episode of the class that I did,

you know, he's and he directed cheers, he directed taxi, he directed Will & Grace, he started Friends, like he is an iconic sitcom director. If he heard you starting to fumble, he would stop you because he didn't want you to spoil the joke for the audience. And that's why he would stop you. And it was really stressful.

Was that why? Yeah, that's why he would stop you. Because he didn't want the audience to hear, he wanted the audience to hear the perfect version of that line to make sure that it worked for the writers. Wow. Did he never explain that to you? No.

Yeah. No, back. Did you not have a good time doing a multi-camera? I loved it. I loved learning it. I would have been happy doing it for three years. I would not have been happy doing it any longer than that. Yeah, I've never done a multi-camera longer than 19 episodes,

but I mean, I, my, my, like Sean Hayes, I'm mutual friend of ours, you know, he loved doing long-draight, that was, and he did it for quite some time. I mean, there's nothing like that marrying of like a live theater and TV, I thought it was just so much fun Whether or not it's warm at that soul is oh my goodness. Oh, so what are we dealing with here? Oh boy, that's termi soup. Oh wow, how pretty.

Okay, oh, that's nice. That is really good. It's like a termi soup. Oh, wow. Wow. It's not great. That's the fanciest termi soup I've ever had in my entire life. Oh my God.

My bill's cooking dinner. He is not cooking dinner. He said, well, I'll get you a piece of chicken, but you don't have to eat it. How are you possibly gonna, what time is dinner at? 10? And of course I've had a nice amount of alcohol. Ah.

Just perfect. Oh, but the great thing about you and having a few drinks, and you don't change at all, I feel like the minute I have a martini, I'm like, oh, there's a different Jesse in the room. A little loopy. Thank you for doing this. I just had to worry you. I love you.

I love you so much. I know that I can be boring. Are you kidding me? We, nothing you talked about was boring. You were talking about like breaking up crime rings. It's like a day job. That's where we started. I wasn't expecting any of that. Let me tell you, your life is fascinating and full and vivid and I love hearing about all of it. I love you, honey. I love you too. Yay! Next time on Dinner's On Me, you've seen him on Glee,

Grey's Anatomy, and everything everywhere all at once. It's Harry Shum Jr. We'll get into growing up and feeling like an outsider, being a backup dancer for icons like Madonna and Beyoncé, and how being a dad has changed his life. 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, you not only get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also

be able to listen to them completely ad-free. Just click Tri-Free at the top of the Dinner's On Me Show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today. Dinner's On Me is a production of Neon Hum Media, Sony Music Entertainment and a kid-name Beckett Productions. It's hosted by Yours Truly. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay.

Chloe Chobal is our associate producer. Sam Bear engineered this episode. Hansdale She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Samuelison, special thanks to Alexis Martinez and Justin McKeeta. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week. you