Happy Sad Confused - Betty Gilpin

Episode Date: July 26, 2018

It's been an eventful two years for Betty Gilpin. The daughter of two character actors who never got the role that made them a household name, she was resigned and indeed okay with that same sort of life, theater in New York, guest spots on TV to pay the bills. And then the biggest role of her career came around on the Netflix show, "GLOW". Flash forward to today and "GLOW", in its second season, is garnering absurdly stellar reviews and Gilpin is getting much of the credit. She's just landed an Emmy nomination too but don't worry she's still a delightful self-deprecating presence, as evidence by this chat on "Happy Sad Confused."  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Hey guys, I'm Josh Horowitz. Welcome to the podcast. Welcome to a fun show with Betty Gilpin, a new acquaintance of mine and a new acquaintance to many people because, frankly, she is in a show and performing a role that has changed and transformed her career. very much for the better. She was a working actress, certainly, doing some stage work here in New York and popping up on different shows, was a regular on Nurse Jackie and Masters of Sex. But certainly nothing has done for her career what her role on Glow has done. It is now in its second season on Netflix. If you've not caught up with it, I highly recommend it. The second season, it's fantastic. It's probably better than the first in most people's estimation. And I binged it basically

I think in like a day, two days maybe. It's such an easy watch, a great ensemble, and Betty is just kind of a revelation in the show. So highly recommend you checking that out after you've heard this conversation because I think you're going to enjoy hearing from Betty who's got... I don't know, she's hysterical.

She's like everything out of her mouth is funny and insightful, and I think you'll fall in love with her if you haven't already. Highly recommend this chat with the one-and-only Betty Gilpin. To catch you up on my shenanigans, if you follow me on social media, you're probably sick of me talking about it, but I was at Comic-Con, the 11th year in a row for me. Oh, my God. No, but I love it. It's fantastic. San Diego Comic-Con, the biggest pop culture event of the year in many ways. And I was running around. Actually, it wasn't running around.

I was basically sitting on a couch for three days, but how could sitting on a couch be exhausting? Well, I figured out a way to make that happen. I did about 25 different interviews, casts of TV shows and major movies that came through MTV's set. We've been doing it that way for years, and it's fantastic. And it was great. It was exhausting, but great. And I think almost every conversation I had is up now on MTV's YouTube page, pretty much in their entirety. We didn't really cut anything.

We cut out a little game that I've played for years called Geeks and Posers, and that's in its own special video. But other than that, it's all up there. I recommend, I mean, they're all, honestly, there wasn't a dud in the bunch, but I don't know if you want funny, go to the Duck Tales conversation

with our buddy Ben Schwartz and Bolly Moynihan. That was an off-the-rails crazy conversation. Had a blast catching up with Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Norman Redis of The Walking Dead, fantastic beasts. That was nine people from, the new Fantastic Beasts film, and it was Eddie Redmayne and Allison Seudal and Catherine Waterston and Ezra Miller in full cosplay. You have not lived until you've seen the Fantastic Beasts

interview because Ezra, well, he was wearing a very memorable outfit, and he was, you know, I've done a lot with Ezra over the years, and I think you'll appreciate our unique dynamic in that chat. And Jude Law, of course, was there too, and Dan Fogler. It was a lot of fun. Also, So if you're a Riverdale fan, that interview seems to be burning up the internet. A lot of fans out there were excited to see my conversation with that whole, that ginormous group. Something for everybody. If you like superhero movies, maybe you want to watch the Shazam interview or Glass. I got a chance to catch up with M. Night Shyamalan and Sarah Paulson and Anya Taylor Joy.

I don't know. It was great. That's like just tip of the iceberg. So if you want to just kind of feel like you were a part of the action at San Diego ComicCon and catch up on all these cool new movie and TV shows. Just go to MTV's YouTube page and enjoy those conversations. It was great. Also worth noting, I guess I mentioned this on last week's show,

but The New Mission Impossible is out probably by the time you're listening to this. I highly recommend it. It is maybe the best, if not, pretty close to one of the best Mission Impossible movies. It is pure, great summer action movie entertainment. And, man, I love that franchise, and I hope it continues. They just know how to do it right. Tom Cruise and Chris McQuarrie are fantastic together. So a lot of cool stuff out there.

There's good movies. There's Mama Mia. I haven't seen that yet. Sammy is not on the intro today, as you can tell. But I will speak for her. She is obsessed with Mamma Mia. Here we go again. Like to a degree that is almost alarming.

Like she might actually be at Mama Mia. Here We Go again instead of being here for the intro right now. I don't know. Makes me kind of want to see the movie. I actually legitimately do. People seem to really like it. It's not necessarily like my cup of tea generally, but the first one was fun,

and this one sounds like it's really fun too. So, you know what? I'm going to go see it. And then I'm going to get back to you, and Sammy and I are going to have a debrief on this podcast. So look forward to that. In the meantime, before I go see Mamma Mia, enjoy this conversation with an actress,

with, she's got a lot of new, exciting opportunities at her feet, and I'm excited to see what comes next. but I'm also excited that Glow is going strong and still in its infancy in its second season and it's just fantastic and Betty Gilpin is fantastic in it. So enjoy this conversation. Go catch up on Glow if you haven't already and root her on at the Emmys very soon. Here she is, Betty Gilpen. Hi Betty. Hi, how are you? I'm doing well. Thank you. Slightly different environment than the movie and TV. TV Awards when I saw you a couple weeks ago.

Yeah. When I was lying, pretending to know who DJ Mustard was. I didn't know either. I mean. I mean, I'm not out of the demo for DJ Mustard. I have a feeling. I felt like I was 106 years old at that event. Well, try working for MTV at my age.

67. Exactly. Yeah. Was that, have you presented before? Is this like a new experience? This is a part of the job they don't teach you in an active school. No. All of this is new. All of this is new. I mean, I definitely had pretty, I would say, you know, self-loathing has its benefits. You aim low. And so my goals were pretty low. You didn't dare to dream you would be presenting a movie and TV awards. No. Or, or I dreamed of having health insurance from acting sometimes. Right.

um and you know i i i thought that i would do theater uh and tv whatever tv i could to pay the bills and i tried really really hard to get you know c s i Oklahoma city like and sobbed when i didn't get those things um so yeah being in something that people watch and enjoy and uh you know presenting at things. It's hilariously insane to me. Do you have the kind of like the out of body experience when you're going through these kind of the panels and the award shows and this kind of thing? Because it's all pretty new still. Yes. Yes. It's definitely out of body. And it definitely there's like an Eliza Doolittle feeling to it where you feel like, I'm faking everything. Like I or just like, you know, it seems only conducive to like a person who's already like a movie star

when they're like, what's your morning routine? I'm like, well, I pick up my dog's poop, and then I cry. Like, I don't, it's not like I'm sipping a chai looking over my pool. You know, it feels in a sort of in between strange time where I'm sort of having to pretend to be Julie Roberts when I'm a troll under a bridge. No, no. When we talk in two years, you will be, have all the chai latte stories. I won't come here.

Exactly. You're kidding me in this ratty office. I think Julie Roberts comes here? I don't think so. She's under the table. but it must be also cool to kind of like go through this with the the cast is is kind of like has every I feel like degree of experience right yeah yeah you've got Allison who's you know been on very successful shows et cetera major movie star major movie star Allison Lee you know she claims to listen to this podcast she's been on the podcast I love you so be on best behavior okay she claims her and Dave listen in the car I don't believe it but if you could follow up on that before me. We were just talking an hour ago. I texted her a video. I

reenacted a Miranda from Sex and the City moment in front of, in the actual location that the scene was shot. She approved. But yeah, so as I was saying, like, so you've got her on kind of one end of the spectrum. Yeah. And you're, I wouldn't say you're even like on the other end, like, because there are probably people on the show with even less experience. Right. Than you. If you can imagine. It's hard to fathom. Yeah. You've got the weird Mark Maron or what career is that. he's doing. It's doing it right.

Yeah. Well, I describe Mark as a cross between a curmudgeony sea captain and the happiest boy on Christmas morning. When is he, you've experienced Mark Martin happiness. You've seen him happy? There's always the twinkle of the Christmas morning boy encased in like, I don't like the morning or the afternoon.

It's kind of annoying that, like, especially when I was watching season two, I mean, he was very good in season one as well, but I feel like, oh, shit, he's like a real actor. Oh, he's a real actor. real actor. I had rolled my eyes when I first heard. I was like, great. They cast a stand-up comedian. It's going to be like, but-a-ba-but-but. But he's such a real person. Sam is such a real layered character. And I don't know. I feel like a lot of times guys like Mark have a sort of like Tony Soprano fantasy where they're going to always play guys who like know the answer to the question. And he is not afraid to be vulnerable or not know the answer or be, you know,

the little boy. There's that cool, yeah, like, there is a kind of that cool, that's like the facade of that character it feels like. Yeah. Like, as the lairs kind of go deeper, like you're seeing. And he's like, not necessarily a lovable character, but he's in some ways. Like, like all the characters on the show. It's very weird and interesting.

Yes. But sorry, I sidetracked you. You were saying how inexperienced I was. No, I was. I was saying you were a six on the zero to ten scale. Right. Okay, great. Good.

It's great. A woman loves being described as a six, especially today. In this economy, Josh? Wow. In the first five minutes. Shutting it down. Usually takes by the end to really upset my guest. You're great, by the way.

Congratulations on the Emmy. Thank you. Oh, yeah, great. Yeah, what specifically is great. Are we back? And we're back. But has it been enjoyable to kind of like experience this through with this kind of of ensemble?

Again, kind of varying degrees of experience. Yeah. And lean on Allison when you're at an award show, be like, so what do we do now? Yes. Oh, I just beg her to tell me what to do in every scenario. You know, and it's also this weird thing where, like, the press of it all, it's people who are inherently ladylike and organized are good at it.

And when you are a human tornado like I am, you know, like I forgot my passport when we went to Rome. I will rub my eye right before a red carpet. It looks like I've been abused. And Allie is always there to be like you have food all over. Where's your passport? I don't know what I would do without her. Right.

Is there... So it's interesting too because like right now we're having like one of those moments for you. Like you're having the moment. You just got nominated for the Emmy. The show's hit and it's the second season to hit and it's got stellar reviews. Is there like the pressure of like, I'm not fixed necessarily.

All my problems didn't go away just because you're all telling me every day. Congratulations on everything. Yeah. I mean, yes, I have two answers to that question. I feel like I, having, you know, I just turned 32 on Saturday. And I've been professionally working for 13 years. So I do kind of feel like that. experience, my various experiences in this business, I sort of feel now like I'm Dorothy in Kansas

at the beginning of the movie and I already know there's no wizard in like the best way possible. Like all of this is so exciting. It's insane that it's happening. It's beyond, literally beyond my wildest dreams. Remember the aiming low type thing. But I also know that my face and tits are going to fall to the floor. In two seconds, I'll be begging to play L. Fanning's grandmother on a CBS multi-cam. It's going to go away so fast. No matter what version of it it is. So, like, this is all hilarious and so much fun, but I also know that, like, I love my dog. And that love will remain even if I end up on the multicam. Yes, yeah. And my second answer is that there does seem to be this pressure of like freezing the moment or being like describe who you are right now you're

frozen person you're like well i i got into this business because i want to be a chameleon person and a changing questioning person right um and the things about me that aren't confident or uh set uh personality wise are the things that are creative windows to me and things that i need so i don't want to be like here's my favorite color here's who I am and frozen because that's uh I don't like that and I think I would be a bad actor how much of the in particular in answer number one and I would I hope you will answer with two different answers to each question if you could just so we can just really stretch as much as possible already forgot I had two answers it makes my job much easier um no but now I forgot my question

shit um great no I was going to say uh I'll sing while you think yeah please please please do Do I need to save you, I need to get you out of this. Are you, uh, Gouye Armstrong? Yeah, yeah, that's my Louie Armstrong impression. That's up. Are you a master impression? Oh, the shock has a pretty teeth dear. I don't even want to stop you now.

I remembered my question. He shows them pearly wild. It's really disturbing. Thank you. This is its first public debut. I'm so excited. That's great. You are going to be a very unique grandmother to El Fanning with that impression.

I will be El Fanning's grandmother as. Lou Armstrong. It won't be controversial. Trust me. No, of course not. I know what I was going to say. How much of the perspective on the profession and on kind of like keeping in check and knowing like this may change tomorrow and it inevitably will change tomorrow comes from actor parents who have been jobbing actors all their lives but never frankly had a glow like right in their career. Yeah, I mean, you know, I grew up in New York and both of my parents are actors and New York actors in the 80s and 90s

it was a different sort of thing you know you really did theater and then when you needed to do TV or film you went to California or so you did theater in law and order and you know my parents have certainly done films but it was a lot of theater and law and order and I don't know

and regional theater in New England and I grew up sort of backstage and in stage manager's booths and my experience with actors and what being an actor was was, you know, you did hay fever at the Westport County Playhouse and that was pretty, can we swear? No, it was pretty fucking amazing. I know it's so badass to say fucking when you're talking about hay fever at the Westport County Playhouse, but that's just the kind of hardcore person I am. But yeah, so I, yes, there's a whole,

other side of this that I was not prepared for at all. And things, uh, um, you know, being like a blonde actress in the internet world is a crazy thing also that I never would have imagined. What was the, the vibe or like the attitude of your parents towards the profession? Like, were they frustrated artists? Were they satisfied with their, like, just as a kid, what do you remember about their, like, what were they saying about their job? And I mean, I remember only the good stuff and looking back I'm like oh god that was probably frustrating to them you know now living my own frustrations I sort of have perspective on theirs maybe but I only remember like you know being it just was like this sort of magic underbelly to the whole world like oh there are

circus people there are cubicle people and then there are circus people and I want to be one of the circus people so bad I didn't know that the circus people were getting paid $350 a week to do hay fever, probably less. That was, that was quite a shock. That was the big talk. It wasn't a sex talk. It was the big talk was, so here's what you need to know, Betty. Yes. Yeah. There's no health insurance. Yes, exactly. Yep. Yeah. But yeah, so for the first couple years out of school, I did theater and law and order. I noticed you were, I think you've been on four different law and laws, four different roles. Yes. Yep. Why did they, I mean, I love that you got four different opportunities.

Right. But there are a lot of actors out there. Do they really need to, like, go back to the well? I mean, it employed New York actors for so long. You know, I'm biased. I love New York actors. I think LA actors are great, too. But I think part of the reason that Law & Order was so great was that even the guy

with two lines had done, like, Cyrano in Martha's Vineyard that summer. Like, everyone is insanely layered and amazing and is like, dodega worker number three, I'll work on it for two months leading up to the, yeah, genius. What was your favorite of your on-order roles? Oh, man. Oh, boy. Well, when I was Fran Drescher's daughter, that was certainly an honor, me with the person with the map of Ireland on my face being like, blah, like, just not acceptable casting. I liked playing a crack addict for sure. Who wouldn't, yeah. You know, it's, I, my natural. hair color is brown, and when I had brown hair, they let me play crack addicts and lesbians and

women with hard lives. And the second I dyed my hair blonde, they were like, you're very dumb. So yeah, I reminisced the crack addict days. Was the, um, were these kind of like slow revelations in terms of like, alluding to like the realization that like, oh, if I'm blonde and I look a certain way, I'm going to get a certain kind of a part. Like, did you go in a little naive once you kind of got out of school? Or by, even by then, did you? So naive, because also, you know, I went to the theater school that I went to, Fordham at Lincoln Center, was very, it was mostly theater of the absurd where like if you were on stage, you had a hunchback or one eye or a crazy voice, like, or a limp. Like, you were never just a person folding shirts at the gap, which you realize like, oh, when I auditioned, they want me to just be a normal person asking for a salt shaker and not like, my name. is Kelsey. They're like, so Kelsey is just a medium.

Exactly. Yes. So Kelsey's just a normal girl. No need to cross your eyes and pass out. So yeah, that certainly came as a shock. But I also, you know, my mom is a full on character actress. Like tiny little lady with, talk about the map of Ireland on her face. She's got like orange red hair and always played like the crazy mate and always

had like people rolling in the aisles laughing from some crazy choice she was making big brave risky choices and that is the kind of girl I was raised to be and I'm so happy I was but you know when then I turned into sort of a Barbie looking person for this small island of DNA time that I will look like this tomorrow it'll be gone but I you know I realized like oh no one wants that No one wants Barbie to be funny or loud or weird. Right. That sucks because I only want to do those things. And actually, like, I can't really do the other thing. And it sounds like I'm patting myself on the back, but I'm bad at, like, I made a tape for the new, the reboot of Girl with a Dragon tattoo.

Right. And I was like, Betty, minimalism. Look at me, Betty. Minimalism. You hear me? You need this job. Let's do this. You've read the books.

You love Elizabeth Salander. and I made the tape and I was like, crushed it, send it. And then the next day I was like, let's watch it back. It was. My eyebrows were to the ceiling. My mouth was like a waterbed. I was doing, going hi, hello.

And my, like just, I looked insane. I looked like Elaine Stritch as Robert Sean Leonard on a galloping horse in a blender during an earthquake. Quite specific. And I thought I was being like, Hello. No feedback. No feedback on that one.

Yeah, well, it's not too wet. It is way too late. Yeah, I don't want the feedback. No. Sometimes when your agents are like, you know, we'll see what happened. We'll follow up. You're like, don't. I cannot hear it, please.

Were you, I think I know the answer to this, what were you like as a kid? Were you a dramatic child? Were you prone to explosive, delightful outbursts? I was definitely a ham for sure. You know, I was very performing and very like the, you know, the image that comes to mind is like the toad with the top hat. What's that from Warner Brothers Looney Tunes? Right.

And then, sadly, I think this happens with all girls that like, you reach an age where. That's not encouraged. It's not encouraged. And you, for me, it was like, oh, and now I'm a little sad. So, and, like, maybe, like, gross and, like, no one wants me in the room. So I sort of feel like as an actor now, and I guess that's kind of, like, the Emily Dickinson chapter. And before that was, like, the Miss Hannigan from Annie chapter. And now I feel like, as an actor, I'm, like, Miss Hannigan Dickinson.

Like, I am. You can have your cake and eat it, too. Yes, yeah. I'm like the farcical, dark, poe poem. That's maybe not for everyone, and that's okay. I don't want to hear your comments online. Love you, though. Best of the family.

Did the early theater days, are those fond memories coming out of Fordham, getting into New York theater? Yes, I mean, that, you know, I'm still, I'm doing streak her name Desire next summer. Oh, nice. Up at Williamstown. and I'm really excited about that. I, I, that will always be where my heart lies, which sounds like the most theatrical dame

in like a dress made of spiderwebs thing to say. Just don't say craft here. That's where my craft mac and cheese lies. If that works, we will accept it. Perfect. No, yeah, I, I, that's sort of where, that was a place that was like, we don't care what you look like,

we want you to be as weird and big and crazy. as possible. And I think that's, you know, where the sort of ocean of weird is built, where you can, and I think that's pretty invaluable to have that going on inside of you so that when you are playing Barbie lawyer, Blowjob Girl No. 6, you're like, I'm going to sneak an inner life into this character, even if they're not going to use any of my takes. They're just going to use the wide shot where I, like,

clomp across in like you know a porny candy wrapper of a dress but I'm like inside I'm like she had a terrible child well the worst case scenario that I would feel is like at a certain point do they like drill that out of you like you at the first couple of years you can do that yeah but at a certain point you're like you're being rewarded for being boring almost for film for film or TV work and that teaches you the wrong lessons right yeah well it's a dangerous thing because there is a part of the business that's like, hey, young woman, the part of you that we want is all the stuff that's going to expire. Like, we want your obliques and your selfies and the quiet choices.

So we're going to need you for about four years, and then you're going to need another career path. So I guess I feel like I, even though I'm not a, hey, wait a minute, this is my credo of how I lit, like I'm not as solidified in my identity as I would want to be when someone's telling me that I'm something that I'm not. Right. I don't have like a counter argument, I guess, but I know that those people are telling me is not who I am. So I guess I'm trying to stay weird. Let your freak flag fly, as they say. Absolutely. What would you say is like the first kind of like TV or film work that that was at least a little bit rewarding that you felt like you can contribute something and like exactly what we're talking about?

Right. I mean, Nurse Jackie had a great pedigree. Yes. Was the role, I mean, internally you're playing into the type that we're talking about. Totally. Well, you know, we, they, I came on in season five of Nurse Jackie. they basically sort of were like, let's spice things up. And even though this is a show about complicated, layered women being good at their jobs,

let's have a bimbo come in who's terrible at her job. And you see her Ariel as before you see her face. Literally. Hi, Dad. But, you know, I was like, okay, this is the ultimate Trojan horse opportunity. Like, I'm going to come in and be that. person and be in full drag queen makeup and in tiny clothes and I'll do the wide shot where I'm walking across and I'll saunter and I'll dangle on my phone but I'm also going to

make her a clown and I did and that was I was proud of that experience because I was I didn't listen to them when they were like just be small and squinty and whispery I was like What if she's a performer? If I talk to you then, okay, jumping ahead a little bit like prior to the Glow audition, what was your attitude about life and career then? Were you in a happy place? Were you beaten down by the system?

Where were you at? I mean, I had had a bunch of close calls by that time. um you know i i i test i was close on girls i was close on veep i was close on billions like i just had all these or orange is the new black like i had had the heartbreaks before where everything looks like you know you kind of see yourself on the page and you're like this is it this in the movie montage of my life i'm going to get this part and then when it doesn't happen sort of like okay well the next and then when the next one doesn't happen you're like oh then maybe it's just not going to happen for me.

Right. And I was definitely in that place for sure. And, you know, felt sick when I read the Glow script because I was like, I can't go through this again because I loved it so much. And the concept of also being able to play a wrestling character and definitely being allowed to be huge and weird and risky and a character actress, like doing all the my mom stuff, you know, being like an old maid in a restoration comedy falling down the stairs. Like I was like, I, you know, so that, but I, you know, I was like, just pretend to be

a more driven, confident person than you are. Right. Just try and fucking get this part. Did you, did you have like a beat on that, on the character even before you nail you, you, you landed it? Like, in the audition, do you feel like? Yeah, I mean, I, I made a tape first and I wrote a rap as the as they had me come in for the Britannica wrestling character and I wrote a rap as her and wore wigs and like mooned the camera and did crazy things and then there was like five other auditions as Debbie um so yeah I tried to you know I connected with a lot of the things that the character Debbie talks about um about feeling sort of invisible as an actress and like that a part of her

that she felt like the most special part of her would die with her that no one would ever be like hey I want to see that part actually and I certainly felt that way about myself so yeah it was easy to drop in

what's the you know there's always the cliche of like you know the set felt different than any other set but it sounds like the set did feel different than any of the set in this case it's actually true yes was that from the start

was the first couple days like oh wait something's a little different. Yeah, and I guess the first thing I noticed was that I was different. I mean, you know, I think being comfortable gets you so far as an actor. And probably in every business, you know, you see people who you're like, God, you're just so comfortable. And it makes it so that you can access any part of your brain that you want. You're not second guessing yourself. There's no one standing at the door to your brain.

being like, is that right? Maybe don't do that. Maybe audition for the part you already have before you do that big choice. And because I felt so comfortable in a way that I never had before, I was able to sort of be the social worker on behalf of my creative self

and be like, what do I need to do today to make myself comfortable to do the best, craziest, weirdest work possible? and that I'd never felt before. Right. Yeah. Are the, I mean, do you notice things whether, like, like, this is kind of, you know, putting yourself in a different situation, but, like, if Glow was run by a bunch of boring white dudes or whatever, like, 96% of shows were five or ten years ago, the show would look much different, needless to say. Like, what are the nuances, if it's possible to even pinpoint them?

You think that, that people like me, horrible people like me, can't, no, but in all seriousness, that we can't, that aren't generally captured or haven't traditionally been captured, do you think in pop culture about, like, a female ensemble? Right. I mean, you know, I think that when, when characters, female characters are written as two-trait porny barbies, they're often treated as two-trait porny barbies. Like, I guess a lot of times where I was sort of cast as the hot girl, I, uh, or whatever, I, um, realized quickly like, oh, I, I also have to play that part at Crafty and in the

hair and makeup trailer, uh, you know, it's sort of like, the male characters get to sort of be like three-dimensional, like snorting, farting, complicated, sexy forever. real people and I'm going to have to be like I don't know I it's it's hard to explain but on this set I didn't ever feel like I had to ask permission to be in a room that I was already in right um and I could uh that I wasn't taking up space with ideas or um you were entitled to them instead of like feeling like you're someone's doing you a favor. Yeah. And a lot of that was watching Allie Brie and how she was. You know, she asks questions that I didn't think you were allowed to ask. What's the shot? What are we

doing? Okay, so you're seeing how much of that. All right. So if you're going to use the, you know, asking like director questions, um, where I was always just sort of frozen in a shot being like, was that, oh God, the camera was on me? I didn't even know. Oh, it's okay. It's okay. I don't know. Yeah, no, I got you. So season two, so season one hits and it's extremely well received. Season two, probably even better received. Like, the reviews are stellar.

Does it, I mean, going into season two, you know, you were talking about, like, it's all about comfort and being relaxed as an actor. So I would imagine, like, coming off of season one and knowing you're not only in a safe place creatively, but the audience is there. Did that make season two feel like that, like everything was firing on all cylinders

a little bit better for you even? Or was there pressure? I did feel pressure. I, you know, the benefit of being, you know, which I still am, an unknown as the term is literally, literally that's a term. They're like, congrats.

They're willing to cast an unknown in this part. Thank you so much for putting me in the lowest form of the actor-cast system. But yeah, the benefit is that you can sort of fail for free or it doesn't feel on the record because no one's really watching. So when you do an episode of this or a play here, you know, you can sort of, there's no voice in your head being like, well, this is on the record, you know. And doing press was a weird experience for me. You know, I feel like there's the Emily Dickinson, Ms. Hanigan stuff churning below. And then there's like this room in your brain that every one is trying to put young women into and like lock the door behind them. It's like the Kylie Jenner obliques, Instagram world where, you know, it's like, oh, we don't want your Ms. Hanigan, Emily Dickinson stuff.

We do want that filtered selfie. and answer this question, Miley or Madonna, which I completely understand. I understand the need for all of that. And it's fun, but I get scared that if I spend too long, so fucking pretentious, if I spend too long in that room

that I'm not going to be allowed back out. And, you know, I feel that on a daily basis. Like, I'd rather just, like, look at Instagram or listen to Katie Perry than watch the horrifying news. or read this book because I just keep zoning out. Like, I'd rather just stay in that room where everything's like light. Yeah. So for season two, I felt a little, I was like, oh, God, I spent too long in the room.

Like, it took a couple, it took like a full episode for me to be like, okay, I'm back in, I'm back in the weird place because I don't know. But which Kardashian do you relate to the most? That's right. um probably mason they never talk about mason you know they never fucking talk about mason just because i love what's happening with his hair never a hair out of place is there really a mason Kardashian yeah Courtney's son who i guess is a disick oh god just put me down just put me down um by the way i've spent way more time watching them than reading books so it's not like I'm some

not above at all poet laureate yeah yeah that's all good um when you look back at uh this season is there um I mean there's some really stand out both episodes and particular scenes for you um is there one that jumps out as something that you're particularly proud of that feels like I hit close to the mark of what I was trying to get and like when you look back on you can just kind of appreciate oh man I'm probably not even there I mean I I don't know if I'll ever be able to I'm getting less neurotic about it. It is interesting being in a female ensemble.

Usually, I cannot watch things I do. Like, no one told me about my ears or like, I am the worst person ever. And when there's so many women, I'm like, oh, it's not, you know, your insecurity is narcissism. This isn't about you panicking about the sound of your voice or shape of your face. So Glow is sort of the first thing I have been able to enjoy. I do love episode four. I love the one that's just me and Tamay

slash welfare queen slash Kia Stevens in real life. She's unbelievable. I think she's so unbelievable in that episode. You know, I love any scene I get to do with Allie, Bree. Like the hospital scene when we finally get to talk to each other, scream at each other. But, you know, I, it was like the first time. we've made real eye contact and talked to each other since episode one of season one. So that was really fun. You've also started to have time to start to do work outside of Glow since the

success of Glow. Yeah. Has that been an interesting thing? And has it been, again, is it pressure or just sort of exciting, kind of like, oh, new different opportunities? And now what do I do with this delicious power at my feet ever once? I know it well. I mean, I am. I. And, am trying to take the um the lessons i've learned on the glow set and apply them to others you know i reflect on so many times i got in my own way by being scared or being convinced that they wanted to cast someone else which you know probably might still be true but like there's nothing i can do about it no there definitely is like yeah it's it's it's or maybe it's just getting older it takes so much effort to self-sabotage and not like yourself.

Are you, what's, so you talked about the, the, the dragon tattooed audition. Like, is there any way for you to kind of, like, preserve yourself for these auditions? So it's not psychologically taxing and damaging permanently for you? I mean, it wasn't damaging permanently. I, I weirdly like auditioning. I really like acting. And even as a, even, you know, I'm even a working actor, it's, there's, still months at a time where you're not doing it. So I do like auditioning just to act,

which is so lame. But no, I don't, it doesn't feel, you know, I just don't read the comments. That's damaging. Everything else is. You're on social media, right? I'm on Twitter and every day, I'm like, today's the day I leave Twitter. I feel like a lot of us are feeling that closer and closer, right? Yeah. Yes. I mean, it's just so, what a, what a fecal hurricane. We're in the wrong timeline, Betty. Something went amiss. Something went awry a couple of years ago, and we have gone down the wrong path. Yes, we did. Anyway, Glow, season two. It's great.

Yeah. So I'm just curious about a couple things you've shot outside of Glow. Isn't it romantic? Yep. Which sounds like a really fun idea. I'm so excited. Yes. It's Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine, Priyanka Chopra. Oh, nice.

I saw singing and dancing in New York recently. Yes, yeah. We were doing reshoots last week, and, yeah, we did a dance number in front of Grand Central Station in the middle of the day, which will definitely be, I mean, with like 300 dancers behind us. And I just know that, like, it'll be the thing where with my grandchildren, I'll be like, you know, in front of Grand Central, station you did a dance and we know you're so insane yes yes yeah you did your louis Armstrong

impression we know oh man the impression will be even better when I'm 95 um and that's a playoff of some of the classic tropes of romantic comedy yeah so it's like rebel Wilson plays a girl who hates romantic comedies and it's you know it's shot sort of like the office like it's like a shitty uh fluorescently lit cubicle world and I'm like her cat lady friend at the office and my wardrobe in this movie I look like I've killed six people I mean I look like a Montessori art teacher gone insane and it's my favorite thing it's after doing glow where you're in the hair and makeup chair for two and a half hours and you know they make me look like a completely different person expertly artistically and this I'm really looking like

my serial killer self finally yeah Releasing me in her serial serial killer. Yes, exactly. And then she hits her head and Revell Wilson's character and wakes up in like a rom-com fantasy world. And then I turn into like the bitch at work. Yeah. I love it. So when you're back in five years, you'll be back before then.

In five years, what are we going to be talking about? Glow is going to be entering seventh season. Oh, my gosh. You're going to be negotiating for the El Fanning. Yeah. I'll be in a wheelchair from wrestling for seven years. Do you feel like you have more to talk about with Dwayne Johnson than ever before? Do you feel like you compare?

Dwayne and I have always never had a problem. picking up right where we left off. Have you worked out in the Iron Paradise with him? I don't know what that is, but yes. And I don't want to talk about it. On that note. Betty, it's been so fun to get to know you a little bit today. Thank you so much, Josh.

I still don't know who DJ Mustard is. Nor I. Let's figure that out for it next time. DJ Mustard in the billiard rim with the wrench. Thank you for laughing at that stupid joke. They are already making clue. Get in on that. Okay, great.

Okay. Just trying to help you out. Yeah, exactly. Thank you. Thank you. Good luck at the Emmys. Have a blast. Thank you so much. I'll talk you soon. Bye. And so ends another edition of happy, sad, confused. Remember to review, rate, and subscribe to this show on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a big podcast person. I'm Daisy Ridley, and I definitely wasn't pressure to do this by Josh. Hey, Michael. Hey, Tom. You want to tell him? Or you want me to tell him? No, no, no.

I got this. People out there. People. Lean in. Get close. Get close. Listen. Here's the deal.

We have big news. We got monumental news. We got snack. Thank you. After a brief hiatus, my good friend, Michael Ian Black, and I are coming back. My good friend, Tom, Kavanaugh and I are coming back to do what we do best.

What we were put on this earth to do. To pick a snack. To eat a snack. And to rate a snack. Nemptively? Emotionally? Spiritually. Mates is back.

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