Happy Sad Confused - Katherine McNamara

Episode Date: February 24, 2021

You can just tell Katherine McNamara lives and breathes acting. Since her big break on Broadway at just 15, she hasn't looked back! She's mixed it up in big franchises like "The Maze Runner", beloved TV shows like "Shadowhunters" and "Arrow", and now she's showing off a darker side in "The Stand"! Josh and Kat cover it all, including her love of old Hollywood embodied by her comfort movie pick, "Singin' in the Rain"! For all of your media headlines remember to subscribe to The Wakeup newsletter here! And listen to THE WAKEUP podcast here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D.C. high volume, Batman. The Dark Nights definitive DC comic stories adapted directly for audio for the very first time. Fear, I have to make them afraid. He's got a motorcycle. Get after him or have you shot. What do you mean blow up the building? From this moment on,

none of you are safe. New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, Sad, Confused begins now. Today on Happy, Said Confused, Catherine McNamara, from Shadow Hunters and Arrow to The Stand to her comfort movie Singing in the Rain.

Hey, guys, I'm Josh Harrow. It's welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Pleased to say, we have another newcomer on the show today. I feel like it's been five or six at least newbies to Happy, confused in a row. And I love that. I mean, I love the returning guest too, but I love it when we can welcome a new actor or actress or filmmaker to the show. And this is a young woman who I've kind of gotten to know in a very 2021 sort of way via social media in the last year. Kat McNamara is delightful and so talented and so just energetic and excited to be part of this industry.

and that enthusiasm is infectious, and I loved chatting with her. You know her, of course, from her very kind of genre skewing roles thus far in her career in projects like Arrow, in Shadowhunters, of course, and the maze runner. And now she's also part of like a new, huge, ginormous franchise, as it were. I mean, Stephen King is a franchise, a one-man franchise, and it doesn't get any bigger than the stand. The stand has concluded on CBS All Access, so you can watch all the episodes. And I know this was a big one for Catherine to be a part of. So support her and support that monumental work from Stephen King and filmmaker Josh Boone.

I'm so thrilled that that came to fruition. So as I said, like Kat, and I don't think we've ever met in person or if we have, it's been very brief. But I feel like I've gotten to know her via the Twitter and the Instagram. and the fact that we have some common folks that, you know, we call friends. We like to make fun of Sam Hewain, both of us. We like to drink his whiskey. But many other folks, too, in kind of like the MTV world. She was on an MTV show.

She did like a pilot way back when with Beanie Feldstein. Like all her people are kind of, in a way, my people too. So it was fun to kind of bond with her over that stuff and bond with her over this business that she just, she lives and breathes. you'll hear it in her voice and her stories that, you know, she really came up in it in a way when she was, she got this amazing, you know, opportunity of a lifetime and came to Broadway and worked with legends like Elaine Stritch and Angela Lansberry and Catherine Zeta Jones. So this is, this is in her blood. She was born to do this and she's making the most of it.

She has so much energy and excitement and enthusiasm for TV, for film, for theater. So I know she's going to be around for a while. She's just getting started. So I'm thrilled that we finally kind of connect. in a real way on the podcast and had a had a delightful chat um she also just loves movies and tv and of course she picked a classic movie a classic movie musical maybe the best of all time arguably singing in the rain so that's her comfort movie we talk a bit about that too and uh yeah all and all this is just a delightful chat with cat McNamara and like i said i'm thrilled that

she finally um is part of the happy say confused family other things to mention um let's see Oh, Stur Crazy. Of course, my Comedy Central shenanigans continue some really fun ones in recent weeks. Of course, we had Jamie Dornan. If you guys have not seen Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar. I mean, if you follow me on social media and you probably do if you listen to this, you know I've been talking a lot about this film because I remember I was watching the screener of this before there was any buzz. Okay, literally no one was allowed to tweet about it or anything. And I knew I was having Jamie Dornan on the show. And my producer for Sturr Crazy also had the screener. And five minutes into the film, I was like, wait, I'm so predisposed now to be disappointed by films or think it's like, eh, or get distracted. And I was like, wait, is this a great comedy? Like, when's the last time I watched something and said, this is a great comedy? So I texted my producer, Alan, hi, Alan, if you're listening. And I'm like, I think Barb and Star is great.

Are you watching this? He confirmed my instincts. He agreed. And I'm so thrilled that now, like, the whole world is starting to catch up with Barb and Star, Vista Del Mar, and a big part of that. Of course, we knew Kristen Wigg and Annie Mammalo were going to be great, but Jamie Dornan, the comic find of the year. And he confirmed that on a recent episode of Stur Crazy. So all of which is to say, if you haven't watched him on Stir Crazy, the Comedy Central show, he was awesome on that, too, and I'm so proud of that episode. We also had Noah Centineo

recently proving he's more than just the Dreamboat guys. He's also got comic chops. And by the time you listen to this, we'll also have a new episode up with a guy that I've known for a while, and I'm thrilled to catch up with, again, Christopher Mintz-Ploss. You, of course, know him from Superbad as McLevin and role models and How to Train Your Dragon movies. He's also a part of them, kind of a co-creator, a collaborator with buddies of his on this Comedy Central YouTube show called Blark and Son, which is really out there and weird and funny.

And, you know, if you dig my kind of stuff, you'll probably dig, Blark and Son. So check out his show and also check out his appearance on Stir Crazy. It's always fun to kind of reconnect with these folks. that, you know, I kind of got to know him like 10, 12 years ago in my early days at MTV and his early days acting and to see sort of where their careers evolve and the roller coaster they're on and to, like I said, to reconnect. So that was, that was a blast. So I hope you guys enjoy that one. Let's see. Other things to mention. Oh, there's some things I'm going to

tape soon that I don't want to jinx yet, but there's a couple of MTV interviews I'm going to be doing soon that I think you guys are going to really enjoy. I just confirmed a new, another new podcast, guess, kind of a legend, guys, an actor, you're not going to guess who it is, but like, kind of a character actor I grew up with that, I don't know, just keep your eyes and ears out in the next month or so, this person should pop up on the show. But like, every once in a while when I confirm a guest, it's like, you know, there's some you're like, okay, that'll be fun, that'll be cool. Oh, it'll be fun to catch up with that person.

And then there's like, oh, my God, this is going to be insane to catch up with it. So, yeah, watch me jinx this person I'm not naming. That's why I'm not saying their name, though, guys, so I don't jinx it. I've learned my lesson. I've been doing this a while. Okay, enough chit-chat. Let's get to the important chit-chat. Cat McNamara, the delightful and talented Cat McNamara,

starring currently on the stand, on CBS All Access, that series. It has concluded. It's all there for you. I guess in a few weeks it's going to be, by the way, Paramount Plus. So catch it all you can on CBSL access before it becomes Paramount Plus because then it's going to be a totally different thing. Not really.

Anyway, I'm losing it. It's because my dog, she's driving me insane in the best possible way. I'm staring at her right now. Hi, Lucy. Say hi. See, this is the one time Lucy has no energy. She's just like catatonic. You'd think I'm drugging her.

Trust me, I'm not. Enjoy this conversation with Kat McNamara. Remember to review, rate and subscribe to Happy Say I Confused. And here we are. are here's me and cat wait so is this our first like official like face-to-face-ish meeting i can't even have our paths like crossed in real life i feel as though they must have because between all the comic-cons and things that i've done and i also used to work for mtv on a show ages ago so i feel as though we must have but maybe it's just that i've been a fan of the podcast for so long i don't

That's sweet. I do feel like, yes, we're like the positive side of social media. We've become social media buddies. This is the good, you know, there's not all toxicity. It's sometimes you can make a friend. You know, I feel exactly that. And that's something that I've learned in a larger scale over the years, but I love to be a part of it. I also feel like, yeah, as I kind of started to get to know you in like the last year, as we've kind of like corresponded a bit, I feel like then I'm realizing, like, we share a lot of the same people. And we've traveled in a lot of the same circles in different capacities. I feel like we bonded over mutual love giving shit to Sam Hewin. Oh, for sure. He says he misses you, by the way. I told him I was talking to you today.

Well, it's, that's not exactly what he said. That's the place to say. I think he doesn't sound like Sam. That doesn't sound like him at all. How did you cross paths with Sam in the first place? It's so funny. I was thinking about this. And I've known Sam for so long. I don't even exactly remember how we met. But I think it's just because we, you know, I was doing Shadowhunters or Arrow at the time. I forget which. And we both are on shows that were very demanding physically and emotionally and we're crazy schedules and shooting and traveling all over. And, you know, we both happen to love whiskey. This is all you need in a friendship nowadays. slightly um no but but sam is a wonderful wonderful impeccable actor amazing person and as you know he's always there for advice or a good bit of shit giving exactly exactly um i'm curious because it does feel like just watching you your work and and you socially on social media like it feels like you are like the this is my sister's the same kind of person like a connector you're like you're you know a lot of

people you like to kind of you're you're happy to be at the center i'm kind of like a This part of my job is like so antithetical to who I am otherwise. Like I'm like kind of like a social pariah outcast, but like this job makes me be personable, hopefully. But I feel like, I mean, is it fair to say, are you a connector? Are you somebody that enjoys kind of like different friend groups and bringing friend groups together? I'm very social. I was raised in a family of the more the merrier. And I'm also an only child.

So I think that's kind of something that's stemmed off of that. But just I love being around people. I love being social. I love spending time with the people that I care about and just laughing and having a good time. And this year has taught me how much that and my work actually make up who I am as a person and kind of feed my soul in a way that I've had to find creative ways to fill that. But yeah, I would say that's accurate. I love hard and I love the people that I love and to sort of support and celebrate and make people happy, I guess.

Did you have a, like, a friend group when you started to get serious of the business, at least in L.A., kind of when you went there that, like, you kind of came of age with, that you still feel kind of like you were on the same auditions with, that you learned from, that you kind of went through the wars with? there's a fair few people and it's funny because I started off I started off in New York doing Broadway and so there's a few kids that I know from there that now have some have gone back some of them are doing TV so you know we're all doing different things now but then there's others that I met doing Disney Channel that you know we've all kind of branched out doing other things a friend of mine that I actually did the MTV show with posted some throwback pictures the other day of all of us when we were all in that generation and we've spread out even more So it's just, it's really interesting.

The more I am in this industry, the smaller it gets in a lot of ways. And I love that, though. It feels, you know, we're the island of misfit toys that travel the world and tell stories. And I love running into the same people. Do you feel like anybody at some point, whether it's back in the New York days or when you got to L.A. took you under their wing? Like, did you feel like you had a mentor, a person that you kind of looked up to, whether they knew it or not? I had, I had a few.

There was, well, the first one that comes to mind is actually Elaine Stritch. That's a pretty good one to have. That woman saved me. I love her to death and always will. She played my grandmother for the second half of a little night music. And actually, Angela as well, who played that role for the first half. I spent most of the uninitiated. She's referring to Angela Lansbury.

She can call her Angela. I get it. You're in the in crowd with Angela Lansbury. You're cool. I spent the majority of my time with them because most of them, my character's scenes were with that character. And both of them were so gracious and just allowed me to sit in their dressing room and spend time with them and listen to their stories. And Elaine drugged me to the set of 30 Rock and told me to learn things. And, you know, so many wonderful

experiences you can glean from someone who's been in this industry for so long. Well, here's my question, though. Okay. See, I know we're jumping around if you've listened to the podcast, you know, I tend to do that. But like when you, you're about 14 when you make the big Broadway debut, Sondheim, Catherine Zeta Jones, Elaine Stritch, Angela Lansbury, I know they could swap roles, but did you know, like, for instance, who Elaine Stritch was?

Most 14-year-olds, if I talked to, would not know who Elaine Stritch is. I did know who Elaine Stritch was, and that came from, you know, I grew up watching old Hollywood movies, and I grew up watching that era of film and loving theater, and then when I started acting,

it was actually in theater in Kansas City, and there's this wonderful, a lovely, really artistic community there that really fosters work ethic, but also teamwork and just being an artist for the sake of the art. And that, I always say I was raised artistically in the Kansas City theater community. And I will forever be grateful for that. So when you get to New York, which is a crazy story, everybody's got the crazy story, but you've got one of the crazier stories. Like, that's a hell of a debut, a hell of kind of like a coming out party. What do you remember about those early days? Like, were you just like gazing up in the city? Just like,

Had you ever been to New York before? What was it like those first days? My only time to New York before I lived there was for my audition. So I didn't plan on leaving Kansas City. I wanted to be a developmental economist growing up. As most kids do, sure. For sure. You know, Alan Greenpan was my poster out of my walls.

I would love it if you actually literally had an Allen Greenspan poster. Like, yeah, there's like Barrow Hills 902 and O, Allen Greenspan, just all the idols. I wish, actually. I probably would have put one up had I been able to have one. Had someone made one, yeah, exactly. Exactly. But I remember, I never thought I'd leave Kansas City. You know, I thought I'd work at the bank during the day. The bank's close at five. I can make it their feeder by curtain. It's perfect. My life, yeah.

I had it all planned out. But as you know, life throws a monkey wrench into every plan that you try and make. And so I ended up working with this woman who was in a little night, Isaac, and they needed an immediate replacement. And she happened to recommend me because we just worked together in Kansas City. And so I get this phone call saying, hey, we have an audition for you in two days for a little night music. Do you want to come? And I said, well, sure. I mean, I've never been to New York before.

I'm never going to book this in a million years. Sure, I'll go to New York. I'll audition for a Broadway show and I'll have that experience for the rest of my life. Little did I know I'd be living there a week later. So it blew my world. and being 14 from Kansas City walking around the streets of New York for the first time,

it was, I thought it was going to be terrifying. I, because I had never really lived in a big city. Chicago was the biggest city I'd ever seen. And New York became this magical world of culture and influence and art and just life that I had never seen before. And I knew within a couple of weeks that I never wanted to leave.

Was your family worried? I mean, that's a big jump for any kid? I don't think they were worried. I think if anything, they understood. At least I know my mother did, because she moved there with me, and I think she sort of saw, she and I've always been

very close, and I think she sort of saw and understood how much I belonged there and how much that city was helping me grow as a person and as an artist and everything else. And she loves it too. New York is one of her favorite cities now as well, so it worked out for the best. And

do you remember just like, again, I'm just trying to wrap my brain around like the energy and excitement it must have been to like step out onto a Broadway stage at any age let alone 14 with these icons i mean put me in your head put me in your heart what were you feeling when you like the curtains open and you see 500 people and you're in a sonha musical what was it like i don't remember my first show i have no memory of it and it's very interesting it's one of these experiences where because i didn't have a full dress rehearsal. Being an immediate replacement, I had a rehearsal with the orchestra where I was in costume. And I think it might have even been with the understudies. So my first show was the first

time I saw the lights and heard the music and saw everyone else doing the full production. So, and the opening number of a little night music, it's this very dreamy waltz and the lights are low. And it just, it feels like this wonderful, warm hug of a Sondheim waltz. And I just remember stepping out on stage, seeing the stage and going, I stopped dead in my tracks. And I went, okay, here we go. You have to take a step. You have to do this. And I did. And the next thing I remember is running up the stairs at the end of curtain call. I don't remember anything in between. I just somehow locked into whatever my frame of mind was. And there it was. So were you a musical theater kid? Were you one of those interesting to say,

the least children that was obsessed with musical theater? I was from about the time I was 12, so not for very much before I ended up in musical theater. I was a ballet dancer my whole life. So I grew up doing ballet, but retrospectively, I was always a storyteller because it wasn't, I loved dancing and the art of it and the movement and all of that, but I became obsessed with the stories of every ballet. And I knew all of the characters. I knew all of the storylines. I knew what every song was supposed to be in the story that it was telling and the music that went with it and why. And I never thought anything of it until recently when I went, oh, it makes sense that I studied the stories and the characters and the arcs of all these things.

Right. In retrospect, it all fits. So maybe it's a good time to start to get into your comfort movie because it dovetails nicely with musicals. It is arguably the greatest musical of all time. gave me a good excuse to go back and see this. This is one of those that you should revisit every few years. What's your comfort movie, pick, Katz? Singing in the rain is my comfort movie. I mean, that's the definition of a comfort movie. It just makes you feel good.

But give me the short sell on this, and then we can dive deeper. Why did this one come to mind when I asked you for the comfort movie? I put a lot of thought into this because my knee jerk was Princess Bride. And obviously, that's been done. Perfect, acceptable. So I had to think. So my singing in the rain was, the next one that came to mind, simply because it's one that I'll always watch whenever it's on.

It just draws you into its world. And it's one of those films that they just don't make anymore. It's this sort of grandiose production. And yes, some of it's silly and some of it's ridiculous. But the dancing is so impeccable. The cinematography is amazing. The stories behind it are just phenomenal. But it's that immersive environment of these grandiose films that we just don't see. And I think that's what draws me to it is. I mean, I've been lucky enough to be a part of some productions that have been very immersive, be it Shadowhunters or Arrow or Randall Flag's Pink Palace in the Stand or even Maze Runner. You step onto that set and you can just completely lose yourself in the world and tell the story.

And I think that's what part of that film really hits home for me. Probably also, I would imagine, takes on a different meaning as you as you take part in the industry. It's a great industry movie. It's a great making of movie. a tale. It's a, you know, it's about the transition from silent films, the talkies. And yes, it can stand as one of the top musicals of all time, but also one of the top showbiz movies of all time. Also something I didn't realize is that Gene Kelly was one of the directors on it as well. Yes. He co-directed with Stanley Donnan. Yes. There's a lot to talk with. So for context, if you are living under a rock and you haven't

seen the classics. Shame on you, but this movie came out slightly before Kat and I were born, April 11, 1952, written by the great Betty Comden and Adolf Green, and yes, co-directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donnan, two icons in their own right. At the center of this film, is Gene Kelly, is Debbie Reynolds, is Donald O'Connor. Debbie Reynolds, I think, was like 20 years old when she did this, not a dancer, not a trained dancer. So give me perspective on that, cat as a dancer, as somebody that spent a lot of their childhood devoted to this, can be the dancer's eye on Debbie Reynolds and Gene and Donald. It blows my mind.

I mean, you know, to this day, Debbie Reynolds is one of the most iconic dancers and singing musical performers of all time. And so knowing that, it just really shows work ethic. And that's something that I love. You know, when I started Shadowhunters, I didn't know how to hold a sword. I didn't know how to throw a punch. I didn't really know much about shooting a bow and arrow when I started arrow. So I understand it.

And I understand how much work and effort that takes to look proficient at something that you know nothing about. And so just the utmost respect for all of them in pulling this off and making it such an iconic piece. Yeah, watching some of the sequences again the other day, the make him laugh sequence from Donald O'Connor. I mean, it's like, this guy's like Jean-Claude Van Damme. He's like jumping off walls. Like I couldn't, I literally like had to replay it. I was like, how are you doing this? Well, and because of when it was made and the technology of that time, he's actually doing it.

Of course, absolutely. Yeah. There's no trickery. There's no. There's no. There's none of that. They're actually pulling all of this off most of it practically. Exactly.

Is there? Right. Right, right, right. So is that, yeah, speaking of sound, how's your, how's your diction? Have you ever had voice lessons? Do you like the sound of your own voice? Oh, the sound of my own voice? I'm not sure. I feel like that the inherent human instinct. Right. If you love your sound of your own voice, maybe that's a bad song. You shouldn't.

It might be. It might be. But I have had voice lessons. I mean, with musical theater, I've been singing for quite a while. Interestingly, when I first learned to talk, I had a southern accent because of where I was born. And I lost it somewhere along the way by no purposeful effort. It just sort of happened. So I don't know. I love playing with voice and tonal quality. And I've done that with a few characters.

Yeah, do you have a good ear for accents? Is there one that you'd like to try out on film? Oh, any of them. I've had to do a fair few for auditions, but I barely had a chance to do them in the full production. I had one audition where I was auditioning for two roles in the same film. and one was Russian and one was Scottish. And I had to do them back to back. And so transitioning between those two was quite stark.

Amazing. But I figured it out. So, yes, so many standout sequences in this film. Of course, the iconic singing in the rain sequence is maybe the most, yes, I mean, you can't be a movie fan and not love that scene, which is just like a celebration of love and joy and is just like if you're not smiling while watching Gene Kelly dance through the streets and not care, not give a shit that it's raining on him, then you have no heart or soul, I think. It's true.

I wouldn't think. Or maybe watching that can inspire some kind of heart and soul in the heart list of people. There you go. Yeah, it's like the Christmas Carol by the end. You feel your heart or the Grinch. Is that, so which sequence stands out to you? Which is the one that is your favorite if you have? I always, I mean, singing in the rain is, the title sequence is probably the one that I always

think of the most. Right. Because I love TAP. I think it's such, it's an art that we don't see as much anymore. And it was one of my favorite styles of dance growing up, aside from ballet. And just, I know how difficult that is as well. And also, you know, the age old story that he had 102 degree fever and still did the entire production number in the rain.

exuding the utmost joy is just the epitome of... Right. Sucking it up and just doing it. Yeah, yeah. Putting on a good show no matter what. But also, I feel as though I'm a morning person. So good morning is always that one song. I just, I love. I relate to that so much. Well, also just like a sweet sequence, and it's like they've spent the whole night talking,

and it's sort of like, it's just, you know, we all have those nights with friends and loved ones, and it's like, suddenly it's morning, and it's a celebration of that. It's very sweet. Debbie Reynolds has been quoted as saying that singing in the rain and childbirth were the two hardest things she ever had to do in her life, a testament to what you were talking about of just how hard this must have been for her, who is not a trained dancer, let alone performing the most iconic scenes in dance film history.

So kudos to Debbie. Indeed. So have you really had the opportunity to sing or dance on film? Have you had those worlds melded yet? tangentially so what actually brought me to los angeles was a pilot for disney channel that was the first time they attempted high school musical the series which was probably 10 years ago now right so that i was playing the uh the ashley tisdale equivalent the mean girl um and that was so much fun i dump jumping into you know a disney channel musical pilot full of dance numbers and you know if the

utmost glitter and grander and fun. It was just, it was amazing. It was all I wanted at that age. I had one dance number where I was wearing a, you know, a gentleman prefer blonde's red sequin dress, dancing downstairs in heels and in this giant production number. And I'd never worn heels before. So that was, that was learning, learning heels was downstairs in dancing, singing. That's always those crazy, those crazy stories for young actors, especially, who like, have their first kiss in life on screen in some cases. It's just, it's a fascinating, bizarre world you plunged yourself into. I'm glad that you seem semi-sane, at least on camera.

Very much so. Well, thank you. None of my family is in the industry. So I'm lucky to have a very grounded support system. And the majority of my friends as well, I think, would look at me very oddly. give me a stern talking to if I ever was anything but a real human being. So back to musicals for a second, just curious, your taste in modern musicals. Are you a La La La Land fan, going back a little bit, Moulin Rouge?

What are the big ones for you? All the above, some in particular, or what? Milan Rouge is amazing and always will be. That's one of the most epic movie musicals ever, I think. I have the poster literally right behind this camera, if you could see, if I could turn it around. Amazing. Does Hamilton count? Sure. I'm a fan of all things, Lynn Manuel Miranda. I met him ages ago when I was in New York. I was doing a reading for a version of Peter Pan that was circling around all of the other versions that came out in 2010, 2011 on Broadway. And it was with Alex Lackamore and a lot of his other writing partners. And so he ended up coming and said some really lovely things to me that he's been a really amazing inspiration and influence for a lot of years.

So seeing him become so, because in the New York circles, everybody knows who Vin is and has forever. But now that he's on such a grand stage and getting to have, you know, the whole world see his genius, I'm a big fan. He's evaded this podcast. He's like one of the few in that, like, I'm privileged to say this podcast has hit most of my my faves. Put a good word in. Would you, would you cut? Absolutely. This needs to be fixed. So who helped shape your love of film pop culture as a kid? Who was the biggest? Was it a, do you have siblings?

Was it your mom? I don't have siblings. It was sort of twofold, I guess. My grandfather loves movies and always has. And so I remember every year we would go to a cabin in Colorado for vacation. And my grandfather would be up before anyone else. and he'd always be watching an old black and white movie. And so I would get up and go snuggle up on the couch

and just watch whatever he was watching. And some days it was Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Some days it was creature from the Black Lagoon. Some days it was Gilda. Some days it was Holiday Inn. And so I grew up watching all of, you know, it happened one night. Like all of these films that really shaped how I saw cinema.

And then conversely, my mother loves horror movies. movies. So I grew up with her watching Rocky Horror Picture Show and Carrie and all of these, you know, films that are entirely of a different genre. But it sort of shaped this kind of odd duality that I have with a love of the happy, joyful, grandiose, glamorous, and terrifying. She must be rooting for you to be a scream queen. I mean, you could, that could be a career. Like, you could go down that path very easily. It could be. She does love it when I end up in these projects. When I told her I was doing the stand, she about fell out of her chair. Right. So let's jump to the stand for a second, because this is an exciting project for

some obvious reasons. It's not just Stephen King. It's like the Stephen King. It's like Dark Tower, the stand. Those are like the two iconic like magnum opuses of his career. I take it you were a Stephen King fan because it sounds like, again, what I appreciate about you is like you love kind of all of it like in different ways. but on a personal level it's probably also very rewarding because this is not this is a big departure for you. Does it feel like this is new territory and is that the exciting aspect of being a part of the stand? In a lot of ways the stand was a dream come true and a bit terrifying in many ways. Just simply because I have been a huge fan of Steaming King my whole life. You know,

I grew up not only reading the books but watching the movies and just knowing what an icon he is in that sense. You know, the fact that all of these stories can come from one person's brain still astounds me. I don't fully understand it, but I respect it. And then on top of that, I've been friends with Josh Boone for years who has sort of the impetus of this. So knowing that this was sort of his magnumopus in a way and something that he's been working toward for nearly a decade, it's exciting to see something that your friend has worked so hard on come to fruition and to get to help shape that in a small way is amazing. But yes, it is a huge departure even character-wise for me.

Being on set, I've been used to playing in leather combat boots, playing a hero, doing what's right, being a beacon for hope, as it were, in whatever story I'm telling. And then cut to now I'm playing Julie Lorry, who is one of the most vile and horrible and ridiculous human beings I've ever seen. So now the character choices go to, I feel like a gross, disgusting human being every time I'm making a choice on set. But, you know, we have to tell stories about bad people to highlight their absurdity, I guess, in a way. But it was definitely a departure.

Every day can't be cat being a beacon of hope. Even that gets probably a little tiresome at a certain point. I'm in this to be a chameleon. That's my favorite part about my job, is getting to disappear into care. Oh, yeah, the Russian and the Scottish woman. Exactly. You could have played both in the same film. Why didn't they just let you go?

I would do it in a heartbeat. But to play it, be a million different people, live a million different lives, and to see how far I can push myself in any direction. Is there a kind of character that you're kind of done with? I mean, like, is it like, okay, I've retired the teenagers at this point, I've retired this type of thing, or is everything still on the table? I try not to rule anything out because I've, find that a lot of times things can surprise you in a really lovely way.

As long as it's a good story and it's an interesting character and it says something, that's what I'm more about. I'm at my core, whether I'm in front of or behind the camera, I'm a storyteller. And that's what I want to do for the rest of my life. And however that is, whatever that means, you know, if it's a good story, I'll definitely entertain it. So let's get into Shadowhunters because I would be remiss if we didn't go there. And I'm fascinated about it for a number of reasons. I mean, I've definitely covered a lot of YA properties that have obsessive followings and there's nothing like a YA audience.

Did you know going in, you must have known, you obviously knew it was the lead. You knew this was a bestseller. You knew there been a movie. You knew there was a lot there. But did it still having intellectualized all of that, was it still surprising when you started to kind of see the fans, interact with the fans and see the fan base? Absolutely. I mean, I'm, you know, I'm still me.

For me, it's, it's, I'm just me telling a story, but I grew up reading YA and I grew up seeing these properties and knowing what it means to have a character that you love so much be portrayed on screen and how important these characters are to people and how much they mean to their lives and their journeys.

And the fact that I was at the helm of something of that nature, I understood the responsibility and I took it very seriously. But it became something so much larger than any of us or any of our characters. And that's why, I mean, Shadowhunters will always be so special to me because I was 19 when I started that show. So that cast and crew really shaped me as a human being as well as an artist. But I'll never forget our first New York Comic-Con, we had just finished filming the first season, and we had been sort of sequestered in our little Toronto. Nobody had really seen or heard anything. And they were airing the first seven minutes of the show for the audience for the first time ever. And we hadn't

seen it either. So we had been told our room was standing room only, our hall, and they played the seven minutes and just hearing the audience's reactions and seeing it for the first time, I'll be it backwards from behind the screen and then getting to meet the people who are already dressed as us and who were so excited to see this come to life and having had that continue for several years. I mean, this community has become such a lovely, as we were saying before, positive force in this world. I'm just so grateful to be a part of it. It's so funny to hear you describe that because it really resonates. I've heard those stories like a half dozen times over the years and they always happen at the Comic-Con because

You guys have been bunkered down. You're doing it. And then all of a sudden, it's like they release you into this. Like, they can tell you everything they want. They can media train you and say this and that. But until you see that throng of like 6,000 people, a thousand of which are dressed as you, it's just, it's mind-blowing, I'm sure, I can only imagine. So what were the things you were obsessed with as a kid?

What was the, like, were you to twilight or Harry Potter or all the above? What were you into? I was a bit of a few different things. I, well, I was obsessed with Sri Lach Holmes, first of all. That was sort of my first, if you can equate that at all. But I also, I mean, I loved Star Wars as a kid. I loved the Divergent series. I loved the Percy Jackson series because I was a huge mythology person.

I loved Harry Potter. I can't get enough of all of that either. But, you know, a fair few. I read them all, really. So were you up for, obviously, you wouldn't have been up for Harry Potter, but were you old enough to be? be up for Divergent or any of those other things was, I'm sure you were there. I was up for Divergent. And that was one of the most exciting auditions I had, simply because I loved that character so

much. And even, you know, even though it didn't go my way. And obviously, Shailene's wonderful. But I was, it's one of those magical moments where you go, oh, this, these, I get to live this story that I've loved so much, even if it's for 10 minutes. Yeah. Are you, so are you, what's your attitude about auditions. I know like I've talked to some actors that are like they relish it because it's like, oh, I'm getting, I'm going to act because it's hard to find a gig sometimes and this is an opportunity to show what I can do. That being said, it's soul crushing in many respects. Where do you fall? Is it both categories or what? Yes, there will always be those jobs that when they don't go your way, it's difficult because there are certain ones that you just attach to or fall in love with for one

reason or another. But for the most part, I love auditions. I really do. It's because they're so playful and they keep me on my feet and on edge and constantly having to think and play and reassess and not be too attached to anything. I had a mentor of mine very early on present it in a very unique perspective. They sat me down and they said, look, an actor's job is to audition. You go in that room for those 10 minutes, that's your job. And anything extraneous. If you get the job, that's extra. Right. And so I always looked at it that way. I feel like you're the kind of actor that has like the creative props and wigs and like, do you go all out for auditions? Have you have like, as I said, we're social media buddies.

You have a sense of who I am. I think I have a good sense of who you are. Talk to me about like, do you go to extremes for auditions? I have. I have. Actually, it was funny. I had a self-tape the other day. I'm losing my mind a bit having not been able to do my job for so long in a traditional sense I had an audition where for one scene my character had gotten beaten up

and her face was bloodied and things like this earlier in the year I shot a horror movie in my house with some friends we did it all via Zoom and I had to learn how to do all of that

I had some makeup left over so for a scene of the self-tape I cut and bruised and bloodied my face and off we went any roommates walk in and say uh cat what's going on no but i have had that happen before where um my my buddy who stays with me sometimes he knows that i've got a whole trunk full of things and it's you know i've one one uh quarantine tradition i have a mafia group

that we get together and play mafia a couple usually once a week in person we've been doing it via Zoom and have been having costume theme nights. And it's been grand fun to just go all out and find whatever I can. Has it been tough? I mean, it's been tough for all of us, obviously. And we're on the spectrum, we're very lucky. We're working to a degree and we're keeping busy

and we're healthy. But again, you're in the prime of your career. There's a lot of opportunities there for you. And also, I get the sense that you're type A. Like you want to work. You want to be out there. So what's been the adjustment like for you and how have you found, have you found a happy normal in the last crazy year? It's been a large adjustment.

You know, I'm a person that even when I'm not working, I'm traveling and visiting friends and seeing people that I love or just having adventures. So I used to be on an airplane about every 10 days and that came to a screeching halt about a year ago. So it's been very interesting. If there's anything I've learned, it's how grateful. to be for those moments that that mean so much and the things that really matter to me, which are spending time with the people that I love and experiencing life and getting to tell stories and do my job. But, you know, I'm a stubborn optimist. We all find ways to figure it out and whether it's a friend calling and saying, hey, I have a movie that we can shoot entirely via Zoom.

Do you want to do it? Sure, learning how to light and DIT and do sound and do all of those things in my house, it was a terrifying, wonderful experiment that actually turned out. And then also, you know, exploring Los Angeles and finding new ways to connect and new ways to work on myself. And I've reorganized my house about three times, I think, just trying to be creative in some way. But also, I've been developing, which has been fun, to sort of step behind the camera and go, okay, what else can I do creatively in the needs?

time that I can then launch when things are more normal again. So have you been, have you traveled at all? I haven't been on a plane in over a year. I haven't been in a movie theater in over a year. It's boggles my mind too. I haven't been to a movie theater. I did escape to London for some work in September. I actually for a musical project, but I can't see much of it.

But I got to record at Abbey Road Studios for a day, which was just unreal. I have no words. It's truly, I know this is a pocket list. A bucket list item you didn't know you had a bucket list item for probably. It truly and it blew my mind and was one of the most, it was definitely worth the two weeks of quarantine in London that I had to do in order to do that. But then I got to go, you know, a good deal of my best friends are in London. So I got to see people there and wander around and I did a parks tour of London having coffee with people every other.

every other day, just seeing friends. So we haven't mentioned the other huge part of the fandom is, of course, the Aeroverse. And give me some perspective on your journey with that character. We don't know if we're going to see you as that character again. I guess the spinoff isn't happening for now, which must be bittersweet.

I mean, I guess give me a perspective on that too, because I can understand, like, I'm sure you wanted to do it. And at the same time, it's like, you want to do other, as you said, you're an actor. You want to try different things. So I'm sure you have, or you have two minds about sort of that aspect? Yes and no.

I mean, I've been very lucky to have been able to do other things, even while doing these shows that are time consuming. And I think that's because sleep is very low on my priority list for the most part. But, you know, having to do, being able to do maze runner between, being able to fit in little projects in the interim, I wasn't too worried if the spin-off had gotten picked up. And aside from that, Mia was such a wonderful character that they took such care of, took such care of and had set her up to have this very strange and complicated journey that

I was excited to see where she went. And who knows, maybe we will see Mia somewhere. Because in the Aeroverse, unless they, you know, they see you dead on a slab somewhere, you're probably coming back at some point. And even then, you know, let's not, yeah. And even then. But I was so grateful for Arrow. You know, I was just finishing Shadowhunters. And as I'm sure you well know, when you come off of a project that's encompassed your life for so many years, there's almost a morning period that happens. And being able to throw myself into another all-encompassing project was so helpful. Yeah.

That being said, I was very nervous, given that, you know, having been in those circles knowing how beloved Elycity was and having to be their child and sort of these two characters that have been so well developed for so many years by Stephen and Emily, trying to figure out how to be that amalgamation, it was an exciting challenge. And that's what I love. That's what I always look for is something that scares me.

And I know it's going to challenge me and force me to grow because that's what I'm here for and that's what I'm all about. So what's secret into the universe future, Kat McNamara prospects? We know Lynn Manuel Miranda, already a buddy, I'm jealous, is on the list for a professional collaboration. Are there other, do you have that short list, the actors, or maybe it's a long list, filmmakers that you're like, give me a meeting, I just want to meet them. I just want

to be their best friend. I just want something, please. It's a long list. But I will say that, you know, there's a great deal of storytellers out there that throw themselves in with reckless abandon. And those are the people that I aspire to and the people that I aspire to. And the people that I aspire to work with, the stories that I aspire to tell at a very interesting encounter with David O. Russell years ago. Oh, my gosh. Well, there's no interaction with him that's not interesting, to be fair.

I love his films and always have. And I went to a screening and happened to just, you know, he was saying hello to people afterward and I just went up and shook his hand. And I had red hair at the time. Turns to me and goes, Ila Fisher's here. And then just as something very kind to say,

which I was astounded at. But I was so floored by the fact that he'd said anything to me other than hello. I completely forgot to actually introduce myself. And then a year later, I was at Screening for American Hustle, and we had the same interaction. And so I made sure to actually tell him the name at that point. The only downside to that is if he casts Ila Fisher in a movie one day,

and you're like, wait, that was my role. I was like, wait, but I don't know. I'm more empowered to Ila Fisher, but I think she's wonderful. But all things considered, I'm very excited to see what the future is, and I hope to continue working. I mean, I have a lot of projects that have been on hold for over a year now. And I'm just waiting. There's so many roles that I was so excited to dive into and just on the precipice of doing that really would be quite different than folks have seen, which is exciting. What have you been watching lately?

What's on the, in the queue, in the Netflix queue. What have you been obsessed with? What did I just finish watching? Now I'm blanking on it. I went back and I watched, I finally finished breaking that, which it had been years since I'd committed to that series. So I finished that. I still have to get back to the wire.

I'm like halfway through the wire. And I'm like, one of these days, I just got to do it. One of the greatest pieces of cinema. I watched, now I have to go into my Netflix queue because I, have completely forgotten my watch. Oh, I've been watching American Gods as well, simply because Ricky Whittles, a dear friend of mine as well. So I had to throw some support.

And I love Neil Gaiman. Good Olman's was another one that I just recently went back and watched. He was on the podcast a few years ago and talked about being intimidated by a guest. Like, again, that Stephen King kind of mind where it's like I don't even know how to interact, just talk. Brilliant, man. Just brilliant.

brilliant in his satire and in everything else now I'm looking at it's been a lot of great British bakeoff well how's the baking going by the way Kat oh quite well any new recipe what are the standards what's like what's the top list what's the oatmeal butterscotch cookies I are kind of my standard Jesus death by chocolate cake which is my great grandmother's recipe which is it's basically a dense chocolate cake with chocolate fudge icing I'm moving to L.A. tomorrow. I'm getting on that plane. Please do. I also have figured out recently how to do whiskey cinnamon cookies.

You can do it all. It's a, fuck the acting, Kat. You can do, this is the important stuff. No, no, no. I can keep my closet clean to save my life. So there's that. There's a fair few things that are in my Rolodex of things to do and watch. Now I understand why you have this ginormous friend group. Sure, you're charming, but it's the death by chocolate that really keeps them coming back. I do have friends that will give me trouble by, if I haven't brought them baked goods in a couple of weeks. They go, where are my cookies? I go, well, okay, I will bring you some if you would like some. These are not the friends worth having. Cut those guys loose. No, I love it.

I love it. When things were really locked down here, I did this sort of reverse trick-or-treating thing where I baked a bunch and got in my car and drove around Los Angeles and just dropped things off at the end of driveways and waved. You're a magical fairy. How did she do this? It's amazing.

I'm glad we finally made this happen. Everybody should check out the stand and singing in the rain. It's a great double feature. It goes together. I don't know, not really. But do the stand when you want some dystopian Stephen King Madness

and to see a different side of Cat McNamara. and then watch Shing It in the Rain to cheer yourself up because there's nothing like seeing Gene Kelly do his thing in the rain. Man, I mean, if you're talking about contrasting, you want to get a good balance. Life's all about balance, right? You have to go for the dark and the light. Please don't be a Julie, and I think everyone should be a little bit more like Gene Kelly.

There you go. There you go. We've summed up the existence of Cat McNamara between these two projects. Great to finally connect, and I look forward. to catching up in person if for no other reason I'll collect my death by chocolate and that's really good. Let me know when you're in LA and I will have it delivered to you in person. 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 pressured to do this by Josh.

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