Happy Sad Confused - Taissa Farmiga

Episode Date: February 16, 2022

Taissa Farmiga may be best known for her work in horror but her latest work in "The Gilded Age" is anything but. She joins Josh to talk about her unlikely path to acting, her work in "American Horror Story", "The Nun", and a one memorable selfie with Josh. Tickets are now on sale for a Happy Sad Confused LIVE event with Sam Heughan! March 1st is the date! 8pm ET. If you can't be with Sam and Josh in person, virtual tickets are also available. You can purchase tickets here. Don't forget to check out the Happy Sad Confused patreon here! We've got exclusive episodes of GAME NIGHT, video versions of the podcast, and more! For all of your media headlines remember to subscribe to The Wakeup newsletter here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now. Today on Happy, Say, Confused, Taisa Farminga enters the Gilded Age. Hey guys, I'm Josh Horowitz, and welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. And yes, a new first-time guest on the pod, Ms. Taisa Farmiga. She is, as I said, starring in this new, very much-anticipated series on HBO, The Gilded Age. It is from Julian Fellows. He of Downton Abbey fame, very much in that spirit. Big production design, big costumes, an amazing ensemble that this time, of course, it is set in New York

and features the likes of Christine Beransky and Carrie Coon and Nathan Lane. I mean, every scene there's another amazing actor, and Taisa Farminga is certainly front and center as part of this great ensemble. This was a great excuse to catch up with her. She is an actor that I've known for many years. We've chatted on about a number of projects, whether it's the blink, Ring American Horror Story of the Final Girls. Oh, The Nun, her biggest box office hit The Nun. We cover pretty much all of it in this great chat. You will adore Taisa if you don't already after listening to this chat.

I do want to mention there is a lot of exciting stuff going on in the happy, sad, confused world. We have announced, officially, the news is out there. Lucy, if you can hear her in the background sheet, she is very excited about this too. News is out there, guys. Happy, sad, confused. Lucy, I'm trying to deliver momentous news to the audience. She's growling. She's upset because she knows she's not going to be there. I can't bring a dog to this, but I can bring human beings. And hopefully, if you're in New York, you'll be there. March 1st, 8 p.m. New York, Happy Say it Confused Live with Sam Hewann. Of course, it's appropriate. Our first happy say I'm confused live event back since the crazy days of COVID began two years ago is, of course, with our beloved Sam Hewan. I am so psyched

for this, guys. Tickets are on sale now through the 92nd Street Y. It's going to be fantastic. It's going to be me and Sam. What more can I say? We always get into crazy shenan it will be fun and silly and maybe semi-smart occasionally. We'll give you a sneak peek at the new season of Outlander. There's a lot to catch up on. I can't think of a better guest to re-enter the live event world of happy second views than Mr. Sam Hewan. As I said, tickets are on sale right now through the 92nd Street Y. I'll put the link up in the show notes so you can't avoid it. I should say for those of you that are not in New York, can't be there.

I get it. It's hard. I don't expect all you to live in New York. What can I say? There is a virtual option. You will be able to purchase virtual tickets. So you've got that going for you. Also worth mentioning, it's going to be on the podcast.

You're going to be able to listen to it for free. So there are a variety of options for you guys, okay? Come see us in person. That's my number one hope to see as many of you as possible. Or watch us virtually or listen to it on the podcast a little bit later for free. Whatever you like, I hope you enjoy it. I'm just thrilled beyond belief that we are back to doing live events, doing them as safely as possible. And doing it with someone that I begrudgingly admit I really like Sam.

Hewin. So I hope to see a lot of you guys out there. Let's see other things to mention. Well, I mean, check out also, by the way, on Patreon, we are offering a discount. So if you want it, now might be the time for you guys to join the Patreon. Patreon.com slash happy, say I confused. There is a 20% option through Patreon for tickets, just to say it. Also, as always, video versions of the podcast, including this conversation with Taisa Fermiga will be offered on the Patreon. Game Nights. Oh, God, guys, I haven't even mentioned the game nights. Should I tell you the next one? I'm going to tell you the next one.

You know what? I'm just going to say it. I'm going to say the next one. I think this is the next one. I think the thing through my head now. Yeah, the next game night is with Jody Comer and Sandra O. Very excited. We shot this a little while ago.

They were a delight. Of course, Jody and I go way back. Sandra, I've never done really anything of significance with Sandra. So that was a real treat. That's a new game. night that's going to be exclusively on the Patreon. What more can I give you guys? Also, by the way, there's like, we have an extra, we have another game night in the can. You guys are going to love. We recently debuted the one with the Once Upon a Time cast. There is, we probably have like

12 or 15 game nights on the Patreon page if you want to delve into that. When you subscribe at that exclusive shows level, you have access to every single past episode. So give it a try. if you are so inclined. Let's see. Other things to mention. Well, I think I mentioned this last week, but we are now in the week of Uncharted coming out, which means my conversation slash conversations with Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg are about to be released.

I did a great chat with them for MTV, and then I did a much sillier chat with them for Comedy Central. So a lot there. What else can I tease? I don't know. Some more exciting comedy. Central stuff cooking, some Batman stuff cooking. Can I say I've seen Batman? They're not going to get angry if I say that right. I've seen Batman. The Batman, to be precise. I know I can't say anything more than that, so I'll just say, I'll leave it there. But Batman stuff coming soon. Yes,

I'm excited too. Okay, anyway, now I sound like a dork. Let's go to my conversation with the extremely talented, the vivacious, the what's a good adjective? the charming. It's just simply, she's just simply charming. Here's me and Taisa Farmeca. Well, the Thai heads are going to be very excited. We've got Taisa Farmiga.

Is that what they call your fans? What do they call the Taisa Farmiga fans? I have no idea. I don't think there's a proper name. I mean, I've been doing this for a decade, and I don't think there's a proper name unless I'm that out of touch with social media and the internet. You're so aloof.

You're so out of it. I have to, look. and I hide. Technology scares me. I swear to God. No, I am excited to catch up. We've never had a chance to do kind of our deep dive conversation.

Always a fan of yours. Congratulations on the Gilded Age. The ginormous undertaking from Julian Fellows. It's funny because it's like outside of like a Marvel movie or like a Star Wars movie. Like no, nothing gets this kind of budget. So it's kind of cool to see like the resources to bear

that the Downton Abbey name can bring, right? So congrats. Oh, yeah. Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm happy to be here. I'm excited to chat. All right.

So a lot to dig into. First, I mentioned the Taisa Farmiga obsessives. We don't know what their names are. But let's talk about what you were, what you were into growing up. Who would you have been the president of a fan club of or the posters in the room? Let's dive deep from smart. All right. Let's get into it.

For me, I'm like, I'm like, shit, what was I? No, I read a lot of Harry Potter fanfic when I was a teenager. That was my outlet. That was my way to like... Did you actually read the Harry Potter books? You just skip right to the fanfic? I did. No, no, no, no. I read the books, watched films, and back and forth, you know,

between the books and the movies coming out. I remember reading the last book and I was just like, damn, that's it. Like, it's done. I'm so sad. So I started like Googling like, what do you do when you finish a book? And then I discovered this world of fan fiction. what was so were you the right age for that like when the books were coming out every year like were you

like at the bookstore was that was it yeah i mean my i think yeah um i don't remember like specific age but i remember like my brother was super into them and he's six years older than me um but i mean like as soon as he i mean he would have to read it first of course because you know seniority bullshit he would get it first then i would get my hands on it um but yeah i mean i think i was like i don't know i don't know the years it came out but i was like right there were you were you have you You've been sorted, I take it. What house are you in? Ravenglaw.

I can't tell if you're proud or you're resigned. I am. I am proud. It's hard, too, because I've been living with a Slytherin. My partner is a Slytherin. Oh, that's, can be dangerous. It can be dangerous. So I feel like, you know, I'm, I'm definitely a Ravenclaw, but, you know, it's been,

it's been a fun few years. Have you done the Wizarding World? No, I haven't. Crowds kind of freak me out. I like, I, e. fanfic, you get to experience everything through, You know, like in the screen. Now, as I recall, and we're going to dance around, we're going to jump around because my brain works this way.

Maybe the first time I met you was actually with Emma Watson. I think so. We definitely, yeah, for sure. My recollection, I don't expect you to remember this, but I have a weird photo that commemorates when I think maybe I met you. We did like a- Did we take a selfie? Yes, thank you.

It is such a weird photo because it's like, it's me and the cast of Wing Ring, which included you and Emma, of course. And we did like a special MTV event on a stage at the Universal City Walk. Yeah, I remember there being a seat. I couldn't remember. I remember it being like a big thing. It wasn't just like walking into a room or like doing the press junket and you're just like circled through.

It was like a thing. Oh, this was a thing. And the thing included for, I don't even know why whose idea was me like probably like a 30 year old dude way too old to be doing a silly selfie. But doing a selfie and it was like, I don't know. I feel like Emma was like flashing like gang signs. It was like a weird, it was a weird photo. The photo exists.

Probably. The photo does exist. Someone's going to find it and pull it up. I remember seeing it. I feel like I get tagged in it every so often on Instagram. You know what I mean? Like it recycles. It comes up.

Oh, no. That's probably me tagging you. And I'll do it again. Don't you worry. So, okay. So growing up, let's get into some biographical detail. Big family. I did not realize how many.

Do I have this rights? The youngest of seven? Yes. I'm number seven. I have six older siblings. Wow. Okay. So were you left to your own devices? Did they feed you enough? Like, did they remember you were around? What was the dynamic? A little bit of it all. Yeah, I feel like I was left to my devices a lot. My own device is a lot because both my parents worked and my mom worked part-time. My dad worked full-time. And, you know, again, my brother was always around. He's six years older. My sister's three years older than me,

the closest, my closest two siblings. So there's always like, there's always like someone who was technically allowed to watch me around. So, you know, we just kind of, we were just kind of left. But yeah, it's the same parents for all the kids. The first four kids were born, 11 years, no kids, and then the last three. So it's kind of like two, two groupings. Got it. It's funny because I looked up, I'm the youngest of only three, but I looked up then. I was curious, like, I never remember this, but like what like the characteristics are people say are endemic of youngest. And I don't fit, I don't want you fit like half of these. I'm curious how you how you fit into these. So it said here, according to my Googling, a highly

social? It's not me. Is that you? Um, no. I mean, if you throw me into, if you throw me into social situation, I can like turn on and, and do it. But like, I don't speak them out. You know what I mean? Yeah. Same. I relate to that. Confident. Would you consider yourself a confident person? I'm pretty confident. Okay. But like that developed in my, that developed in my 20s. And I was like, I was a shy and secure anti-social teenager. Right. I.e. fanfic. Yep. Yep. Okay. We're speaking the same language. A creative. Yes. course, right? That's us. Yeah, I'm creative. I mean, I have to say that I would, like, I would first define myself as logical above creative. Oh, interesting. I have a very mathematical brain. I've

always loved numbers in finance and chess and I was, I was definitely a 13 year old in chess club. Does that apply? I like, yeah, go ahead. Well, creative, yes, because obviously like acting is a very creative outlet. But for me, sometimes it's like, I don't know, I love approaching the emotions of it and and sorting out human emotion, and it kind of, it feels like an equation to me. Right, right, right. Yeah, well, and then this goes hand in hand with that. It says good at problem solving. So that sounds about right.

Oh, yes. Oh, my God. Give me a problem. I will solve it. So were you, according to the never reliable World Wide Web, homeschooled after the fourth grade? I was from, yeah, fourth grade through high school. Okay.

So again, we talked, we've talked a little bit about sort of like finding your place, being social or not social as a teenager. Or how did that, I don't know, how did that help hinder you acclimating, relating to kids your age? Because that's obviously a unique, unique experience. For sure. You know, I think I was lucky because in the area of New Jersey where we lived, there was actually a pretty big homeschool community. So I feel like we definitely, we had classes and activities outside the home. So we got to interact and socialize with people.

You know, I think coming from a family of somebody older siblings, I had people to speak for me. So a lot of times, you know, sometimes the youngest, they'll say is loud because they have to be heard. But I don't know, I was kind of more, I was more of the observant one watching and, you know, speaking only when I, when I had something really good to say. Got it, got it. So yeah, you know, socialization. I think it wasn't really tight. I started acting then and playing, getting to play other characters and pull out parts of my own personality to instill in these characters that I figured out kind of who I was and really had to communicate. So it's interesting. Usually I go to the comfort movie. I ask people to select a little bit later on in the conversation. But this kind of dovetails what we're talking about a bit. I'm curious if it's a reason maybe you relate to this story. You chose a comfort movie that I would guess a lot of people share with you. What did you select, Taisa? I selected Mean Girls.

So the protagonist of Mean Girls is indeed a homeschooled young woman who maybe hasn't been. been socialized in the in the way that others have. Did you find yourself relating to that character when you first saw the film? For sure, you know, I don't even remember the first time I, I don't remember the first time I watched it, but I know like subsequent times, like definitely, you know, I was, I was a moody teenager. I was antisocial. I was homeschooled. You know, I think I, I think I appreciated the, I don't know, sort of like analytical, like view of what public high school could be through the eyes of an outsider. So for sure, I'm sure that played into it. But at the time, it wasn't like, oh, she's homeschooled like me.

That only came in podcasts later. Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, you know, years later after the fanfic. So, yeah, by my math, you would have been about 10 years old when it came out. Do you think you saw it when it first came out? Like, do you remember when you first started to really get into it and why? I don't have, I like, I was trying to remember to see if like, I can't remember when I first saw it. I don't know if I saw it in theaters.

I just have no recollection of it whatsoever the first time I watched. I just remember, like, every time I'd scroll on TV, it's like, oh, Mean Girls is on again. You know what I mean? It's just sort of like has always been there. Yep. So who, do you have a favorite character in there? Like, what jumps out of you? Favorite character, favorite scene, obviously a very quotable movie.

What are the touchstones for you? Favorite character is always Janice. I don't know. I mean, it's probably why I also was attracted to Violet from American Horror Story, like, my first character. Because she kind of just, like, says what she thinks and how she feels. There's no bullshit. I love that. Yep.

favorite scene uh i don't know just like it's just i feel like every scene had some sort of highlight i think my favorite quote i don't remember when it comes to the movie but it's like when when um amanda syphreid's character is like i think i have ESPN my my my my my boobs can feel when when when it's going to rain i always died i was like ESPN perfection the genius of Tina fey right there oh my god it's so good it's so damn funny so yeah for for those i mean everybody knows but directed by Mark Waters, who's interesting because he, you know, 10, 15 years prior had done Heather's, of course, which similarly really captured a generation, a zeitgeist kind of moment and written by the great Tina Faye. So have you, I'm always curious, like, of these movies that we love, excuse me, have you interacted? Have you ever met Tina Faye? Have you met Lindsay Lohan or any, or Rachel McAdams? Yeah, no, yes, Richard McAdams, yes. No, never met Tina Faye. I have met... oh my god who plays who play uh leslie no um amy polar i met amy polar once but i was like wasted and you know it was at some party and i'm pretty sure i just like grinned at her the whole time

um best way to to meet our heroes always when we're a little little drunk a little more confident um no so yeah rachel mcadams i um i did uh i did this this i did a live reading of this play called charming for the blacklist um and rachel mcadams which was one of the other few actors that did this. And yeah, I mean, I was pretty freaking giddy when I, you know, when I got to, got to meet her, I mean, I didn't show it. I was like, I like that pool outside. I don't know, you know what I mean?

So, yeah, I don't know. I was freaking giddy and I go up to her and I be stay high and she's just, I don't know, she's just so intelligent and gorgeous and so personable and I crushed so hard and I just, like, was in a daze. She's very Canadian, very nice, very sweet. Very nice. Yeah, it was awesome. So that was definitely a highlight.

I've seen the, have you seen the musical? I've seen the musical here in New York. It's pretty great. And it wouldn't necessarily be my cup of tea, you would think, on paper, but I really dug it. I would highly recommend it.

The musical for, for Mean Girls. Oh, no, I haven't seen it. Definitely recommend it. Yeah. Have you seen, wait, jumping back to Harry Potter, have you seen Curse Child? No, I haven't. What?

We, we got tickets. I can't remember what happened. But then we had to get, we had to sell them because. Oh. I don't know, work, I don't know, work. Something, you know, something came up, but no, I haven't seen it. Again, like, that's the thing.

It's like, I don't know, like a fan girl right in front of me, but then I don't, I don't go to the outside thing as much. Does that make sense? Yeah, yeah. Except when you're- I like to fan girl in private. Yeah, it's a special time, taste of time. Oh, God, yeah.

Gosh. Okay, so as people may have, may not know. Of course, people of course know Vera is your sister. She, you know, she predates you of course career wise, but also the fact that like you weren't and it wasn't your ambition to be an actor growing up. But then if I do the math, she was being very, she was very successful when you were probably, I don't know, 10, 12. She probably had already been nominated by for an Oscar. She wasn't departed, jump in the air, et cetera. So I'm curious like what your view was like were you, were you ever on sets? Were you visiting her?

for sure um i mean not too many times it wasn't like a common occurrence but definitely got to visit her on set um uh i remember like the first set i remember visiting was in vancouver i think it was a a tv show she did called uc undercover some like cop show um and i just remember that crafty had these like little bite-sized brownies and that was all i did for about seven days straight was sneak into crafty neat brownies um and that was the day you decided you wanted to be an actor you're like wait free brownies three brownies um no like i i was into it but like i don't know i you know food no i get it lights cameras food like what the pillars of life right there yeah no my sister my sister larissa she um she was like sitting by the mont she's three years old than me

so i think she was like 13 14 at the time and um you know she had headphones i was at the monitor and she was super excited and she was like i think i like the second take whereas i was way in the back um but yeah i don't know it was always veer's job it was um yeah it's just kind of like what she did to make money and it was super cool but I don't know I wanted to be an accountant right I want to do something glamorous like accounting but you weren't like excited but like you know I would think most kids like oh my god my sister is in a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon my sister's like hanging out with George Clooney that didn't register in a way it was yeah George Clooney for sure um because I was you know before I started acting I was so I was like 14 uh like 13 14 14 14 14 15 I started traveling with, oh no, I guess this must have been like 15 because I started traveling with Vera as the babysitter when she was filming because she gave birth to her son Finn and immediately, I think not even like a month later, she had a film, excuse me, up in the air. Wow. So I was, you know, jet-setting with her and I was the babysitter. I love that, which one thing homeschooling I was super happy about gave me the flexibility to like hop on a plane and go.

Right. But yeah, no, for sure. Like I remember how excited the women. at my mom's work and the doctor's office got when they were like, oh, that charge cleaning. I was like, yeah, he gets the top of my head. They were like, did you wash your hair? I was like, yeah, I washed my hair.

Don't be weird. But let me tell you about the brownies that were on the set. We got choice cleaning. Right, yeah. So, no, I mean, there was always, I don't know, I guess I kind of grew up with like that being the normal for Vera that I didn't really, yeah, like obviously any people around the world. I mean, like people around our world,

whether it's the woman in my mom's office or wherever or kids at school they um oh wow your sister's an actress but it kind of just it just was what it was because vera was always Vera when she was home you know she's my older sister just like take me a noogie you know i hope the nuggies have stopped by now oh you know actually you don't they happen like when i don't when i don't expect it it happened oh god always got to be on the defensive um so your entry was through vera again she's she was directing a film and she looked no further than you. And so, like, what was your attitude about that? Like, when you, when you agree to be in the film, was it like, hey, it'll be a fun summer

or whatever it is you shot and that's it? Or was it like, all right, maybe this is a thing. Maybe this will be a real thing. I was super excited. It was during the summer. It was the start of summer. I was super excited to get away from my parents for two months. I mean, I was 15.

You know what I mean? Like, who wants to be, who wants to be stuck at home with parents telling you? what to do and I you know hormone imbalances and feelings and all that going on I was excited to hang out with Vera and her husband my brother-in-law Wren who I just adore and again Vera just had her son Finn funny enough he played my 15-month-old daughter in the film higher ground that Vera directed right um so when I wasn't when I wasn't filming I was babysitting him and and it was nice to just be on set I think that was the first time I ever realized or the first time I ever yeah I realized that like I enjoyed the set atmosphere.

Like, I just loved the camaraderie and how quickly it feels like a family and you're all in this together. There's not very many jobs where you work 14 hours a day and then you rely on each other emotionally too. Right. That was cool. Did that set the precedent? You got a car out of the gig, as I understand it.

I did. I got a 2004 Toyota Tacoma pickup. It was my favorite car. Did it last a while? I assume it's been retired. It lasts a long time. Yeah. Yeah, it's been retired now.

It was sold for parts. But I let my She was a few No, but I Yeah, it lasted a while It lasted a while But then I was in LA And I didn't

I didn't bring it to Los Angeles It did take me to Actually, it did take me to New Orleans From Jersey to New Orleans For season three of American Horse Sorry There you go Took me there

Got me back and forth to work I'd be home Back all the way to New Jersey After it was done So it was a good truck So and now you demand A different automobile On every project I take it

Oh yeah For sure I have like a 20 car garage. You and Jay Leno, just car collectors, famous car collectors. Yeah, except they have to, like, the only rule is that they have to be certified for you. Right. Nice. So you mentioned American Horror Story, which, I mean, again, for those that know you a little bit about you, it's this kind of irony where you, you get this.

And from what I gather, it's a pretty early audition, if not like the first, maybe the second. I think my first TV audition. So it sets you on this bizarre path. that like wasn't necessarily it's not your thing it's not your genre and yet it has become what you are most identified with um give me a sense of sort of journey of you as a scream queen as a horror yeah have you have you wrestled with it have you kind of been like okay at a certain point i need to put a cap on this or like i'll own it as far as it will take me you know i think recently i've had both those feelings where it's like okay it's cool like i love i love that i'm

love for this and this is what I and this is what has got me so far in my career. And then I'm like, I want to do something different. Come in Gilded Age, which, you know, scratch that itch and it's great. And then also when my partner, my husband, he's a writer-producer and, you know, we'd really love to work together. We met for friends. We've never gotten to collaborate. And so we've been, there's been projects that we're working or trying to develop and stuff. And I find myself that I'm drawn to like horror, horror adjacent. Like I called away like two turns away from horror. And it's just, I don't know. I love it.

I don't know whether it was meant for me or I just, you know, it came at a perfect moment in my like development and growth as an adult and as an actor. But it's funny because it's the absolute opposite of what I like to watch. Right. But you send me a script, you send me a comedy script and I'm like, I don't know. I don't know. I can't do that. I don't.

There's a character. What's there? I don't know. Interesting. But you, but you, but then you give me like the darkest, most stuff. I don't want to do it. Talk to me. Okay, so, and where does Gilded Age fit into that?

Is that the kind of stuff you would be watching? Or is that like horror in a different way? Not necessarily the thing you would watch. Not necessarily the thing I would watch. I mean, but don't get me wrong. Once I booked the job, I went and started watching Downton Abbey. It was before I had the, I knew they were interested in me and they liked my audition. That was going to meet with Michael Engler and have the, like, a director's audition session.

And once I got that, I started watching downtown ab because I'm like, okay, shit, got a, you know, got to brush up. I don't want to, I don't want to say the wrong thing or not have an answer. You sound just like a Downton Abbey character saying, oh, shit, I got to brush up. Oh, fuck. Here we go. Right. I was perfect for it. You sound just like Maggie Smith. It's crazy. I ended up watching, I think, like, three seasons of Downton Abbey before I even realized that I was on season three. And I'm like, what the hell? Why is this so addicting? Yeah.

Which is probably why I enjoyed some of the scripts and the audition. But I mean, like, it's such a funny fit because Gladys is yeah my semi-character from guildage like she definitely reminds me of she's 17 but she reminds me parts of 15 year old me but um i remember meeting michael angeloved the director in the audition and you know i don't know we were just talking about and he was like oh he's like do you have you do you really love watching like period pieces you you fall into it so easily like this you must this is a passion of yours and i was like i don't know uh i'm a stoner i like to watch rick and wardie and i walked out of the audition and i was like i called i called my husband

been, or I guess he was my fiance. I don't know. I called my, I called my partner, my dude, and I was like, shit. I don't know if I just said the wrong thing. I should have talked about downtown Abby. Amazing. It clearly was the right thing. So what is, I mean, it's funny, because I've talked to so many actors about prep for

different kinds of roles and you know, the cliches. You talk to an actor. They're going to do like the World War II movie and they like train with like, you know, the Marines for three months and they're in boot camp and whatever. Like, this is a different kind of precision. know that, like, I mean, you have to, like, there is a very precise manner of the way you walk and speak and forks used. It sounds, maybe it sounds silly or doesn't sound silly to people, but you have to, like, buy that authenticity. Was there kind of an odd, unique prep work to fully inhabit

this world? Oh, yeah. For sure. I mean, they, I mean, production from the beginning was amazing. They got me working, or they got everybody, but speaking from my experience, they got me working with Howard Samuelson, who is the dialect coach and, yeah, just start one piecing together the speaking habits and how to work on that getting into it. It was interesting because it started off way more proper and specific and closer to the time period, but when we finally got towards filming, they had tweaked in, they're like, look, we don't want to alienate modern audiences because it sounds so different. Right. So I was happy that they found like a happy medium of sounding okay this doesn't sound like now but it doesn't sound like way over them yeah for

prep work for sure HBO I put together or production I put together this sort of um this like dossier this research Bible of all the information you needed to know about the 1880s everything from just everyday sort of manners and and social etiquette to um you know how to hold your fork how to you know how to curtsy at a man how I don't know how the railroads were working at the time and how much money people were making and you know the divide between poverty and and the wealthy and how much manure covered the streets in new york every day it was going to smell like shit when you go outside so think about that i'd rather not how much manure by the way do you have a oh my god i think it was like oh i wish i had this back written down

it was like it was like it was a few it was a few hundred tons okay a few hundred tons a month you could say anything and I would be like honestly it was the streets were covered the streets were it basically was streets made of horse crap I do feel like that's a thought that crosses my mind sometimes in watching films or TV of this period is like this all looks great but it probably smells horrible it smells terrible oh yeah I mean plumbing the lack of plumbing all of it's just oh yeah and even when we're filming the exterior scenes you have the horses going like man they're they're they're real creatures they got to do their thing they kind of help you just get into character. This is one of those series that like every actor, like on the like the sixth person in the seed is like the best like New York theater actor. Like it's just like it's crazy. It's ridiculous.

I forget. I think they were saying it was like 17 Tony Award winning actors and then I heard the number jumped like 20 plus. I don't know. It's phenomenal. We were so lucky that I mean lucky. The one positive I think of filming during COVID was that Broadway had been shut down. So there was a lot of availability.

with those actors and we're so fortunate as people that I've had them. One actor that I positively love, and I know you adore the great Carrie Coon, who's delightful. She is so delightful. She was on the podcast like a year ago when she was shooting this, and I forgot to hit record, and we had to do the podcast the second time. She did it without a... She did it.

I'm sure she did it just as well with just as much energy and enthusiasm. She's awesome. She's... She's a character. she's like kind of like awesome she's uh she's really really cool she makes me so happy i think she makes the entire room happy like i don't know how else to explain it she's so unapologetically herself and she's not just like this like smiley happy woman she's fucking cool yeah and she's like got an edge to her but she's also caring and kind at the same time and it's such a perfect mix and

and um yeah i i i loved working with her and she would always pick on me and tease me and that's how I knew she loved me and it was it was so it was so perfect for the birth of gladys um dynamic you know between carrie and i well you're in good company i know this from talking to her and hearing stories like from her her feature debut was in gone girl and she like gave no less than david fincher's shit and i think that's why he responded to her because he's like he is also of that kind of character and like respects respects the back and course yeah absolutely she's so glench and on top of that being a rad person she's also just a phenomenal actress totally totally So one question from the audience, I always ask the listeners for questions.

From Jen, Caden wanted to know what's one surprising thing you learned while working on set. I guess this is outside of the manure. I mean, the manure one was pretty overwhelming. It's hard to top that, I guess, yeah. I wish I knew the amount. I should have memorized it. You know, Blake Ritson who plays Oscar Van Ryan, he would have been able to tell you. Damn Oscar.

Most interesting thing I learned, I would say, oh, so part of, okay, so we're talking little bit before about the research and prep. We did the dialect and also they gave us like this dossier of all the information, which we all read through, but they also hired professors and historians or historians and professors Erica Dunbar and Helen Vait who gave a series of lectures on the 1880s. So like, you know, we sort of had, I don't know, there was like, there was like etiquette and health and nutrition with Helen Vait. And then there was gender and race studies with Erica Dunbar of that time period. And so some of the things we, some of the, like, what am I trying to say? Like, one, it was a phenomenal image of having the entire Gilded Age cast from like Christine

Bransky to me to Harry Richardson, to everybody, seated at these like tiny little school desks, taking notes at our lectures and learning all about, like, the etiquette and that covers so much. I think the thing that I found the most interesting was learning about eating habits and stuff. everything had to be super slow like you can't make noise your fork can't clink on the plate you can't no noise you can't express pleasure or happiness or joy or anything about eating like it like if food tastes good you can't express it you can't be grateful for like the beautiful meal you can't say thank you to the servant what yeah what freaked me out the most was like they're like oh eating is our most animalistic behavior and and they wanted to disassociate

that as far as possible. So everything had to be like literally, I think there's a scene where Carrie takes like one P on her fourth. And that's not just like an actor messing up. That's literally what you're supposed to do. Wow. Amazing. Yeah. No yummy noises. No. No. That's not. Wow. None of that. Um, so backtracking a bit. Okay. So we talked a little bit about the stuff leading into this. And obviously American Horror Story. We should mention, I'm just curious, like what it does for a career when among the, the projects you've been in, in that kind of genre, the nun was huge. Like, I didn't even realize how huge it was.

Like, I mean, budget to box office, it's like probably one of the most profitable films in recent years. Yeah, for sure. Does that, well, I guess a couple questions on that. Just you're the lead in that. You are the nun. So does that change? You'd probably been in the lead a few times already.

But, you know, a bigger budget, more eyeballs on it. You knew that feel like a jump, a different kind of pressure. Did you embrace that moment? What do you recollect from? Yeah, it was, it's a, I love the nun. I mean, I love that whole experience. I think it's one of the performances that I looked, that I, when I first watched it, I was so genuinely happy with the work that I did.

And I saw all my prep work and I saw all of it go into my performance. And I'm very hard at myself. I'm a perfectionist. Like, you know, it's not something that's easy for me to say. And it felt so good to see something come out the way, you know, close to what you would imagine. I'll also say at that time period for like two and a half years. So between from the start of filming that tour,

when it premiered, I was dealing with just like health issues for, for that time. And so, yes, like when this movie was coming out, I found out at a parasite in my blood. I was feeling so, I was just emotionally so drained and had anything left to give. Physically, I was so weak and tired. But it was around the time that the premiere was there,

and I was just so, so happy. So it was like funny to think, I was so excited for this thing. I remember I was living, I was living in like Hollywood Hills near Franklin and Galanga and they had in Los Angeles and there's like this wall where they put up all the movie posters. And like one day we drove by and it was half my face on every single poster. And of course you go and like you take your, you take your selfies. And, um, but it was jarring because like I forget. I don't know.

I just, you just, yeah. I was so into personal stuff, but, like, you forget that the world's still going. And even though I was working and doing that. But, yeah, I don't know. The nun was one of my most favorite experiences I ever from filming to doing press, like doing, God, we, Warner Brothers did this, like, whole press junket in, like, in an old, what was it? It was something outside of Mexico City. It was like, I don't know, insane asylum or an old.

I wasn't there, but I remember seeing some of my compatriots out there. I think I saw you guys also at Comic-Con. That's got to be a trip. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was so cool. And we just went to Comic-Con first, and that sort of, like, kick-started the first, like, interviews and press for it. And I was like, oh, I get to talk about something I'm excited about.

Like, not that I wasn't previously, but, again, talking about, like, gaining confidence and being in my mid-20s, I was more assured. And so going into interviews, it wasn't like, oh, no, what if I messed up. It's just, like, cool. This is what I get to talk about. Yeah. So it's very exciting, very, very, very exciting. Does it, in the wake of that, did it increase the appetite for, you know, franchise stuff? And I know that's a broad brush.

There's good franchise stuff. There's shitty franchise stuff. And, you know, we talk to Harry Potter. That's the good stuff. And there's plenty of crap out there too. But does it, like, does it feel like, do you feel that in your stomach just knowing like, oh, I should strategically and creatively probably try to align with one of these things? It's a smart move? Or is that, is that dangerous to think about from your standpoint?

I think I've been really fortunate that I've been working pretty consistently over the last, like, decade or 11 years of my career. So a lot of times when the decisions for a job comes, it's, sometimes it's been financial. Sometimes it's been creative and just jumping into a project I'm super excited about. The nun was something I really, really wanted. I had audition. I remember getting the audition, getting the email for the audition when I was in the kitchen with Vera. She was in town for like two days. She and the family were in L.A.

and they rented a house and she was cooking dinner. I was like, huh, that's funny. I got an audition for this thing called the nun. It's part of the conjuring universe. I couldn't believe it. And I was like,

well, great, I'm not going to get it. But it's fine. Like, you know what I was like, I get they probably want to differentiate it, whatever.

So I thought it was going against me. And I auditioned for it. And I thought I did really well. And again, I, it's three, you can ask my husband, how rarely I call him being like,

I can crush that. And, and I think, I think, I mean, I don't know. I love to me. Anyway, I can say it now because I did. But, yeah, I was super, super excited for it.

And I don't know, I just, yeah, the idea of being a part of something that is a franchise already has, like, an established base of viewers of fans, it's exciting because, you know, you're already going to get eyeballs on it. I mean, I think part of that's also why Gilded Age was so excited for me. Because, again, it's not something I watch, but, like, a period drama is not something I'm fully normally doing. drawn to, but that world is something I've never been associated with. And on top of that, it's from a creator who's already created something that has such a fan base and people are so excited about it and watching it myself, seeing how he makes these really nuanced characters. Combining all that with HBO, I was like, how do I not go for this? Totally. You know? Um, yeah. What about, so on the inevitable comic book side of things,

I read somewhere, I don't know if it's true or not that maybe you did the, the Hawkeye, thing, you did the Kate Bishop audition. Was that something that you remembered for? Well, that means you've done enough that means you've done enough comic auditions that you can't remember. No, I have a weird memory. I like don't remember details. I remember emotions and feelings.

So like, yeah, like, I don't know. Like, you're talking about blingering earlier. I remember Katie Chang, one of the other actresses on it. She'll, like, remember, like, specific things and days and all this. And I'm like, I don't know. I was just stressed that day. I just remember I like remember I don't know the emotion so what is the emotion with like do you get worked up about auditions you talked about killing it on the on the nun but like are there you've got everyone's got the horror stories generally speaking do you have more than your share of that or are you pretty chill in that environment I what I like what I do when I'm under pressure or I'm going into a scenario that causes me anxiety which is a lot of the scenarios in life I do have a lot of anxiety. I just present myself as calm. It's the strangest thing. If it's, I'm going into a room

with other people, not that I'm trying to hide it. I take my few deep breaths and I go in. And I just sort of, I just sort of think, how would I, how would I, I don't know, if I was dealing with someone who's super anxious, sometimes I get uncomfortable because that person is so anxious. I like, want to make them, you know, I don't know. I just sort of. So you're playing the role of confident calm taisa exactly to get into it then to then be prepared to play the role of the audition that i've yeah it's a weird mind this is Daniel day lewis level shit this is this is big um but yeah i also i know i can be hard of myself so i always try to um i don't like my highs to be too high because i don't like my lows to be too low so with auditions i always try

to go in and and and do it and then like at the end of done it's like wash my hands cool that's it If my manager or my agent calls me about it, that means there's something to hear. If they don't, whatever, we'll see what the next thing is. Because if I dwell on it too much, then, yeah. I mean, I think Star Wars was probably the only ones that I was like, oh, wow, did they like it?

Like, what's going on? Because, again, another thing I grew up with was Star Wars. I loved playing, like, Star Wars, the old Republic video games with my brother growing up. And like, that was my thing. Was that for the first one? Was that when they brought in, like, everybody for those first ones? It was for, I think it would be... it was it wasn't for the first one i think it was for um the rogue one maybe or uh

it wasn't rogue one it was the one after that wasn't solo was it was it uh no wasn't solo was it was it uh i can't remember it's the one it was the one it was the one ray had already been in one movie you know what i mean wasn't there's a second one with ray yeah yeah there was a trilogy so last jed i so maybe it was the one that maybe kelly carly marie trann maybe eventually got that role who knows i can't remember but i i know what that was on a I didn't do well because I wanted it so badly. That's why I try to keep my expectations. You didn't remember to play cool,

comic like the Taisa. I couldn't do it. It was also hard because those auditions, it was one of the only few times that I had to do a cold read where they didn't send you the material before. You can get there an hour ahead of time. And I'm like, and usually I'm good at memorizing lines. Like it's, it goes quick and easy.

But I was just so like, oh, this would be so cool. Yeah, you were worked up. And also, if I'm wrong, often like the sides and that stuff for the audition materials. aren't even related to really like the stuff. Yeah, it's not even really real. No, I think there's like maybe one, I don't know, a lightsaber reference or something.

So it knows you're in that world somehow, but it wasn't fully, yeah. It's a long career. We're going to secret into the universe. You in a Star Wars movie, they're going to keep making Harry Potter's. We're going to get there too. Incredible.

Yeah, you know, it's, I don't know, it's exciting. I, I'm open to, I'm open to anything. I like new experiences. I like learning and growing. And I think that's why I was excited. about Guildage, it was a brand new, yeah, it was a brand new thing to experience, a new perspective to sort of understand. And I'm, I'm always game for anything, whether it's horror, horror adjacent, or apparently a period piece where I look like I'm 12 years old, Gladys and Russell,

baby. Embrace it. Embrace your youth while you got it. Well, we got it. Exactly. How's the dog or dogs? How many dogs at home? Two dogs. Two dogs. Actually, so the older dog her name's red she's a sweetheart like just emotionally i can she she can tell like if i if i come home and i'm upset over an audition she can just she knows and she comes to me the little one who he so she just turned 15 on saturday the little one he's four and a half i express any kind of emotion excitement sadness rage he just runs he's just like oh you're feeling things again like i start learning i start learning lines for an audition and

And he's like, I see his ears turning. He's like, um, and he like, he like tiptoes and like sneaks away. So he's great. He's a little, he's a little shit. And he goes on a run for me with me and he's the best. But the older dog, Red, she turned 15 on Saturday. And she was so happy and energetic. And then that night, she had a really bad night and was vomiting all night and trembling and

shaking and couldn't breathe and collapse and we had to take her to the vet. And so Sunday, I cried all day Sunday. I actually rewatched Mean Girls because I needed a comfort movie. I was so sad and scared and she had a long life. And, you know, we know to appreciate the good, but we thought maybe we had to put her down. And luckily, you know, luckily 24 hours of care at the hospital. And then we were able to take her home because, you know,

that's expensive. It's like, doesn't matter how hard you work. Like we've been in a pandemic. I was like, I love her. But like, you can only spend so much before it's too much. So I'm so happy we brought her home because I was, I was literally about to text my public and be like, I don't know. I don't know if we have to tell Josh.

I can't do it. I'm forgiving you because I'm a dog owner this last year. Okay, good. I have grown a heart or I didn't know I had one. And I relate to every single thing you're saying. How is it going? How are you with the dad? Just I need to know real quick.

Oh, I am obsessed. I am a crazy person. I like just, yeah. She is three. She's a pit mix. She's a rescue. And she has captured my cold heart, which was growing. I'm so glad to hear it.

I'm so glad. I thought something was different about you. look and she was and she was ill recently and you're right it just takes it oh my god it's my husband my husband has had her for four she's 15 he's had her for about 14 years i've been there for the last seven and a half and like it feels like you're losing a limb and even though logically you can understand it's still like but not yet yeah well i'm glad they're doing better and i'm glad i'm glad gilded age has given us an excuse to catch up even in these crazy ongoing insane times and Zoom boxes.

Congratulations on the show. I appreciate it, Josh. Thanks for the time as always. And yeah, get back to your fanfic. I know you've got a big night ahead of you. Writing or reading. I don't know what. What's out?

I tried to write once. It was not great. Oh, no. Yeah, we're not. We're going to post that alongside the selfie from blingering. You flushed the cash. You've deleted everything. You threw the hard drive in the trash.

Smart lady. Smashed it with a hammer. There you go. Taisa Farmiga, you did it. You did Happy Sack and Fuse. Congratulations. Amazing. Achievement unlocked. All right.

Really good to see you. You as well, man. I'll see you soon, all right? Be well. 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?

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We have big news. We got monumental news. We got snack. Tackling news. 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. Indictly? Emotionally. Spiritually. Mates is back.

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