By Christina Radish

Lauren Ambrose & Parker Posey at the Fox All-Star Party held at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif. on July 23, 2007.

Enter Coco Tompkins (Lauren Ambrose), Sarah’s younger and less focused sister. Sarah tracks Coco down and makes her a proposition, to hire her to carry the child that she cannot have herself. At first, Coco thinks Sarah is crazy. But, she eventually agrees to the insane proposal, and decides to move in with Sarah, until she has the baby.

Best known for her role as Claire Fisher on the HBO series Six Feet Under, Lauren Ambrose recently spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about her first foray into television comedy.

MediaBlvd Magazine> What attracted you to this project, and how does it feel to be returning to series television?

Lauren Ambrose> The project seemed interesting because I’d never done anything like it before. Six Feet Under is my only other experience in television, really, and for that one, we had two weeks to make every episode. It was fairly luxurious, as far as these things go. It was shot just like a movie, at an independent film pace. This is a whole other world. This is done with multi-camera. It sounded exciting, when it was explained to me. You go in and rehearse all week. I like to work in the theater, so the idea of rehearsing for television was something that appealed to me. We rehearse all week, hone the material and do run-throughs. By the end of the week, you’re ready to put on your one-act play for the audience and shoot it, so that just seemed like a wild, interesting challenge. The half-hour comedy is what made me want to be an actress. When I was a kid, I watched I Love Lucy, and shows like that, to watch those women. Then, there was the opportunity to work with Parker Posey, Dianne Wiest and all these wonderful other actors, like Scott Cohen, Ron McCarty, Michael Arden and Dana Ivey. It was great. Of course, the script was very funny and clever, and Amy has a very strong view. The writing seemed very touching and sweet, like it would afford interesting places for these characters to go. It was cool that the show was about ladies, and about an alternative family with estranged family members. I don’t have a sister, but I was interested in that relationship. It’s just a format that I had no experience with, but it seemed like good, old-fashioned entertainment. I like the idea of just going to work, everyday. It was working out our little bits, and waiting for the big show on Friday. That was challenging because it was totally different and scary to me, and I like the things that scare me and seem strange. What really attracted me to the project was Amy being a woman with a strong voice, and Parker, and the chance to work on something different. And, the relationship provides a great starting point. I think you could go in a lot of different directions. It’s an interesting acting opportunity.                                                               

MediaBlvd> How did you prepare to play this character?

Lauren> I know some people who are quite dissimilar from me. I’m pretty settled in my life, so I’m not sleeping on the floor of different people’s apartments, every night, and living in a Chinese restaurant, like this character. I have always known that I wanted to work in the way that I am lucky enough to get to work, by being an actor. This character is very different from me, really. It’s fun to explore that part of my personality.

MediaBlvd> How did you gather research to play her?

Lauren> I live in New York, the show takes place in New York, and we were lucky enough to shoot it in New York. I spent some time walking around in Brooklyn, looking for people who reminded me of the character. I just walked around in that world, a little bit. It was fun to think about that free-spiritedness.

MediaBlvd> With the live audience, did you rewrite as you were going?

Lauren> There was not a lot of rewriting. There were panic moments of, “Let’s do one where the joke is this,” but those were few and far between. We changed lines, here and there, but we rehearsed, and the scripts stayed the scripts, from day one of rehearsal. It didn’t change too drastically. Doing it live was wild. It was a very heightened experience. There was very excitable, frenetic energy. That was something that I did not quite get used to because I didn’t have the chance to get used to yet. It just delivered its own energy, being on the clock and trying to get it done quickly, and having the audience be there, watching. It was intense, but it was fun. There was a comedian out in the audience, and he was cracking wise about whatever we were doing.  People were really happy to be there, and they were interested in the show. It was crazy. It would go until 3 o’clock in the morning, and then we’d all collapse and come back in on Monday.

MediaBlvd> Some actresses have had trouble dealing with the pace of (show creator) Amy Sherman-Palladino’s dialogue.  Has that been a problem for you at all?

Lauren> We were definitely handed dense scripts, every week. It’s usually about a page a minute, but the pilot was something like 60 pages for a half-hour. The following scripts were really long too. So, it forced us to act fast, talk quickly, be facile, go from thought to thought very quickly, and learn the lines quickly. That part of it was very intense, but that’s her style. We knew what we were getting into. I actually didn’t know because I’m not much of a TV watcher, but I quickly figured out that there was a lot of words. I was just coming off of doing Romeo & Juliet, so that muscle was shaped for me. I didn’t have too much of a problem.                                                                                                    

MediaBlvd> Were you not familiar with The Gilmore Girls, then?

Lauren> I’ve only really seen snippets of it. I know it’s a cultural phenomenon. I personally don’t watch a lot of television, so I didn’t really have a sense of that show. I watched a little bit of it, to get a sense of who I was working with.            

MediaBlvd> What did you like about Coco?

 Lauren> In the pilot, it was a very rough sketch. There was a 15-page scene between my character and Parker’s character, when my character is introduced. That seemed really strange for the format, and different. And, that was all the information that I had about my character. Even as I pressed for more information, it was slow to come because they were figuring it out. They had this initial idea, and as we made the seven episodes, it was sorting itself out. What’s fun and interesting about this format, and this medium, is that it’s not all laid out for you. I don’t really know who the character is. It’s the writers’ medium, and they’re fleshing it out. I’m just there doing my little part, being the mouthpiece for the writers’ work. When you work in the theater, or on a film, you know the total trajectory and you have a chance to really figure out who the person is, based on what you know. When you know very little, it’s hard to make choices because then things start contradicting themselves. You have to just play the moment and see what the writers come up with, and pray that it’s consistent. It’s also a fun character to play because she’s such a mess, and a disaster. She’s a kook and a free spirit. That was good for me, at this point in my life.

MediaBlvd> It seems like Coco is in the same realm as Claire Fisher because they are both kind of bohemian. Do you see any similarities between the two characters?

Lauren> I see similarities, in that I’m playing both of the characters, so of course they’re going to be channeled through me. I can’t help that. But, I see them as pretty different. Claire was a teenager that was really trying to figure out who she was, as she grew and went into an adult world. Coco is a fully-formed adult, even though she’s kind of a mess. I think she’s a grown-up, who is choosing to live her life sort of direction-less. Claire was just a kid, living at home with her parents.                

MediaBlvd> There’s definitely a lot of chemistry between you and Parker. What is your relationship like, both in real life and on the show?

Lauren> I’d never met Parker before, or worked with her. Part of the reason I was interested in this job was because she was a part of it. She’s always been one of my favorite actresses, and she’s a real funny lady. I knew I had a lot to learn from her. She’s just a great, funny person to work with, on this kind of thing.

MediaBlvd> What is your take on the whole surrogate thing? If somebody came along and asked you to do it for them, would you even consider it?

Lauren> It would be a tremendous gift. I have my own kid, and that was quite a thing to go through. I can’t even think of who would ask me to do that, that I could possibly say yes to.  I don’t know. Maybe if they asked the right way.

MediaBlvd> What did you like about Coco?

Lauren> In the pilot, it was a very rough sketch. In our pilot script, there was a 15-page scene, when my character is introduced, between my character and Parker’s character. That seemed really strange for the format, and different. As far as the character, that was all the information that I had about her. Even as I pressed for more information, it was slow to come because they were figuring it out. They had this initial idea, and as we made the seven episodes, it was sorting itself out. What’s fun and interesting about this format, and this medium, is that it’s not all laid out for you. I don’t really know who the character is. It’s the writers’ medium, and they’re fleshing it out. I’m just there doing my little part, being the mouthpiece for the writers’ work. When you work in the theater, or on a film, you know the total trajectory and you have a chance to really figure out who the person is, based on what you know. When you know very little, it’s hard to make choices because then things start contradicting themselves. You have to just play the moment and see what the writers come up with, and pray that it’s consistent. It’s also a fun character to play because she’s such a mess, and a disaster. She’s a kook and a free spirit. That was good for me, at this point in my life.

MediaBlvd> It seems like Coco is in the same realm as Claire Fisher because they are both kind of bohemian. Do you see any similarities between the two characters?

Lauren> I see similarities, in that I’m playing both of the characters, so of course they’re going to be channeled through me. I can’t help that. But, I see them as pretty different. Claire was a teenager that was really trying to figure out who she was, as she grew and went into an adult world. Coco is a fully-formed adult, even though she’s kind of a mess. I think she’s a grown-up, who is choosing to live her life sort of direction-less. Claire was just a kid, living at home with her parents.

MediaBlvd> When you left Six Feet Under, were you purposely looking for a comedy to take on?

Lauren> No, not at all.

MediaBlvd> Were you apprehensive about trying to be funny?

Lauren> No. I try not to think about it that way, although there is that pressure, especially on show night, where you feel like, “Oh, my gosh, these people are waiting for somebody to be funny.” That was the thing that you really have to fight against, and just act the scene. Fortunately, Dianne Wiest was standing across from me, or Parker Posey, who are both great actresses. I’m no comedienne. I’m no Seinfeld. I’m not doing stand-up. It’s only going to be funny, if the writing is funny. I just had to immediately take the pressure off myself about that. The one way to not be funny is to try to be funny.                       

MediaBlvd> Are you worried about how the network is handling the show, having held it back, and now airing it on Friday nights?

Lauren> It would be nice to have a strong advocate. It would be nice to feel supported. I’m sure they’re promoting it and doing whatever they want to do with it. Unfortunately, I don’t make those decisions. The one thing I know is that it’s not exactly on the greatest night to bring in viewers, but hopefully it will. There’s no way that a show like this is going to be pitch-perfect, out of the gate. These things take time to develop and get into a groove, and figure out what it is.  It’s a group of people coming together to make this little art project, with all these writers, actors and Amy, moving to New York. It takes a while for these things to find their feet and find the right tone. I’ve seen the pilots of some sitcoms and they’re terrible, most of the time. I hope that it gets a chance. There are great actors on it, and it’s a great group of people. It’s really clever, with talented writing and really tremendous actors. It would be nice to make more episodes and see where it goes. I hope it is given a chance. 

MediaBlvd> Growing up in Connecticut, how did that shape your career?

Lauren> I guess. I’ve had a nice career. Connecticut was great. It was close to New York. I grew up in New Haven, and Yale is there, so there was always some arty thing going on. I did a lot of singing when I was a kid. I was always singing in some chorus at Yale, or going to see the plays at Long Wharf, and those types of places. So, it was culturally alive for me, and did afford me opportunities to pursue this thing that I was interested in. 

MediaBlvd> Did you come from an artsy family?

Lauren> I suppose, in a way. My dad’s a caterer, which is pretty arty, and my mom is an interior designer. So, they were not necessarily in the performing arts, but they were creative people.

MediaBlvd> How has having a child changed your life, and were you prepared for all the ways that it’s changed your life?

Lauren> It’s changed my life in indescribable ways. I’m really tired. You start living with your tiredness. You realize that it’s just part of life.

MediaBlvd> How has it been for you, juggling an acting career with raising a baby?

Lauren> It’s challenging, at times, and great, at other times.  It’s probably hard for everyone who works and has kids. It’s just a shift in your life.