How’s working with Ed Burns?
Oh, it’s wonderful. He created the show, wrote and directed every episode, and he stars in it. It’s his passion project. As a director, he was great to work with because he knows how to get his message across in a way that makes sense to an actor. He’s able to get the best performance out of all of us thanks to his vision and his ease at explaining it. I think we all loved working with him on this.
Tell me about your character in Public Morals.
The show takes place in the 1960s. It’s a drama that blends together the worlds of Irish gangsters and cops who work in the public morals division in New York City. I play Fortune, a high-end call girl, who gets mixed up with some of the cops. The show has a lot of different aspects to it, from call girls to the family lives of the cops.
When you first read for the part, what attracted you to it the most?
Well, I love period pieces and I love Ed Burns. I just thought it had so many wonderful characters who are all interesting in their own right. Fortune is such an unusual role, too. She’s a prostitute, but so much more than just the classic idea of what a prostitute is. She makes bad decisions and can be mysterious, but she’s also sweet.
I’m going to assume that the costumes for the show are amazing.
The costumes are so great! There are a lot of sparkly, tight cocktail dresses for me. They were very tight and not always comfortable! They’re actually all from that era and I think having that authenticity helped us believe that we were the character we were playing.
What can people look forward to with Public Morals?
Well, it has the beautiful, elegant look of a cool period piece, but it’s also done in a way that’s gritty and dirty. It really shows the underbelly of New York City in the 60s. The show takes a quick dive into the world of Irish gangsters and how they’re being handled. There’s a lot of killing, a lot of danger and some sex. There are also some huge shockers. Ed Burns took some real risks by killing a few characters off in the first season.
That’s a bold move.
Oh yeah. He had said that he was a fan of Game of Thrones and when he started watching he couldn’t believe that they would kill off major characters; like, ‘that’s allowed?’ So, Public Morals definitely has a few surprises in there for everyone.
You played such a funny character on 30 Rock. What was the move from comedy to drama like for you?
It’s interesting, I’m very much known for 30 Rock and comedy, but I’ve always wanted to try drama. I always saw myself going a more dramatic route. I’m really happy that it was with this role that I get to step out of comedy. I knew that I could do it and I’m so fortunate to get to be a part of such a great project. It’s a big transition.
Is your preparation for a role different between comedy and drama?
Yeah, completely. My character in Public Morals goes through some tough times and there’s way more emotion in playing a dramatic character. So, of course, you use different emotions than you would if you were playing a comedic role.
Did you pick up any improv skills from your time on 30 Rock?
Not really, actually! You’d be surprised, there was almost no improvising happening on 30 Rock.
Really?
Yeah, it’s always surprising for people. But, the writing was always so perfect that we didn’t need to. And comedy is so tricky in the sense that if you add something extra it might not get the same laugh or the punchline might be off. The writers were so brilliant. Those one-liner zingers didn’t need any help from me.
