My character initially
was written as a, what we call, catalyst,
which in plain English means
somebody who can make something occur
in a most subtle manner.
So usually Mrs. Dubcek
is-- she appears--
well, hopefully she's there to get a few laughs, too.
But after the laughs, she appears
to either push along the story a little bit
to enable the major characters of the aliens
to follow through with their action.
If she doesn't mention, let's say, a gynecologist,
how will there be a story about Sally going to see a gynecologist?
And how--
so she brings up things, the character,
that can be discussed in the plot,
makes the plot go, like an engine.
I've talked to so many people-- Strangers, people.
I've traveled extensively this last summer in Europe,
and people there--
they get it in Germany a little bit.
I understand it's going there more now.
Ich lieber that for sure.
But anyway,
they say it's because it seems to be
about the human-- about the--
about the essence of man, actually.
That sounds rather ape-Like, doesn't it?
I don't mean it to be ape-like.
It's more about the essence of humanity.
It's a way for us
or our writers
to show the humor
of humanity
that really sometimes we could simply cry about.
The same things-- if somebody does a pratfall in France,
it's the same as a pratfall here.
Or if someone does something funny
that's embarrassing, humiliating,
or off-putting, even physically,
it's funny among all men.
It would be funny, I think, if we were still in the caves.
In the rehearsal, you get a chance
to create.
You can-- that's true of the theater, more so than film.
In film, pretty much you'll rehearse,
but it's very odd, unless you get
a really avant-Garde director.
You get to improv a great deal. You just do it.
But in rehearsal, it's very creative.
You get to expand your own ideas,
your own consciousness, your own creativeness.
It's a chance to be creative,
which every actor wants to be
because that's what we are, hopefully-- Creative people.
The one that john Cleese did
that will be airing very shortly.
Actually, he did two.
Because I've worshipped him from afar
since I don't know how long.
He makes me laugh so terribly hard.
And to see he and john Lithgow together
was like seeing
poetry in motion.
It was like a Christmas present to me.
They've all been wonderful-- all the guest stars, all the episodes.
They're all to me--
I didn't get these lines here by accident,
'cause I laugh so much in rehearsal.
They're all-- I wish I could call a favorite, but they're all--
but I would say
I love john Cleese and john Lithgow together.
Ah! Oh!
She doesn't have a clue because she's also sort of out there herself,
not to say that she's nuts. She's not.
But she has--
she's got sort of a laissez -Faire attitude about life.
So anything that happens to them, or the way they appear,
she thinks, "well, doesn't everybody?" Kind of a thing.
She just takes everything with a grain of salt.
I think the reason we get away with it
is because, as with any good acting--
we're not talking television sitcom, Doo-Dah, Doo-Dah--
any good acting has to be based in truth, especially comedy,
especially comedy must be based in truth,
or they ain't gonna laugh.
The audiences-- I don't care if they have blue rinses,
I don't care if they're 110 or six--
they're going to know something's off somewhere.
It's got to come from truth.
So our stuff, even though it's over-the-top,
is based totally in truth,
from in here.
Everybody believes exactly what they're doing.
They believe the characters would be doing this.
And therefore, it's honest.