Catherine O’Hara on Her Scene-Stealing ‘The Last of Us’ Character, Why Pedro Pascal Is Like Meryl Streep and Catching COVID While Making ‘The Studio’
"The Last of Us" guest star Catherine O'Hara discusses playing a therapist, why Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are like Meryl Streep and making "The Studio" with COVID.
SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot developments in “The Price,” Season 2, Episode 6 of “The Last of Us,” streaming on the service currently known as Max.
When “The Last of Us” co-creator Craig Mazin called Catherine O’Hara to offer her a role in the second season of the HBO series, she was tickled by the idea that she’d be playing a therapist in a post-apocalyptic society. “In this world, that somebody’s responsible for anybody’s mental well being — what a ridiculous pressure job!” she says over Zoom. “That makes me laugh.”
O’Hara has been making audiences laugh since her days on the Canadian sketch comedy series SCTV in the late 1970s through her standout performances in films like “Beetlejuice” and “Home Alone,” the Christopher Guest comedies “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind” and “For Your Consideration” and her Emmy-winning role on “Schitt’s Creek.” But while she’s tackled dramatic roles before, she’s never been handed a character quite as intense Gail — the only trained mental health professional within the community of Jackson, Wyoming, who offers her services in trade for pot and booze.
Popular on VarietyIn the Season 2 premiere, Joel (Pedro Pascal) visits Gail to talk through his difficulties connecting with Ellie (Bella Ramsey), but Gail prods Joel to reveal the secret he has been harboring since they met. In an attempt to get him to open up, she confesses to Joel that she hates him for killing her husband, Eugene, even though she knows he had to, mostly because of how Joel killed him. In Episode 6 — directed by co-creator Neil Druckmann and written by Mazin, Druckmann and Halley Gross — we learn what Joel actually did: When he and Ellie come upon Eugene (Joe Pantoliano) right after he’s been bitten by an infected, Eugene begs to be brought back to Jackson so he and Gail can say their last words to each other. Instead, Joel follows the town’s rules and kills Eugene; he brings Eugene’s body back to Gail, and tells Gail a comforting lie about Eugene’s last words. Ellie, however, cannot abide Joel’s deception, and interrupts to tell the truth to Gail, who then slaps Joel and tells him to leave.
O’Hara spoke with Variety about working with Druckmann on that scene, how Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are like Meryl Streep, how much she knew about Eugene when she filmed the first episode, and working on her other acclaimed TV series this year, the Apple TV+ comedy “The Studio” — including why she kept working after catching COVID.
Pedro Pascal and Catherine O’Hara in Season 2, Episode 1 of “The Last of Us” Liane Hentscher / HBOI didn’t quite get why she was so angry with and so rough on Joel. I hadn’t even read the sixth episode. I’m sure Craig must have told me at the beginning, where it was going, but I hadn’t read anything. So it’s like, whoa, I got some attitude, don’t I?
Oh yeah. Well, it’s in that first scene, actually. She says, I know you had to do what you had to do, but still you did it. But he did have to do that. He was protecting the town, and she knows that. The horrific thing is that it’s not his fault that Eugene was infected. Eugene was attacked, and that’s the horror.
Oh, lovely. Wow. He’s everything you want him to be, and that everyone fantasizes about him being. Everyone’s in love with him, and with good reason. He’s just so open and lovely. He’s got some kind of gift that makes you feel like, I think we’re gonna be friends forever! I mean, both he and Bella are ridiculously good actors. Their gift to separate themselves from the world they’re living in “Last of Us” is really beautiful — and thank God they have it, because what a world to have your headspace in. Between takes, the two of them are just so loose and themselves. I got to work with Meryl Streep, many, many years ago in a movie called “Heartburn,” and it was the same thing with her. I got to watch her in the most intense scenes, like in all her movies, and then: “Cut!” “So anyway, I went out with this guy in high school…” Just talking about anything. It’s like, OK, that’s what acting is — and Bella and Pedro are great actors.
Often enough, I guess, but not like this show. This was pretty special, and, you know, I was told I would not be infected. So that’s a relief. That was the first thing friends asked: “Are you going to get infected? Did it get you?” You do the same work to prepare for drama or comedy. With comedy, you have to get some laughs, but you still try to bring what you’re supposed to bring to the scene.
I guess if you’d seen Gail with other clients, maybe, but in this case, it was so personal [for her]. It was Eugene’s birthday. That was an emotionally loaded scene for her, and she’s drinking. I did go to therapy for about six months, many years ago. I was going through kind of a crisis and I was lucky enough to have a really good therapist. She just made me see things and actually hear myself — things you repeat over and over, but then someone questions, “Why do you say that?” “What? What do you mean? I’ve said it every day.” She was just really good, but I guess I didn’t think to bring that so much [to my performance]. Maybe I did subconsciously, but consciously I didn’t, because it was so much about Joel and Eugene and the birthday and drinking and the pressure of this job. It was just so loaded in the dialogue.
I guess we just all agreed. Maybe we didn’t even discuss it. I didn’t want to play drunk. I love playing drunk, but it doesn’t always help you relate to somebody. When you’re drunk, you’re in your own head, you know. You just come out with bullshit. And I really wanted to be there for Pedro, for Joel, and be Gail for him. I guess that’s somebody who knows how to maintain a level of high or buzz. I think she’s just sipping. I did ask for a cup. I liked the idea. There used to be this wonderful woman who lived down the street from where I grew up, and she drank all day, but she would drink out of a cup. She put milk in her whiskey, so us kids would think she was drinking milk. She’s just this beautiful woman who we would hang out with all day. “Where is everybody else?” “They’re at Ruth’s house.”
Not really. I didn’t have to. It was there on the page. I didn’t see Joey Pantoliano shoot and I didn’t meet him. But watching that scene, you see in his eyes what Gail means to him.
It was interesting when he said, I want to hear what she’s going to say [to me]. First, I thought, “She wanted to forgive him for something? Oh, that’s what he wants to hear. He wants to hear it’s OK from Gail.” But then I realized, no, he so believes in her professionalism, as well as her love for him, that she would know the right thing to say to help him handle dying. Oh, that’s killer! That got me. That made me cry. You see the love between them. You believe that relationship without seeing any of it. That whole episode’s killer.
Pedro Pascal and Catherine O’Hara in Season 2, Episode 6 of “The Last of Us” Liane Hentscher / HBOI read this! It was sent to me by my agent. I thought, “Did I argue with him? Or I disagreed? Is that what I did?” I guess I was just so into what we were doing on the day, I didn’t think of it that way. Actors can be so offended by line readings or certain notes, and it’s so silly because you just close down, and that’s the least creative thing in the world. I don’t feel that way. You trust the person, and you know they know what they’re talking about — Neil, of course, does. So what he was asking of me for the scene, I just took it as. OK, what’s missing? What is he looking for? He may have said, “Yell at him.” I don’t remember that, but I think you have to take what the directors say as their version of what they’re looking for from you. He said in the interview, I took it and internalized it — I think that’s my job. He wanted to feel something from Gail to push Joel away. That moment is where that pain and the anger begins. Right before that, she thinks, Thank you, Joel, for at least bringing him to me. But yeah, I just think you gotta chill when you’re getting notes, when you know they know what they’re talking about. Sometimes you can work with people who don’t know, and you do close down. “OK, thanks, I’ll do that.” As my husband says, “Duly noted.”
Lovely! You never know if anyone’s going to watch anything. Well, I knew they’re going to watch “The Last of Us,” and I hoped they would watch “The Studio.” But it’s the day-to-day job that means something, that you can count on. “The Studio” was really fun to do. We did 10-page scenes in one [take], over and over. You do a ton of takes, but then no coverage! It’s great. It felt so real and raw and natural and fun. Seth [Rogen] and Evan [Goldberg], they’re such a good team, the way they work together. They’re both ridiculously creative and open at the same time, really collaborative. All the actors, Ike [Barinholtz] and Kathryn [Hahn] and Chase [Sui Wonders] — everybody’s so good. It was really fun.
At the end, though, for that whole CinemaCon scene [in Episode 9], I had COVID.
I got COVID at The Sphere, and that’s all I could see watching that one. I can see my posture is just [droops her body]. I didn’t test because we were trying to finish shooting, and we were leaving town in a day or two, so we had to shoot all those scenes. I just kept my distance. At one point, I had a water bottle down on the floor, and Evan came over and he said, “Oh, do you want your water?” “No, don’t pick it up!” I just knew, like, “Don’t touch anything!” Thank God I didn’t give it to anyone.
But anyway, sorry, I didn’t even answer your question! I was very lucky, and they came out at the same time; I’m meeting friends, they go, “Wow, are you in everything?” “No! I haven’t worked in, like, a year!”
I don’t know. Craig did say definitely not this next season. It’s the Abby story. Maybe. But I think it was to serve Joel and Ellie.
Not helping much! She was with a gang of people in one of those attics or basements, just helping them chill, dealing with the fear — and maybe passing around a joint.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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JTBC’s upcoming drama “Good Boy” has dropped thrilling main posters ahead of its premiere!
On May 20, the production team of Good Boy released the main poster comes in two versions: Hero and Winner.
“Good Boy” is a comic action drama that follows a group of former national athletes Yoon Dong Joo (Park Bo Gum), Ji Han Na (Kim So Hyun), Kim Jong Hyun (Lee Sang Yi), Go Man Sik (Heo Sung Tae), and Shin Jae Hong (Tae Won Suk)—who become police officers through a special recruitment program. Swapping medals for badges, they take on a world full of corruption, deception, and injustice.
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However, after the Olympic flame cooled and they were forced to end their athletic careers for various reasons, they were confronted with a harsh reality. Now, as special recruits in the police force, they are shown sitting exhausted on the floor below the podium, their bodies battered and bruised from sweat and toil. This image vividly conveys the weight of their difficult new reality, standing in stark contrast to the day when everyone was burning with passion.”
The “Winner” version of the main poster captures the Good Boy avengers as they boldly confront criminals of injustice and immorality by standing up to them with rules and principles—seizing victory once again.
The production team remarked, “The two versions of the main poster released this time visually encapsulate the narrative that ‘Good Boy’ will unfold. Both the glory of the days when they won medals and the tough battles they face now are all part of ‘Good Boy.’ You’ll be able to experience this exhilarating story, full of energy, laughter, action, youth, and justice, on screen starting from May 31. We hope you’ll join us for the first broadcast, which is now just ten days away.”
“Good Boy” is set to premiere on May 31 at 10:40 p.m. KST.
In the meantime, watch Park Bo Gum in “The Seasons: Cantabile of Park Bo Gum”:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/41040c-the-seasons-cantabile-of-park-bo-gum?qId=1f15098f1c980424dc6e33c8d93ba02a]
Also check out Kim So Hyun in Serendipity's Embrace”:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/40646c-serendipitys-embrace]
Source (1)
Read more >> : Cick here
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, Ji Han Na (Kim So Hyun), Kim Jong Hyun (Lee Sang Yi), Go Man Sik (Heo Sung Tae), and Shin Jae Hong (Tae Won Suk)—who become police officers through a special recruitment program. Swapping medals for badges, they take on a world full of corruption, deception, and injustice.
First, the “Hero” version of the main poster contrasts the glorious past of the medalists standing tall on the podium with the gritty reality they now face as police officers. Boxing gold medalist Yoon Dong Joo, shooting gold medalist Ji Han Na, fencing silver medalist Kim Jong Hyun, wrestling bronze medalist Go Man Sik, and discus throw bronze medalist Shin Jae Hong all became heroes who received nationwide cheers after pushing themselves to the limit—scraping their knees, getting blisters on their hands and feet, and running until their mouths tasted of iron.
However, after the Olympic flame cooled and they were forced to end their athletic careers for various reasons, they were confronted with a harsh reality. Now, as special recruits in the police force, they are shown sitting exhausted on the floor below the podium, their bodies battered and bruised from sweat and toil. This image vividly conveys the weight of their difficult new reality, standing in stark contrast to the day when everyone was burning with passion.”
The “Winner” version of the main poster captures the Good Boy avengers as they boldly confront criminals of injustice and immorality by standing up to them with rules and principles—seizing victory once again.
The production team remarked, “The two versions of the main poster released this time visually encapsulate the narrative that ‘Good Boy’ will unfold. Both the glory of the days when they won medals and the tough battles they face now are all part of ‘Good Boy.’ You’ll be able to experience this exhilarating story, full of energy, laughter, action, youth, and justice, on screen starting from May 31. We hope you’ll join us for the first broadcast, which is now just ten days away.”
“Good Boy” is set to premiere on May 31 at 10:40 p.m. KST.
In the meantime, watch Park Bo Gum in “The Seasons: Cantabile of Park Bo Gum”:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/41040c-the-seasons-cantabile-of-park-bo-gum?qId=1f15098f1c980424dc6e33c8d93ba02a]
Also check out Kim So Hyun in Serendipity's Embrace”:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/40646c-serendipitys-embrace]
Source (1) %23winners) |
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Twitter (X), Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the Vine short video app and Periscope livestreaming service
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