Before everyone (including myself) sees the show on Friday, I just want to explain how this was one of the coolest things to ever happen in my life. I have an analogy I've been giving which pretty much sums up what it feels like to have been cast in the show and hopefully explains how incredibly terrifying & exhilarating it is.
Imagine that you have been a gigantic fan of music for your entire life; like you know every band, musician, record, producer, etc. Well, even though I actually am a musician that is me with comedy. I revere comedy more than I revere anything (even music), I always have. Comedians are MY rockstars and the people I get tongue tied & red faced around. I can tell you about the time I met Bob Odenkirk at the 24 Hour Human Giant telethon and told him his entire biography and asked for a picture and grabbed his back fat (not to say he has a fat back but I groped at his back with excitement while I stood there red faced posing for a picture) and then left because I was too overwhelmed being surrounded by so many comedians I respected. I have met him since then and been a normal human being capable of holding a normal conversation. Or more recently at the table read for the 'LOVE' I spent the entire time clenching my butt as not to visibly shake around so many of my favorite comedians & continously asking myself “WHAT AM I DOING HERE, I'M A MUSICIAN NOT AN ACTOR?!!”. I have since mildly answered that question.
Anyways back to the music analogy, imagine you are a fan of music in that way and then one day out of nowhere you get an email inviting you to audition to be in one of the best bands in the entire world. Of course you are going to say ‘yes’, even though you’ve never sang in public because who would say no to that? Well at least I wouldn't, because I have a policy where I never say no to anything just because it scares me because I am in fact scared of so many things, though not many people know it because I never say no to things that scare me (see how it is cyclical?). And if I didn't implement this policy I never would've joined a band, met my husband, left my house or pretty much anything in my life that has proven to have worth and ultimately been the most rewarding.
So, you get to one of the biggest studios in the world and a ton of your favorite musicians are jamming and they are like “Hey (insert name here). . .get in there. . . sing something!”. Until this point you have never sang publicly, maybe in your house with your husband you guys fuck around and harmonize and it is genuinely one of your favorite things to do, but this is the first time you have ever really done it in public. This was me with comedic acting & improvising (which is one of my greatest joys in life, just on a personal level). You finish your take in the booth and they are like “Alright, get out of here you crazy kid”. You leave and never get to see or hear what you do until Friday when it is released into the world and we all get to see it for the first time TOGETHER. That is a pretty crazy scenario and exactly how it feels.
Friday I get to see myself do comedy on a tv show for the first time, which is bananas. I have done a lot of amazing things in my life and career but this was by far the most exhilarating. After doing a good take and knowing you did well (like in your gut) I liken it to the moment in a big surf movie like Blue Crush when the lead character is in the “big competition” and gets that big wave that lasts forever and wins them the competition. That is what it feels like. And I genuinely just want to thank Lesley Arfin for seeing something in me I never even saw in myself and thinking I could potentially act & asking me to come in and audition at a time in my life when I was literally asking the universe to give me a sign of what I should do next. And wether or not I end up acting forever or just on this show (even though I have done things since, but that is hush hush) it is one of the best experiences and I am so beyond grateful to get to do it with such an amazingly cool & kind cast & crew. I hope you all enjoy it & are looking forward to seeing it as much as I am!
Love (on Netflix 2/19), Chantal