April 25, 2024 • 41 mins
In a new case-of-the-week style episode, guest star Cynthia Stevenson joins Katie and Guillermo to break down an explosive episode. Plus, Katie shares some secret info about Kerry Washington’s time on set. Then Cynthia talks about her style of method acting while Guillermo gushes over a new favorite horror movie connection.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Unpacking the Toolbox is a production of Shondaland Audio in
partnership with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Scams and Katie.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
G k Gee. The strike has is over.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
The strike is over, and the deal has been ratified.
We are free to go and be thesbians again.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Wesian are available for employment, and we are available to
talk about more and more scam Toolbox but also which
we already know because we're on episode three, but it
can never be discussed enough because we're fucking stoked.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Thank god we have Unpacking the Toolbox because now I
don't see you on the strike lines, I know, and
this is where I see your sexy face. Yes, hey, hey,
what's up baby? Second season of Unpacking the Toolbox, which like,
thank god, what are you wearing today?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Honey, I'm wearing a T shirt with an angry black cat.
See him? He's cool? Huh. I don't know what the
words is. Oh, that's good.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yeah, the sag actors did not rebel because we ratified
the contract.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Also, I'm still looking at your adorable faith with the
nose ring that you have, and I still really want
to get it.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Oh, dude, let me know. I'll take you me and
Katie live eight minutes away from each other, and I
found this amazing tattoo slash piercing place and he's like
a master piercer. It didn't hurt at all. I'm the
biggest chicken.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
Shit.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I have a ton of tattoos and they've all hurt.
But the septum piercing did not hurt at all. So
if you're ever down to get it and look and
then you can make it. We forget a job which
you and it's gone your booge stupid. Yeah, I can't
do it right now, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
That in my life. I've never called it that in
my life. I'm disgusted with myself.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Look and now it's gone.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
See and you can feel weird?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
No, not at all, you don't even feel it.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
What'd you eat today? What'd you eat today today?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
For breakfast? I had a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream
cheese because my stomach has been a little bit, a
little bit upset these last few days, so I didn't
want to do my normal celery and parsley and lime
juice every morning.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I just need to lay down a layer of carbs.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Well.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
For breakfast, I had just a power bar, which is
pretty lame. I've been in a rush children at the
time of this recording. It's the holidays and everything is insane,
but life stops for the guests that we have today.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Uh, one of my favorites, one of my favor guest
stars in episode three oh three, she shines her light
for us, and she's just amazing.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
She's just a tried and true journey woman of an actress,
like she just has been on everything, comedies, dramas, film,
TV shows, you name it, maybe some horror movies.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
What what was that again?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
She's amazing and she so lovingly has agreed to come
on and be our guest today for episode three or three.
It is the one, It is the only. Yes, Steve, Yeah,
First of all, it's amazing to see you again. I
am such a fan.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
I don't I don't think either one of us worked
with you actually in person in the episode except for
Caring right.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
Yeah. It was so weird that I didn't get to
connect with you guys, because you you know, when you're
doing that part, like that emotional part, like.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
When you're like the guest star of the episode and
the entire story revolves around you. A lot of times
you have more heavy lifting than the lead actors do,
Like you're the entire episode. You work every day and
have to go through all these emotional huge swings.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
Oh my god, kiddie. And also you know, because we've
done it, Like when it's your family, it's your show,
it's your show, You're like, yeah, it's the weird an.
You had to be invited to the wedding.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
You always feel like you have to prove something right
as the guests start, You're like, I gotta be the
best and be off book.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
Intruding somehow. I'm like always feel like, oh I'm talking
too much or oh I'm talking too little.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Oh me too. We all do that shit. But you know, punning,
don you killed it in this episode?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Killed it the bomb strap to you. I want to
hear about Wait was there an audition? We have so
many questions and listeners, we've already jumped into this. It's
just like you, how is your scandal paced? Do you
remember having to do talk really quick on this?
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Who's terrifying? So in the last part of that episode,
there was a lot there was a little not a monologue,
but like some dialogue that they cut out because I
think I wasn't doing this fettle face.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
No, oh my god. No, you know how many monologues
and pieces that we had that they cut out. It's
mostly for timing or just didn't you know, work with
the story. We had shit cut out all the time.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
You don't even know how many times Tom Veriko would
come to work and say, just delivered the episode and
it's eighteen minutes over.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
Like no, no, yes, yes, because you guys could not
have spoken any faster your whole rhythm. So you must
have been so exhausted at the end of this run
because you're on a treadmill at highest speed all the time.
And all the emotional journeys you guys took, none of
them are casual. None of them were like this episode
what you guys were going through.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
You know what it was, Cynthia. The worst part after
finishing with this series, when the series ended is we
me and Katie spoke at least I know because Katie's
talked about it too. We just talked so fast that
our next auditions and our next projects that the direct
would be like, you need to slow down, and we're like,
what are you going down?
Speaker 5 (06:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I still have that problem I do too.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
Yeah, funny you got tightened up internally like you're nervous,
is yes? No, I totally get it.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Yeah, for all of you listeners, just to catch you up. Obviously,
it already feels like me, Cynthia and g our family
the last three minutes and it feels like forever in
a good way. I hope that came out.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I feel like a good aim, of course.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
But we are going to read real quick that we're
talking about episode three oh three, which was entitled Wow,
I think cultivated.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
It was entitled to shit. It was titled and entitled Yes'
character was definitely a title.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Missus Smith Goes to Washington, which aired on October seventeenth
in twenty thirteen. It was written by.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Maddy Bird and directed by Janeaul's Wark, who is one
of our one of our directors who who directed a
bunch of episodes.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Yes, he directed a bunch of episodes, and he's directed
a bunch of Gray's Anatomis too, and I believe Private Practice.
He's a Shondaland All star and a real character, a real.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Character, and he directed Jaws two f y.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Put that in your pipe and smoke it. The episode
is guest starring the one and Only Cynthia Stephenson as
Mary ness Bit who we have? It was also starring
Mark Moses as Congressman Jim Struthers and Ernie Hudson Yes Wow,
as FBI Commander Randolph Bowles. Cynthia, do you want to
(07:35):
take a Do you have this synopsis up in front
of you? If you don't, I wish that's okay. I'm
like you, grandmother, You're most Look, most people have never
done any of them before.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
We've been doing this for so long, and I still
will text Katie and be like Katie, can you like
send me that link? I don't know what to do.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Also, we had like Deborah Mooney on.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Who played Judge Brenda Thornton on the show, and she
her camera was like just like from her eyes and
her forehead and that was it.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
And she was doing the episode.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
But she was amazing. She was great, all right? So
should I give it? Should I start it off?
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Rock it out, be a little dirty, but not too dirty.
You're welcome, Hulu.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
As most of the OPA team takes on a new client,
a mother seeking justice for her murdered son, Huck has
see I already screwed it up. Take two, as most
of the OPA team takes on a new client, a
mother seeking justice for her murdered son. Huck has a
mission of his own track down and kill pop a Pope,
but two twists interrupt everyone's plans.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
The grieving mother plans to blow up part of the
White House, and Eli Pope knew Huck was coming. Oh shit,
Oh yeah, yeah, we did not getting highed. We're not
getting hired. The grieving mother plans to blow up part
of the White House, and Eli Pope knew Huck was
following him. Olivia gets herself in the middle of Olivia
gets herself in the middle of the hostas negotiation over
(08:58):
an ultra high security dot that leads to a tragic ending.
You know what, we wouldn't have booked the job. You
wouldn't have.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Booked, But give us a couple of minutes reading that over,
we would have had it down. We would have had
it down.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
So, Cynthia, can you take us into had you seen
scandal before? Did you audition for the part where you
offered the part because you fancy tell us how you
got here?
Speaker 5 (09:25):
So this was so funny to me. Every summer we
go to this cabin way up in northern California in
the woods. My grandparents built it in the fifties. It's
a little red cabin with yellow shutters. It's like walking
into a story book. It's so great. And there's no
internet there, so whenever we go, you're just fully unplugged. Right,
So it does jealous, I know, it's so heaven. So
(09:47):
we're there or at the river, and we do have
a landline and the phone or whatever. The phone rings.
I'm like, oh, what is that?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
What is that?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
The dairy?
Speaker 5 (09:57):
So I answered it and it's my manager, God love him,
sweetest mallin earth, Kelly Garner, the greatest guy. And he goes, Cynthia,
I'm sending you something. And I said, I'm at the river.
He goes, I'm sending you something and you have to
get in your car and I have to drive four
miles to get internet. Right, He goes, get in your
car and drive to the it's called the dry yards.
Get to the dry yards and read this thing that
(10:18):
I sent you. And I go, what is it? He goes,
I'm not telling you. I want you to just open
it and read it. So I go, but I'm at
the river. He goes, just get in a car. So
I four miles to the dryards. I opened it the
link and I had I have watched the show. I
was a huge.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Mantain, oh nice, I have.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Goosebumps while I'm telling you this. So I start reading it,
and you know what it is. I'm reading it. I'm like,
oh my god, oh my god, this is a huge
Oh my god. When I get to the end, he
burst out crying. I start just crawling. What And so
then I'm alone in my car and I go, I
don't think I can do that. Har they made a mistake.
It was an offer, and I'm.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Like, it's oh my god.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
No. At the time, this is your magical realm of
Shondaland had already been a guest on her show Off
the Map, so I'd done yes, Yeah, and an episode
of Grays and a private practice, then Scandal, and then
after Scandal, I went to do How to Get Away
with Murder a little arc on that.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
So, oh my god, Aynthia, you are yes, you are
a beloved. You are part of the shop.
Speaker 5 (11:24):
The team right, like they're just so wonderful. Yeah. I
call him for myself and I go and I said, Kelly,
I don't know. You just shut your mouth and if
you don't get your ass back down to town, I'm
gonna drive up there and I want to.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
I love your manager's so great.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Did you have to cancel your trip?
Speaker 5 (11:44):
I think we cut it short a little bit, and
that's why he was like, oh, well you have to
leave the river jut down here.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Isn't that old, doesn't it? That always happened. I remember
being Inwai in Hawaii for one of my best friend's
weddings and I had to leave early because I booked
like a Law and Order episode. That that's been like
our lives so.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Long, right, just like okay, yeah, all the actors listening there,
it's like book a trip, book a job, like no
one will want you in the minute you actually spend
money to leave town and do something else is when
Hollywood will get It's because I need a.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Job, yes, is yeah in the universe is like.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
Hey, cool guy, Hey cool girl, here's your job.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
So do you remember like you're fitting with Lynn Pollo
or like first coming on too Saturday to prepare for
the role, were you nervous to work with Carrie?
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Like tell us all of them, I'm always I literally
am the most If you know what HSPs are I
highly sense to your person. I'm like, my son, is
that tweeked up to the max? So I'm always like,
oh god, what's happening. It's just so much craziness. So
and everybody's so lovely. And the other thing about your
show is that season three, right, so everyone's comfortable. Yeah,
(12:51):
you guys were all the cool people at the reunion. Yeah, yeah,
betting super casual. And then the prop guy came in
to the wardrobe fitting and here prompt man was so
sweet and he was so excited about that best right, like.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It was probably George George.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
It had to be George, and George props, he's the
bast You've taken so.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
Much pride in it, and it was incredible. So he
came into the wardrobe fitting to see how it fit
over the blouse, and yes, they were all excited about it,
and so I'm like, that was super cool. And then
I remember in the makeup and the hair and makeup,
I think Carrie wasn't there yet, the Bellamy, who had
never met before. So here comes this amazing angel person
and she's like, yeah, I was all my nervous craziness
(13:38):
just disappeared in an instant. She was like, you're got
kill it. You're killing you crazy weirdo. You're gonna be
like with that ball of just kindness and amazing, you
can't be nervous anymore. But I don't think I met Carrie.
I don't think i'd met her until Oh, I guess
it was our little thing in your office, in the office,
the scene in the office, and that was oh so
(14:01):
much to do. And I remember she kept carrying around
her huge blinder.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Oh yeah, oh my god, we even talked about that
yet on this podcast. Yeah, Carrie Washington's nerd ass binder.
Speaker 5 (14:13):
I looked at her blinder and I actually got a
stomach ache. I was like, oh god, I remember what she.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Would be memorizing lines for like the next episode while
she was memory while she was doing the scenes for
the episode we were shooting.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
She would take down an entire tree of post it
notes through the binder, color coded what was shooting, what
she had memorized, what she hadn't learned yet, what the
long like, how things connected to each other.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Crazy. We'll be right back guys.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Now, you've been a lead of so many shows. What's
so amazing about you is like you are so versatile
in I mean, you carry sitcoms.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Really quickly too. I love horror movies and I had
not ever seen a horror movie that that Cynthia had
had been in called Jennifer's Body, and I just watched
it like last night.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
This is Ghermo Diaz six Degrees of Horror. Every episode
we relate some shit to horror. We got.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Cynthia Stevenson was in one of the best freaking horror
movies written by Diablo Cody, who was an amazing writer.
That writer was gonna was in the midst of writing
Madonna's script about her life that Madonna's gonna direct, and
then something happened and she has a different writer.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Now Giermo's life has two lanes horror, yeah, Donna, yes.
And so Diablo Cody and Cynthia Stevenson are meeting at
the crux of horror and this is big for Gharamo.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
And Cynthia plays Chip's mom who provides him with a
spray that says something pink on it, which he uses
or the other character uses to spray like the woman
that's possessed by all this devil stuff. Anyway, you were
so funny, so lovely, in that movie, and the movie
was so good. But then today this morning, I watched
A thirty nine, which is another horror movie that Cynthia's
(16:04):
in with Renees Eliger and Bradley Cooper.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Cynthia, see, I have a hard fast rule. I do
not watch horror. I do not like it. I only
hear about it all.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
And thank goodness, like in all of those things that
you're referencing, I didn't have to do the horrory part
of it.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
You didn't, Yes, for those of you listening and that
don't have a computer in front of you to know
every single thing that Cynthia has been in, which is insane,
and of course why you would get a straight offer
on Scandal and be on every single Chondalin show. But
it's like, it's unbelievable. It's like my talk show, Bob
Hope and Gloria Oh Baby, Robert Altman's film The Player,
(16:44):
Forget Paris Home for the Holidays, Air Bud Golden Receiver.
I mean, come on, Agent Cody Banks, dead like me,
Men and Trees. I mean, your career is ridiculous, and
you're so versatile between comedy drama, Like there's really movies
film like the TV. There's nothing you can do.
Speaker 5 (17:01):
And hey, what about IMDb, you guys, I gotta say
I go on IMDb for a million years now and
it says my tashow various episodes.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Are you kidding?
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Yeah, it won't change it. And it says I'm sixty.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
It says you're six feet tall. What fucking forty two?
I'm forty one.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
It brings up it actually says I'm younger. So I'm
not mad at IMDb, but I'm mad that it says
that I was born and raised in New Jersey. Now
that's worse than being six feet tall and being forty two.
It says I'm from fucking Jersey. No, no offense from Jersey.
I do love Jersey Jersey. But you're from fucking watching Manhattan.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Yeah, and it's culturally such a huge part of who
you are. That's so muched up.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
But you're right, Cify, it's so hard to get things
changed on the it's ridiculous.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
You can't, guys. So you say this, look what your
show gave you.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Best friend, right, Yes, yes, that's so true.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
One of the greatest of all time. And I will
say this that so many people could not have done,
never could they have done your roles? Going back to
you sang listen to your silvers, you too, come on.
Your storylines were insane, and.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
You were so they were insane, amazing, We were so lucky.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
When did I feel like you were outside of it?
You just you can't or you can't do it.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Yeah, but that's the way I felt watching this episode
with you. I was like, I could not imagine anyone
else doing that part. You were so emotionally available, and
you talked a little bit about being that person that
sort of feels everything, and so I'm sure that helped
playing this character. You were just so there. Man.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
In real life, I have one son, so of course
I was using.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Oh my god, I was going to ask, how did
you prepare? Like what do you do for that stuff?
Speaker 5 (18:48):
Do you guys do this? So when I was reading
it in the dry yards way back and like I'm
at the river, I was reading it and I knew
immediately she's a single mother. The husband had left many
years before. She raised her son alone, and she I
don't know why the song him to me in a
giant flood. And she's a home ch teacher, she taught
home ex she was just a teacher.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
She's just oh my god, I'm chilled Midwest.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
Woman and her whole life was her son. That's all
she had and that was enough. And so when that happened,
I remember saying, as that character, I can't live with it.
I can't, So I don't. I didn't know it's the character.
I was going to do what I did at the
end of the episode until I get the news from Carrie.
But it's like my whole was done. Yeah, it was heartbreading.
So that was a good place to go all during
(19:29):
the episode when you have to stay in that place,
right and it it made me go insane. Remember when
she says like he's just been laying in the morgue and.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Not oh yeah unclaimed, Yeah yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:41):
Yeah, just begune unraveling.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Can I ask you something selfishly and then we'll talk
a little bit more about the episode. But because we
didn't get to be with you, did you do you
like not socialized? You like listen to music and like
an iPod? Do you like? I mean, I'm gil I
have tried so many different things when she's not there,
and I'm like, oh, hey, let's just think about if
something really fucking bad happened to my mom or like
whatever bring And then I'm like the biggest person for that.
(20:09):
What were your tips and tricks for this episode or
for all the other stuff you've done.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
I do the same thing for all the time. And
I had this wonderful teacher who actually is still teaching
in la Ian Tucker. He's amazing, and he always says,
always keep your character here. Then when you're rolling, it
counts here. Put it right here.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Oh wow, for those of you guys listening, she's putting
like her character sits on her shoulder, sits on your shoulder,
and then when they call action, they move from your
shoulder into you. Is that what you're kind of meaning?
Speaker 5 (20:41):
Because think of us walking into an audition room, which
now at ZUM we don't really have to do it anymore,
but you walk in, hey, and sometimes your character is
so far away that when it becomes time to like
here's my moline, you start reading, you're like, oh, picture,
our character is writing in with us, we're chatting, we're us,
we're not so crazy that and then it's just only
(21:01):
got this distance to travel, and then you're right there.
It gets harder when there's something really emotional right, and
so much easier on a sitcom that you're like, it's
all just light, yea, But to keep that character close.
I also don't ever want to do a job. But
please don't talk to me. Please call Meveut my character name.
Oh god, but you're just you keep that kind of
(21:23):
energetically really close to your heart and don't get so
far away they actually think. I remember a couple of
times saying to Mark, who I was just pouring on
that venom too. I said, I'm so sorry, I'm really
hateful to you. I just hate you. My character hates
you so much, and he goes, oh, it's okay, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Mark moses gentlemen that plays the Congress, Yeah, yeah, yes, yes, yes,
you know yeah. I feel like Katie is the complete
opposite Katie. We've talked about this before. We'll be cracking up,
talking a mile a minute, telling a story about what
happened the night before. And as they're saying Rolling, she's
(22:01):
still talking, and the directors already knew once scandal. They
were like, just keep calling Rolling, slate, rolling, and when
she hears action, she snaps right into it.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
I can totally see you doing that. I love that.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, she can do that, and then she she still
does a kick ass job.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
I mean I probably do better if I like took
my ship more. Seriously, I just love everybody so much.
Being on set is so fun with being all the people.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
See Katie, that's your magic.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And I want to eat my snacks and I want
to you know, like.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
And then you want to get into the same Yeah,
that's that's a huge skill. So don't ever say, oh,
you're in it.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
We will be back with more after the break. This
episode there we always have like some uh some Kerry
Washington School of acting moments or word for words like
monologues that knocked your socks off or made us go
holy shit Sean Rimes and these writers are unfreaking believable.
(23:03):
And this episode, that Melly speech at the end with
the accent, I mean, I I cannot. Also, I think
this is the second or third time she's called Olivia
popehor but I never get I never am born of it.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
I love.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
So oh my god, it's hilarious, like, oh my god,
Matt Burne wrote this episode. But I just can't, like,
we never heard I think, you know, if Olivia Pope died.
It would be so bad, because it would be she says, spectacular.
But you can't compete with religious fervor. So no, I'm
(23:42):
not hoping that she would be blown up today. Tell
us your other acting favorite moments of the app.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
For me, I think it was when Melly looked right
at me and said, you shut up.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
It was so great, Yes, you shut up. Oh my god,
that was so good.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Melly might be the winner of this app. It's a
tie for me between Melly and between Mary nest Bit.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
Well, no, but you had had some She walks into
the office and you're just sitting there. You were so
scary in.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
That episode, you guys. This was the This was around
the time. Do you guys remember the grumpy Cat meme
that was going around. This is the episode that people
started posting that meme with my face in this scene.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
In that scene, I am dead.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
With grumpy Cat.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
But your whole journey in that episode is so heartbreaking.
When he walks out of the trailer and you just
have the gun right in his head. Oh my god,
there's so much.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
This is also the episode where Sion knows Wark our
director first came up to me after I we did
the first take of that scene where carry walks into
the office and he came up to me and he said, yes,
you're too maniacal, Yes you're too it's too much. And
I was like, oh my, okay, okay, because we have
(25:02):
to keep going.
Speaker 5 (25:03):
So then when you were when she cradles you and
you're crying, yeah, and then it just flashed back to
all the time you were in the box.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Was such a wounded wound.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I loved doing this episode for me. The king of
this episode, of course Cynthia, I mean with her performance, yes,
But secondly, is freaking baby Teddy in that opening scene
where I have never seen a baby on screen give
less than any fucks before in my life. He was slept.
(25:36):
He was leaning on one one hand with a look
like I don't know what the hell I'm doing. He
looked like he was sixty five.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
Years old, I'll give And they kept putting.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Like food on his face. You could tell because in
different takes there'd be more food or less, and he
just had this look like, get me the fuck out
of continuity.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Must have had a real heyday.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
He wasn't like the guying and like he was just
like he was like staring.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
With disdain at both of them, like, really, this is parents.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
I felt bad for baby Teddy because Baby Teddy was
a set of twin girls I'm pretty sure, and they
just had kept having Baby Teddy girls in and cutting
her hair short like a boy.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, when he was really young, it was too. It
was twin girls, and then when he was older. I
think it was too at some point.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
But you know, G and I love food and our
favorite acting on cameras when anyone eats, And so of
course maybe baby Teddy is the winner since he is
crushing baby food. Not the best acting.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
He was amazing at the acting, but he was terrible
at the eating because he wasn't his mouth was shut. Clothes,
you just have food smeared on um.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
He must have eaten in like other takes, Like he
must have liked, you know what I mean, Like he
must have like I don't know what went down, but
it didn't really work, and I thought it was very distracting.
But I do think that he might be and winner.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
I think he's a king actor in this episode for sure,
and Cynthia is the queen that works. Another moment is
when Carrie is on the phone at the end of
the episode when you guys you still have the bomb
and she's talking to fits and she turns away from you, Cynthia,
and you could see it all on her face, and
she says, don't make me do this, and she and
(27:22):
then she turns back to you and just oh my god.
It was just so full of emotion and so heartbreaking.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
I decided that she was a princess, and I crazy,
she's like a princess. She's like a princess, and she's
going to save me. Yeah, my character fell in love
with her and she was my safe.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
You could feel that, Yeah, I could feel that watching it.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Yeah, we also have to add to the ah, we
have body count to add in this. We have some
death to add to the ever loving scandal body count,
which is sadly nessa Congressman, Jim Struthers.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
And then Peter Poster, the.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
White House intruder, and then yeah, hey.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
Episode three, three deaths. There's some good syncretis.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Oh wow, Yeah, the Trinity.
Speaker 5 (28:16):
You have to tell this story to remember so at
the end that what you just referenced caver where Tony
Goldwin has a giant two page monologue talking to and
her phone and I remember saying, how are they going
to do that? Did they recorded or is it God forbid?
The script supervisor, which thank so I remember on the
night because it was really late when we shot that.
I look over, I go what because he wasn't on
(28:37):
the call sheet, Tony wasn't on the cauchet, and there
he is sitting on the floor and he came he said, oh, yeah,
I was having dinner with my wife, but I wanted
to come in for Carrie. And that's when I said, Okay,
this show.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Is yes forever. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
He shot that scene at one o'clock in the morning,
So line huge monologue into a phone call scene, which
is how you know they took those phone calls very soon.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
We would do that all the time, Katie right. They
would give us a heads up and be like, hey,
you have a phone call with Carrie or with Katie
or whoever, and we would make ourselves available to actually
get on the phone while they were shooting the scene
and do the scene with them, or we would come
to set. There were a couple of times I came
to set, or if we were already on set, of
course we would do it and just actors listening.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
That's really unusual. A lot of the time, that's when
there's just oh yeah, support and that's the way it
should be, right, but it isn't.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
A lot of the time, and sometimes it is Oh yeah,
that's definitely how you do your best act that's a
really good point to bring up, and that I love them.
They yeah, that's really really nice.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
I did a move a big movie once and I
did most of my scenes with the actors stand in.
We would do all his stuff and then not the
whole movie. But like like I remember like two or
three like big scenes, and I ended up with doing
all my coverage with his stand in, and I was like,
this is so weird, this is shitty. But yeah, it's
not the norm to be there for your actor when
(29:59):
you're not in the actual scening or just on the
phone or whatever.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
To you for doing that, because it's really hard. It's
really hard cameras in your face. Yes, So even if
you're your partner's there for you, which the perfect world
they are, but when they're not, that's really tough on
them and great on you that you could do it.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:18):
Real.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Although I feel like I've had some of my best
acting moments acting with like a tennis ball. There were
times where I had to act with just the actor
couldn't physically be there or they were like off to
the side, and I was like, this is the best
work on this tennis ball.
Speaker 5 (30:33):
Even more.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Yeah, because sometimes you can look in the eyes of
the other acting you could see them being like, oh God,
what am I going to have for lung?
Speaker 3 (30:41):
And one of the biggest hardest monologues I ever had
with an actress who will remain unnamed, and she may
or may not be a part of sand Land, but
we're going to leave it at that, and so all
you listeners can guess, but I'm not going to say
who it is. I do this like massive monologue and
like there wasn't nobody home, like nobody was listening, nothing
(31:02):
behind the eyes, nothing behind the eyes. And I was like,
this person is so bored and I am sobbing I
am having to go there and she does. I'll never
forget it, Like I'll never forget it. I'm like, oh
my god, this person like I'm either terrible or like
they don't care or I mean they're sick. I don't know,
(31:24):
but I Cynthia, do you have any like horror stories
in your long career.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
Again, I won't name I won't name them. I was doing.
I was doing a guest part that I was like, okay,
I wasn't super excited and literally like a cartoon. Her
off camera for me was this, no.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
Freaking nails, put the.
Speaker 5 (31:51):
Nail file in her pocket and then pulled her phone out. No, like.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
That person should be fineired.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Oh my god.
Speaker 5 (32:01):
My thing about where is that? It's not our job
as the guest. It certainly isn't. I don't want to
stand there and make a big scene on someone else's show.
But the producer needs to step It needs to happen
because young people just sometimes don't know. You think, where
are you?
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Cynthia? Was Was it a show where it was an
established show? Was it like successful? And she was like the.
Speaker 5 (32:21):
Least, she's a really good actress.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
She was really really amazing.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Yeah what wow, I am wasting all my energy off camera,
really holding up. I should just be filing my fucking
nails and checking my phone so that when it turns
to me, I'm full of energy and rare into go
because I've given them nothing.
Speaker 5 (32:42):
Oh no, you're doing it because it's a gift. It's
the gift that you want to give and you want
to give her. That's the drug. A huge piece the
joy of creating this family and creating this altered world,
which is so magical, amazing.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
I am in to know who this person is. We
finished recording, we will all name name.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Oh my god, we have also were you on Twitter
at this time? Or you are you on Twitter?
Speaker 5 (33:12):
God? I am like, I'm like the character in Downton Abbey,
was it Maggie Smith who comes to goes, Oh, these lights,
this is never gonna last. The vapors.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
Good for you.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
I'm the most untechnological person on earth. And the thought
of to live tweeting. I never because talk about my
characters here. Mary nesmdn't tweet. I can't. It's too far
for me to go. I can't go out.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Yeah, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (33:33):
No, you're not wrong. We read some Scandaled tweets of
the time and they're kind of like a real nice
time capsule for us to see what people thought of
the episode. There's some wow, oh I forgot about this line.
Kevin Costly, who oh my gosh, worked on Scandal in
(33:55):
publicity at Kevin Costly on October eighteenth, tweeted now we've
got a bimbo on the loose. Happy graduation hashtag Melly
Grant greeting cards hashtag scandal at bellmy Young So people
were making all of these like leading cards that had
Mellie's official photo on it. So it was a happy
graduation photo, but it said, now we've got a bimbo
on the loose. I'm dead, okay.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
At Scandal Feelings tweeted, I think we'll need further inspection
to tell how presidential his balls are hashtag oops, hashtag
that slip, hashtag scandal.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
So women love that Tony goldwin Man, so women behave
like absolute imbeciles around him? Yes. At Joe Morton tweeted
work unfortunately or fortunately, Oh happy birthday, big Daddy Rowan.
What does a head honcho do for his birthday? I
guess maybe it was Joe. Was it Joe's birthday?
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Joe Morton's. Maybe? I don't know.
Speaker 5 (34:52):
I don't try to kill tried to kill him.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
I tried to kill him. That's right, that's right.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Oh yeah. The other thing is at. Brown Eyed Girl
twenty three tweeted the Disney Studio lot is again showing
some love to add scandal and at Once upon a Time.
So this was at the time, and there's a picture
of up on the ABC a lot of the poster
of Lana Parrilla, who's me and Giermo's friend played the
Wicked Witch. It's her face up behind an apple on
(35:18):
the What's upon a Time poster and then carry's I
mean gorgeous face, I mean her face on those posters.
Are you joking? It'd be like her lips, her eyeball,
her nine, her profile, her dead on center, and all
of it was perfection and you could never get Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Oh damn. Trish tweeted, I'm scared of Hawk hashti scandal. Awesome,
anybody calls me hawk? That's a fan of scandal?
Speaker 3 (35:40):
Wait, what does it hawk? By the way, it's a
very cool name. It's a very cool name.
Speaker 5 (35:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
Yeah, oh, someone tweeted at Anna. Labor eighty seven tweeted
watching hashtag scandal again, OMG, Melly and then quotations you
shut up. So that moment that you always talked about
really it really affected with the people even of the time.
Speaker 5 (36:00):
I forgot to tell you guys this, So this is
another so crazy thing. So in the room where when
I'm holding the hostage and they're saying, what do we
do blah blah blah. Tony Goldland's characters and they're the
presidents having his briefing with like, how are we going
to get this crazy woman? Either my oldest friend Cheryl Bricker,
who I met when I first moved to LA in
nineteen eighty whatever. She plays one of the people and
one of her lines, oh no, wait, pumping some gas.
(36:22):
So we watched the episode together and we were laughing.
I was like, you were trying to kill me all
I was trying to do it?
Speaker 2 (36:27):
Oh my god, Waite.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
Are you guys good friends now or you had run
into or you were.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
I don't get to see herzona because I don't live
in LA anymore, but she's one of my oldest friends.
She's amazing. She's a wonderful actress, and she had more
dialogue in Their Worse you know.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
But did you know that she had booked the job
or were on set? How did that happen?
Speaker 5 (36:46):
Yeah? We were just talking and I said, oh, gosh,
you know, I just got this offer on Scandal and
I'm so excited. She was like, what really, I'm going
to be on that? Like that really?
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Oh my God, where are you, Cynthia? Do you where
do you live in.
Speaker 5 (36:58):
Tucson, Arizona?
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Oh? Wow, don't ask me.
Speaker 5 (37:01):
Why spirits just let us here for some crazy reason.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Oh man, do you do you ever watch Long Island
Medium a lot about Spirits. She always refers to it
as spirit and I mean, so every time you say that,
it reminds me.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
We love the Long Island Medium. We love it so much.
Wait tuson Arizona. Do you love it?
Speaker 5 (37:18):
We've been here almost two years. I like it. I'm
not sure. The deserts in tenth California. We're in a desert,
but we don't feel that we're in the desert right right.
It's cool. There's it's actually really cool. There's a huge
music seeing here, really interesting quirky art, cool street fairs,
(37:38):
and it's got a cool life to it. I'm still
not ground.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Just figuring it out.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
What do you do like for auditions? Of course you
do a remotely. You'll just audition remotely and then if
you book something, you'll get to LA and order wherever
it's shooting.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
Ye.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Yeah, has that been challenging at all?
Speaker 5 (37:55):
Or? I mean my careers I remember being my twenties.
You guys and meeting much older women and they'd say, I, well,
it was here, because after fifty it's all over. And
I remember hearing that probably fifty times, and I'm saying, hello, negative,
what the heck? I'm a character, right, A character is
not gonna work forever. And I swear to god, I
was like, did that thought virus infiltrate my subconscious mind
(38:18):
could get out? But after fifty ish fifty five ish,
it definitely slows down. It definitely does. And I was
never the dynamo. I'm gonna get my own thing going.
I'm gonna I'm always so distracted, I'm so add and
I have a carousel going in my head. Very hard
to pin me down. I'm like, oh no, really, if
you look back, I could have done it really differently
(38:40):
and been much more aggressive. I don't like that.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
And it sounds like you have a bunch of other
stuff that you love doing in your yeah time and
energy into Yeah.
Speaker 5 (38:48):
I'm just going where you feel like it was like
that started naturally close down. I'm open to that, you
know what I'm saying. Yeah, so we'll see.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Yeah, you are an inspiration killed this episode and you
are so wonderful for taking the time out of your
life and bringing out so lucky, So lucky.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
I was super shocked and excited when they said you
were going to be the guest, because I was like, oh,
we're not going to be a ready to get her.
And then all of a sudden they were like, Okay,
this episode, Cynthia's gonna be there, and I was like what.
Speaker 5 (39:22):
I was so happy. We were so happy, thrill and
you guys are so great on the show, and your
love for each other just just so infectious and it
makes people want to come and listen.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Good, oh good, Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
I always say I did this podcast because it would
force Cameron hang out with me, like at least for
however many episodes we have a season.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
I love it so much.
Speaker 3 (39:44):
Like Cynthia Stevenson, you are the greatest. Thank you for
doing this. I'm glad you SiO. Thanks for listening. Here
we are at season three of Unpacking the Toolbox and
next up episode three oh four titled say Hello to
My Little Friend.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
What from that's from Scarf?
Speaker 5 (40:00):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (40:00):
Thank you god?
Speaker 2 (40:02):
But check it out. So this episode is called Missus
Smith goes to Washington. Right. There was a nineteen thirty
nine Jimmy Stewart movie called Mister Smith Goes to Washington.
So I wonder if they did a play on the.
Speaker 5 (40:15):
Idea of that movie. And then they did, right, yeah,
so good is it?
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Really? I haven't seen it now. I think Claude Rains
is in it and and Stuart.
Speaker 5 (40:26):
Like I said, amazing and weirdly, here's a fun fact.
My uncle I met and worked with Jimmy Stewart for
like a decade. He was who was a fundraiser for
some I think it was muscular dystrophe or something, and said,
Jimmy Stewart was the chose to be the face of that,
the celebrity face.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
And he said, I'm the biggest Jimmy Stewart fan. I can't,
I can't. I love so much much.
Speaker 5 (40:49):
Said he's kinder than we could ever imagine.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
Really, Oh, I love that.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
I love that. Cynthia Stevenson, we love you, rip to
your amazing character.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
Yes, thank you guys for joining us on Unpacking the Toolbox.
If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, share with your friends, rate,
or leave us a review.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
Scandal is executive produced by Sandy Bailey, Alex Alcea, Lauren Homan,
Tyler Klang and Gabrielle Collins. Our producer and editor is
Vince de Johnny, with music by Chad Fisher.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
Scandal is a production of ABC Signature, and you can
follow along by rewatching Scandal on Hulu.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
Unpacking the Toolbox is a production of Shondaland Audio in
partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, visit
the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you subscribe to your favorite shows.
Unpacking the Toolbox is a production of Shondaland Audio in
partnership with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Scams and Katie.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
G k Gee. The strike has is over.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
The strike is over, and the deal has been ratified.
We are free to go and be thesbians again.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Wesian are available for employment, and we are available to
talk about more and more scam Toolbox but also which
we already know because we're on episode three, but it
can never be discussed enough because we're fucking stoked.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Thank god we have Unpacking the Toolbox because now I
don't see you on the strike lines, I know, and
this is where I see your sexy face. Yes, hey, hey,
what's up baby? Second season of Unpacking the Toolbox, which like,
thank god, what are you wearing today?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Honey, I'm wearing a T shirt with an angry black cat.
See him? He's cool? Huh. I don't know what the
words is. Oh, that's good.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yeah, the sag actors did not rebel because we ratified
the contract.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Also, I'm still looking at your adorable faith with the
nose ring that you have, and I still really want
to get it.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Oh, dude, let me know. I'll take you me and
Katie live eight minutes away from each other, and I
found this amazing tattoo slash piercing place and he's like
a master piercer. It didn't hurt at all. I'm the
biggest chicken.
Speaker 5 (01:55):
Shit.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I have a ton of tattoos and they've all hurt.
But the septum piercing did not hurt at all. So
if you're ever down to get it and look and
then you can make it. We forget a job which
you and it's gone your booge stupid. Yeah, I can't
do it right now, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
That in my life. I've never called it that in
my life. I'm disgusted with myself.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Look and now it's gone.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
See and you can feel weird?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
No, not at all, you don't even feel it.
Speaker 3 (02:25):
What'd you eat today? What'd you eat today today?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
For breakfast? I had a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream
cheese because my stomach has been a little bit, a
little bit upset these last few days, so I didn't
want to do my normal celery and parsley and lime
juice every morning.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I just need to lay down a layer of carbs.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Well.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
For breakfast, I had just a power bar, which is
pretty lame. I've been in a rush children at the
time of this recording. It's the holidays and everything is insane,
but life stops for the guests that we have today.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Uh, one of my favorites, one of my favor guest
stars in episode three oh three, she shines her light
for us, and she's just amazing.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
She's just a tried and true journey woman of an actress,
like she just has been on everything, comedies, dramas, film,
TV shows, you name it, maybe some horror movies.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
What what was that again?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
She's amazing and she so lovingly has agreed to come
on and be our guest today for episode three or three.
It is the one, It is the only. Yes, Steve, Yeah,
First of all, it's amazing to see you again. I
am such a fan.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
I don't I don't think either one of us worked
with you actually in person in the episode except for
Caring right.
Speaker 5 (03:45):
Yeah. It was so weird that I didn't get to
connect with you guys, because you you know, when you're
doing that part, like that emotional part, like.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
When you're like the guest star of the episode and
the entire story revolves around you. A lot of times
you have more heavy lifting than the lead actors do,
Like you're the entire episode. You work every day and
have to go through all these emotional huge swings.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
Oh my god, kiddie. And also you know, because we've
done it, Like when it's your family, it's your show,
it's your show, You're like, yeah, it's the weird an.
You had to be invited to the wedding.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
You always feel like you have to prove something right
as the guests start, You're like, I gotta be the
best and be off book.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
Intruding somehow. I'm like always feel like, oh I'm talking
too much or oh I'm talking too little.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Oh me too. We all do that shit. But you know, punning,
don you killed it in this episode?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Killed it the bomb strap to you. I want to
hear about Wait was there an audition? We have so
many questions and listeners, we've already jumped into this. It's
just like you, how is your scandal paced? Do you
remember having to do talk really quick on this?
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Who's terrifying? So in the last part of that episode,
there was a lot there was a little not a monologue,
but like some dialogue that they cut out because I
think I wasn't doing this fettle face.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
No, oh my god. No, you know how many monologues
and pieces that we had that they cut out. It's
mostly for timing or just didn't you know, work with
the story. We had shit cut out all the time.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
You don't even know how many times Tom Veriko would
come to work and say, just delivered the episode and
it's eighteen minutes over.
Speaker 5 (05:29):
Like no, no, yes, yes, because you guys could not
have spoken any faster your whole rhythm. So you must
have been so exhausted at the end of this run
because you're on a treadmill at highest speed all the time.
And all the emotional journeys you guys took, none of
them are casual. None of them were like this episode
what you guys were going through.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
You know what it was, Cynthia. The worst part after
finishing with this series, when the series ended is we
me and Katie spoke at least I know because Katie's
talked about it too. We just talked so fast that
our next auditions and our next projects that the direct
would be like, you need to slow down, and we're like,
what are you going down?
Speaker 5 (06:04):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I still have that problem I do too.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
Yeah, funny you got tightened up internally like you're nervous,
is yes? No, I totally get it.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Yeah, for all of you listeners, just to catch you up. Obviously,
it already feels like me, Cynthia and g our family
the last three minutes and it feels like forever in
a good way. I hope that came out.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I feel like a good aim, of course.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
But we are going to read real quick that we're
talking about episode three oh three, which was entitled Wow,
I think cultivated.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
It was entitled to shit. It was titled and entitled Yes'
character was definitely a title.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Missus Smith Goes to Washington, which aired on October seventeenth
in twenty thirteen. It was written by.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Maddy Bird and directed by Janeaul's Wark, who is one
of our one of our directors who who directed a
bunch of episodes.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Yes, he directed a bunch of episodes, and he's directed
a bunch of Gray's Anatomis too, and I believe Private Practice.
He's a Shondaland All star and a real character, a real.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Character, and he directed Jaws two f y.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Put that in your pipe and smoke it. The episode
is guest starring the one and Only Cynthia Stephenson as
Mary ness Bit who we have? It was also starring
Mark Moses as Congressman Jim Struthers and Ernie Hudson Yes Wow,
as FBI Commander Randolph Bowles. Cynthia, do you want to
(07:35):
take a Do you have this synopsis up in front
of you? If you don't, I wish that's okay. I'm
like you, grandmother, You're most Look, most people have never
done any of them before.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
We've been doing this for so long, and I still
will text Katie and be like Katie, can you like
send me that link? I don't know what to do.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Also, we had like Deborah Mooney on.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Who played Judge Brenda Thornton on the show, and she
her camera was like just like from her eyes and
her forehead and that was it.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
And she was doing the episode.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
But she was amazing. She was great, all right? So
should I give it? Should I start it off?
Speaker 5 (08:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (08:14):
Rock it out, be a little dirty, but not too dirty.
You're welcome, Hulu.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
As most of the OPA team takes on a new client,
a mother seeking justice for her murdered son, Huck has
see I already screwed it up. Take two, as most
of the OPA team takes on a new client, a
mother seeking justice for her murdered son. Huck has a
mission of his own track down and kill pop a Pope,
but two twists interrupt everyone's plans.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
The grieving mother plans to blow up part of the
White House, and Eli Pope knew Huck was coming. Oh shit,
Oh yeah, yeah, we did not getting highed. We're not
getting hired. The grieving mother plans to blow up part
of the White House, and Eli Pope knew Huck was
following him. Olivia gets herself in the middle of Olivia
gets herself in the middle of the hostas negotiation over
(08:58):
an ultra high security dot that leads to a tragic ending.
You know what, we wouldn't have booked the job. You
wouldn't have.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Booked, But give us a couple of minutes reading that over,
we would have had it down. We would have had
it down.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
So, Cynthia, can you take us into had you seen
scandal before? Did you audition for the part where you
offered the part because you fancy tell us how you
got here?
Speaker 5 (09:25):
So this was so funny to me. Every summer we
go to this cabin way up in northern California in
the woods. My grandparents built it in the fifties. It's
a little red cabin with yellow shutters. It's like walking
into a story book. It's so great. And there's no
internet there, so whenever we go, you're just fully unplugged. Right,
So it does jealous, I know, it's so heaven. So
(09:47):
we're there or at the river, and we do have
a landline and the phone or whatever. The phone rings.
I'm like, oh, what is that?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
What is that?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
The dairy?
Speaker 5 (09:57):
So I answered it and it's my manager, God love him,
sweetest mallin earth, Kelly Garner, the greatest guy. And he goes, Cynthia,
I'm sending you something. And I said, I'm at the river.
He goes, I'm sending you something and you have to
get in your car and I have to drive four
miles to get internet. Right, He goes, get in your
car and drive to the it's called the dry yards.
Get to the dry yards and read this thing that
(10:18):
I sent you. And I go, what is it? He goes,
I'm not telling you. I want you to just open
it and read it. So I go, but I'm at
the river. He goes, just get in a car. So
I four miles to the dryards. I opened it the
link and I had I have watched the show. I
was a huge.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Mantain, oh nice, I have.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Goosebumps while I'm telling you this. So I start reading it,
and you know what it is. I'm reading it. I'm like,
oh my god, oh my god, this is a huge
Oh my god. When I get to the end, he
burst out crying. I start just crawling. What And so
then I'm alone in my car and I go, I
don't think I can do that. Har they made a mistake.
It was an offer, and I'm.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Like, it's oh my god.
Speaker 5 (11:01):
No. At the time, this is your magical realm of
Shondaland had already been a guest on her show Off
the Map, so I'd done yes, Yeah, and an episode
of Grays and a private practice, then Scandal, and then
after Scandal, I went to do How to Get Away
with Murder a little arc on that.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
So, oh my god, Aynthia, you are yes, you are
a beloved. You are part of the shop.
Speaker 5 (11:24):
The team right, like they're just so wonderful. Yeah. I
call him for myself and I go and I said, Kelly,
I don't know. You just shut your mouth and if
you don't get your ass back down to town, I'm
gonna drive up there and I want to.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
I love your manager's so great.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Did you have to cancel your trip?
Speaker 5 (11:44):
I think we cut it short a little bit, and
that's why he was like, oh, well you have to
leave the river jut down here.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Isn't that old, doesn't it? That always happened. I remember
being Inwai in Hawaii for one of my best friend's
weddings and I had to leave early because I booked
like a Law and Order episode. That that's been like
our lives so.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
Long, right, just like okay, yeah, all the actors listening there,
it's like book a trip, book a job, like no
one will want you in the minute you actually spend
money to leave town and do something else is when
Hollywood will get It's because I need a.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Job, yes, is yeah in the universe is like.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
Hey, cool guy, Hey cool girl, here's your job.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
So do you remember like you're fitting with Lynn Pollo
or like first coming on too Saturday to prepare for
the role, were you nervous to work with Carrie?
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Like tell us all of them, I'm always I literally
am the most If you know what HSPs are I
highly sense to your person. I'm like, my son, is
that tweeked up to the max? So I'm always like,
oh god, what's happening. It's just so much craziness. So
and everybody's so lovely. And the other thing about your
show is that season three, right, so everyone's comfortable. Yeah,
(12:51):
you guys were all the cool people at the reunion. Yeah, yeah,
betting super casual. And then the prop guy came in
to the wardrobe fitting and here prompt man was so
sweet and he was so excited about that best right, like.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It was probably George George.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
It had to be George, and George props, he's the
bast You've taken so.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
Much pride in it, and it was incredible. So he
came into the wardrobe fitting to see how it fit
over the blouse, and yes, they were all excited about it,
and so I'm like, that was super cool. And then
I remember in the makeup and the hair and makeup,
I think Carrie wasn't there yet, the Bellamy, who had
never met before. So here comes this amazing angel person
and she's like, yeah, I was all my nervous craziness
(13:38):
just disappeared in an instant. She was like, you're got
kill it. You're killing you crazy weirdo. You're gonna be
like with that ball of just kindness and amazing, you
can't be nervous anymore. But I don't think I met Carrie.
I don't think i'd met her until Oh, I guess
it was our little thing in your office, in the office,
the scene in the office, and that was oh so
(14:01):
much to do. And I remember she kept carrying around
her huge blinder.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Oh yeah, oh my god, we even talked about that
yet on this podcast. Yeah, Carrie Washington's nerd ass binder.
Speaker 5 (14:13):
I looked at her blinder and I actually got a
stomach ache. I was like, oh god, I remember what she.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Would be memorizing lines for like the next episode while
she was memory while she was doing the scenes for
the episode we were shooting.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
She would take down an entire tree of post it
notes through the binder, color coded what was shooting, what
she had memorized, what she hadn't learned yet, what the
long like, how things connected to each other.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Crazy. We'll be right back guys.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Now, you've been a lead of so many shows. What's
so amazing about you is like you are so versatile
in I mean, you carry sitcoms.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Really quickly too. I love horror movies and I had
not ever seen a horror movie that that Cynthia had
had been in called Jennifer's Body, and I just watched
it like last night.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
This is Ghermo Diaz six Degrees of Horror. Every episode
we relate some shit to horror. We got.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Cynthia Stevenson was in one of the best freaking horror
movies written by Diablo Cody, who was an amazing writer.
That writer was gonna was in the midst of writing
Madonna's script about her life that Madonna's gonna direct, and
then something happened and she has a different writer.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Now Giermo's life has two lanes horror, yeah, Donna, yes.
And so Diablo Cody and Cynthia Stevenson are meeting at
the crux of horror and this is big for Gharamo.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
And Cynthia plays Chip's mom who provides him with a
spray that says something pink on it, which he uses
or the other character uses to spray like the woman
that's possessed by all this devil stuff. Anyway, you were
so funny, so lovely, in that movie, and the movie
was so good. But then today this morning, I watched
A thirty nine, which is another horror movie that Cynthia's
(16:04):
in with Renees Eliger and Bradley Cooper.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
Cynthia, see, I have a hard fast rule. I do
not watch horror. I do not like it. I only
hear about it all.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
And thank goodness, like in all of those things that
you're referencing, I didn't have to do the horrory part
of it.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
You didn't, Yes, for those of you listening and that
don't have a computer in front of you to know
every single thing that Cynthia has been in, which is insane,
and of course why you would get a straight offer
on Scandal and be on every single Chondalin show. But
it's like, it's unbelievable. It's like my talk show, Bob
Hope and Gloria Oh Baby, Robert Altman's film The Player,
(16:44):
Forget Paris Home for the Holidays, Air Bud Golden Receiver.
I mean, come on, Agent Cody Banks, dead like me,
Men and Trees. I mean, your career is ridiculous, and
you're so versatile between comedy drama, Like there's really movies
film like the TV. There's nothing you can do.
Speaker 5 (17:01):
And hey, what about IMDb, you guys, I gotta say
I go on IMDb for a million years now and
it says my tashow various episodes.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Are you kidding?
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Yeah, it won't change it. And it says I'm sixty.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
It says you're six feet tall. What fucking forty two?
I'm forty one.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
It brings up it actually says I'm younger. So I'm
not mad at IMDb, but I'm mad that it says
that I was born and raised in New Jersey. Now
that's worse than being six feet tall and being forty two.
It says I'm from fucking Jersey. No, no offense from Jersey.
I do love Jersey Jersey. But you're from fucking watching Manhattan.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Yeah, and it's culturally such a huge part of who
you are. That's so muched up.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
But you're right, Cify, it's so hard to get things
changed on the it's ridiculous.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
You can't, guys. So you say this, look what your
show gave you.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Best friend, right, Yes, yes, that's so true.
Speaker 5 (17:59):
One of the greatest of all time. And I will
say this that so many people could not have done,
never could they have done your roles? Going back to
you sang listen to your silvers, you too, come on.
Your storylines were insane, and.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
You were so they were insane, amazing, We were so lucky.
Speaker 5 (18:15):
When did I feel like you were outside of it?
You just you can't or you can't do it.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
Yeah, but that's the way I felt watching this episode
with you. I was like, I could not imagine anyone
else doing that part. You were so emotionally available, and
you talked a little bit about being that person that
sort of feels everything, and so I'm sure that helped
playing this character. You were just so there. Man.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
In real life, I have one son, so of course
I was using.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Oh my god, I was going to ask, how did
you prepare? Like what do you do for that stuff?
Speaker 5 (18:48):
Do you guys do this? So when I was reading
it in the dry yards way back and like I'm
at the river, I was reading it and I knew
immediately she's a single mother. The husband had left many
years before. She raised her son alone, and she I
don't know why the song him to me in a
giant flood. And she's a home ch teacher, she taught
home ex she was just a teacher.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
She's just oh my god, I'm chilled Midwest.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
Woman and her whole life was her son. That's all
she had and that was enough. And so when that happened,
I remember saying, as that character, I can't live with it.
I can't, So I don't. I didn't know it's the character.
I was going to do what I did at the
end of the episode until I get the news from Carrie.
But it's like my whole was done. Yeah, it was heartbreading.
So that was a good place to go all during
(19:29):
the episode when you have to stay in that place,
right and it it made me go insane. Remember when
she says like he's just been laying in the morgue and.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Not oh yeah unclaimed, Yeah yeah.
Speaker 5 (19:41):
Yeah, just begune unraveling.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Can I ask you something selfishly and then we'll talk
a little bit more about the episode. But because we
didn't get to be with you, did you do you
like not socialized? You like listen to music and like
an iPod? Do you like? I mean, I'm gil I
have tried so many different things when she's not there,
and I'm like, oh, hey, let's just think about if
something really fucking bad happened to my mom or like
whatever bring And then I'm like the biggest person for that.
(20:09):
What were your tips and tricks for this episode or
for all the other stuff you've done.
Speaker 5 (20:14):
I do the same thing for all the time. And
I had this wonderful teacher who actually is still teaching
in la Ian Tucker. He's amazing, and he always says,
always keep your character here. Then when you're rolling, it
counts here. Put it right here.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Oh wow, for those of you guys listening, she's putting
like her character sits on her shoulder, sits on your shoulder,
and then when they call action, they move from your
shoulder into you. Is that what you're kind of meaning?
Speaker 5 (20:41):
Because think of us walking into an audition room, which
now at ZUM we don't really have to do it anymore,
but you walk in, hey, and sometimes your character is
so far away that when it becomes time to like
here's my moline, you start reading, you're like, oh, picture,
our character is writing in with us, we're chatting, we're us,
we're not so crazy that and then it's just only
(21:01):
got this distance to travel, and then you're right there.
It gets harder when there's something really emotional right, and
so much easier on a sitcom that you're like, it's
all just light, yea, But to keep that character close.
I also don't ever want to do a job. But
please don't talk to me. Please call Meveut my character name.
Oh god, but you're just you keep that kind of
(21:23):
energetically really close to your heart and don't get so
far away they actually think. I remember a couple of
times saying to Mark, who I was just pouring on
that venom too. I said, I'm so sorry, I'm really
hateful to you. I just hate you. My character hates
you so much, and he goes, oh, it's okay, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Mark moses gentlemen that plays the Congress, Yeah, yeah, yes, yes, yes,
you know yeah. I feel like Katie is the complete
opposite Katie. We've talked about this before. We'll be cracking up,
talking a mile a minute, telling a story about what
happened the night before. And as they're saying Rolling, she's
(22:01):
still talking, and the directors already knew once scandal. They
were like, just keep calling Rolling, slate, rolling, and when
she hears action, she snaps right into it.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
I can totally see you doing that. I love that.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Yeah, she can do that, and then she she still
does a kick ass job.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
I mean I probably do better if I like took
my ship more. Seriously, I just love everybody so much.
Being on set is so fun with being all the people.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
See Katie, that's your magic.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And I want to eat my snacks and I want
to you know, like.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
And then you want to get into the same Yeah,
that's that's a huge skill. So don't ever say, oh,
you're in it.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
We will be back with more after the break. This
episode there we always have like some uh some Kerry
Washington School of acting moments or word for words like
monologues that knocked your socks off or made us go
holy shit Sean Rimes and these writers are unfreaking believable.
(23:03):
And this episode, that Melly speech at the end with
the accent, I mean, I I cannot. Also, I think
this is the second or third time she's called Olivia
popehor but I never get I never am born of it.
Speaker 5 (23:19):
I love.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
So oh my god, it's hilarious, like, oh my god,
Matt Burne wrote this episode. But I just can't, like,
we never heard I think, you know, if Olivia Pope died.
It would be so bad, because it would be she says, spectacular.
But you can't compete with religious fervor. So no, I'm
(23:42):
not hoping that she would be blown up today. Tell
us your other acting favorite moments of the app.
Speaker 5 (23:49):
For me, I think it was when Melly looked right
at me and said, you shut up.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
It was so great, Yes, you shut up. Oh my god,
that was so good.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Melly might be the winner of this app. It's a
tie for me between Melly and between Mary nest Bit.
Speaker 5 (24:04):
Well, no, but you had had some She walks into
the office and you're just sitting there. You were so
scary in.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
That episode, you guys. This was the This was around
the time. Do you guys remember the grumpy Cat meme
that was going around. This is the episode that people
started posting that meme with my face in this scene.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
In that scene, I am dead.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
With grumpy Cat.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
But your whole journey in that episode is so heartbreaking.
When he walks out of the trailer and you just
have the gun right in his head. Oh my god,
there's so much.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
This is also the episode where Sion knows Wark our
director first came up to me after I we did
the first take of that scene where carry walks into
the office and he came up to me and he said, yes,
you're too maniacal, Yes you're too it's too much. And
I was like, oh my, okay, okay, because we have
(25:02):
to keep going.
Speaker 5 (25:03):
So then when you were when she cradles you and
you're crying, yeah, and then it just flashed back to
all the time you were in the box.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
Was such a wounded wound.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
I loved doing this episode for me. The king of
this episode, of course Cynthia, I mean with her performance, yes,
But secondly, is freaking baby Teddy in that opening scene
where I have never seen a baby on screen give
less than any fucks before in my life. He was slept.
(25:36):
He was leaning on one one hand with a look
like I don't know what the hell I'm doing. He
looked like he was sixty five.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
Years old, I'll give And they kept putting.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Like food on his face. You could tell because in
different takes there'd be more food or less, and he
just had this look like, get me the fuck out
of continuity.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Must have had a real heyday.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
He wasn't like the guying and like he was just
like he was like staring.
Speaker 5 (26:04):
With disdain at both of them, like, really, this is parents.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
I felt bad for baby Teddy because Baby Teddy was
a set of twin girls I'm pretty sure, and they
just had kept having Baby Teddy girls in and cutting
her hair short like a boy.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah, when he was really young, it was too. It
was twin girls, and then when he was older. I
think it was too at some point.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
But you know, G and I love food and our
favorite acting on cameras when anyone eats, And so of
course maybe baby Teddy is the winner since he is
crushing baby food. Not the best acting.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
He was amazing at the acting, but he was terrible
at the eating because he wasn't his mouth was shut. Clothes,
you just have food smeared on um.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
He must have eaten in like other takes, Like he
must have liked, you know what I mean, Like he
must have like I don't know what went down, but
it didn't really work, and I thought it was very distracting.
But I do think that he might be and winner.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
I think he's a king actor in this episode for sure,
and Cynthia is the queen that works. Another moment is
when Carrie is on the phone at the end of
the episode when you guys you still have the bomb
and she's talking to fits and she turns away from you, Cynthia,
and you could see it all on her face, and
she says, don't make me do this, and she and
(27:22):
then she turns back to you and just oh my god.
It was just so full of emotion and so heartbreaking.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
I decided that she was a princess, and I crazy,
she's like a princess. She's like a princess, and she's
going to save me. Yeah, my character fell in love
with her and she was my safe.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
You could feel that, Yeah, I could feel that watching it.
Speaker 3 (27:44):
Yeah, we also have to add to the ah, we
have body count to add in this. We have some
death to add to the ever loving scandal body count,
which is sadly nessa Congressman, Jim Struthers.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
And then Peter Poster, the.
Speaker 3 (28:07):
White House intruder, and then yeah, hey.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
Episode three, three deaths. There's some good syncretis.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Oh wow, Yeah, the Trinity.
Speaker 5 (28:16):
You have to tell this story to remember so at
the end that what you just referenced caver where Tony
Goldwin has a giant two page monologue talking to and
her phone and I remember saying, how are they going
to do that? Did they recorded or is it God forbid?
The script supervisor, which thank so I remember on the
night because it was really late when we shot that.
I look over, I go what because he wasn't on
(28:37):
the call sheet, Tony wasn't on the cauchet, and there
he is sitting on the floor and he came he said, oh, yeah,
I was having dinner with my wife, but I wanted
to come in for Carrie. And that's when I said, Okay,
this show.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Is yes forever. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
He shot that scene at one o'clock in the morning,
So line huge monologue into a phone call scene, which
is how you know they took those phone calls very soon.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
We would do that all the time, Katie right. They
would give us a heads up and be like, hey,
you have a phone call with Carrie or with Katie
or whoever, and we would make ourselves available to actually
get on the phone while they were shooting the scene
and do the scene with them, or we would come
to set. There were a couple of times I came
to set, or if we were already on set, of
course we would do it and just actors listening.
Speaker 5 (29:19):
That's really unusual. A lot of the time, that's when
there's just oh yeah, support and that's the way it
should be, right, but it isn't.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
A lot of the time, and sometimes it is Oh yeah,
that's definitely how you do your best act that's a
really good point to bring up, and that I love them.
They yeah, that's really really nice.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
I did a move a big movie once and I
did most of my scenes with the actors stand in.
We would do all his stuff and then not the
whole movie. But like like I remember like two or
three like big scenes, and I ended up with doing
all my coverage with his stand in, and I was like,
this is so weird, this is shitty. But yeah, it's
not the norm to be there for your actor when
(29:59):
you're not in the actual scening or just on the
phone or whatever.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
To you for doing that, because it's really hard. It's
really hard cameras in your face. Yes, So even if
you're your partner's there for you, which the perfect world
they are, but when they're not, that's really tough on
them and great on you that you could do it.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (30:18):
Real.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Although I feel like I've had some of my best
acting moments acting with like a tennis ball. There were
times where I had to act with just the actor
couldn't physically be there or they were like off to
the side, and I was like, this is the best
work on this tennis ball.
Speaker 5 (30:33):
Even more.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Yeah, because sometimes you can look in the eyes of
the other acting you could see them being like, oh God,
what am I going to have for lung?
Speaker 3 (30:41):
And one of the biggest hardest monologues I ever had
with an actress who will remain unnamed, and she may
or may not be a part of sand Land, but
we're going to leave it at that, and so all
you listeners can guess, but I'm not going to say
who it is. I do this like massive monologue and
like there wasn't nobody home, like nobody was listening, nothing
(31:02):
behind the eyes, nothing behind the eyes. And I was like,
this person is so bored and I am sobbing I
am having to go there and she does. I'll never
forget it, Like I'll never forget it. I'm like, oh
my god, this person like I'm either terrible or like
they don't care or I mean they're sick. I don't know,
(31:24):
but I Cynthia, do you have any like horror stories
in your long career.
Speaker 5 (31:32):
Again, I won't name I won't name them. I was doing.
I was doing a guest part that I was like, okay,
I wasn't super excited and literally like a cartoon. Her
off camera for me was this, no.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
Freaking nails, put the.
Speaker 5 (31:51):
Nail file in her pocket and then pulled her phone out. No, like.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
That person should be fineired.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Oh my god.
Speaker 5 (32:01):
My thing about where is that? It's not our job
as the guest. It certainly isn't. I don't want to
stand there and make a big scene on someone else's show.
But the producer needs to step It needs to happen
because young people just sometimes don't know. You think, where
are you?
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Cynthia? Was Was it a show where it was an
established show? Was it like successful? And she was like the.
Speaker 5 (32:21):
Least, she's a really good actress.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
She was really really amazing.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Yeah what wow, I am wasting all my energy off camera,
really holding up. I should just be filing my fucking
nails and checking my phone so that when it turns
to me, I'm full of energy and rare into go
because I've given them nothing.
Speaker 5 (32:42):
Oh no, you're doing it because it's a gift. It's
the gift that you want to give and you want
to give her. That's the drug. A huge piece the
joy of creating this family and creating this altered world,
which is so magical, amazing.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
I am in to know who this person is. We
finished recording, we will all name name.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Oh my god, we have also were you on Twitter
at this time? Or you are you on Twitter?
Speaker 5 (33:12):
God? I am like, I'm like the character in Downton Abbey,
was it Maggie Smith who comes to goes, Oh, these lights,
this is never gonna last. The vapors.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
Good for you.
Speaker 5 (33:20):
I'm the most untechnological person on earth. And the thought
of to live tweeting. I never because talk about my
characters here. Mary nesmdn't tweet. I can't. It's too far
for me to go. I can't go out.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Yeah, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (33:33):
No, you're not wrong. We read some Scandaled tweets of
the time and they're kind of like a real nice
time capsule for us to see what people thought of
the episode. There's some wow, oh I forgot about this line.
Kevin Costly, who oh my gosh, worked on Scandal in
(33:55):
publicity at Kevin Costly on October eighteenth, tweeted now we've
got a bimbo on the loose. Happy graduation hashtag Melly
Grant greeting cards hashtag scandal at bellmy Young So people
were making all of these like leading cards that had
Mellie's official photo on it. So it was a happy
graduation photo, but it said, now we've got a bimbo
on the loose. I'm dead, okay.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
At Scandal Feelings tweeted, I think we'll need further inspection
to tell how presidential his balls are hashtag oops, hashtag
that slip, hashtag scandal.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
So women love that Tony goldwin Man, so women behave
like absolute imbeciles around him? Yes. At Joe Morton tweeted
work unfortunately or fortunately, Oh happy birthday, big Daddy Rowan.
What does a head honcho do for his birthday? I
guess maybe it was Joe. Was it Joe's birthday?
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Joe Morton's. Maybe? I don't know.
Speaker 5 (34:52):
I don't try to kill tried to kill him.
Speaker 2 (34:55):
I tried to kill him. That's right, that's right.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
Oh yeah. The other thing is at. Brown Eyed Girl
twenty three tweeted the Disney Studio lot is again showing
some love to add scandal and at Once upon a Time.
So this was at the time, and there's a picture
of up on the ABC a lot of the poster
of Lana Parrilla, who's me and Giermo's friend played the
Wicked Witch. It's her face up behind an apple on
(35:18):
the What's upon a Time poster and then carry's I
mean gorgeous face, I mean her face on those posters.
Are you joking? It'd be like her lips, her eyeball,
her nine, her profile, her dead on center, and all
of it was perfection and you could never get Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Oh damn. Trish tweeted, I'm scared of Hawk hashti scandal. Awesome,
anybody calls me hawk? That's a fan of scandal?
Speaker 3 (35:40):
Wait, what does it hawk? By the way, it's a
very cool name. It's a very cool name.
Speaker 5 (35:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
Yeah, oh, someone tweeted at Anna. Labor eighty seven tweeted
watching hashtag scandal again, OMG, Melly and then quotations you
shut up. So that moment that you always talked about
really it really affected with the people even of the time.
Speaker 5 (36:00):
I forgot to tell you guys this, So this is
another so crazy thing. So in the room where when
I'm holding the hostage and they're saying, what do we
do blah blah blah. Tony Goldland's characters and they're the
presidents having his briefing with like, how are we going
to get this crazy woman? Either my oldest friend Cheryl Bricker,
who I met when I first moved to LA in
nineteen eighty whatever. She plays one of the people and
one of her lines, oh no, wait, pumping some gas.
(36:22):
So we watched the episode together and we were laughing.
I was like, you were trying to kill me all
I was trying to do it?
Speaker 2 (36:27):
Oh my god, Waite.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
Are you guys good friends now or you had run
into or you were.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
I don't get to see herzona because I don't live
in LA anymore, but she's one of my oldest friends.
She's amazing. She's a wonderful actress, and she had more
dialogue in Their Worse you know.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
But did you know that she had booked the job
or were on set? How did that happen?
Speaker 5 (36:46):
Yeah? We were just talking and I said, oh, gosh,
you know, I just got this offer on Scandal and
I'm so excited. She was like, what really, I'm going
to be on that? Like that really?
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Oh my God, where are you, Cynthia? Do you where
do you live in.
Speaker 5 (36:58):
Tucson, Arizona?
Speaker 2 (36:59):
Oh? Wow, don't ask me.
Speaker 5 (37:01):
Why spirits just let us here for some crazy reason.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Oh man, do you do you ever watch Long Island
Medium a lot about Spirits. She always refers to it
as spirit and I mean, so every time you say that,
it reminds me.
Speaker 3 (37:12):
We love the Long Island Medium. We love it so much.
Wait tuson Arizona. Do you love it?
Speaker 5 (37:18):
We've been here almost two years. I like it. I'm
not sure. The deserts in tenth California. We're in a desert,
but we don't feel that we're in the desert right right.
It's cool. There's it's actually really cool. There's a huge
music seeing here, really interesting quirky art, cool street fairs,
(37:38):
and it's got a cool life to it. I'm still
not ground.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Just figuring it out.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
What do you do like for auditions? Of course you
do a remotely. You'll just audition remotely and then if
you book something, you'll get to LA and order wherever
it's shooting.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
Ye.
Speaker 2 (37:53):
Yeah, has that been challenging at all?
Speaker 5 (37:55):
Or? I mean my careers I remember being my twenties.
You guys and meeting much older women and they'd say, I, well,
it was here, because after fifty it's all over. And
I remember hearing that probably fifty times, and I'm saying, hello, negative,
what the heck? I'm a character, right, A character is
not gonna work forever. And I swear to god, I
was like, did that thought virus infiltrate my subconscious mind
(38:18):
could get out? But after fifty ish fifty five ish,
it definitely slows down. It definitely does. And I was
never the dynamo. I'm gonna get my own thing going.
I'm gonna I'm always so distracted, I'm so add and
I have a carousel going in my head. Very hard
to pin me down. I'm like, oh no, really, if
you look back, I could have done it really differently
(38:40):
and been much more aggressive. I don't like that.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
And it sounds like you have a bunch of other
stuff that you love doing in your yeah time and
energy into Yeah.
Speaker 5 (38:48):
I'm just going where you feel like it was like
that started naturally close down. I'm open to that, you
know what I'm saying. Yeah, so we'll see.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Yeah, you are an inspiration killed this episode and you
are so wonderful for taking the time out of your
life and bringing out so lucky, So lucky.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
I was super shocked and excited when they said you
were going to be the guest, because I was like, oh,
we're not going to be a ready to get her.
And then all of a sudden they were like, Okay,
this episode, Cynthia's gonna be there, and I was like what.
Speaker 5 (39:22):
I was so happy. We were so happy, thrill and
you guys are so great on the show, and your
love for each other just just so infectious and it
makes people want to come and listen.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Good, oh good, Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
I always say I did this podcast because it would
force Cameron hang out with me, like at least for
however many episodes we have a season.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
I love it so much.
Speaker 3 (39:44):
Like Cynthia Stevenson, you are the greatest. Thank you for
doing this. I'm glad you SiO. Thanks for listening. Here
we are at season three of Unpacking the Toolbox and
next up episode three oh four titled say Hello to
My Little Friend.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
What from that's from Scarf?
Speaker 5 (40:00):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (40:00):
Thank you god?
Speaker 2 (40:02):
But check it out. So this episode is called Missus
Smith goes to Washington. Right. There was a nineteen thirty
nine Jimmy Stewart movie called Mister Smith Goes to Washington.
So I wonder if they did a play on the.
Speaker 5 (40:15):
Idea of that movie. And then they did, right, yeah,
so good is it?
Speaker 2 (40:21):
Really? I haven't seen it now. I think Claude Rains
is in it and and Stuart.
Speaker 5 (40:26):
Like I said, amazing and weirdly, here's a fun fact.
My uncle I met and worked with Jimmy Stewart for
like a decade. He was who was a fundraiser for
some I think it was muscular dystrophe or something, and said,
Jimmy Stewart was the chose to be the face of that,
the celebrity face.
Speaker 3 (40:44):
And he said, I'm the biggest Jimmy Stewart fan. I can't,
I can't. I love so much much.
Speaker 5 (40:49):
Said he's kinder than we could ever imagine.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
Really, Oh, I love that.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
I love that. Cynthia Stevenson, we love you, rip to
your amazing character.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
Yes, thank you guys for joining us on Unpacking the Toolbox.
If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, share with your friends, rate,
or leave us a review.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
Scandal is executive produced by Sandy Bailey, Alex Alcea, Lauren Homan,
Tyler Klang and Gabrielle Collins. Our producer and editor is
Vince de Johnny, with music by Chad Fisher.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
Scandal is a production of ABC Signature, and you can
follow along by rewatching Scandal on Hulu.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
Unpacking the Toolbox is a production of Shondaland Audio in
partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, visit
the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you subscribe to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Guillermo Díaz
Katie Lowes
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