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Though she’s no stand-up comedian, her love of family and food has often left us in stitches.
The latest season of the popular series shows Shirley in a way fans haven’t seen her before.
By the bedside of her husband Moishe, the emotional state she’s found herself in isn’t easy.
What was it like to film that season during a pandemic?
Well, first of all, there were lots of TV shows that had started and then shut down.
We were all guessing [when it would happen].
It was as huge as it always is.
It was frustrating and exciting.
It was so exciting to be back, but … we had to be in masks.
They had air filtration systems in these umbrellas that went over us.
They put in new air filtration systems in the studios themselves.
They did everything to keep us safe.
I don’t like pandemic acting because, as I like to say, what are the big perks?
Craft services, that’s gone, so we couldn’t eat together.
it’s possible for you to’t hang around a table opening Tootsie Rolls and talking.
That’s all over.
And companionship [was changed].
I won’t say more than that.
I used to want to know, and now I don’t want to.
Now, I like the surprise of each new episode.
When Moishe becomes ill, we see Shirley in more of an emotional state.
Did you approach playing her any differently for the finale?
No, not really.
It had been set up so well that Shirley’s heart is always in her family.
It’s just that she’s had, from her point of view, a very charmed life.
She has a loving husband and a wonderful child.
And this new world of America has been nothing but a blessing as far as she’s concerned.
No, it wasn’t.
I was so excited.
It’s really like an arranged marriage when you’re in show business.
We didn’t know we were going to be together for five years, but I was so excited.
Because he knows everything about this world.
[Laughs] It’s really been thrilling.
That’s so cool.
I didn’t realize that a lot of these people are real.
They’re all real, and they license their material.
This is really what they said at the time in the ’50s.
I found that really fascinating, because Kevin has an encyclopedic knowledge of comedy.
He’s been doing it since he was like 17-years-old.
That’s an added bonus for me.
But I know they put enormous amounts of research into this show.
Everything is so authentic.
How long does it take you to get ready to step into her shoes?
I keep thinking about the women who lived then.
Because it’s not only what you see, it’s what you don’t see.
I like to say that Shirley is always gift-wrapped: Necklace, jewelry, earrings, bracelets.
And the costume designer you hardly need to act, she’s so brilliant.
Everything is really well researched.
That’s the way women’s lives were decorative, as opposed to effective, in a certain way.
And that was a commandment, and everybody took it really, really seriously.
Donna [Zakowska, costume designer] hunts all over the world for the clothes.
All the windows were all of Maisel’s clothes, particularlyRachel [Brosnahan]’s.
All of those beautiful swing coats.
And, unbeknownst to me, Donna had created a benefit out of it.
She has to go to Europe.
It’s all been outsourced.
Watching the show makes me think about how far we’ve come just as women.
It’s wild to think about even outside of just outfits.
The attention to detail it’s exactly what you said.
What surprises me is the period of time of the show.
Now in Season 5, we’re in the early ’60s, but that was only 50 years ago.
But you also realize, “Wow.
A lot’s changed in 50 years.”
And unfortunately, we may be living through a time where it’s trying to change back.
But there has been a lot of change for women in that period of time.
And as slow as it’s been for women, it’s also been whiplash fast.
[We’re] in a generation [where] women work and get to wear pants.
Do you know what I mean?
Traditions die hard, so we’re really lucky.
Are there any of Shirley’s lines that fans refer to the most when they see you?
There are a couple of them, mostly about food.
In Season 3, when I was out on the street yelling, “I have vegetable soup!
I havethiskind of soup!
I havethatkind of soup!”
From Season 4, it’s, “Are your funnel cakes delicious?”
A friend of mine also told me that every time his mother calls, she goes, “Hello.
This is Shirley, your mother.”
That’s not her name.
[Laughs] But that seems to be one of the memes that people talk about a lot.
Amy [Sherman-Palladino, the show’s creator] taped out two sound stages to resemble Coney Island.
The camera never cut and picked up someplace else.
And then for the Wonder Wheel … Coney Island wasn’t open because of the pandemic.
But the designers were there, and they changed it into the ’50s.
[Laughs] It was just us, which was really fun.
They built one of the cars from the Wonder Wheel on a soundstage.
They built a model to scale.
We had to climb way, way, way, way up these back stairs.
They put an enormous amount of work into that.
It was really something.
And, one at a time, we sat in the car and did our lines.
It took two days.
I was screaming for two days, “Are your funnel cakes delicious?
Petey, are your funnel cakes delicious?”
And then everybody else would yell their lines at us.
It was really fun, but it was so intricate.
Just watching it, I feel that.
The attention to detail is just incredible.
I feel like it’d be phenomenal just to stand on that set and take it all in.
Yeah, it’s amazing.
[There’s] this expression, “auteurs in film.”
A teaser for Season 5
I know you are filming Season 5 right now.
Is there anything at all that you’re free to tease about it?
It’s the last season, so this isn’t a tease.
This is more, “c’mon don’t ever let this be over.
like don’t let this be over.”
All I can tell you about Season 5 is that our heroine will not give up on herself.
She continues to aspire to be able to be counted among the men as a performer.
She’s the only one, and she will not give up against great odds.
I will tell you that you will see her break through the glass ceiling a little bit.
How did you find out it was going to be ending after five seasons?
They told us before we started.
The writers, the creators are so brilliant and classy.
They don’t want to stay too long at the fair.
And they knew the story that they wanted to tell.
They kind of followed their own leads in a way.
Think about this: It’s been five seasons, and two of them were pandemic seasons.
That’s what’s so sad.
There is no filter between what she thinks and what she says, which is very freeing.
And she really doesn’t get stuck on the little things.
She is somebody who cherishes life and the people she loves.
And I’ve learned that for myself, from playing Shirley.
And she’s so much fun to watch, too.
Because she brings everybody in.
And just [for her], food is love, and love is love.
What could be better than that?
What key in of project you would love to work on once “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” wraps?
I really want to do a play.
I love to go back and forth between camera and theater.
I was just working on a new play in California.
And also, to tell women’s stories.
When I first started [acting], I wasn’t even aware of that.
I was grateful to be working.
I’m doing what I love, how exciting.
And then, as time went on, I [wondered] where are the stories about us?
They’re coming, but it’s a slow rollout.
Season 4 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"is available to stream now on Prime Video.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
