Entering back into the dating sceneafter decades away certainly isn’t easy.
It turns out that she’s also in desperate need of some guidance herself.
She was recently left by her husband, too, and is still hanging on tightly to her past.
There’s real big factors.
It came down from the side land with a strong plop.
One is: [creators] Darren Star and Jeffrey Richman.
Then it was shooting in New York City, which was fabulous for me.
Then it had Neil Patrick Harris and Tisha Campbell and all these other glorious New York actors.
Then, you read the script, and you’re like, “Okay.
Who do I have to kill?
Who do I need to shove off one of the expensive real estate buildings that we’re representing here?
Because I will do that to be in this.”
[My character, Claire] was so incredibly fun.
We’re always looking for that, and it is rare.
It’s few and far between that we find them.
It felt more fleshed out.
They weren’t afraid of it, so I could express myself, knowing what it needed to be.
It’s like a bull snorting through her horns, and it was funny.
It was so skillfully written that that stood out as different to me.
It’s liketheage, and there’s a whole anthropological theory behind that I won’t get into.
They’re met with this moment of, “I need to protect myself.”
They’re met with this opportunity to discover themselves.
I know people who are like, “I’ll never go above 14th Street.”
Oh, every one.
You don’t know them until you’re in them; you don’t know the script.
I don’t know all the episodes I’m going to be in until I’m in them.
Then you see it, and [you’re] like, “Oh, my God.
This is so great.
Oh, my gosh.
She gets to do this.
Okay, she has a sledgehammer.
Okay, I’m in.”
[Laughs] They’re fun.
It’s a gift to know someone is writing to what they perceive your skills to be.
It’s such a gift.
It’s like Neil [Patrick Harris]’s part.
Neil’s part is so finely crafted, and he delivers it so beautifully, and it looks easy.
He throws a lot of stuff away.
Brooks [Ashmanskas, who plays Stanley] does the same thing.
Tisha [Campbell, who plays Suzanne] nails everything, and she has that rhythm.
She’s all about rhythm, rhythm, rhythm, and she also makes it look easy.
It’s a gift to be able to be involved in something like that.
That’s so special.
I thought, “You see, that’s what’s beautiful.”
What are you looking for when you search for a new role?
Right now, I’ve looked for comedy.
I look for something that’s recognizable to other women or to people.
Claire is an Upper East Side art philanthropist, and she’s very wealthy.
That’s where we realize how we’re the same we are through emotions.
I also wanted to congratulate you on your recent Emmy nomination for “The Morning Show.”
Have fans seen the last of your character Maggie?
I definitely hope not.
“Uncoupled” is available to stream Friday, July 29, exclusively on Netflix.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
