Natasha Rothwell's "Me Season"
“I don't want my relationship to social media to undo 20-plus years of work of really loving myself and feeling worthy.”
There’s a term I ascribe to a certain set of celebrity: endlessly root on-able. In an era in which even fans turn on their fav, it’s rare to find a Hollywood figure who has managed to curry and sustain good favor amidst an ecosystem that seems to be accelerating its effort to chew ‘em up and spit ‘em out. Yet somehow, Natasha Rothwell is one such figure. As Oprah once told Lindsay Lohan: “I want you to win.” That’s how many of us are feeling these days about Natasha. Good news for us all, then, as she appears to be winning big.
The narrative of late surrounding Ms. Rothwell has been how, with her new Hulu show How to Die Alone, she’s finally getting the spotlight she’s long deserved.
None of this is wrong, but what it does in an attempt to celebrate this moment is take her career up to now and frame it as stepping stones, rather than recognizing this moment as the latest iteration in a lengthy career characterized by Rothwell’s ability to scene-steal. But that’s not even it entirely, as Rothwell’s presence on shows like HBO’s Insecure and The White Lotus along with turns in films like Wonka and the Sonic the Hedgehog series highlight her propensity to help everyone operate at their full capacity. It’s a simple calculation as to why: When Natasha Rothwell is on screen, we, the audience, are better off.
It’s something the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences recognized when they nominated her for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2022 for Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her work on The White Lotus. And it’s something that will no doubt be the case when Rothwell succeeds Jennifer Coolidge in becoming the second cast member (John Gries was recurring) to appear over multiple seasons of the show. As you can imagine, I was eager to chat with her about her experience reuniting with Mike White as well as her theater teacher past, setting boundaries and what drew her to create and produce her own work.
I want to start off by congratulating you! I was gonna say you’ve had a great year, but I think you’ve actually had a great couple of years. I feel the momentum around Natasha Rothwell in this moment, so let me start by asking you: Are you feeling it?
It feels more like fire! [Laughs] No, I definitely am not used to main character energy so this has been an adjustment, if I'm going to be truly honest, having me be the focus of these these projects.
There's a particular excitement to see you assuming this role because for so long, I think fans of yours have been clamoring to see you in it.
It's been overwhelming, honestly. My therapist is very well-paid [laughs], processing the tidal wave of love that has come towards me since my trailer hit for How to Die Alone and when the news was announced about White Lotus Season 3. It's just been so affirming and I’ve really tried to be present with that love and not trying to get scared by it or worried that I'm gonna let people down, but just accept that there are people that really love and support me.
Isn't it an interesting thing — that line between acceptance and indulgence? You kind of want to dip a toe into it, experience it, lap it up, but don't go fully into the water.
Oh, 100%. There's no danger of me even cannonballing into it; I have such an aversion to praise. I think it's just the nature of a lot of artists: We're constantly in pursuit of perfection, we're constantly trying to best ourselves, but I don't want to look back at this time and be like: “Oh, I was so worried about the future that I didn't get to enjoy it.”
You're reminding me of an interview I did with Melanie Lynskey that has always stayed with me where she talks about her disdain for praise. I think about that often because in my position as an interviewer, talking to someone like you and watching the work that you're in, I have this instinct to want to praise the actor. But one thing that I'm learning through talking to so many of you is that while you appreciate it, there aren’t many places to go when someone says: “Oh, you're so amazing! This was great.” If you're on the receiving end of that, no doubt it's affirming, but I don't necessarily know if it's a conversation starter.
For a lot of artists, I think that we are in this vocation out of some sort of trauma response to wanting to prove our worth and prove our value, so when we get praise, that means that we don't have that motivation to work and be better, so it's almost counterproductive in a way. It's just like: “I hear that, but I'm not gonna stop trying to please you.” Again, 20-plus years of therapy — I've really tried to put my people-pleasing and my perfectionism aside and really be grateful. I think that gratitude has been the theme of the last few years. Like you said, it hasn’t been just a great year, it's been a great couple of years for me, so gratitude is the only way I can kind of receive that love, as opposed to trying to kiki on it like: “Yeah, I'm queen!” [Laughs] That's not me. It's more just like: “Thank you for seeing me.” I have to sit with that uncomfortable feeling and then I can move through it and continue the work.
Before we get into more of the work, I want to start by acknowledging where we're at culturally. We are speaking halfway through the Democratic National Convention. You are incredibly politically engaged and unafraid to speak truth to power on your social media platforms. In fact, you are known for regularly tweeting “You are trash” to folks like disgraced former president Donald Trump and Georgia governor Brian Kemp, so I'm wondering: In this moment, how are you feeling?
I think Michelle Obama said it so perfectly yesterday: We were at a place, as a party, of losing hope. For the first time in a while, I feel very reinvigorated and very hopeful. This is a time for us to be engaged. This is not a time for us to sort of hit snooze and wait to see what happens. So much is at stake in this election and I think when we are comparing our plight to other countries that have succumbed to authoritarianism and we're looking at Venezuela, we're looking at Cuba, we're looking at other countries that have lost the battle — we already know what the outcome could be if we don't show up and if we don't vote. Some people may view it as a choice between two evils, but it's truly between democracy or another type of right-wing. Do you know what I'm saying? It is not something to fuck around with, and I think that they've made their plans very clear with Project 2025. I think that the time is now for us to talk to our friends and family that we may feel it might be an awkward conversation with, but we can't hold punches when it comes to what's at stake.
I think sometimes people have this idea that celebrities should “shut up and act” — that same sort of thing that was said to Natalie Maines from The Chicks back in the day — and so I'm wondering how you thread the needle on being a human being who has a perspective about what's going on in the political landscape while also being an actor.
I walk through the world with brown titties, right? [Laughs] So when I am in certain spaces, it can be an act of radical defiance just because I'm in those spaces. It would not be the same if I were a cis-het straight white male. I don't have the luxury of tapping out in the same way as so many of my peers. I've decided to take that not as a burden, but as an opportunity to be clear about what I stand for and to be open for conversation and letting people know that when they meet me, they're meeting a topic of debate. They're meeting someone who has ovaries that are being co-opted by straight white men in Congress who are 90 years-old. I have to be able to articulate that my presence is political. It's less of a needle-threading and more of an acceptance and a celebrating.
Well said! Last month, you posted a selfie on Instagram with the caption “It's me season.” Tell me about “me season” and how it's been going.
It's been great! Like I said, main character energy doesn't come easily to me, but I'm trying to embrace my life and the beauty of my life right now and honestly, my beauty. I think that a lot of what I deal with in my show How to Die Alone is someone who has not recognized or accepted their worthiness, and I think that is low-key the subtext of this moment in my career of feeling worthy of this moment. I'm really trying to embrace it, and even posting that selfie — I was gonna take it down, but my assistant was like: “No, leave it up!” [Laughs]
I'm glad you kept it up! Not only is it good to see, I think it instills in people this idea that it can be “me season” for others who might not necessarily always have the spotlight on them as well.
Yeah, and that's the response I've gotten for sure.
Let's talk about Big Hattie Productions as a way to transition into our discussion about your latest project, How to Die Alone. Big Hattie Productions (named after actress Hattie McDaniel, the first Black woman to win an Academy Award) is your production company that you founded in 2021. Were there specific experiences you had in front of or behind the camera that informed your decision to start creating your own work?
So often, I find myself playing marginalized characters and really trying to play them ten toes down and grounded. I don't want to portray a caricature, but instead real rounded characters. A lot of times, with the scripts that would come across my desk or a project that I would see, if a character who looked like me went from being on the margins to being center stage, there was a lot of page real estate given to justify their humanity. Me being a plus-size Black woman, it's like: Let's spend Act One explaining her Blackness, her fatness and then we can start telling the story. I would be incensed because we are humans before the first page of this script, and we need to spend more page real estate telling the story, as opposed to focusing on the protagonist’s otherness to make them palatable to white audiences. So to me, I wanted to create a company that was committed to centering marginalized voices, that was committed to putting characters who don't often get center frame at the center, but not make it such an anomaly that it's going to be an educational moment, an after-school special, that this person is now in the spotlight.
It sounds like also there's an element to it where you’re dignifying the intelligence of the audience. You used this term that I love, “page real estate,” in sort of recognizing that the audience can infer a lot of these things themselves because of their intelligence.
100%. In the past, I've got notes in the script if it feels too much in the AAVE, in the African-American vernacular, and we got the slang in the script and execs are just like: “Can we explain this or do this,” and it's just like: I watched Curb Your Enthusiasm. I figured out what the afikomen was. I used my deductive reasoning. I figured it out, you know what I mean? I felt better for it. The broad appeal is in the specificity of story, and watering down that specificity to make it more palatable — I'm just not interested in that. I want to tell stories that are more potent than that.
At a recent Television Critics Association panel promoting How to Die Alone, you called the show the most vulnerable piece of art you've created, adding: “It's challenging to put your shit out there.” I can understand that — I think many people can — but what, for you, makes the challenge ultimately worth it?
The show centers on this question of what is the difference between being alone and being lonely, and I think the antidote for loneliness is vulnerability and putting your shit out there because that invites people to connect. I spent the better part of my 20s being terrified of dying alone. I was like a heat-seeking missile trying to find any man that would solve the problem of Maria, you know what I'm saying? And that was just misguided because actually, at the end of the day, it wasn't a companion that was most terrifying; it was the idea that I was so lonely and I wasn't allowing the love that was present in my life, platonic and familial and spiritual and just the beauty of the world, to actually take hold and permeate me because I was holding out for this romantic Hollywood rom-com story. So to put this show out there where I'm having the protagonist go through this battle between loneliness and being alone, it’s now inviting people to have the conversation, and what I'm finding is it's like a fucking epidemic of loneliness. People want to talk, people want to connect, and what's crazy is there are more ways to connect than ever, but people are afraid to be honest and be real.
Something that you and I have in common is that we are both theater kids, but where we diverge is that you were a high school theater teacher for a minute, which is a fun fact to know when you rewatch Love, Simon where you play — you guessed it — a theater teacher! What did the experience of being a theater teacher give you, especially given the fact that you were a theater lover before becoming a theater teacher?
I was a high school theater teacher in the Bronx for four years and I loved it, but it definitely prepped me for owning a room and owning space. You're on the stage when you're teaching with a captive audience that has to listen to you [laughs], so it definitely ticks some boxes in terms of what I was already excited by. But in terms of the practical application of that experience to Love, Simon, it was hilarious because we shot at an actual school and there were actual young kids in that cafeteria scene. I remember that the associate director was trying to corral the kids and I just like got them together very quickly, but not because I was trying to one-up the AD; I'm just used to being in a giant cafeteria and grabbing attention, so I was just like “‘Scuse me!” and everyone turned their neck! [Laughs]
Many reading this probably aren't around kids today very often, or if they are, it might be their kids or their friends’ kids, so they might have limited access. One of the things that being a teacher affords you is to learn about the breadth of that generation and the different experiences and thought patterns that they are developing, so I'm wondering: What did you learn about humanity and today’s young people through that job?
Oh, my God. So much! First of all, I have an insane amount of empathy for that generation because they have a digital record of all of their mistakes. Every dumb thing they said, every bad choice, every bad outfit. I also think it's challenged me to try — in a non-cringe way — to stay current. [Laughs] I never want to get so stuck in my ways that I'm not malleable to new trends, new ideas, new slang — like skibidi, or whatever the kids are saying these days. [Laughs] I want to be open to that.
We are constantly changing and evolving, but it’s this balance for me when it comes to youth culture of deciding which things I want to let in, whether it be the vernacular or even modes of thinking; which ones I want to accept and be open to, and which ones I’m kind of like: “Hmm, I don't know about that one.” There are certain phrases that have become popularized, like cheugy, and I know that for me, that's just not coming into the lexicon.
There's definitely a filter there. [Laughs] There's a bouncer in my brain to keep the things I don't want out. I find my entry point is often music. Music is a huge part of my writing process, my life process, my healing process, so it's sort of my gateway to stay current.
I should mention that music is a big part of How to Die Alone, and there are some particularly good needle drops for viewers to keep an ear out for. You've also had the pleasure of working intimately with two of the best creators in this industry, perhaps the best creators this industry has ever known, in Issa Rae and Mike White. Were there aspects of their process that you sought to emulate in spearheading this show?
Issa was just like: “Hire the best people. Be surrounded by excellence.” And also, just seeing Issa — I was in the front row of that for five seasons [on Insecure] and saw what it was like to be a creator and a performer on the same show, and so it was important to me to go into production and have all my scripts finished before we started work [on How to Die Alone]. For those that aren't familiar with the industry, that's very rare, but it was so helpful because I didn't want to be split-focused when I was on set because I'm in almost every scene of the show. So to be able to be fully present — I wouldn't have known to fight for that if it had not been for my experience on Insecure working with Issa. And Mike White; he is extraordinary. He's just lovely, as you know. He's just the kindest person. Outside of the industry, my own true north is kindness and I try to operate from that place always. [Working with Mike] was just a reminder to lead with kindness and to really protect your creative vision. He was an amazing collaborator with me, both in Season 1 and Season 3, because he recognized that he is not a Black woman and he's writing this character and he knew that I was a writer as well. He was so open — I wanted to say open, but he was really thrilled to sit down with me and break character, and that just spoke to a grace and a humility where there was no ego. He just understood what needed to be done to do the best work, and so I definitely took that onto my set as well. I didn't want to go on set and it's my first time co-show running and being an executive producer and star and pretend like I knew everything. One of the first things I said in one of the big meetings where we had like 10,000 squares on Zoom, was:
“This is my first time doing this. I'm gonna make mistakes, and I just ask that you give me grace and I'll give you grace as well because this is the first time we're doing it together.”
I would not have had the courage to have that conversation and be open about the learning process if it had not been for working with Mike and Issa.
This is reminding me about one of the after-the-episode features from Insecure. I remember Issa speaking about bringing friends into the fold and how much that can enrich the creative process, as well as the atmosphere of the work because you're working with people who not only want to get the job done, but also want to create an environment where people want to be there.
Our jobs are fucking weird. We're on a set 16 hours a day, seven days a week. It's nonstop, and I want to be in a room where I really fuck with every single person. I heard directing and show running once described like you're the conductor of an orchestra and the host of a party. You want to make sure everyone plays the notes that they're meant to be playing, and you want to make sure everyone leaves and had a good time. I think I accomplished that — at least I hope so! I felt that way, anyway. But I'm so grateful to have had Issa and Mike to sort of phone a friend throughout this.
Let's talk a little bit more about Mike and The White Lotus. I'm going to respectfully steer the conversation clear of Season 3, with the caveat that I hope to have you back in the coming months to chat more about it.
Oh, 100%!
Amazing! I’d like to start by getting your take on Season 2. You are a big part of Season 1 (Emmy-nominated, in fact) and you'll be a big part of the upcoming Season 3, but I'm wondering what it was like for you watching Season 2.
I was on the show, but I'm also genuinely a fan of it. I've been a fan of Mike's since Freaks and Geeks. I love the way he tells stories, so I was buckled in with everyone else in Italy. I had my Aperol Spritz when I watched episodes. [Laughs] Jennifer Coolidge and I had such a connection in Season 1 and so to see her just take off in Season 2 — it was just such love and support and it was great to see her. What's nuts is I didn't know I was getting asked back when that was airing, so I just remember watching the first few episodes of Season 2 not knowing.
I want to talk about that call for Season 3 because for many of us, Belinda's storyline felt particularly unresolved. It was our impression from the outside that these seasons were singular entities and an exception was made in carrying over Coolidge from S1 to S2. Between when you first filmed Season 1 and got that call, the show has absolutely exploded, so what was that call like for you?
When we shot Season 1, it was lockdown. Like, wiping groceries, Covid, no vaccines. I got this project and we were just happy to be alive and making art, so I had no expectations there would be any subsequent seasons. I was just like: “Mike, I will follow you to the ends of the Earth. I just want to work with you again,” and just left it at that. It's coming back to me now: He was shooting Season 2, and he was like: “I just want to connect when I get back,” and I truly didn't think anything of it. It was during that window when he was like: “Remember when you said you would follow me to the ends of the Earth?” and I was like: “Yeah.” [Laughs] He said: “I'm really thinking about Belinda for Season 3. Would you be up for that?” and I was just like: “A thousand times, yes!” I felt the unresolved storyline as well, but I also understood it was necessary to be a catalyst for the Tanya storyline with Coolidge and you wanted to feel that devastation and you wanted to understand why these people were so horrible and the emotional consequence of their actions on the staff. I just didn't think it would manifest into me being in Thailand for five months, but that's exactly what happened. [Laughs]
I was just in Thailand for a week, and that heat? Unrelenting.
Unrelenting. I gave myself iceburn because I would have ice packs on me during shooting! [Laughs] It would be me and Parker [Posey] and we're just like shoving ice packs — very classy — under our costumes, and Wardrobe was just like: “You should put something around it because you could hurt your skin,” and I was like: “I don't care!” and I got these hives from the ice. [Laughs]
How is it for you now being back home?
Home has meant something different to me after all of this travel. I'm a military brat. My dad was in the Air Force for almost 40 years. I moved around my whole life, so when I came to LA and I got a house, I sort of planted a flag. I immediately left for all of these stints of working, so I just want to order in food, binge something amazing and love on my dog. That sounds like magic to me.
Speaking of media diet, what were the shows and/or movies that ignited that creative spark in you?
Out the gate, it's Mama's Family. Not a lot of people know this, but it's Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence. It is unapologetically funny. I was drawn to beautiful women who didn't fit the mold and were unafraid of taking up space. It was so important for me to see that. Also, in the same lane, Gimme a Break! Nell Carter was a hugely impactful person in my experience. I saw someone who looked like me who was on-screen telling a white man what to do even though she was in a servile role. And Lily Tomlin! Like, classic. Those were my comedy gods. These were women who were the reason people were showing up.
Do you remember the first time that you were told you were funny?
[Laughs] I grew up in the church. I have three siblings, and I would make them laugh during services. Since we moved around a lot, I often used them as an audience to entertain. I didn't know that other people didn't have that gift. Timing and all of that was kind of just innate to me since I was little. I just remember being in church making my siblings laugh, getting scolded, just like: “Okay, you might be funny, but you can't be funny in church!” and I was like: “A-ha! I'm funny! I have that. I can turn it on and off.” It felt very Marvel Universe, finding out I had a power, figuring out how to use it.
What about theater? What was your entry point?
Everything! Miss Saigon.
“The Movie in My Mind” is such an underrated song!
I saw it on Broadway when I was in 11th grade and the helicopter landed on stage and I burst into tears. I had just never seen anything like that. Also, Jekyll & Hyde and Rent, of course. Spring Awakening, A New Brain. I just love singing. I don't do it outside of karaoke in real life [laughs], but there's something deeply cathartic about song and theater. I just remember cranking Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown, and I was trying to get my dad to sing “King of the World” and he was just like: “What is going on?” I was like: “He's king of the world, Dad! He’s chief of the sea!” It felt big and epic, and he was just like: “This girl! Get her in the theater class now because I can't handle it.” [Laughs]
I remember being a teen and discovering Jason Robert Brown and it felt like I discovered the underbelly of musical theater. For many of us, we grow up listening to the Sondheim’s, the Lloyd Webber's and whatnot, but they feel very mainstream. There was something about discovering Jason Robert Brown where it felt like I had found something subversive within this world of theater.
Oh, I felt so in the know. The Last Five Years came out and I was like: “Guys, do you know?” I felt that way with Kerrigan and Lowdermilk. I was telling my friends: “Do you know ‘Avalanche’? Listen to this!” I just love finding things within the culture of theater. It was home to me. I could get emotional now talking about it because I just moved around so very much when I was younger, but the theater community at every place I moved welcomed me with open arms and loved me; I didn't have to prove myself. So two high schools, two middle schools, two elementary schools, and each one had a theater group that I was a part of because they didn't judge me for being new. I had such a love for the theater community.
This conversation is making me wonder if we’re ever getting a Natasha Rothwell musical theater moment? There is an episode of The Characters where you did rap.
I did a little song called “Basic Bitch.” Not evergreen, but at the time, it was really fun.
I sing a little bit in How to Die Alone; there's some karaoke moments. I would love to do a Broadway show. I'm not even gonna hide the ball. I would love to return to my roots and take to the stage. I have such a respect for it. When I was in London shooting Wonka, it was on the heels of the pandemic, so I would buy three seats in the West End for every show that I saw so no one would sit next to me.
That's so good! Because you mentioned William Finn’s A New Brain earlier and I don't believe it's ever been on Broadway, I would like to just put it out there into consideration: Natasha Rothwell stars in A New Brain.
I love that show! I love that show.
I want to talk about another hit show of yours: Insecure. What's so interesting to me about Insecure is that I feel like it's one of those shows that has both a dedicated and non-toxic fandom, and I think that is worth celebrating and harnessing because I think we need more of that. How have you made peace with the ending of Insecure and having this experience that was so central to you for so many years now be in hindsight?
The love and appreciation I have for that experience is unmatched. And I didn't expect it. I wrote for the show first, and then I was cast. I didn't even know that I would be able to have the experience of Kelli. I was just excited to be in my first writing room after SNL and I just wanted to learn the craft and be focused. With my Type A personality, I had real blinders on. Issa allowed this imperfect protagonist to exist. It wasn't just Black girl magic; it was like: Black girl, come on — whatchu doin’? She was allowed to make some mistakes. I find myself apologizing a lot because people confuse me for Kelli in terms of like “send over shots and come on!” And I'm just like: “I have social anxiety. I really just want to go home. I just took a propranolol, so I'm out!” [Laughs]
That reminds me of Coolidge in so many ways because I think people expect her to be Tanya. People often ask me what she’s like and I have a hard time describing her, but my first reaction is always like: Tanya is entirely not who Coolidge is whatsoever. The fact that people think that — and this applies to you as Kelli as well — is just a testament to the performance.
Thank you for that. It's wild that people are still loving the show.
There’s still discourse about it to this day because the joy of streaming is that people can find these shows years later. There’s so much content that remains accessible to us. Speaking of content, I'm wondering about your relationship with social media. At the top of the interview, we talked about that selfie you posted and you weren't sure if you should keep it, and that makes me think that maybe social media is something you're a little weary about. In your chosen vocation, there's often this expectation that you will use social media to create the brand of you as an actor and help sell the projects that you're a part of. How do you navigate that?
I am gun-shy around social media. I have no problems posting politically. To me, those are sort of inarguable truths, whereas just putting myself out there is hard. People think that it might be counterintuitive given my vocation; however, [on screen], I get to play a character. I get to be someone else, do something else, so I’m tentative about my relationship with social media. I'm trying to be better about it because I do want to connect. I think it's also in that camp of vulnerability that I'm working on and wanting to put myself out there, so I think it's helpful and it's a part of my healing process of allowing myself to be seen and to be judged and to not be affected by the naysayers and to not allow that to dictate my experience online, but it’s a process.
It's a process, but it's also a very unique point of view, being someone who's a public figure who is oftentimes engaging with it as part of your work but then sometimes might want to jump on and be like: “Donald Trump, you're a piece of trash,” which are all facets of who you are. I had a conversation with your White Lotus S3 castmate Parker Posey recently about how she’s going to navigate social media in the coming months. She has not logged onto her Instagram for quite some time, and she asked me what I think she should do, and what I said is: “You have to do what is best for you. Someone like me can't know what to do. It's what you want from it. It might be unexpectedly affirming, it might lead to other opportunities, it might lead to reconnecting with people from your past — there are so many possibilities, but you have to decide your appetite for it and not allow the pressures of what other people think you should do to instigate how you navigate it.”
1000%. It's such a personal relationship. Chappell Roan just posted about how she's been so harassed and she's just like: “I'm just a human.” It really resonated with me because posting something online is tantamount to walking down a busy street. You're inviting comments. People think they know you. They think they have the right to tell you about yourself, and it's not easy. Ultimately, I don't want my relationship to social media to undo 20-plus years of work of really loving myself and feeling worthy, so it’s an opportunity to practice the skills that I've created to combat my natural inclination to think those things, but that doesn't mean I need to put myself in the line of fire just for funsies.
Many people have boundary issues and many people have parasocial relationships on the Internet. I respect the fact that it's something that you're figuring out in real time because I don't think it's as easy as posting or not posting. I think it's more nuanced.
It's not that simple at all! When you have a boundary with a fan that comes up to you in the street, if you say “no” to that picture, then the legend begins. That's the origin story of “Chappell Roan’s a bitch” or “Natasha Rothwell's a bitch” or “she doesn't like her fans” and “fuck her, I'm not going to support her.” So much negativity can be extrapolated from one instance of me exercising my boundaries, but that should be celebrated. It's very hard to do in real life, and it's very hard to do online.
I do think it's helpful to have conversations like these and to help open up that dialogue. Now, thinking ahead: We've got White Lotus Season 3, How to Die Alone and hopefully How to Die Alone Season 2 in the future, but if we're really looking further, if budget weren’t a consideration and you were giving the option to dream as big as you could, what would be a fantasy Natasha Rothwell project?
Oh, my God! Star in a rom-com that is worthy of the canon. [Laughs] Something wonderful, big and beautiful, not cheesy. Nora Ephron is my God, and Nancy Meyers. I want a Cape Cod kitchen with a $50,000 Miele stove. I want my character to have that. I'm also obsessed with Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the godmother of guitar. She was a plus-sized baddie.
I should mention that she got a shout-out during the DNC roll call.
Did she? That is so cool! I would just love to tackle the biopic of a story that has been relegated to the sidelines. A rom-com, some sort of biopic.
Cape Cod rom-com! That's like a genre.
It really is. Like a Martha's Vineyard rom-com. Let's get into it! I've got EGOT status in my crosshairs, so we'll figure out which one fills which blank! [Laughs]
Love her so much! I am there for her rom-com. And: "I watched Curb Your Enthusiasm, I figured it out" 100%.