Holland Taylor talks about the TV shows of the past that made her want to become an actress, the future of her role in 'The Morning Show,' filming 'Quiz Lady' and her relationship with Hollywood.
00:00You are presenting tonight with John Cryer, and it's a bit of a, you know, Two and a Half Men reunion.
00:05My son, I was his mother, it goes that way, for many years on Two and a Half Men.
00:10We got along very well, we're very happy to see each other.
00:13And I think it's a bit of a reunion, because aren't they honoring many shows?
00:18And I think Two and a Half Men has to be one of them.
00:21So we're here for that.
00:22Yes, they're honoring 75 years of TV history here tonight, with all sorts of reunions and special tributes.
00:28For you, when you were growing up, what's a show that you loved that made you want to work in television?
00:33Well, they had shows that were live plays, that were recorded live when I was young.
00:39The CBS Hour, and I don't even remember what they were called, but they were always very much in the newspapers.
00:47And it was a live performance of a play on television.
00:51And I think that convinced me, that made me think I have to do that.
00:55I want to be an actor.
00:56And I don't think they ever do that anymore, anything like that.
01:00But I mean, it was the Ed Sullivan Show.
01:03That's where I first saw The Beatles.
01:05And a couple of great old classics.
01:09That's what I watched.
01:10We saw your character go through a lot in The Morning Show.
01:14In The Morning Show, yes.
01:15Well, that was a real privilege.
01:17I mean, very rarely do you have a script that goes that deep.
01:21And they really met the challenge of writing truthfully about a news station, what the news has to contend with today, what the workplace must contend with today.
01:34And so I was blown away when I read the script.
01:37And they took a long time filming it very carefully.
01:40So it was wonderful.
01:42Do you think we'll see more of your character next season?
01:45Will she come back?
01:45I don't know.
01:46She could be axed out.
01:48I actually don't know.
01:49I don't know whether I'm going to be back.
01:51I'd like to.
01:52But I'm not sure where they could go.
01:55A film I watched recently that I just loved you in so much was Quiz Lady.
02:00Because you can really do it all.
02:01Comedy, drama.
02:02What was it like for you filming that movie?
02:03Well, that was weird because I was playing somebody who had to not have any intelligent thought, not be cultivated, not be well-spoken, not be anything.
02:14Just a kind of a really down-in-the-dumps, ordinary, grumpy lady.
02:19And it was great because who doesn't want to do stuff with Sandra Ohl and with Awkwafina, whom I adored.
02:26And then, of course, Paul Rubens.
02:28So that was great fun.
02:29It was great fun to do.
02:31But it was hard to play somebody, so not my usual part.
02:37It was just such a funny film.
02:39I really, really enjoyed it.
02:40I'm glad.
02:41I'm thrilled to hear that.
02:43For you, what do you enjoy more, comedy or drama?
02:45I enjoy them equally.
02:46Just as I enjoy the stage and film equally, they are very different.
02:51But I really know what I'm doing on stage, and less so in film.
02:56But in film, you can do a different kind of acting.
02:59Very interior.
03:00Very much inside.
03:02And so it's a wonderful opportunity.
03:04So I love them both, but like children, not the same.
03:08And Hollywood had a tough 2023 with the dual actors and writers' strikes.
03:13For you, what's the reason you still love Hollywood and love this industry?
03:16What's the reason I what?
03:17You still love Hollywood and love the entertainment industry.
03:19Well, I don't love the industry.
03:21I am married to the industry.
03:23And I am loyal to the industry.
03:25And I want to work on having a good relationship with the industry.
03:30So it's very problematical.
03:31There's lots of things that are difficult.
03:33And the union battle this year was very correct.
03:39The union was going for things that we should have.
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