- 7 weeks ago
The actress also discussed playing iconic TV characters for 'Clarissa Explains It All' and 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch.'
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00:00Hey, Melissa Joan Hart here, and I am in the studio with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:06Thank you so much for stopping by.
00:08Absolutely.
00:09Now, I have to tell you, when I was a little ye little Brian, my dream interview was you.
00:14No way!
00:15So seriously, you were making dreams come true today.
00:16Oh, that's awesome!
00:17I really mean that, like, growing up watching you, is dream come true.
00:20Thank you!
00:21I used to always, like, think I was...
00:22Had magic in your finger?
00:24Yeah.
00:24Yeah, me too.
00:25Now, you're here to talk all things No Good Nick.
00:27For those who haven't seen it yet, what would be your quick pitch for the series?
00:31No Good Nick is a hard one to describe for me, because it's such a unique show.
00:34So it starts off very situational comedy, you know, very traditional family sitcom.
00:41Little girl knocks on the door, she becomes our foster daughter, and basically she's scamming us the whole time.
00:44So actually, in reality, it's very much a dramedy, very much a family mystery, but it's also serialized.
00:52And we lay little Easter eggs throughout the whole thing, so there's little things if you watch it back.
00:56It's meant for binge-watching, it's built for binge-watching.
00:59Which I did.
00:59So if you watch it back, you'll see, if you watch it again, you'll see, like, all the little hints that are already in there.
01:04Can you kind of talk about that dynamic of it being a comedy, but it having that serious layer, which is her part?
01:09Yeah, so it's an interesting show, because, like, especially the very first episode seems very typical comedy family.
01:15And as the show develops and these layers unfold, you find out what she's doing, and that she's actually this, like, anti-hero.
01:22That while you're rooting for her, you're also kind of not, like, she's doing wrong, she's doing bad things to this family.
01:28And you don't quite understand it, but as you start to sort of understand her reasoning, you start to sort of, like, each episode, I feel like you change your alliance with who you think is in the right on each episode.
01:39I like to say it's like, this is us with elements of Game of Thrones.
01:43That's not true.
01:44Maybe a little more House, like the way House was, like, the anti-hero.
01:47You know, you knew he was, like, not necessarily a good guy, but he had good purpose.
01:52You know, he was doing good things, but not necessarily in a nice way.
01:56So it's just interesting to watch her and watch the whole story develop.
02:01And my character, it's really fun to play Liz, because she doesn't want Nick around.
02:05She doesn't think we should take this kid in, we have enough on our plate, like, why should we have to take care of someone else's kid?
02:10So she doesn't have a whole lot of heart, but she's very, like, level-headed, business-minded, career-driven.
02:17And so it's really fun, because I haven't really played, I always played, like, sort of the sweet girl next door,
02:21and now I'm getting to play sort of the selfish, I take care of my family and that's about it kind of person.
02:28You've been directing since Sabrina, right?
02:31That's correct?
02:31Yeah, I started, yeah, on Sabrina, I started directing my first television show,
02:37and then I did a bunch of Sabrina, and I did some other shows for, like, Nickelodeon and Disney Channel and a short film.
02:42And Goldbergs recently.
02:43I did Goldbergs last year, that was really fun.
02:45I was supposed to do a few this year, but I was supposed to do Goldbergs and Schooled,
02:48but I couldn't, because I was on a Netflix show.
02:50Were you interested in directing No Good Nick, though, at all?
02:52Yes, I do.
02:53They have a funny rule about first season, nobody crosses over jobs, so I'm an actor this season.
02:59And next season I can direct, but not yet.
03:02Going back to the younger actors on the show, you posted this sweet message on Instagram recently
03:06when they were all at the Kids' Choice Awards.
03:08Oh, they went to the Kids' Choice Awards.
03:08What were the conversations like on set with them?
03:10Did you give any, like, advice on, like, kind of the journey they're about to embark on?
03:13Yeah, a little bit.
03:14Like, as things come up, I'll just, I feel like I'm, Sean and I are, like, the old folks on the set now.
03:18It's so funny, because he and I the other day, literally, like, maybe a few days ago,
03:21said to each other, like, is it weird that we're, like, the old ones on the set now?
03:26Like, even amongst the crew.
03:27Like, it used to be that we were always the young kids on set.
03:29It's so weird still that we're, like, the mature ones, like, leading the way.
03:33Supposed to be the good example.
03:35Sean's over there, like, he comes up with a handshake for everybody.
03:37He's constantly doing the, oh, you got something on your shirt thing.
03:39You know, he's got all the dad jokes.
03:41It's the best joke, yeah.
03:41Yeah, and so it's funny, because they're really, really sweet and very respectable about, like, our jobs and our careers
03:49and the paths we've taken to get here.
03:50And they listen, and they, like, you know, they really take in our experiences in a way that our own kids would never do.
03:57And we listen to them about, like, trends and what's cool, but we're also teaching them about, like, 90s music and 80s
04:03and movies and classic movies.
04:05And their homework this weekend was to watch a Winona Ryder movie, so we'll see if they did it.
04:09And when I get to work tomorrow, I'll find out.
04:10Now, looking back to Clarissa Explains It All, is there advice you would give yourself back then?
04:18There's advice I would just, I would like to have been a little more protected, maybe, on this show.
04:23Okay.
04:24As far as, like, get more rest.
04:26No.
04:26Not so much work.
04:27It was a grueling schedule to be going to school and to be working on that show.
04:33It was 70-hour weeks.
04:35We were working six days a week.
04:36We were doing, it was just, like, the amount of schoolwork and the amount of work I had to do, the amount of memorizing the monologues.
04:45Like, if they could have just broken up the monologues a little, I probably would have had an easier life if I didn't have to start memorizing the monologues on Sunday to film on Wednesday.
04:51But I had these four-page monologues about three or four times an episode, and I would do it all direct to camera.
04:58But actually, I just watched an episode the other day.
05:00I put a piece up on my Instagram, just a piece of an episode, and it's a monologue.
05:03And I noticed I looked from camera to camera.
05:05So they could have totally cut.
05:06I didn't have to memorize the whole thing in four pages.
05:09But you better believe, like, if I messed it up, we had to start again.
05:11And, like, the long pauses in between takes and stuff, I just wish I could have been, like, let's move things along a little bit.
05:16I always got strep throat.
05:18I wasn't allowed to go home.
05:19Like, you know, it was my show.
05:21I had to, like, keep going, power through it.
05:22So it was a little tough.
05:23But, you know, it was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot on that show.
05:27And I learned a lot about production on that show.
05:28Like, you know, one of the guys came in and looked at the lights and said, oh.
05:31You said you learned about directing on that show.
05:32Yeah, I did.
05:33Because I learned about, like, camera shots.
05:35Because back then you didn't really have, you had to do a line cut of the show.
05:39You basically had to edit while you were going.
05:40So I looked at the director's scripts, and I would see that.
05:43And I would, like, you know, one of the lighting electricians walked on the set one day and said, I need a single half double.
05:48And I'm like, what's a single half double?
05:50And so they taught me.
05:51And I learned how to use the lighting board.
05:52And I learned, you know, how to run a boom and all that stuff.
05:55So it was fun.
05:56And when directing Sabrina, you said that you were kind of a bit more pushy than you are today.
06:00Can you go ahead and talk about that?
06:01And Sabrina?
06:01Yeah.
06:02I might still be pushy.
06:04You know what?
06:04I was anxious to always get done with the work.
06:06Like, you know, there's a lot of downtime on set.
06:08And it was, it kills me.
06:10Like, when there's this, like, dead space and there's nothing to do.
06:13And so I just was trying to, I always try to move things along.
06:17And I'm always, like, yelling at the ADT and going up to the cameras.
06:19Did we get it?
06:20What do we need?
06:20Going to the writers.
06:21What's the matter?
06:21What do we need?
06:22Like, I still do it today on this show a little bit where I'll be like, hey, guys, can we get our notes quickly so we don't wait 20 minutes?
06:27I'm picturing you yelling at someone.
06:28I'm like, what?
06:28Yeah.
06:29I did a little bit of, like, can we do this?
06:31Now I'm a little more respectable.
06:32I walk up and I'm like, hey, what's taking so long?
06:34We good?
06:35Can we move on?
06:36Or, you know, so it's just, it's hard as an actor, too, sometimes when you are doing a scene and you take, like, a 10-minute break to get those notes and then you have to get back into the scene.
06:47It's like, can we just do it a few times over?
06:49And if you don't get what you want, just tell us that one or two thing that you missed so we can go back.
06:52So it's a little hard when there's, like, a lot of downtime.
06:55You were at the Netflix headquarters recently, which is this magical world.
06:58What has been your experience working with Netflix for No Good Night?
07:01It's been great.
07:02I mean, I love that the company in general, like, with their television production especially, they allow producers to produce.
07:09They allow, you know, creators to be creative.
07:12Instead of trying to think that they know everything about how a show should be put together, they hire creative talent and they allow them to be creative.
07:21They don't really have that much say in who they cast or how they do the show.
07:25They come in with their notes for sure, but they don't try to, you know, it's not the minutiae, the, like, the micro-handling of everything.
07:33They really, like, allow the collaboration of the creative people to happen and then they just kind of, you know, weigh in on it.
07:43And their headquarters are so cool.
07:45I just spent the afternoon over there and, like, you know.
07:47You just got lost there.
07:48I might have stolen a pillow.
07:49Did they have a No Good Nick name for a conference room?
07:52They don't yet.
07:53I don't think so.
07:53Not that one I saw.
07:54I saw a ton of others.
07:55I saw the Fuller House one, you know, and all the windows have the pictures on them.
08:00And outside right now there's the Sabrina, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is all over the walls.
08:04Like, they have projection on the walls.
08:05And there's 11, you know, from Stranger Things.
08:07There's, like, the Funko Pop head thing, giant.
08:10I tried to steal that from the lobby, but it's very big and heavy.
08:12Couldn't get that out of there.
08:14I did steal a pillow.
08:16They're going to find the pillow.
08:17I could find that.
08:17I could put that in my purse, but, yeah, they might come after me for that one.
08:20And, you know, a few bananas and cashews from the lobby.
08:24But otherwise, we're good.
08:25Speaking of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, also on Netflix, did you watch the part one?
08:29Part two?
08:30I didn't.
08:30So I did a social media thing with Netflix where I watched it for them.
08:34Like, I watched it and they videotaped my reaction.
08:37That's about as much as I've seen of it.
08:38Yeah.
08:38But, you know, it's just different.
08:40It's different than my, than the way our show was.
08:43So I'm glad it's different.
08:45Would you ever want to join the show in some capacity?
08:48If it wasn't done in the right way, maybe.
08:49I won't say no, but I don't see it happening.
08:52Yeah.
08:52Looking back to your days on Sabrina, what are some of your favorite memories from working on it?
08:55Oh, there's so many.
08:57We took the whole crew to Animal Kingdom when it opened in Disney World.
09:00And they flew the entire crew down there.
09:02We had a blast.
09:03The park stayed open late for us.
09:04We were filming.
09:04I actually got stuck on a ride instead of filming and the sun was going down.
09:07So we were kind of freaking out about that.
09:09I was stuck on a safari ride when they needed me on set.
09:13But we just had such fun.
09:14Like, the cat was a great co-star.
09:17Always knew his lines.
09:18Always hit his mark.
09:20So that's, you know, nothing to complain there.
09:20I was going to ask you, who do you miss more, working with Salem or Elvis, the alligator?
09:25Elvis was rarely around, believe it or not.
09:26They probably brought him in once every four episodes.
09:29And I wasn't allowed to touch him.
09:30It was this whole thing.
09:31If he bites you, he's got baby teeth, you pull your finger out,
09:34all his teeth will come out and he'll die.
09:35I'm like, oh, okay.
09:36I'm not going to touch the alligator.
09:37And it was only like this big.
09:39But I did love it when it came to set.
09:40But the closest I could get was like a few feet away, kind of looking down like, oh, cool.
09:45You know?
09:45But Salem, like the cat, the real live cat had to have cat food all over the set.
09:51So the set always smelled like tuna fish.
09:52It was gross.
09:53But we had such fun.
09:55I have such great memories of everything.
09:56From playing like Rapunzel and working with like Phil Fondacaro and like running through
10:02fields of flowers with him, like holding hands.
10:04And he played, what's Rapunzel's, the guy who locks her in the tower.
10:09I can't remember his name.
10:10But he was in numerous episodes.
10:11But like with Beth Broderick and Caroline Ray and we all still keep in touch.
10:15The years with Soleil, Moonfry and Elisa Donovan and the college years and just a blast.
10:21And I had like all my boyfriends were on the show, all my best friends, all my sisters.
10:24I watched an episode the other day that my husband was in and I realized my little sister
10:29was in it too.
10:30So it was fun.
10:31What has it meant to you to kind of play these two iconic characters that have shaped so many
10:36childhoods and so many...
10:38It's awesome.
10:38I mean, look, I watched shows like Bewitched and I Dream of Genie on reruns on Nick at Night.
10:43I'm dying to do this with you.
10:45But it's funny because I watched like Bewitched and I Dream of Genie on like Netflix.
10:50Not Netflix.
10:51Oh my gosh.
10:51Nick at Night, right?
10:52Like, so not, I wasn't of that generation, but my generation watched it.
10:55And those were shows when Barbara Eden came on our show.
10:58And of course, Samantha was already, Elizabeth Montgomery was already passed away.
11:04But like we had like, you know, we had Barbara Eden on our show, on Sabrina.
11:09We had like all these iconic characters.
11:10And to know that like now I'm one of those is, makes me feel old, but also it's awesome.
11:17Like it's what everyone wants.
11:18It's like, it's funny because everyone wants, just like every band wants that one hit, but
11:22then they hate that one hit and they never want to play that one hit.
11:24Every actor wants that one role that's iconic, but then also you play against that the rest
11:28of your career.
11:29But I'm lucky because I've had numerous, you know, and now audiences are just finding
11:32Melissa and Joey.
11:34Like I know internationally, it's just going international.
11:36So even though it was on in the States for a while, it's now having another resurgence overseas.
11:40And now I've got this one coming out.
11:42So I've just, I get to keep going.
11:43So it's nice.
11:44That's so great.
11:46I can't believe I'm talking to you.
11:48For no good Nick, it ends season one with a bit of a cliffhanger.
11:52Yeah.
11:52Where do you think season two will go?
11:54Well, I know.
11:55Oh, where does season two go?
12:00Yeah, so it's, the writers are really brilliant.
12:02I'll just say that.
12:03I'll say like this show has so many spoilers, I really can't give away too much.
12:06But the show really does develop and it starts to unravel.
12:11And I think season two, you might find it to be a little bit more serious and a little
12:15bit more intense and some emotional stuff comes out.
12:18What I like about the show is it's real.
12:20It's like, it's really got a lot of other layers to it.
12:22And if you, you know, in a family, you have funny moments and you have sad moments and
12:28you have heartbreaking moments and you have kind of like, I don't know, what?
12:32Like, you know, and you have confusion and you have bad communication.
12:36And I feel like we have all of that in the show.
12:39So I think that, you know, 15 year olds will love to watch it with their like 42 year old
12:44parents, you know?
12:45Make sure you watch it now streaming on Netflix.
12:48Thank you so much for being here.
12:49Yeah, thank you.
12:49Cheers.
12:49This is great.
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