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Oh my god. Um, but don't do it. DON'T DO IT. WOW, that was so close. It was dangerous.
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>> Hey, what's going on everybody?
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For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans.
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You're watching Hot Ones, and today we bring you a very special episode brought to you by Stella Artois, the official beer sponsor of Hot Ones.
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And I'm thrilled [music] to be joined in the studio with Rachel Brosnahan.
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She's an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress, you know, from acclaimed performances in The Marvelous Mrs.
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Maisel, Superman, the Broadway stage, and much more.
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But today, her scene partner is a gauntlet of scorching hot chicken wings.
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Rachel Brosnahan, welcome to the show. >> Thank you.
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>> How are you around spicy food before we get started? >> Like I'm okay.
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I enjoy spicy food, but I've never tested myself to this degree before.
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>> [music] >> Well, before we get into the wings, I want to let you know that we have plenty of Stella on deck, and I have a feeling that'll come in handy as things begin [music] to escalate.
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So, what do you say we get started? >> Cheers. >> Cheers. >> [music] >> Oh god. Mhm. That's delicious.
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>> So, since premiering in 2017, The Marvelous Mrs.
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Maisel has become one of the most visually elaborate productions on television, with everything from period recreations to Carnegie Hall to the Catskills, even scenes with hundreds of extras.
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What What out in your memory as the most jaw-dropping set you've ever [music] walked onto filming that show?
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>> Oh man, it was one of those jobs where I was constantly reminded how lucky we were to be there, but also one of those things where movie magic just comes alive in front of you.
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We shot this [music] USO scene with 850 background actors, and they built this stage.
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It was this incredible one-er that we had [music] rehearsed for days, and it just the scope of it, the scale of it, especially for a television show, was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. We felt like rockstars.
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It was one of those things where you just wanted to bottle the feeling and hold on to it for a sad day.
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>> And then Amy Sherman-Palladino has this very unique writing style, rhythmic, [music] almost musical.
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It makes me wonder, what are the kinds of highly specific notes or direction that you get in between takes regarding [music] your character's dialogue?
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>> Mostly you just hear Amy from off set somewhere going, "Faster, pace, pace, pace."
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You know, she would just yell at us all the time, but that was the mostly the note.
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Faster, faster, faster, pace, pace, [music] pace.
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>> Well, on the topic of pace, pace, pace, are you ready to move on here to the next one?
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>> Yeah, let's blow through it. Also great. Okay.
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>> I see another affirming nod. >> Yeah. >> So far so good. >> Delicious.
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I know it's going to get bad, but >> Enjoy it while you have it. >> Exactly. I'm grateful. Thank you, Shawn.
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>> So you studied drama at NYU, which has all of these different schools that specialize in different acting techniques.
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What kind of Hogwarts hat sorting process went into your decision to become a disciple of Lee Strasberg? >> Wow, a disciple. I love that.
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I wish that I had anything to do with it.
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Mostly you're just a terrified [music] 17-year-old getting shoved into a room with people behind a clipboard, and >> [music] >> you do a monologue, and you're like just trying not to [ __ ] your pants and cry, and then they sort of look at you, and then somebody goes, "Strasberg."
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You know, or or what's the Strasberg Yeah, what's the Slithering equivalent, I wonder?
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>> Uh would that be Adler? >> Let's go with that. Adler, you know.
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And uh yeah, I have no idea.
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They they must They get it right most of the time, I think, so they must be able to see something in people who come in.
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>> Can [music] you explain what sense memory is and then maybe use an example of how you might use it to inform a performance?
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>> I had a drama teacher say once that you should never >> [music] >> tell anyone about this because they think you're [ __ ] crazy.
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So, I preface this by it's it's crazy. We're all crazy.
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No one gets into this because [music] we're well-adjusted and normal.
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My understanding of it is that it's the idea that [music] your body remembers things that your brain might not.
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One of the ways it was explained to me was that, you know, for example, if you had experienced snow [music] when you were 3 years old, you might not remember what snow felt like, >> [music] >> but your body does, and so you could, in theory, draw upon that experience [music] sensorially to make something happen for yourself, some kind of feeling.
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But ultimately, you end up with a toolbox of things that [music] you can pretty reliably draw upon to evoke some kind of [music] emotion. >> I I feel it.
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There's a little bit of a burn. >> kick at the end here. >> Mhm.
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>> To me, uh in the back of the throat. >> There it goes. Okay. >> experience, Rachel. >> Yeah.
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>> You performed at Steppenwolf, the New York Theatre Workshop, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Broadway and beyond.
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What is pound for pound your favorite theater to perform in, and what makes it the perfect room for a stage actor? >> Oh. What a lovely question.
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Man, they've all they've all been so different.
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Those theaters are all completely different from each other.
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I have such a fun relationship to the Steppenwolf because I'm from Chicago. >> Same. >> Oh, right. I forgot about that.
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Where are you from again? >> Crystal Lake. >> Right. Highland Park. >> Yeah, yeah.
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North suburbs, northwest. >> Okay.
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Um yeah, I mean I love that theater.
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I grew up going to see shows at the Steppenwolf, and it's such an intimate space, [music] but you really are standing on the shoulders of giants in that arena.
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And it was my first professional theater production, and >> Up? >> Up. Oh my god, yeah. Wow, you really do dig. Yeah, Up, exactly.
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That was one of those moments, which happen over and over again if you're lucky, where I was like, I think I was 18, and I was like, I I think this is it.
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I think this is the dream. It was amazing. Notes of peach?
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>> Yeah, at first, and then the habanero really kicks in in the second act. >> Uh-huh.
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I'm starting to see where we're going with this.
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>> [laughter] >> I'm starting to see homegrown hell approaching fast.
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>> It It is approaching fast, [laughter] too, by the way.
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>> It's still nice, though. >> Mhm. >> I like the flavors.
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>> We can still enjoy what we have.
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You had a quote [music] where you talked about how the role of Lois Lane was the closest you've ever played to yourself.
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What was it about that role that hit so close to home?
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>> She can be kind [music] of obsessive.
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She can be kind of intense. I I understand that.
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I think when I really care about something, [music] I can also be kind of intense about it.
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I appreciate someone, and you know, hope [music] that I can do that myself, who will go to the ends of the earth for the things that they believe in.
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>> Is it easier or harder to approach a character like Lois Lane that has 75 years worth of mythology built up through comic books and other kinds of media?
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[music] >> Probably both, because in some ways there's so much material to draw from, and there's so many different interpretations, both on screen and also by different comic book [music] artists and writers over the years.
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And so, there was such a wealth of material to to from.
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But [music] then obviously, there's the pressure to do right by the fans who love this character so much.
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>> own kind of ownership over it, yeah. >> Totally.
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And and like and they're right, you know?
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And so we're just trying [music] to to fill these really big shoes and and make them happy, but also hopefully bring something new to it [music] as well.
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>> I think that this is a nice checkpoint on the mountain, you know?
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As we approach the summit of this whole experience.
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>> Yeah, where is the summit would you say?
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>> Right after this one, you know? >> Perfect.
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[laughter] >> We're going to dab. >> Great.
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>> We're going to rip it and then we're going to get a beautiful view from the top of the mountain, all right?
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So, a detail that doesn't get brought up enough is that you wrestled for 2 years while at Highland Park High School.
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What drew you to the mat and do you see any similarities between acting and wrestling? >> Totally.
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To the second [music] part, it's hugely improvisational.
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You're really just watching someone closely and listening to them and trying to [music] react to them in real time. What drew me to it?
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I A lot of my friends [music] had been wrestling since junior high.
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And I'd always kind of been interested in it. I'm not sure.
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I was really competitive.
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>> [music] >> I snowboarded with a bunch of guys who wrestled and I'd always just been curious about it.
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>> Yeah, you were a snowboard instructor, too, right? >> I was, yeah.
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For a couple years >> [music] >> out in Wisconsin.
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That's like the nearest very icy.
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There's a couple mountains there, very small ones.
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[laughter] And uh yeah, a couple buddies did it and I was [music] My parents were horrified and never came to a match until like the very end of my wrestling career.
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And then I um then I [music] I opted for musical theater, which was a poor choice. I can't sing or dance.
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>> imagine what would have happened if you really just doubled down on wrestling, you know?
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Those are you could be >> I had a very different life.
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I would have been on GLOW is what would have happened.
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>> What's it like going back to high school after doing a Michael Bay movie?
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Like does your popularity skyrocket or do you return to more of the same?
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>> I don't [music] think that many people knew that I had done it.
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I because truthfully I wasn't I don't think I was well-known for my acting talent in high school.
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I like barely made the school [music] plays and was mostly in the chorus and but just loved it and was maybe insane to think that I could actually do it. >> of youth. >> Yeah, exactly.
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And so I I started looking for opportunity outside [music] of school because I wanted to act and and wasn't really, you know, hadn't made hadn't made enough musicals at that point.
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And and had this opportunity when that movie The Unborn came through [music] Chicago. Nothing was different.
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I mean, my parents were still mad at me for not getting straight A's and and I think my friends all stopped talking >> exam and on and on. >> Yeah, exactly.
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Wow, you really dug deep.
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>> [laughter] >> Things are changing. >> Mhm.
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Yeah, this is another step.
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It really announces that we're in the back half at this point. >> Tastes still great. Really um at first.
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>> [laughter] >> But then yeah, you're a little more awake now. >> Yeah. >> And uh >> I'm awake. >> Yeah.
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Same same page, same wavelength right now. >> Great.
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>> Have you ever had a moment in your career where you feel like you gave everything to a scene only to have it cut from the TV show or film?
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And if so, is that a painful experience or just the cost of doing business as an actor?
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>> I've definitely had things that were cut, but I I feel like so far I can recognize that it's usually for the betterment of the story as a whole.
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Like, it helps the pace or it helps clarify something for the central character, but I can't wait to get fully cut out of something sometime in my future.
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I hate to say it out loud, but I have yet to be fired and that's a right of passage that, you know, [music] we all deserve to have at some point.
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>> What would you estimate to be your personal record for most takes ever requested by a director while shooting a single scene.
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>> I had the privilege of being on the first season of House of Cards and and David Fincher directed the pilot.
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I had been warned that he >> [music] >> likes to do a number of takes.
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I don't know how many it was, but we did so many takes of my first scene, which was a scene where Michael Kelly, who played Doug Stamper, put a a wad of money in my mouth.
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And by the time we were done, >> [music] >> I lit I couldn't see him anymore.
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Like there was the light behind him like there is you right now and at some point you just stop being able to see your scene partner, which maybe is the point. I don't know.
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Maybe there's something to, you know, you do a couple takes and they're fine and then everything's horrible for a really long time and if you're lucky, you push through and and something magical happens.
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>> magic after you push through. >> Yeah.
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>> Honestly, not that different from the experience right here.
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Cuz here we are six down >> Great transition, John.
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>> [laughter] >> I take a great deal of pride in the segway. >> Mhm.
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>> This is to me is another jump. >> Mhm.
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>> [clears throat] >> Significant jump. >> Mhm. Woah. Yeah, cheers. Mhm. Woah. >> [laughter] >> Mhm.
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>> So, I understand that your father worked in children's publishing.
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I know that you're an avid reader.
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I've heard you describe yourself as an Anglophile.
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[music] If you could adapt one fantasy novel from your youth >> Yeah.
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>> to turn into a film, what would it be? >> Oh my god.
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Um [music] Well, don't do it. DON'T DO IT. WOW, that was so close. It was dangerous.
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I'm just going to cry openly. >> Yeah.
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>> [music] >> There was a lesser known series called Daughters of the Moon that I read [music] alongside no one else. Um One second, please. >> Mhm. Take your time.
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>> Holy [ __ ] >> [snorts] >> Mhm. >> Oh, wow.
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Okay, I'm going to do this cuz I haven't touched >> move right there.
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I do that sometimes, too. >> Uh-huh.
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[snorts] Wow, what was the question?
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Oh, Daughters of the Moon.
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Um >> [music] >> I I tried a a couple years back to adapt that into a television series. And I'd still love to.
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It's about these four young women who are just trying to be normal high schoolers >> [music] >> and um and learn that they have magical powers.
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And I think it's really empowering to young women.
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And um and they and they [music] deserve to have that.
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So, one day, look out for Daughters of the Moon. >> Yeah.
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>> [laughter] >> I do think this is helping. >> No, it does. Beer is a good lifeline. >> Okay.
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>> If you're ready to move on.
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This is the bomb beyond insanity. >> Be careful.
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>> Do you ever say a prayer?
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>> Yeah, yeah, yeah, in my head. >> Yeah, how does it go? Will you say one for us? Who are we looking at?
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>> [laughter] >> Looking up to the spice gods. >> Yeah.
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>> Please give us the strength to make it all the way to the end.
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We know that you'll challenge us.
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>> looking down at hell right now?
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>> beyond [laughter] insanity.
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It's It's helpful to look up and down sometimes like this. >> an ant to hell.
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>> Yeah, whoever's going to help us out here, I'll take it from either side. >> Great. No lips. Deep. Oh god. Oh god. Two legs. [ __ ] up. Oh, no. Mhm. Wow. Oh, no.
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>> Yeah, just be careful. Hands. >> Oh, cool.
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>> [laughter] >> I could throw up.
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>> We'll fly through this.
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What I've done is I've pulled some of Midge's most iconic looks. >> Mhm.
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>> We're going to pull them up over here on the monitor here.
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And I'm just kind of curious what the costume says. >> I'm sobbing.
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>> Is there anything significant about the color pink in wardrobe choices? >> Um uh Probably.
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Um Our costume designer, Donna, they used to they Amy used to say that Donna discovered Holy [ __ ] Um so many new shades of pink.
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Um she invented shades of pink for this show.
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[music] Um that one, I don't know what it's called.
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>> Up next, I believe Donna described red as a power color. Do you agree?
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And what role does it play in the costume here? >> Am I sweating? >> Yeah.
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>> Do I look >> [laughter] >> how red do I look?
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>> Yeah, you know how you were talking about not being able to see the scene partner just the way I >> You can't see me anymore.
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>> That's kind of where I'm at right now.
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>> Yes, I'm sure it is a power color in [snorts] some states.
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And um New York was one of them on this day.
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>> Up next, what makes this the right fit for [music] attending a friend's wedding after a falling out?
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>> I mean, you know, it's like [music] conservative in some ways, but there's a good like boob cutout so that you can >> Let them know you still mean >> steal the attention. Yeah.
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You know, you want people to look at you and take you seriously.
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>> And then lastly, have you ever had a time where wardrobe has failed you during a shoot?
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You know, you do a lot of high fashion running.
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You know, it makes me wonder, has a heel ever snapped or anything like that?
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>> put that on my resume.
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Um Uh a heel has definitely [music] snapped on on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel more than once.
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And it's tough when they're vintage cuz there's no replacement.
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So, if you look really closely, you can probably see some um Wow, I'm really sweating.
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You can probably see some uh lack of continuity with the shoes. >> How we feeling?
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>> We are feeling so many things.
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>> [laughter] >> I don't know what we just looked at.
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>> And here's [snorts] the good news.
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Nothing is as bad as what you just ate.
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You just had the worst one. Yes.
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>> [snorts] >> I think you're lying. >> No, I don't.
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I'm actually it's a chicken wing talk show host of the highest dignity. >> I don't know.
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There's something about your eyes.
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Okay, [music] taste the wing. >> one Oh man. >> Mhm. Helps.
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>> For the uninitiated, what makes Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century a go-to [laughter] children's movie?
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>> I mean, her one earring.
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She inspired a generation of fashion girlies.
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She had a computer chip on her ear.
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Nothing says Y2K more than that.
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I would love a Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century reunion.
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>> Broadway adaptation, maybe.
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>> A Broadway adaptation.
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I shall not be performing the lead role.
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>> So, this is the last dab.
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We call it the last dab cuz it's tradition around here to put a little extra on the last wing.
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You don't have to if you don't want to. >> I You're doing it. You're doing it.
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I'm going to take Okay, hold on.
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I'm going to How do we get in there?
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>> I can give you mine if it's tough with the nails.
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I don't know if that's a fresh manicure.
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I don't want to >> It is, but [ __ ] it up. We're here. [laughter] We're here. >> That's good. That's good. That's good.
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So, I just give it a little dip and rip.
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>> [snorts] >> This is something to be proud of.
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We've gotten all the way >> to be proud of.
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You're exactly >> a moment. >> [music] >> Cheers. >> Cheers. Is that too much? Am I going to die?
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>> Uh, you know, we're going out with a bang. Shawn! >> Oh god.
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>> And with that the wings of death are behind us. >> Hey.
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>> And to close things out, >> Mhm.
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>> totally, what's the difference between your natural speaking voice and the way that your character talks?
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Like, [music] how would Midge describe conquering the Wings of Death today?
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>> I feel like Midge would be like, "Fuck you, Shawn. Get my Get my tits up."
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And she'd have some excellent joke that I'm too um to come up with right now.
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Spiced out, is that the professional term? >> Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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That's the industry-specific vernacular. >> with right now.
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No, I feel like Midge talks [music] at at 10 times the speed that I can in my real life.
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And you know, to be honest, a lot of that was brought on by by [music] Corset and Amy off camera being like, "Talk faster, talk faster."
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And there was only one way to do it.
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And [music] so, that just became became Midge's voice.
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>> Well, look at you, Rachel Brosnahan, taking on the Wings of Death.
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>> Living to tell the tale, and now there's nothing left to do but cheers with a Stella to the summit and the beautiful view.
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>> Cheers to the beautiful view.
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Thank you for this adventure.
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>> And now, there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you.
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This camera, this camera, this camera, let the people know what you have going on in your life.
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>> I'm currently shooting the second season [music] of Presumed Innocent for Apple.
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And uh I'm shortly going to start shooting the next Superman film, Man [music] of Tomorrow.
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>> [applause] >> Thanks, y'all.
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>> Worse than you thought it would be?
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What you thought it would be?
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>> I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it to the end. So, I So, better maybe.
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>> I learned something about myself today.
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>> That's exactly [laughter] right. >> I'm sobbing.