Mary Lynn Rajskub is known best for her role of Chloe O’Brian in the TV series “24”. Mary Lynn is currently co-starring in “How To Be a Gentleman” with David Horsnby, Kevin Dillon, Rhys Darby and David Foley. The show premiere’s September 29th on CBS. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Mary Lynn about her now show and what we can expect from the season.
Mike Gencarelli: How is it working with a primarily male cast on “How To Be a Gentleman”?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: I don’t mind it. Men can be exciting sometimes. We have a lot of women on the crew and there also is Nancy Lenehan, who plays our mother on the show.
MG: How was it working with Kevin Dillion, who is fresh from “Entourage”?
MLR: It’s great! He is a super nice guy and he is very funny. I think this show gives him more to do and we get to see more of him than on “Entourage”. He really had no break as once that show ended he started work on this one. We are shooting episode number five right now. It’s been pretty fun so far.
MG: What can we expect from the first season?
MLR: The idea of the show was created by David Horsnby. He had this book that I think his mom gave him on how to be a gentleman. The book has all these archaic rules about politeness and things a gentleman should do. David loosely based the show on a guy who lived his life by every rule in that book. I play the sister who tries to get this guy into the real world. Kevin Dillon plays the guy who used to be the bully in high school and wants Andrew the main character to get laid. It’s really a story about a guy attempting to change his life.
MG: How does it feel going from a show like “24” to a comedy like this one?
MLR: It’s been interesting. It’s been a lot different and I don’t have to worry about who is getting shot or if the bomb went off yet. This show still has high stakes overall but its more about the relationships. I get to be a girl and wear sexy outfits. It’s a lot lighter.
MG: How do you feel this show differs from other television shows?
MLR: I think every show is different. What I like about our show is that the characters are very likeable. I think everyone on our show is really good at comedy and each character is endearing in their own way.
MG: What was it like working with Fred Savage?
MLR: Fed Savage is super sweet and very high energy. He is like a little kid as he has so much fun directing and with his job. Fred is just a great guy that has grown up in the business and loves directing. He has a very infectious personality.
MG: Any word about the rumors circulating in relation to a “24” full length movie?
MLR: I haven’t heard anything but it is something I would love to see. I am not sure how they would handle the countdown but I haven’t heard anything yet. I hope it is still in the works.
MG: Can you tell us about your upcoming film with Kristen Bell titles “Safety Not Guaranteed”?
MLR: I got to work with Aubrey Plaza and Jake Johnson who is super funny as well as Jeff Garlin who I have known for a long time. It was one of those scripts that were sort of odd and sweet but kind of dark. It was good timing and was just a few days of work. I play a boss of a magazine that is very cold and rude. The film is based on a personal add about a guy that wants to time travel.
