Entertainment Spotlight: Lisa Edelstein, The Kominsky Method
From her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the hit Fox series House to her starring role as Abby McCarthy in Bravo’s first scripted series Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, Lisa Edelstein’s range of roles are as diverse as her talent. You can catch her playing a recurring role in the Golden Globe winning Netflix series The Kominsky Method, and she recently reunited with House creator David Shore for an arc on The Good Doctor. Edelstein resides in Los Angeles with her husband, artist Robert Russell, two step-sons, and several rescue dogs. She volunteers her time with a variety of charity organizations including Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, The Anti-Defamation League, Planned Parenthood, and The Center for Reproductive Rights. Lisa took the time to answer some questions about her career. Check it out:
Do you have a favorite line or scene from season 2 of
The Kominsky Method?
My favorite scene from Season 2 of “The Kominsky Method” is making amends to my father. I love so many things about it. First of all, you get a real glimpse of the father/daughter dynamic that created a child like Phoebe, because Alan is hilarious and his character is incredibly tough on her. Secondly, Phoebe has a little bit of sobriety under her belt, but she is nowhere near understanding how awful her behavior has been or how badly it affected people. She still thinks everyone has a “take to your grave” list of mistakes they’ve made. And I love, when out of desperation because her father is so mad at her, that she even suggests the housekeeper might have done something ELSE wrong to deserve being deported directly to death squads. Anything to get daddy off her back. It’s such an incredible scene with so many layers of sickness, it’s the most fun to play.
What type of scripts and roles are you drawn to?
Anything that’s well written. I really try not to preplan my future parts because they always come as a surprise and are more interesting then moving in a strictly linear fashion. I try not to play the same person over and over again, in a row, because that gets you into trouble. The minute you play something well, you get ten offers to play the same part in other shows and for me it was always important to push back against that and wait til I could do something new. Not everyone manages their career in that way and it’s neither right nor wrong, it’s just how I like to move through the world. Our business is very difficult to succeed in. I always felt that we fight so hard to get our careers, you better make sure its a career you enjoy.
Did you do any research or shadowing to prepare for your roles on
House and/or The Good Doctor?
Not really. My father was the town pediatrician. I used to go to the emergency room with him for fun; “help” him give stitches and such. Don’t worry, I wasn’t actually stabbing needles into people’s wounds, but I would be the “cotton swab holder” or some such. I just thought it was so cool. So, I always loved medicine. Being on “House” was the perfect way for me to be a doctor: no med school, no one dies IRL, and totally awesome and completely hospital-inappropriate outfits. As for “The Good Doctor,” I was just happy to work with David and crew again and torture Richard Schiff. Richard played my dad on one of my earliest series, “Relativity,” then we worked together on “The West Wing,” so we go way back.
How do you get into the mindset to play Phoebe in
The Kominsky Method?
To me, Phoebe is a woman with the brain of a hurt, angry, lonely 14-year-old. In season one, that’s all you really see of her, acting out till someone notices. In season two, you really see her first true attempt at growing up. But every conversation with her dad tries to suck her back into the same adolescent dynamic. So it’s not about finding some ulterior mindset, it’s more about just reaching into a part of myself I can certainly remember. It’s letting go of a few adult ideas and allowing that rich dynamic Chuck created to wash over me. She’s sort of a permanently injured teenager although Season 2 leaves some space for her to find her way into recovery for real.
Is there a specific role or moment that you feel was most impactful to your career up to this point?
There are a series of moments, not a specific one. Jobs that led to other jobs, moments that I knew meant as much for the moment as they would for my future. But I’m not one with a lucky break. I’m fortunate enough to be in this industry and actually work, so there’s that. But I’ve never taken great leaps forward, just little steps. I got my SAG card because I chastised Oliver Stone in my audition for “The Doors” and he liked my sass. So that got me one line you can’t see on screen, but it also got me my SAG card. Step one! I had moments in auditions for jobs I didn’t even get that made casting directors believe in me and push for me to get future work. I got cast for the live episode of “ER” because of a good audition then the director called me last minute to replace an actor on an episode of “Sports Night” which led to two episodes and then to sex worker Laurie on “The West Wing.” Bryan Singewr was a huge “West Wing” fan and loved my character and fought to cast me on “House” as Cuddy. So work begat work. Step by step. With a lot of other steps in-between.
Thanks for taking the time, Lisa!
weird, i opened tumblr to this WHILE watching Season 2 of House again
