Over a decade before Glenn Close's character stewed a pet rabbit in Fatal Attraction, Jessica Walter won a Golden Globe nomination for her role as a psychotic stalker fan in Play Misty For Me, the first feature film directed by Clint Eastwood. Thirty years later, Walter won the hearts of an entirely different demographic with her Emmy-nominated role on Arrested Development as the Bluth family's sinfully overbearing matriarch. While Arrested fans may not see the feature film for a couple years still (Mitch Hurwitz is rumored to still be writing the script), they can at least catch Walter in FX's new animated spy series Archer, which premieres tonight.
Movieline caught up with the lovely actress earlier this week to chat about how her Archer role was designed with her in mind, what she thought about her stint voicing Fran Sinclair on Dinosaurs, and her excitement for that Arrested Development script.
How did you hear about Archer?
I first read the script when my agent Cynthia, a wonderful woman, called and told me, "You know, it's the funniest thing. I got copy" -- copy, meaning what people audition from. She said, "They sent copy for this new show and it says next to the character Mallory, 'Think Jessica Walter from Arrested Development.'" So she called them up and said, "You know, I represent Jessica Walter and she really loves doing animation and has done many a show including Dinosaurs, which was a wonderful show in the nineties." And they said okay! I got the offer and they sent me the script. But how about that?
That must be flattering, especially since Mallory is smart, funny and a little bit like a certain Arrested Development character...
I know, there are a lot of similarities between Mallory and Lucille. [Laughs] Should I feel silly about that? Why do I keep getting these parts? They're similar though. They're strong women who both love their children but they don't know how to show it.
You mentioned that you love doing animation. What specifically about it interests you?
There are many things about it. One is that you don't have to do make-up and hair. You can roll out of bed and it is at your convenience and your availability. They schedule the sessions and those are just the peripheral things that are good about it. What's good about it too is that you can really have fun. You can go a lot further, especially with animated cartoons, than you can with having a close-up in your face. You can go over the top and not feel funny about it.
When voicing Archer, were you in the same room with your co-stars at any point?
On this show, interestingly enough, no. With Dinosaurs, which was a primetime show, we had table readings where all of the actors would get together. But then we did the actual recording facing the screen of the animatronic puppets, because there was a full person's body inside the suits. We would have to face the screen and make the dialogue fit into what was already done on the camera. That was difficult. Now for Archer, we read all of our lines in a little booth with no screen, no nothing. And then I guess they do the cartooning to match what we did.
Is that difficult since you don't have another actor to play off of?
Well you know something, on this show, and this is a tribute to Adam Reed, who is the creator and brilliant writer of Archer, he works with us from his base in Atlanta via satellite. I record in New York or Los Angeles if I'm there and he reads all of the other parts and he is wonderful. I always joke that if things don't work out for Adam, he can join the Screen Actors Guild. He does a heck of a job. We do whole scenes, three and four pages at a time, so it takes a lot less time to do it that way too. With most cartoons, you do a few lines, go back. And with Archer, maybe we do a scene three times and Adam takes what he likes in the editing room and that's that.
So when Jeffrey Tambor guest-stars on an upcoming episode, you two weren't acting together again somewhere in a soundbooth. But your characters will appear in scenes together.
Yes, we have scenes together. Jeffrey will be on January 28 and he plays the United Nations intelligence chairman.
I read that you're reuniting with George Segal for a TV Land pilot?
Yes! We just did a pilot. I was a guest, but hopefully we'll come back. I play his wife who leaves him.
How was that, being back on set with him?
You know, I did a movie with him 45 years ago [Bye Bye Braverman]. [Chuckles] How scary is that? I said when I saw him, at the table read just a couple weeks ago, I said, "George, you have to stop following me around like this." We had worked together on Just Shoot Me and I played his ex-wife, the one he always talked about who was the mother of Laura San Giacomo's character. My husband [Ron Leibman, Kaz, Garden State] has worked with him a few times. And [George] is just a wonderful, giving actor.
I can't wait to see it.
Me too. I have no idea when -- they're testing it now somewhere but I really feel like it will sell. I probably shouldn't say that and jinx it, but I think it's great.
Before working on Bye Bye Braverman, one of your first big roles was on the soap opera Love of Life. I'm curious what your thoughts are about the state of soap operas today. They've been the jumping off points for so many great careers and in the past year, two soaps have been canceled.
Well, I just think it's awful. I also think, because I'm sort of long in the tooth to remember when you would do an episode of not a soap, but another television series in the late '60s and '70s. There were 39 episodes a year rather than 13 -- and maybe if you're really lucky, 22. This whole thing of reality programming, slowly taking over for everything -- I guess the Jay Leno Show didn't work so they'll have to go back to using us poor old actors. It has put a lot of people out of work, so I think it's terrible.
It is. Now do you mind if we talk about Lucille Bluth for a moment and Arrested Development?
No, not at all.
There have been so many rumors this year about how far along Mitch Hurwitz is with the script. Have you seen a page of it yet?
No. About a year and a half ago, everybody in the cast was called, including me, and we were asked if everyone would be involved in the movie. And we said yes and now we're waiting for a script. Who knows, I hear that it's definitely happening but we're not sure when. Now I did read somewhere that somebody said it was happening this year so hopefully it'll happen before Michael Cera is a grandfather.
So you haven't gotten any updates about what Lucille Bluth might be up to three years later?
I know nothing. I don't even know if it's written but we're actors, so we're always the last to know. Supposedly, they're working on it but I hope that Lucille is victorious in whatever she attempts. [Laughs] I'm not sure what they have in mind for her. Would I have ever thought that Lucille would adopt a Korean orphan? No. All of the stuff was so far out. The writers were wonderful.
Do you talk to anyone from the cast still?
I've talked to Tony Hale occasionally and...you know, in the last few months, that's about it. Everybody's so busy, thank goodness.
Indeed, and the fan base is growing.
They're the best, especially in New York City. Out of the woodwork, somebody comes up and says "Oh my god, I love the show." People on the street, on the subway, on the buses. Supposedly we weren't getting good ratings. On the other hand, though, who are all these people that have seen it and love it? Now, the IFC channel is running episodes without commercials. They're running two episodes of Arrested every Sunday and I think they repeat them throughout the week so the show is still going. Go figure.