As Martha M. Masters, Ph.D., a socially awkward third-year resident (whom House describes as "the love child of Einstein and Mary Poppins"), Tamblyn has won acclaim in a role that was originally designed to shift attention away from Olivia Wilde's absence. But like Tamblyn has done many times before, the multi-hyphenate is engaging audience members with a combination of charm, wit and complexity.
Last week, the actress phoned Movieline to first clear up those rumors about audience members fainting during 127 Hours screenings, and second, to discuss her new affection for Hugh Laurie, the art of faking a doctor and her favorite eye-gouging scene on film ever.
I read that you based your character on House on a close friend of yours. Have you gotten any feedback from her yet?
Yes! She loved it but what was really cute was that she said, "Oh my god, I love the show so much! It's so great. But I did notice one error in the speech that a character gave. One tiny thing." And that is of course, very much like her to note that. I forwarded her email to [House creator] David Shore and he said, "That's awesome! And also, I'm embarrassed."
That's hilarious.
It was the most minuscule thing, but that is her personality to compliment you and then also point out something that is wrong because she is so smart.
How long have you known her?
We grew up together. She is my childhood best friend. We went to grade school together and her mom is like my second mom. I still know her mom's phone number by heart. It's that kind of longstanding friendship.
When you first heard about the project, did you feel daunted by the prospect of having to learn all of this medical jargon and be able to use it convincingly?
The first episode was a little scary but you get a rhythm for it. A lot of the words are used over and over again, like Doxycycline which is a pretty common treatment for patients. But it's a challenge, and I hadn't been challenged in this way, linguistically, for awhile, so it was great.
Does it benefit your memorization process to research the conditions that your House patients are suffering from to understand what you are saying? Or is it more of a game of just remembering strings of words?
Sometimes you just have to have faith in your brain. I did everything that I could in terms of looking up what words meant and trying to learn what it is and understand where the word is rooted in Latin. Sometimes that would help. But at the end of the day when you have three cameras pointed in your face and you are getting a close-up while delivering a monologue about illnesses, it's up to you.
Were you intimidated to be acting opposite Hugh Laurie?
No, that was the fun part. He's just really great to be playful in a scene with and that's the great art of an actor like him who is not afraid to go out of the box and is unpredictable in what they are going to do next.
But predictable in what they are going to say. Because I imagine ad-libs are not permitted on the House set.
No, absolutely not. The genius of it is that you have to create a character within that box but who blurs the lines of the box, who does stuff a little outside of that box. That is part of the art form, doing what is written but putting your own spin on it.
Had you been looking to get back into television when the House opportunity came along?
Well I did The Unusuals last year, which I think four people watched total, even though it was incredibly good. But I feel like I never left television. I've been doing that and have been lucky enough to be doing films on the side and be a writer and do all the stuff that I love. There was a brief time after doing Joan of Arcadia when I needed a break because that was such an intense experience on so many levels, that I wanted to take a break and rest from that television schedule. By the way, that is another reason why I am just completely blown away by Hugh because this is his seventh year doing this and he's just still so excited about being on set. He gets exhausted, but it is not a tiredness that is final or forever. He bounces back and loves his work and that is what is really charming about him. But I think it's really important for actors to not close their doors to certain mediums because of bad experiences or anything like that.
Whether it be with House, Joan of Arcadia, The Unusuals or even the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants franchise, you always seem to play complex young female characters when it seems like those roles in television and film are few and far between. Are you gauging character complexity when you read scripts or do you think that character complexity is something that the actors -- more than the writers -- are responsible for?
I actually look for characters that are quite simple to be honest. That is more relatable to me. Even someone like Tibby in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants -- on the surface, she may seem like just an average girl going through a difficult time in her first years of college, but I've always been more interested in what goes on subtextually with a character. Honestly, I could have picked some roles that really sucked. And sometimes you can't get exactly the roles you want so you try to create something magical within the confines of what you can get as an actress in this business, which is honestly what I feel like I have done a lot.
How was your character on House presented to you?
This was one of the more flattering [casting] experiences because David Shore and Katie Jacobs said, "We want to write something for you." It is rare for an actress to be handed an opportunity like this by two brilliant people.
Were you concerned that a character as intelligent and socially unaware as Martha would make the audience unsympathetic towards her?
I did get nervous that Martha would come off as annoying after the first episode. That made me nervous. I really just did not want her to become an exhausting character, but that is why David Shore is brilliant -- he knows how to balance that. For every scene where she is talking too much and other characters are rolling their eyes, there is a scene where the audience sees that this is a character who has struggled to fit in. That is going to be the beauty of her arc on this show. How do you become a full person? Is it possible to be so brilliant and still have relationships with people?
Do you see a future on House after this 13-episode arc?
I don't know. I kind of like, as an actress, going into a project and then moving on and trying a different project. I enjoy creating characters and starting new projects. That doesn't mean I have ruled it out, I am just enjoying where I am right now and not thinking about anything after these episodes right now.
Finally, it is time for a quick round of Movieline's game "My Favorite Scene." Is there one film scene that comes to mind as being your all-time favorite?
Yes! When Betty Blue rips her eyeball out in Betty Blue, the French film.
Why did that scene resonate with you?
That is just the pinnacle of a "crazy girl" scene in a film. And that actress, Béatrice Dalle, is brilliant and the scenes that follow that, with her lover dressing up in her clothes so that he can visit her in the hospital because he cannot get in -- it's just such a beautiful third act to a film. It's very memorable. I recommend it.