Kaitlin Olson may well be TV’s queen of physical comedy. For 12 seasons strong she’s proven as much as the affable-but-dim Dee Reynolds on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” And now she has another Fox hit on her hands with “The Mick,” where her Micky Murphy falls from second-story banisters and gets struck by speeding cars while begrudgingly playing guardian to her sister’s spoiled-rotten kids. Olson recently spoke with Backstage about keeping her heightened comedy grounded and putting her secret weapon in audition prep to good use. Catch up on that and more (including an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at “The Mick” Season 2) below.
What has playing Micky added to your acting skills?
Well, I don’t know that I’ve ever played such a bold, confident character before. All levels of insecurity are in my wheelhouse, but someone who truly just doesn’t care, that’s kind of new to me, and that was really fun and sort of an interesting thing to find. Dee [on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”] is such a goofball and loses it in such a ridiculous way, and Micky can really keep everything under control and manage a situation. There’s something very funny about both, but I certainly felt like that was new to Micky, and I had a strong desire to keep them separate from each other. (Although I can’t stay away from the physical comedy, it’s too fun.)
Did you ever use Backstage in the past?
I sure did, I was all over Backstage. That was before I could even get a manager or an agent or anything like that. [For me,] it was mainly just casting notices and sort of wanting to feel like, “OK, I’m doing something! I’m being proactive”—as I sat in my apartment and was scared to do much.
How did you first get your SAG-AFTRA card?
I believe, oh wow, that’s a really good question. It must’ve been “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” And this back when that was just AFTRA. SAG, I believe, was “Coyote Ugly.”
What advice would you give your younger self?
When you’re auditioning, make it your own. I remember just reading all of the character descriptions and trying so hard to be that person that they were looking for. But the truth is, they’re looking for the best actor. Someone who’s bringing something to it that adds to what they already thought of. It’s been really interesting because I’m producing “The Mick,” and being involved with this casting process and being on the other side of it, you really—auditioning is so important, but it’s not about impressing them, it’s about impressing yourself and walking in and taking the space and doing everything that you need to do to make yourself comfortable. You don’t need to ask to sit down: Go in there, and if you want to sit down, sit down. If you want to stand up, stand up. It’s the people who go in owning what they’re going to do and just are bringing something. Just make it your own and have fun and impress yourself and then say “thank you” and leave. It just makes such a big difference.
I was just such a nervous auditioner, and I’m such a people pleaser in general. I just wanted to go in and give them what they wanted and impress them. And it was only when I realized that this isn’t going to work unless I go in and I have fun with this and I amuse myself and make myself laugh and add things that I think are funny. That’s the only time that this will ever work because that’s when I’m doing what I do best.
How do you typically prepare for an audition?
At some point, I figured out that I needed to hear myself out loud, not once, not twice—50 times. So I would advise getting a little digital tape recorder, recording the other person’s lines, and then silently leaving space for your lines so you can play it back to yourself. You’re basically reading with yourself. I would do that all the way in the car up to the time I parked to get out for the audition. It changes so much the more you say it out loud. And then you recognize things that you can mess with. So that was a huge step for me, and that’s when I got comfortable with it. You could also hear how tense you are the first few readings. So you can hear how important it is to just do it enough until you relax and just, like, screw around with it. Everyone should just be screwing around more often! Have fun. Make it your own.
What movie should every comic actor see?
I think I’m going to have to go with “Bridesmaids.” All those women are so extremely talented. A handful of them happen to be my friends. But I was so proud of them because, look, making a successful comedy is so hard to do. A movie that is actually a box office success? That’s really tough. Kristen Wiig is so wonderful and fantastic and genuinely funny, but she played a real person. And I loved that so much. It’s so important to me to find that very heightened reality, but the character is still very grounded. She played a real person who was extremely funny, they all did. That’s what I find so impressive. People, when they miss the mark, they take it over into cartoon land or a caricature, and that’s not funny anymore. For me, it’s not. It just gets goofy.
What advice do you have for succeeding in L.A.?
I think whatever you feel like your strengths are, find a group of people so that you can get involved with them in some way—whatever that means to you. I did the Groundlings, but then also, I met a few people in there and we branched off and did a sketch comedy group and we took that around town for awhile. It’s just keeping yourself creative and surrounded by people who are doing similar things. You inspire each other. And also just keeping the energy of that creativity going, I needed to be acting in some capacity. And it doesn’t really matter in what capacity. Just do something and keep your eyes and ears open. It’s a tough business.
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