Posted in: Peacock, TV | Tagged: Laid, peacock, Stephanie Hsu, Zosia Mamet

Laid: Hsu & Mamet on Ensemble Cast/Chemistry, Comedy Approach & More

Laid stars Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet spoke with Bleeding Cool about the Peacock dark romantic comedy, cast chemistry, and much more.

It's rare for actors to get such golden opportunities as juicy as Stephanie Hsu (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and Zosia Mamet (Madame Web) now have in the dark romantic comedy series Laid. Based on the 2011-2012 Australian TV series of the same name created by Marieke Hardy and Kirsty Fisher, the Peacock series comes from Nahnatchka Khan (Fresh Off the Boat) and Sally Bradford McKenna (Will & Grace), which follows Ruby (Hsu), who finds out her former lovers are dying in unusual ways and must go back through her sex timeline to confront her past in order to move forward. Hsu and Mamet, who plays Ruby's best friend AJ, spoke to Bleeding Cool about whether the Australian series had any influence on their performances, their chemistry, opportunities for improvisation, writing, co-stars, and more.

Laid Stars Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet on Embracing Romantic Comedy Chaos

Bleeding Cool: Before filming, did you either you had a chance to watch your original Australian version of 'Laid?'

Hsu: Neither of us have because sometimes when you're remaking something, you want to keep your brain clear.

Mamet: Yeah.

How do you break down the chemistry you have, and why do you guys both work well together?

Mamet: Chemistry is a hard thing to explain. It's like the last bit of magic we have in our adult lives. Sometimes you don't know why you mesh so well with somebody, but Stephanie and I work similarly and came prepared, but also with a desire to play. Even if we have an idea about something, it might not necessarily be the right one. We're always open to other ideas from other people, and we've been talking all day about how we adore and love each other so much. You cannot ask for a better partner in crime or a more talented or generous person to work with.

Hsu: Ditto, [points to Zamet] literally did mirror, mirror.

Was there anything you did before that inspired your performances as Ruby and AJ? Anything you tapped into?

Hsu: I grew up loving romcoms and felt excited to get to tell a love story. Also, creating a character that was asking a pretty innocent question but executing it in selfish, messy ways, like, "How does one person know when they know? What is love? What is love in this current day and age? How do you find it?" That was a journey to go through her.

Mamet: I don't know of anything specific that informed this character for me. We've talked a lot about this today, but Sally [Bradford] and then Nahnatchka [Khan] did such an incredible job of molding this world, these characters, and writing the most delicious dialog. Sometimes, one of the greatest joys I find in doing what I do when you get to be as lucky to work with people like that is surrendering to it and going along for the ride while saying those amazing words.

How much did you guys work strictly off the scripts versus any opportunities you had to improv?

Hsu: The amazing thing about incredible writers is you want to honor their words because you can hear the musicality of the jokes right on the page at the table reads. It was almost difficult to improv in this world because it's on such a rollercoaster of its own. We did find time to play. Z[osia] and Andre [Hyland] are very good at it. There are whole mythical creatures and backstories that live inside their brain that come out as funny sentences to this day, I'm so impressed by. That means they're great at improvising [Mamet laughs]. It was too much…slam poetry.

What would you say about your costars like Michael [Angarano], Tommy [Martinez], Ryan [Pinkston], Chloe [Fineman], and everyone else about their contributions to this ensemble?

Mamet: We've talked again a lot today about how incredibly lucky everyone was on this show with all the amazing talent who came on board. We can't say enough good things about each other about who they are as humans and artists. They are so exceptional, professional, kind, and funny. We also talked a lot about today. Everyone who came on board for this project was incredibly unique and understood how this is a comedy with a lot of heart, as zany as its circumstances. It worked if it came from a place of groundedness and humanity. Everybody walked that line so beautifully, which made the show special.

Laid premieres December 19th on Peacock.

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