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He wasnt there for the bullshit, you know?
(The only battles here are over sections of theFinancial Times, he jokes.)
Do you sometimes think youre playing a totally different character than in the first season?I do.
Its like that thing where you watch the pilot ofSeinfeldand everybodys completely different than where they ended up.
Characters evolve, and Joel is obviously no exception.
I mean, hereallyevolved.
Hes pretty much a completely different person.
In what ways?When we first met him, he was really despicable.
He cheated on Midge, this character that everybody fell in love with immediately.
It was hard to win back an audience after they see something like that.
But Im unsure if that was truly who Joel was.
Im trying to remember exactly what he said.
But Midge says no, and he responds, Why?
And she says, Because you left.
Ever since then, hes been trying to win her back.
I dont necessarily think theyre right for each other.
They clearly have love for each other.
They have kids together, so theyre always going to be in each others lives.
Do you still maintain that belief?I do.
Hes the most grounded.
I think hes a representation of the audience.
The audience can see the show through his eyes.
Joel is the one whos most based in reality.
Hes somehow the only person who understands just how bad mobsters can be.ThatsMaisel-land for you!
It has a lot to do with whos portraying these characters.
Amy and Dan didnt know me when I first started on the job.
Whether they knew it or not, they started writing for me.
Its kind of a combination of both Joel and myself.
They write to our strengths, and they write to our weaknesses.
Now you must tell me what your strengths and weaknesses are.They could probably tell you better than me.
Theyre amazing writers, but Im not quite certain that everybody could do that.
I feel uncomfortable talking about my strengths.
A theme thats emerged is how Midges success is coming at the expense of those around her.
It wasnt even through the script.
I found out from one of the makeup artists.
I dont like to know anything that happens to my character from episode to episode.
I like to just read the script and be surprised.
Do you want to know?
At that point, I was like, Sure, tell me.
So he told me that it starts out with Joel in prison.
I had no idea what he did.
I assumed it was malicious.
I didnt assume it was anything heroic.
It wasnt until the next episode until it all became clear.
How do you envision Joels life behind bars?
From context clues, its a white-collar joint.Yeah, that was the thing for me.
It did say in the script that it was a short sentence.
I think it was only two years, so I knew he didnt kill anybody.
It did appear to be some sort of white-collar crime.
But the truth is that its more than that and its deeper than that.
I was happy with the reveal.
But as I watch it, it makes a lot of sense to reveal it early on.
What was going through your mind getting aged up to 1987?
They hired a special-effects makeup artist who also did Colin Farrell inThe Penguinand the newBatmanmovie.
I knew we were going to get the best of the best.
As an actor, you always want to play with makeup because it helps inform your character.
Also, selfishly, I wanted to see what I would look like 30 years from now.
It was amazing; I had to do a body scan and a head scan.
Ive never done anything like that before.
It took a very long time.
It was so completely worth it.
Seeing Rachel also in full aging makeup was really special, too.
I like that you were cool with the wrinkles and the sun spots, but going bald?
No way.[Laughs.]
The other factor, obviously, is how your body moves as an older person.
They had us work with a movement expert and a movement coach.
But the truth is its like hes not that much older.
I think hes only in his late 50s or maybe his very early 60s.
People in that age range arent walking around with a hunch or anything like that.
Joel asks Midge during their prison visit, Why do you keep coming here?
Theyre one of the very few people in each others lives that they can honestly trust.
But its also sad.
Listen, Im not saying I was against their relationship or anything like that.
Because maybe afterward, who knows?
Thats the one question that everybody always asks me.
People come up to me on the street and say, Hey, man.
Are Joel and Midge going to get together?
I always say, I dont know.
It just made me a little sad that they sort of showed that.
But I appreciate it.
I never thought they were going to get together, to be honest.
Especially after that first episode: the pilot where he makes this colossal mistake.
The audience immediately turned on him.
It seemed weird to me that people would want them to come back together.
I thought it was pretty lovely that theyre still on affable terms.
Especially since Midge dates, who, Quincy Jones and Paul Simon?They are each others soul mates.
I think some people have multiple soul mates, and perhaps thats the case with them.
But that doesnt take away from the fact that they are soul mates.
I would assume it would be more like Jerry, attempting a comedy act.
But Joel would probably still bomb.
