Interview With the Women of "Jackie Woodman"

AE: You had Nicol Paone [Big Gay Sketch Show] as your character's love interest. How did you cast her? Did you know her as well?
LK: I did not know her. I had to kiss a lot of women to make sure I found the right one, and she was it.

NT: She had the softest lips.

LK: She really did.

AE: Is that what it takes to get that kind of role?
LK: Yeah, you also have to have strong hands, I think. … She was just — she was perfect. Actually, she was recommended; the casting person recommended her, said … she's just an all-around, solid actor. Her delivery was great.

AE: I felt like your characters, at the end of the episode, were kind of pushed out of the lesbian community, but it seemed like if that hadn't happened they would have kept on faking it.
LK: Yeah. Oh, I would have hung on.

NT: We fake it till we make it, you know, as they say. [Laughter.]

AE: Nicholle, your character got that horrible mullet haircut — obviously that was a wig.
NT: Yes, that was a wig. It took five hours to cut it. It was a beautiful, long, blond wig and it literally took five hours. I wanted to have more of a Foxfire kind of mullet, but I liked it. I didn't think it looked that bad, you know. Twenty bucks, you know. Twenty bucks.

LK: I think Nicholle is such a beauty she actually still looked good in that. I try to make her look ugly; I do everything I can think of; she still looks beautiful.

NT: That was the first day of work, too, I had to put that on.

LK: Remember you had to run and get your dog and we said OK, but you had your wig on.

NT: I just completely forgot I had it on and I was thinking, should I just go out and pick up my dog from the groomer's with it on? Does it really look that bad?

AE: Did people notice?
NT: No.

LK: I remember when I played a lesbian in Kicking and Screaming, and I was wearing jeans and a western shirt and a bolo tie, and I had to run to Will & Grace 'cause I was doing punch-up and I said, "Look at this get-up!" And everybody was like, "What are you talking about? It looks absolutely the same as everything you always wear." And I thought I was looking really tough.

AE: So this is at least your second time playing, well, sort of a lesbian.
NT: I've played a lesbian a couple times.

AE: Really?
NT: Yeah.

AE: Are you guys aiming to build up a lesbian fan base?
LK: Yes!

NT: One, two, three, four — this is my fourth time playing a lesbian. Do you want me to name 'em?

AE: Yes, I do.
NT: Panic, where I kissed Neve Campbell. Sterling Chase, which was [also known as] Graduation Week, where I kissed Devon Odessa. The Ice Angel, where I kind of played a lesbian but not really, where the hockey player goes up to heaven and then comes back into my body. [Dryly.] That was a really great movie. And I was kind of a guy throughout the whole thing. And then this one, where I just kiss some random chick.

LK: I don't know if this is the best time to announce our commitment ceremony.

NT: [Motions to a ring she is wearing.] Laura gave me this. [Laughter.]

LK: Nicholle gave me this ring! [Gestures to a ring she is wearing.] She honestly did! Is that my — that is my wedding hand.

AE: At the press conference earlier today, you mentioned the word "feminist" when your panel was asked about the differences between how women were portrayed in the 1970s in comparison to today. It doesn't seem like you're afraid of using that word.
LK: Yeah, I feel bad actually that … it's spoken with such derision. That's what really bothers me, because if you're a woman, shouldn't you be a feminist? Shouldn't you want women's rights and shouldn't you want the most success for other women. And so it just blows my mind when there are women that say, "No, I'm not a feminist." I find that kind of surprising. To me it's like saying, "I'm against myself." I've had like three big breaks, and they're all from women, acting and writing.

AE: It was interesting to me that Evan Shapiro, IFC's executive vice president and general manager, said at the press conference that IFC's viewers are "overwhelmingly men." After seeing your show and also The Business, it didn't seem as though they were shows for men, necessarily.
LK: Right. But the good thing is, too … they're shows for cool women. It's not like we're going out shoe shopping. For me … that would put me off a show, as well as men. I think we're sort of — at least in the topics we discuss — it's more androgynous, you know.

NT: The asexuals.

LK: Yeah. [Deadpan.] That's right, Nicholle, we've got a big asexual audience. [Laughter.] And cats love us. Asexuals and cats.

AE: That's perfect for lesbians.
LK: [Laughs.] It's mostly about relationships or trying to be in love, which I think men and women [are interested in], and trying not to look like a fool or feel like a fool.

NT: Trying to fit in.

LK: Yeah, basically.

AE: So have you finished shooting this season?
LK: Yeah, yeah.

AE: What are you working on now?
LK: Nicholle's already got a picture deal. I'm seeing if I can get a job spackling or tacking roofs. [Laughter.]

NT: I don't have a picture deal. [Laughter.] But thanks, Laura. I'm just taking a break right now.

LK: Like in magazines where they say, "so-and-so splits her time" — I am splitting my time between the kitchen and the bedroom.

Hey, I am doing one thing, I just remembered … I wrote a book called Quick Shots of False Hope, and … there was a very nice review in the New York Times, actually, when it came out. But it sort of got lost in the shuffle; it wasn't promoted. So it's coming out again, and I'm actually working on a screenplay based on that book.

AE: Are you anticipating a third season of Minor Accomplishments?
LK: I would hope so. I want to.

NT: I would love to.

The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman premieres on Sunday, Aug. 5, at 11:30 p.m. ET on IFC.