Ali Wong – Black Box

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been working on?

A) I was recently on “Inside Amy Schumer.” I was on the second episode where there is a kid who wants to go with her to prom. I played her publicist. I’ve done two episodes of her show and I did Dave Attell’s “Comedy Underground.” I’m going to do Seth Myers’ show, too. My first love is standup so after shooting “Black Box” I’d still go up sometimes up to five times a night.

Q) Please tell us the premise of “Black Box” and about your character Dr. Lina Lark.

A) It’s about a brilliant neurologist and her big secret is that she is bipolar. I play a kind of quirky radiologist who you will discover has her own mental illness issues as well.

Q) What was it about this show that made you want to be a part of it?

A) The script for the pilot was really interesting. I think that what’s great about the show is…The anti-hero trend has gotten so popular now. It’s a lot of male anti-heroes. People like anti-heroes because they identify with having faults. The issue is what about women? Women lie. Women cheat. Women have secrets, too. I think that it’s really cool to have a strong female anti-hero and she’s always saving someone’s life. She’s got her redeeming quality, but she has her bad days and faults, too. I think there is that and that’s the revolutionary part of the show. Also, it’s juicy! I’m a sucker for the love triangle stuff. I’m a big fan of “Scandal” and I think love triangle stuff is so interesting.

Q) Since you’re known for your comedy, why chose to star in a drama?

A) They asked me in for it and I just thought, “Well, why not try this?” All I ever wanted to do was tell jokes for a living and now that I’ve done that, I’ve gotten kind of pulled into things that I never thought I’d be doing. And I’ve learned something from every single one. The first movie I ever did was Savages with Oliver Stone. I had a small part, but I learned so much like how to behave on a movie set and how to throw lines away without putting too much effort into that. I thought I wanted to try that with drama. I wanted to learn that school of doing less for the camera without that pressure of trying to make people laugh. It’s been really interesting. I’m always open to new things and it was mostly the script that drew me in to “Black Box.”

Q) Was there anything about the character that you added that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) We’ll see if they kept some of my ad libs. A lot of stuff I would add stuff to the script and, at the very least, it would make the crew laugh. But I don’t know if it’s too multi-camera sitcom to make it into the cut. I tried! We’ll see…

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming “Black Box?”

A) What is also cool about the show that what I didn’t realize was that there were all these special effects. It shows from the patient’s perspective them hallucinating and when they are sick. The audience can better empathize with them that way. In the second episode, there is a girl who keeps thinking her head is exploding. From her perspective, they have got to show her brain exploding on to me and two other interns’ faces. They loaded up this super soaker blast machine with boiled cauliflower, pieces of carpet, beans, human hair and gravy. It smelled like stew, but the hair was really disgusting. Twice they blasted it all on to our faces. I asked the director if he had any notes for me about what to do with the scene and he said, “I want you to shut your mouth.” Then, he laughed. At first, I was like, “What?” But he meant so that the stuff wouldn’t get in my mouth. I think that was probably the most memorable scene for me.

Q) You are a part of social media. What was it like getting instant feedback after the first episode premiered?

A) I’ve been living in New York for the past six months and I had some friends come over. I wasn’t really paying too much attention to social media, but one of my friends is a doctor and she was talking about how the bipolar episodes were really, really close to what you would see in reality. She thought the most unbelievable part of the show was how we were all dressed. She was like, “Doctors don’t look that fabulous!” It’s just like “Sex In The City” with Carrie. Do you think a columnist is going to have that apartment or that wardrobe? Do you think Monica on “Friends” is going to have that apartment in New York? But, don’t worry about it.

Q) You mentioned earlier you also do standup comedy. Is comedic timing something that comes natural to you or have you had to work at it?

A) When I was in high school I tried picking up an instrument. I tried tennis. I tried getting really good at Biology. Nothing ever stuck! I became the Student Body President and I enjoyed leading the all school meetings and making speeches. What I really enjoyed the most was that I got to make people laugh. That’s just the one thing that I was always naturally good at. Now that I have gotten more on stage and on camera, I’ve become less and less funny and very much subdued off stage. I guess I associate it with work. I think it’s always something that you’re working on though. Comedy is a craft and you can be really talented, but unless you hone your skills and keep up with the times then you’ll get worse and fall behind.

Q) What else would you like to be sure to let fans to know about you?

A) My tour schedule is online at http://www.aliwong.com and I hope people will come see me live. That is what I always wanted to do. That’s still my main thing. That’s the part of me that I want people to know and what I put most of my effort in. All of the episodes of “Black Box” are amazing, but the thing I am most passionate about is standup. I hope people will come see me live.