Camille Chen – Studio 60

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  Well, I’m only working on “Studio 60” right now, I’m pretty attached to that.  I have a recurring role on the show.  That’s all I’m working on right now.  I have a few commercials running that I shot before I booked “Studio 60.”  Right now, I’m pretty dedicated to that.  I’m auditioning for other things but it’s taking up most of my time now.  I filmed every episode but four, and we’re on six now, so I’ve been pretty busy.

Q.  Can you tell us a bit about your character?

A.  Well, her name is Samantha Li and she’s one of the sketch artists.  There are seven core cast members on the “Studio 60” cast and there is the big three veterans who are played by Sarah Paulson, D.L. Hughley and Nick Corddry.  Then, there are four others and it’s me and Ayda Field, Nate Torrance and Simon Helberg.  We’re all kind of the newbies but we’re working really hard to get our sketches on the air and get more air time.  I don’t want to give anything away, we’re sketch artists, we contribute to the sketches.  We also have scenes where it’s outside of Studio 60, we talk about personal lives.  It’s very Aaron Sorkin, fast-paced dialogue. 

Q.  A lot of people have been wondering if they’re actually going to show the sketch that was so controversial.

A.  Yeah, that’s how they left the first episode.  But, next episode is supposed to be really funny.  It’s not as dramatic as the first one, it’s more entertaining, they had to set up some sort of cliff hanger to get people to watch the second episode.

Q.  What made you want to be a part of the show?

A.  Oh my gosh, who doesn’t want to be a part of the show?  It’s Aaron Sorkin and he’s considered by many to be the best writer on television today.  I don’t know, there was just so much buzz about the show out here in LA.  I just remember during pilot season everyone wanted to get in to audition for the show.  Thank goodness Aaron wanted to add another actress to the cast for the sketch comedy cast.  Thank goodness there were no Asians already on the cast because I love being the token Asian girl, thank goodness it gets me work.  He just added my character probably a week before we started filming the first episode, the second one after the pilot.  It went really fast, I think I auditioned and got a call back on a Friday.  They closed the deal and I started working on it that next week.  I had the weekend to pinch myself and see if I was still dreaming.  Then, I went to work, so it was really fast for me. 

Q.  So, when you were going in for the role it was supposed to be for an Asian character?

A.  You know, it didn’t specify.  The breakdown actually described Ayda Fields’ character.  I actually read from Ayda’s lines and I don’t think he had an idea what the character was yet.  When I went into the first audition, there were only Asian girls.  When I went to the callback there were four other Asian girls.  One of them was an Indian girl, a Korean girl and then two other Chinese girls.  So, even though it didn’t specify in the breakdown, I think he was looking for an ethnic.  Then when I got to the set, they were saying either Hispanic or Asian, they wanted to add to the cast.  Luckily, he chose Asian.

Q.  Do you have a really memorable moment from filming the show?

A.  Probably filming this first episode because it’s huge.  I don’t want to give anything away, but, let’s just say that the sketch that they choose to open with is huge.  It was so much fun filming, and in the scenes for next week’s episode during the pilot last week, they showed us all in white dresses and tuxes.  So, we got to get all dressed up!  I got to wear this amazing floor-length white gown.  All of us wore the same thing and all the men were in all white tuxes with vests.  It was a lot of fun to film, it was a huge day.  Then, another memorable moment is that at every table read; we end up crying.  Sometimes it’s because we’re laughing so hard that we’re crying.  Sometimes it’s because it’s just such good writing and it touches everyone. 

Q.  I’ve also heard that there are going to be really big guest stars on the show.  Felicity Huffman was already in the pilot.

A.  Yeah, it’s been pretty crazy, and with the musical guests.  It’s pretty crazy, Lauren Graham is on there.  It’s funny because I think she and Matt dated a long time ago.  I think they had to get special permission from The CW because if you’re a series regular on one show, you can’t be a recurring guest star on another.  So, I think they had to get special permission and they said okay and of course, she’s great. 

Q.  For those who haven’t checked out the show yet.  Why should they take the time to do so?

A.  Well, for one thing, the amazing cast – they have great chemistry.  Matthew Perry is amazing, he has comedic moments but obviously it’s a dramedy.  But, he is just so good and Bradley Whitford is so good.  The entire cast has a lot of chemistry.  Two, Tommy Schlamme is an amazing director.