D’Arcy Carden – The Good Place

By: Lisa Steinberg

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

A) There are some good ones coming up. The timing of it is crazy! I am in the movie Other People that stars Molly Shannon and Jesse Plemons. It is written and directed by one of my oldest friends, Chris Kelly. He was writing it for years and I have been with him through the whole process. It’s a beautiful movie and even though it is a small indie it is getting released to theaters so I hope people see it. Then, I have been on “Broad City” the last few years. Every season I get to be in a couple of episodes and hopefully that will be the same. They just finished writing it so we will find out soon. That’s always a fun one to do. I play Gemma, this weirdo that works at the gym with Abbi [Jacobson]. I LOVE getting to do that. Bill Hader has a new HBO show called “Barry,” which I get to be in. It’s kind of exciting to do shows like “Barry,” “The Good Place” or “Broad City” – shows that I would watch anyway!

Q) What is the premise for your new series “The Good Place?”

A) Mike Schur, our creator, explained it that on Earth you get negative and positive points for doing good and bad things. We kind of get into that in the first episode. Every move we make gets added to a point tally so when you get a certain amount of points you to go “the good place” and if you don’t…The show is about that every move kind of effects the next move. What I do effects what you do and the next person. What does that say about us? Is that something important to you or not? Is it about you helping other people or out for yourself? It’s such an interesting topic to dive into.

Q) Talk to us about your character Janet.

A) It’s like an insanely top secret show. It’s so top secret we had to sign nondisclosure agreements. We were given scripts ahead of time. We didn’t know what the end of the show was like until we were halfway through shooting. Mike Schur knows every second of every episode, but he wanted it to be a surprise for us. It’s a twisty show. There are twists in pretty much every episode and reading the scripts was such a fun adventure. I would rush home every time I got a new script because the writers room is so incredible! They are writers from “Parks and Rec” and “30 Rock,” not to mention Mike Schur and Drew Goddard who are legit geniuses. I’ve never been a part of a show that is so top secret so I didn’t know a lot about my character even after I got cast. The day after I got cast I had a meeting with Mike and Drew and they explained what my character was like and what the first few episodes of the season would look like. Janet is the most helpful. She lives to help. Anything you need she can get you, wants to get you and has no judgement about getting it or helping you. If you have a question about truly anything in the universe she has the answer. They described her as human Siri, which I think is perfect. She is like the embodiment of Siri, which is such an easy way to understand what she is all about. I would say she is helpful, nonjudgmental and unflappable. If everyone is stressed out and concerned about something she is unconcerned. She just wants to help you! She is looking to help, which is a fun character to play. It’s super positive and she finds everything inspiring because she feels there is a positive outlook to everything.

Q) Does that mean she is apathetic?

A) I would say in a way…It’s such an interesting character. It’s one of those things where you have to watch it to understand. With all of these characters, anything I could tell you – it just goes into such crazy places, it’s so well written and these characters are so fully formed. All I can say is you have to watch it because it is just so great!

Q) Do you get to improv at all with the role?

A) It’s a funny thing because when Mike allows you to improvise you wonder, “Do I want to do that?” I love improvising and it’s what I do and done for a decade at Upright Citizens Brigade. But when you have a script that is literally perfect and the jokes are so well written and the characters are so fully formed there is nothing you can improve on, truly. Especially if there was a list of something or occasionally he would say “feel free to improvise” and I would be like, “I’m not going to come up with anything better, I promise.” I love to improvise and there is nothing I can improve upon these scripts. But occasionally we would improvise, which is a fun vibe on set. I can’t imagine anything we would come up with would be better than what they have written. They are like robot geniuses!

Q) What is it like working with Mike Schur?

A) He is a wonderful person! He is so lovely to work with and so nice, warm and funny. It’s like he’s too many good things. He should be a jerk! [laughs] He’s so funny and smart well then he should be a jerk. He’s also the nicest person you have ever met! Well, okay. Great. He was just such a joy to work with. I loved it when he was on set and would direct. He was the best!

Q) You get to work with this incredible cast with the likes of Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. Did you learn anything from working alongside of them?

A) I learned so much from them just by watching them! Ted and Kristen are as professional and lovely to work with as you can imagine. From Mike to the cast and the crew they are the best people I’ve ever worked with. They are the nicest and happy to be there. Ted and Kristen are no exception. In fact, they are sort of the leaders of that. They are two people who have worked in the business for a very long time and were so happy to be there. They knew everyone’s’ names and treated everyone with respect. It’s not that they gave me advice so much as they led by example. They are so professional. Kristen knows the name of every camera. She knows the jargon! She is so deeply in this job that it is not just about acting. She knows where the lights should be. She is a fully formed actor and very self-sufficient. From day one, it was like, “Oh! I like that! I want to do that! I like what she’s doing!” You get a vibe from working with someone and it’s like, “I like what she’s doing. I want to be like that.” I’ve been doing this for a long time and it is fun to get to work with people where you are like, “I’m learning so much from you!” And Ted is just a dream! He would say almost every day at some point throughout the day in a whisper “This is our job!” With excitement he’d say, “We get to do this as our job! We are so lucky!” It’s amazing that someone like him who is truly a legend in our business is still so excited to go to work. He’s still so giggly and so positive. He is the best! He is like everyone’s favorite person by far. Everyone on that set that works with him comes away just in love with him. He is the best!

Q) You have great comedic timing. Is that something that comes naturally to you or have you had to work at it?

A) For over ten years I have been with the Upright Citizens Brigade first in New York and now in LA. I saw a show there and it was like my brain exploded. So, I started taking classes there the next day or signed up for classes the next day. I just worked my butt off. I worked really hard. I wanted to be a part of that group and on that stage. Years of auditioning, taking classes and performing there…I think that comedic timing is maybe something you are born with, but I do think you can get better at it. I’ve had plenty of experiences on stage where you try something and it falls flat or you think something is going to be funny and you push too hard. Getting to work with a live audience when you are on stage giving you live feedback is the best way to find out what is and isn’t funny because it is instant response. You always want to be true to your voice and do what you think is funny. That’s kind of the best way to figure things out. If you try too hard to be funny, it’s not funny. That was a good lesson that I got really early on. It’s just about being truthful and grounded is what I find the funniest and what the UCB teaches us – truth in comedy. Pretty quickly I learned that was the way to go – not to push too hard with the comedy.

Q) What have been some of your memorable moments from filming?

A) I feel like whenever the six of us were on set together (which was kind of rare because that’s a lot of people in a scene) and it is just this perfect chemistry combination. I can think of a couple where we knew it was going to be a good day, a special day, because it would be the six of us on set together all day. When you are filming coverage (like if the camera is on me, the person I’m talking to doesn’t need to be there because they aren’t necessarily on camera) I noticed that Ted stayed on set – even if he wasn’t on camera – and delivered his lines. I was like, “Oh great! This is a group of people who are happy to be here. They want to be here.” It’s a supportive, great group of actors. We stayed on set to give coverage. No one was rushing to get back to their trailer. We would each lunch together. We were all aware that we had this special chemistry and as much time as we could spend together we would. I would say that Ted is just this giggler. He’s so giggly and so fun that any time we were on set with him I would look forward to. I remember there was a day halfway through filming where I came home and my husband asked how it was working with Ted. I said, “I think Ted Danson is my best friend…” I said, “I don’t know how this happened, but I think Ted Danson is my best friend.” Probably everyone on set felt that way. He’s genuinely one of the best people I have met in my life. I miss being on set with him. Whenever the six of us on set was a good day. I will also say that Ted and Kristen and then the four of us…Ted and Kristen are the big stars and the four of us are new because it is like our first job. I remember our first meeting as a cast with Dan and Mike. Afterwards, the four of us (Manny, Will, Jameela and I) stood outside Mike’s office in this tight circle like, “Here we go!” We immediately started a group text and now we text each other every day!

Q) What do you think it is about “The Good Place” that will make it a fast fan favorite?

A) I feel like the cast is a treasure. We have Ted and Kristen who are sort of like America’s sweethearts. As a nation, we like love watching them. I can’t think either of them have done something that I didn’t want to watch because I’m such a fan of both of them. Then, there are these other people that you probably don’t know yet, but I’m so excited for the world to discover Jameela Jamil. She’s such a star. She’s so special and like this gem. This is her first acting job, but you would never in a million years know that. She is so naturally talented. Then, you have Will Harper who is this unbelievable actor. He is this Broadway actor who brings such depth to his character and this emotional depth. On the same hand, his comedic choices…You think how he can be this good at drama and comedy? He’s such a good actor! Then, you have Manny Jacinto who is on the newer side to comedy. He’s also a dramatic actor, but he’s like a cast favorite as far as his comedy. He cracks the crew up. His choices for this character just make you think, “Why? How? How did he come up with that?” It’s like the perfect comedic choice. He really is a fun one to watch. I want to watch people watch the show! I was telling Mike that I wished there was a way we could get into peoples’ houses and watch them watch this. I guess that is in a way what social media is.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback you will receive to episodes?

A) Oh yeah! I can’t wait! I feel like that will be basically be my version of watching people watch it. I know that people love Mike Shur and this is sort of a departure for him. It’s not such a departure that it isn’t a funny show with a great ensemble and all the things we know about him. But he is taking a step out of his comfort zone with this. It is a weird, quirky, twisty, turning show and I’m excited for Mike Schur fans to watch this and kind of have their minds blown. We know that Ted and Kristen are incredibly talented and we have seen them do all this great comedy over the years. I was watching them film this and was like, “People don’t even know what they are capable of.” Kristen is so funny! She is one of our funniest actors. She is like a comedic genius. Her timing is impeccable and Ted doesn’t miss a bit. He has that Ted Danson timing that you can see right in front of you. I think Mike Schur said (and I agree) that he is our greatest living sitcom actor. It’s a big title, but when you think about it he’s such a good actor. He loves playing Michael so much! He’s like a little kid he is so giddy.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure fans know about “The Good Place?”

A) I think I would say the story arc is so well written. This season is so well written and it’s so full of twists and turns. It’s one of those things that you get on board right away because people will be talking about it. It is going to be a show that people will talk about it and you will want to watch it and talk about it the next day because every episode ends on a cliffhanger. You can’t predict where it is going to go. You are going to fall in love with it. It’s just such a great world that Mike has created and the cast is incredible. I feel beyond lucky to be a part of it. I’m so excited for the world to see it. It is going to be people’s favorite show!