Kat Foster – Death Becomes Her

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

A.  Well, you know obviously ” ‘Til Death ” is sort of the biggest thing I am working on right now.  We premiere Thursday night at eight o’clock on Fox.  We started work on that August fourth I think and we’ve done three episodes plus the pilot, so we have four total.  It’s really cool to work with Brad Garrett, it’s like a dream, he’s so talented.  I feel like I am learning so much from working with him.  Obviously Joley Fisher and Eddie Kaye Thomas as well, it’s really cool.  It’s the first series lead that I’ve had on TV so it’s great to go back week after week and I look forward to find out who this person is, the character that I’m playing. 

Q.  Can you tell us about the premise and your character?

A.  The show is called ” ‘Til Death” and it’s about marriage.  There is an older couple, they are played by Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher.  They are sort of cynical, they’ve been married for over twenty years.  They’re not really romantic and they’re sort of in the trenches of marriage.  Eddie Kaye and I play a couple who have been married for twelve days.  We’re super newlyweds, really into being married, communicating and having sex and having makeup sex.  We’re totally having fun with the whole thing and just are so, so super sweetly in love.  So, we move in right next door to them and the show is basically all about how the two couples interact with their very diverse ways of going about being married.

Q.  Since you all move in next door, how do the group of you interact with one another?

A.  We live next door to them and one of the parts of the premise is that Brad plays a high school teacher at the local high school.  He’s a history teacher and my husband is the new vice principal at the high school.  That’s how the two couples start being friends, because the two guys are teaching together and carpool to school together.  That’s the initial in-road to the two couples relating.  And we live right next door to each other so in one episode we’re playing frisbee before dinner and we fly the frisbee by accident into their yard.  I think we’re really, really eager to be friends with them because that’s what neighbors do.  We’re friends with everyone in the neighborhood and I’m sure they’ve seen many old and new come and go and they’re not as into being friends with us. 

Q.  Will there be issues with Eddie’s character being the young vice principal and Brad’s character as the older high school teacher?

A.  You know, the episodes haven’t dealt with that so far but I imagine that will become an issue.  Eddie’s character is a lot younger then Brad’s, and is I guess in a position of authority.  But, so far, we haven’t really addressed that.

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

A.  Well, first of all, the writing is awesome.  Truly, truly awesome – Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa are the executive producers.  They wrote this hysterical script, if you read the script you really laugh out loud.  That’s so rare, it’s just really rare to read a script like that and laugh out loud like that.  I think they have a really clear sense of who these people are.  They headed “The King of Queens” and wrote the movie 13 Going On 30 so they are really seasoned at what they do.  So, I just feel like I am in really good hands.  Obviously, I would never pass on an opportunity to work with seasoned professional actors like I am in a comedy role.  Plus, the fact that this is my first sitcom ever!  I have never worked in front of a live studio audience, although I have done a lot of theater in New York.  I’ve never on TV done this before so I felt like this was an awesome learning for me just as far as working goes. 

Q.  Since this is your first sitcom, does comedic timing come naturally to you or is it something you’re having to work at?

A.  That’s funny, yeah of course, so far the work has been in the dynamic.  How big or small do I want to be and as far as my character how broad do I want to be.  How economic do I want to be, because if you look at sitcoms, there are a lot of styles within sitcom acting.  People on “Seinfeld” were really different from the people on “Friends” who are really different from the people on “Cheers” who are really different from the people on “The Office.”  There are lots of different things, as the show progresses, we find our way.  So, yeah I have worked with Ted Wass who directed the pilot and has directed a couple of the episodes so far, he’s a fantastic director.  He gives me guidance and so does Jamie Widdoes the director of the last episode, he gave me awesome guidance.  Josh and Cathy are fantastic, there is a lot of that.  I do think that in terms of my ability, I’ve trained my whole life in acting.  I have done a lot of comic stuff on stage and I think that it has helped me in doing the sitcom work.  Just making really quick choices and I’ve done a lot of Shakespeare and I think Shakespeare has a lot to do with rhythm.  Just like sitcom acting does, I don’t know how much is natural ability and how much is work that I’ve done in general.

Q.  It’s kind of like doing a dance routine, you have to make sure you’re hitting your mark. 

A.  Yeah, absolutely, I think as far as that is concerned that’s really my theater training.  In theater you really have to hit your mark night after night and make it fresh and new every single time.  That’s the craft, the craft is doing the same thing over and over again and actually genuinely discovering it as though you’ve never said it before.  So, it does come naturally because I’ve been doing it for so long.  I’ve been acting since I was eight, I think over the variety of things I’ve worked on from really dramatic stuff – from Chekhov to Shakespeare to very contemporary playwrights.  I think it’s all come together in this experience thankfully.  I do feel like relatively speaking, it’s come easy to me.  Also, thankfully with this being new to me, I’m not carrying the show.  Also, just being around all of these people who really know what they are doing it rubs off.  It’s great to have castmates that I can look to in a scene to have my back.  We get along so well, we have great chemistry.  I am definitely the newest person on the show as far as doing this week.  Thankfully it’s coming together okay from me, but I can also learn from them. 

Q.  The reviews have been pretty mixed about the show, do you think that viewers can look beyond those reviews and judge the show for themselves?

A.  I think that the show is going to very well.  I have stopped being superstitious;  I’ve decided that.  I’m not afraid of jinxing it, I think the show is going to do really well.  In fact, only in the TV world, the TV world is the only place that reviews really don’t matter.  “Arrested Development” has gotten nothing but glowing reviews from critics and no one watches that show.  “Seinfeld” is a show that people thought was horrible, but it lasted for ten years.  I think that people who watch TV need to be entertained – every Brad Garrett fan out there isn’t really going to read the reviews that has not spoken so highly about the show.  There have been reviews that have spoken highly about it too.  So, I do think that viewers will be open-minded and really pleased and I think that they’ll come back.  I think it’s a widely relatable show.  I think that a lot of people don’t understand that in our case, and in most cases, the pilot episode is shot months and months before.  Usually with a different director, a different crew and a different cast sometimes.  So, the first episode that they air on TV typically is very different from what the series is actually going to be.  Everything does need a fair chance, you can’t tune in one night and decide that it sucks.  Already, my wardrobe is a lot different from how it was in the pilot and I think that they are tweaking a lot.  I think they are adding depth to my character, and to all the characters.  Often times the pilot is like a thesis statement, the pilot is the basic idea of what we’re doing.  Then, once that gets sold you can really get into the details of how this is going to actually pan.  What we’re actually going to keep from the pilot and what we’re going to change a little bit.  The pilot is a way to see, they test it really heavily, how people respond to what characters, what storylines and what jokes.  Shows really change dramatically in the first season. 

Q.  Since the show is previewing very soon, what will you be doing for the big event?

A.  There is a party with the cast, crew and production staff, everyone is having a party for the premiere.  But my cast, Eddie, Joely and Brad are all in New York right now doing various things for various reasons.  I’m the only one in LA so I think I’m not going to go to the party because if no one else is going to be there.  I will probably just be really low-key and watch it with a couple of friends and hang out.  If I could watch it with my cast I would definitely do that.  If they’re all in New York then I’ll just chill out.  I think I’m just going to watch the premiere in an easy atmosphere in the living room with my friends. 

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  In my spare time I work out a lot, as many actors do.  I read, I feel like I really don’t have spare time.  I call people all the time, I just moved from New York at the beginning of July.  My apartment needs a ton of work so I feel like every time I have free time I try to get some home improvements done.  I am really low-key, I am not the party girl.  I don’t go to clubs or out, I’m really boring for my age. 

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession?  Are you into any particular book, music group or activity?

A.  I’m super into Sudoku, I am super into it.  I am super into just recently crossword puzzles.  Eddie Kaye and I do crossword puzzles together in our dressing room every day.  Any kind of puzzle, I am super into, I really like solving things.  It gives me a real sense of accomplishment. 

Q.  What would you like to say to people who end up being fans of the show?

A.  Thank you!  I think that this show has the potential to actually help people.  So many marriages end in divorce and there aren’t very many positive, great marriages on TV.  You could find a great marriage on this show, one that is not idealized.  One that has its ups and downs, people who really love each other but have their disagreements.  I hope that our relationships stay really well balanced and I would like people to maybe learn from it.