Nichole Bloom – Superstore

By starrymag | November 21, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

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

A) No, when we’re shooting, we’re working mostly five days a week twelve-hour days. There is not a lot of room to work on other things, besides my own writing. I’m working on a short film right now. I do have time for my own projects, which is nice.

Q) How was Cheyenne on “Superstore” originally described to you?

A) When you’re an actor you get these little character descriptions and her’s was a pregnant teenager, very naïve. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, I guess. [laughs] That was how she was described and written. She was a total romantic and in love with her boyfriend. She was very carefree.

Q) Was there something you added to the character that wasn’t in the initial breakdown?

A) I mean, I must have added something because they picked me for the role. That’s like our job as actors to bring our own personas and perspectives to our characters. For me, what I think I focused on the most was her innocence. In the pilot episode she gets proposed to and it is very clear that her choice in partners is maybe not the best. For her it is and so I just tried to focus on her positivity. She doesn’t focus on the downsides of her life, which is the fact she is a struggling teenager working a minimum wage job – something that would be very difficult for anybody. But I think she just focuses on the things in her life that make her happy and that bring her joy, which are her husband and her baby.

Q) Over the years have you had much of a say in how Cheyenne has developed?

A) Yeah, we always have a say. Our writers are always very receptive to our thoughts on the show and the characters. I don’t think I’ve had a moment yet where they didn’t write something that I felt was accurate to her. I feel like they’ve done a really good job of keeping her voice clear, but I am seeing now (over the course of five years) that she has developed. I think she’s become a little bit more confident in who she is and maybe she even talks back a little bit more – throws some shade here and there. She’s not afraid to do that because she’s just confident. She might not have the most life experience out of everyone that she works with, but she has her own life experience which is being a young mom. She’s just getting more and more confident.

Q) We absolutely love Cheyenne’s relationship with Mateo! What is it that makes them such BFFS?

A) Oh man! I think that Nico Santos and I in real life are just really…I love joking around with him. We’re so comfortable with each other. He’s a good friend of mine. I feel like naturally that chemistry comes across and the writers maybe picked up on it and they started writing to incorporate that more into the show. I think that people just like to see us because we really have fun together, even off screen. So, I guess the characters love having fun together. They love coming up with different business schemes and gossiping and sharing their opinions on other peoples’ fashion. He’s like her best girlfriend in the store.

Q) Going into this new season, with Mateo in ICE custody, were you hoping to work with someone(s) more?

A) Oh, I always love having scenes with Mark McKinney (who plays Glenn) because when Glenn and Cheyenne get together it’s kind of like two peas in a pod. A lot of times I think that their perspectives can be interchangeable because they are both very naive about stuff. They are kind of the not super bright characters. [laughs] So, I love it when I get to have scenes with him because it is like we’re both kind of functioning at the same level and I think it’s really funny for the audience.

Q) Beau may or may not be Cheyenne’s new coworker. What does it mean to her to have him at the store?

A) I think it’s probably cool, but also, I would feel that way if that was the situation in real life. Maybe if it continues there will come a point where she gets a little sick of it. They have been together for five seasons and they live together. They have a kid. I just don’t see how he is going to continue working at the store and not get on her nerves eventually. For now, maybe it will work. We’ll see! I think that Cheyenne likes having a little authority outside of the home. She probably does that at home too, but I think it’s probably fun for her to be able to tell her husband, “Stop. You can’t do that.”

Q) Is there any chance for Cheyenne to have another baby in the near future?

A) Oh! I don’t know what the writers are thinking. I would be totally open to that just for the reason because I loved wearing the pregnancy belly. It’s like the most comfortable, warm thing. I would be very open to her being pregnant again. I don’t know if Cheyenne is financially capable of having another kid, but I don’t think they think logically a lot of the time. So, who knows? Maybe they’ll have an accident and she’ll get pregnant again.

Q) You have great comedic timing. Is that something that has come natural to you or have you had to work at it?

A) Thank you! I can’t say that I’ve had to work at comedic timing. I think that all comedians just naturally have that instinct for what makes something funny. I have to give so much credit to the writers on the show because without their writing it doesn’t matter how good your timing is. If you don’t have good jokes to say it’s not going to be funny. I would give a lot of credit to the writers, but I will say that comedy does come very instinctively to me and I’ve always loved making people laugh. It sounds so cliché, but I think it’s instinctual.

Q) Is there much room to improv during scenes?

A) Yeah! They love us improving. I think that’s a big reason why they cast the people that they cast for the show. Everyone has an improv background and some of the people that we work with like Lauren Ash, Mark McKinney and Colton Dunn started their careers establishing themselves as amazing improvers. So, I think that’s a huge strength for our cast. A lot of times you’ll see the cut afterwards and they do use a lot of our improvs. The audience, of course, doesn’t know that, but we have a lot of fun at work improving.

Q) If you can recall, what have been some of your favorite Cheyenne sayings?

A) I think “three owled bitch” is definitely one. [laughs] That was from the episode when Cheyenne, Dina (Lauren Ash) and Amy (America Ferrera) go to Amy’s ex-husband’s new girlfriend’s house. We go to Adam’s girlfriend’s house and she has all her Christmas decorations out and she’s got three owls on her lawn. And I’m just like, “Three owled bitch!” Yeah, I think it’s great. It’s just so silly and at the same time it’s perfect. I feel like I’ve had some pretty good lines this season as well.

Q) What do you think it is about “Superstore” that has made it such a fan favorite series?

A) I think it’s because our characters are relatable. We’re not trying to be some aspirational show where people feel they can’t live up to the lifestyle or whatever it may be. We’re very grounded and I can say that of everyone that I work with, too. We’re all just really…I’ve never worked with a group of actors where it feels like everyone is so down to earth. That’s the only phrase that can come to mind, really. I think it’s because we’re comedians. Comedians are kind of like the underdogs until we use our comedy as a way to bridge us to the rest of the world and create a connection with people. I think between that and the fact that our show addresses real issues that are going on in the world and people are really thinking about – that are on everyone’s minds. We’re not afraid to approach these issues and we’re not throwing any perspectives down anyone’s throat. It’s just bringing it up to light and show different points of view on this thing. Life is not always black and white. It’s grey and it’s about understanding different opinions and seeing them from different perspectives. I think our show does that really well.

Q) We really enjoyed seeing you on the show “Shameless.” Since the new season is beginning, what did you take away from your time working on this series?

A) It was such a different show and such a different experience. I started on the fourth season of that show and now being a series regular on a show it’s really apparent to me how it feels to be a guest star. It’s like being the new kid at school. It can be challenging so I feel like I grew a lot as an actor with that experience because I was thrown into this show that was already well on its way. It was a big adjustment for me, but people loved that character. She was so fun to play. They are just such different animals, “Superstore” and “Shameless.” It’s hard for me to talk about the experience because they are so different and that was a long time ago. I think it just built my confidence as an actor. It was one of my first big jobs so I really had to just believe that I could pull off that character because she’s also so different than how I am in real life. But I had so much fun. That show is so well written that it was just really fun to play her.

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive to the work you do?

A) Yeah, I do. It’s always nice when people comment on the characters that I play or enjoyed my performances. I don’t know. I think a lot of actors have a weird relationship with social media. As an actor, you want to believe that you are these different characters in these roles. So, maybe it’s better if I’m not posting about me and my personal life. But I feel like also people genuinely enjoy seeing they are actors and just normal people. I think it’s fun to maintain that balance between your public and private life. I’m just always trying to find a way to keep that balance and still feel like I can disappear in a role. I enjoy the public interaction and enjoy the public sphere on Instagram or Twitter or whatever it may be.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the work you do?

A) I would just say thank you! I feel so lucky that I get to do this for a living. It’s what I loved to do since I was a child. I just feel an immense gratitude for the people who have given me these opportunities and they wouldn’t be giving me these opportunities unless people watching weren’t interested. It always feels nice to be appreciated no matter what you’re doing. As actors we’re so much in the public so we get to hear that appreciation more. I would just say thank you. It’s really nice.