[IMG:L]Rachael Harris remembers walking into her Notes from the Underbelly audition thinking “I won’t get this role.” Not because she didn’t have the comedic background to play career-minded Cooper in the new ABC hit, but because of her petite physique. “I’m 5’1” and clearly this woman is 6 foot and a model.” Luckily, she grabbed the attention of producer and director Barry Sonnenfeld as soon as she walked in the room. “I said ‘hello’ and he said ‘You have a weird voice,’” she explains laughing. “I was like ‘Oh, I think that’s good for Barry because Barry is so crazy.”
Fast forward to the present and the Daily Show alum is doing what she does best, keeping audiences laughing as part of Notes Wednesday night ensemble. Her character Cooper, a divorce lawyer, is forced to deal with two expectant couples including stars Lauren (Jennifer Westfeldt) and Andrew (Peter Cambor) and their friends Julie (Melanie Deanne Moore) and Eric (Sunkrish Bala), while friend Danny (Michael Weaver) provides the bachelor perspective.
Hollywood.com caught up with Harris to find out more about what to expect from a show about expecting.
Hollywood.com: Cooper’s personality is so much about her quick-witted delivery. What prepared you most for that part of the role?
Rachael Harris: I think that my favorite comedians have always been like Betty White and Teri Garr and Madeline Kahn and those women tended to be understated in their deliveries in my opinion. I was on The Best Week Ever and we always gave sort of witty comments, I would hope. It certainly didn’t come from my parents!
HW: Do you relate to one of the female characters more than the others, Lauren the hesitant and confused mother-to-be, ever-optimistic and also pregnant Julie or career driven Cooper?
RH: Wow, I would have to say I can relate to all three of them and that’s not just to say that. My husband and I are in the middle of trying to decide when we want to have a child and we’ve gone back in forth like “Do we?” So in that regard I can really relate to Jen Westfeldt’s character. Then I am a bit of an optimist so I really relate to Julie, but then as far as Cooper goes I like to think that I’m very direct and I do get annoyed easily.
HW: The audience can relate to many of the scenes in the show. Have you ever figured out a friend was pregnant over a coffee order?
RH: Yes, I did that with my very best friend … we went out to lunch and we were eating and she had a decaf ice tea or something and it was just a little too off and I was like, I had known she had been trying to get pregnant, but it had been over a year, so I said “Are you pregnant?” She’s like “Yes, but you cannot tell anyone. I just found out a couple of days ago.” So I can completely relate to it.
[IMG:R]HW: You used to do improv with the Groundlings comedy troupe, do you get the chance to ad lib at all these days?
RH: Actually my favorite thing is to have a scripted show that allows you to improvise within that script. That way you can say “Hey, can I do this line this way?” That’s what was great about Stacy [Traub] and Barry is they would say “Yes, say it however it is going to be funniest. Funny trumps writing” … It is really the best because then you can really make it your own in the moment.
HW: Comedy has been your focus on stage, television and in the movies, would you consider a dramatic role?
RH: Absolutely. I started out thinking I was going to go to Broadway and do nothing but ‘night Mother … my professor said “I think you should investigate comedy more. I think you are funny,” so when I went to L.A. and did the Groundlings I was like “I get it” because I loved it so much … but I am completely comfortable doing drama and would love to do it.
HW: You’ve worked with some of the funniest guys in showbiz, including Steve Carell, Will Ferrell and Jon Stewart. What’s it like working with comedic geniuses?
RH: You know what’s great about all three of them is that they are all very serious about comedy [laughs]. I like it because they are very professional and very particular. These are very naturally gifted men in my opinion, but they are also perfectionists and they will do it until they get it right. They are always open to trying new things. The thing about Steve is he really is one of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with and whether you are a crew member or you are Morgan Freeman he treats everyone the same and he is genuinely interested … I didn’t work with Jon as much as I worked with Will and Steve just because of the nature of the show. I think they all genuinely care about the people that work with them and … just that they can come up with anything funny on the spot. Will can make anything funny, like “I’m going to open up the fridge and get a bottle of water out.”
HW: You recently worked on a comedy with Steve called Evan Almighty. What character did you play?
RH: I played Markie Parkington one of six reporters that were reporting while Evan was building the ark. I was the one who has the entertainment bent … I was trying to be like an Entertainment Tonight reporter, but there was no entertainment value. There were no celebrities, so I would say things like “What does Hollywood think about Evan building this ark? We’ll check in with Danny Bonaduce and Hank Azaria right after this.” She was over the top and I wore an orange cone colored suit that was pretty fierce. That was an amazing shoot because we were in Virginia for over eight weeks and saw the most exotic animals while working on that set.
HW: You worked on the Daily Show with Steve, what was it like to team up again?
RH: Steve is so good. I’m gushing, he’s really one of my favorite comedic actors and I shouldn’t even say comedic, he is just one of my favorite actors … we did a segment [on The Daily Show] called “We Love Showbiz” and he was brilliantly funny and so nice. We did a pilot together later. We did Andy Richter’s pilot the Lunchbox Chronicles together and he just killed me he was so funny. He is so nice and I just gush about him, so really this should be the Rachael Harris gushes about Steve Carell interview!
