Mary Lynn Rajskub Interview

Emmanuel Itier: How’s the baby?

Mary Lynn Rajskub: He’s great. Thanks for asking. It’s his birthday today.

EI: Is he here?

MLR: No.

EI: So he’s one?

MLR: He’s one year old.

EI: What’s his latest milestone? What’s he doing now?

MLR: He’s moving furniture.

EI: Is he walking?

MLR: Yeah, and every time I try to give him a kiss, he just elbows me out of the way because he’s got a lot of stuff to do. He was born into this world on a mission, and I respect that.

EI: Are you guys going to have a party when you get back?

MLR: Yeah, we’re going to party all weekend long. He likes to party too. We’re all going to take off our diapers and throw them.

EI: Will you be in the next season?

MLR: What are you talking about the show for? Yeah, I’m in season 8. That’s why I’m here today. That’s why people bring me water, because I’m on the show. When the show ends, I’ll have no one to bring me water.

EI: So you’re going to be back? Because last season you were kind of hidden, underground.

MLR: No, I’m back at CTU officially. I’m not up to speed because they’ve changed all the software; they’ve changed everything at CTU and I’ve been at home with my baby, so when I start, I’m very behind on my skill set and it’s a rough spot for my character to be in. It’s very upsetting because I keep getting told, “Can you do this better? Can you do it faster?” and that’s like my worst nightmare, to be told that. And I get told by Katee Sackhoff’s character, “Don’t worry, you’ll catch up,” which is the last thing I’d ever want to hear.

EI: Last season, you butt heads with Janeane Garofalo’s character. Is that a place taken now by Katee Sackhoff’s character?

MLR: No, it’s different in that Katee’s my boss and I truly am behind. There’s stuff that I just don’t know how to do, whereas with Janeane, it was more of a battle of the wits of who can get it done faster. But this is just that I’ve been out of the loop and I get thrown back in it, and I don’t know what I’m doing. I also have some theories about what’s happening that don’t match with my boss’s, so that gets me in trouble.

EI: This could be the final season. What do you think about that? Do you think there’s a lot more life left in 24?

MLR: I felt it was the final season before we started it. Last year, we had a screening for the finale and then things like coming here [to Comic-Con]. The fans have such an enthusiasm for it, and I think people catch up watching the DVDs. The fact that these characters are still living and people are still excited about them makes me think that it could go on.

EI: Will Morris be back?

MLR: Morris is somewhere. So far, I don’t see him in any scripts, but he could come back at any moment. He’s at home with the baby, I think.

EI: Are you computer literate? Can you appreciate your character’s knowledge for technology?

MLR: I can Twitter.

EI: How often do you tweet?

MLR: Sometimes I go for a few days and then I’ll have a big burst, but I didn’t realize that when you do it a bunch in a row… At first I didn’t realize because I only followed ten people, so I was using it like a photo journal and I just did a bunch, but I shouldn’t get into that…

EI: How has motherhood changed you?

MLR: That’s such a deep question. You think you’ve had worries in your life and you think you’ve had responsibilities, and there’s nothing you can compare to being responsible for a living being. It’s a monumental change. But then again, things are kind of normal and you still are who you are, so your life doesn’t revolve around this little being, but it changes. It becomes the biggest part of your life.

EI: Are you surprised about your character – about the things she does or how she thinks?

MLR: This is my sixth year. Yeah, I’m surprised at what she can do. I’m surprised at how she talks to other people still. I’m surprised she’s still there.

EI: In season 7, Chloe was a bit in between two chairs, is what we say in France. I don’t know how it would translate. She was there sometimes. Sometimes she was not there. She was less important than in the past. So do you want to be back really in the center of the game?

MLR: CTU is back, so I was away, but now I have my place back at CTU. But everything at CTU has changed. So yes, I’m back in my full capacity, but I have obvious things that are sort of beyond me that I’m having to catch up to. But I like that CTU is back.

EI: Whenever the show is over, do you want to go back to more comedies where you started? Is that something you want to do more of now that you’ve had your dramatic run?

MLR: I’ve been doing comedy the whole time, but there’s going to be more of a focus on doing a lot of live shows. There will definitely be some sort of comedy show I’m developing, that I’m working on right now, but I’m not in a hurry because I’m very busy at work. But it’s good. It’s in the works.

EI: Is it fun to see the 24 fans come and get exposed to your comedy for the first time and know you mostly from the show?

MLR: It’s really interesting. For the most part, it’s really exciting to let people see a different part of me, but every once in a while, there are a couple of people that just want to hear me talk about Kiefer and hear me talk about what’s going on in 24, which I don’t really do. I do a little bit, but…

EI: You save it for us.

MLR: Exactly.