Casey Wilson Gets Goofy About Happy Endings, Gag Reels and Delusional Dads
Happy Endings fans have three reasons to rejoice! First, the show we lovelovelove is back to kick off its third season Tuesday night (9/8c, ABC). Second, the Season 2 DVD hits shelves today, as well, packed with a gag reel that is nothing short of a-mah-zing. And finally, we have the scene-stealing, Emmy nomination-robbed Casey Wilson talking about both, and she is kyute. Sah kyute.
TV Guide Magazine: OK, we need to discuss the gag reel on this DVD set.
Casey Wilson: Oh it is so much craziness.
TV Guide Magazine: Do they show these things to you before putting them on the DVDs?
Wilson: They showed us the gag reel at the last wrap party and I am not kidding you when I say that the editor told me — also not in a joking way, but very wearily over a martini at the bar — 'God, I have been on a three-night [run] with this video. There was six hours of footage and we got it down to 15 minutes.' He seemed angry! But I am telling you, they showed it to us and it is literally 14 minutes and 30 seconds of Eliza Coupe and Damon Wayans Jr. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: Do they constantly break?
Wilson: If Damon Wayans is not breaking, it's a miracle. He is so funny that he makes everyone die laughing. If he falls, he turns it into a full bit where he is having sex with the furniture. He is never not having sex with different objects in a scene when he misses a line. [Laughs] He and Eliza have such amazing chemistry, too.
TV Guide Magazine: I was in the writers' room this summer and saw some of the stuff they're working on. This season is gonna be a scream.
Wilson: 'A scream' the perfect term for it. It's all crazy, all physical comedy...it's insanity.
TV Guide Magazine: And they cast Penny's boyfriend!
Wilson: Yes, Nick Zano! He's really cute. I was like, is he too cute? For Penny, for me, for all of it. [Laughs] He's so great.
TV Guide Magazine: How do you meet his character?
Wilson: Well, in the season premiere, I am in quite the accident and end up wearing a helmet. We meet later on at a bike shop while I am looking for helmets.
TV Guide Magazine: Stop it.
Wilson: I know. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: Oh, they are determined to offend more than the Frolf players this season, huh?
Wilson: Oooh, I wonder if they have moved past that or if they're still holding on to it. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: We could not be happier that the show blew up last season.
Wilson: I think it is so neat that people tweet about the show and say they like it, because we always feel like the underdog. Which I think is good. Maybe I am just saying that from the perspective of the underdog, though. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: You just want to stay under the radar all along, right?
Wilson: Yeah! We want to fly low and stay on the air. Mission accomplished!
TV Guide Magazine: You guys could be like Wings. Run for like nine seasons...
Wilson: And yet, no one will have seen us. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: I interviewed your fellow SNL alum Tina Fey a few weeks ago and pitched the idea of her guesting on the show after 30 Rock wraps.
Wilson: Did she say 'what's Happy Endings?'
TV Guide Magazine: No, she knows the show...she even mentioned you!
Wilson: What? That is so sweet. She hosted the first SNL I did. I was scared out of my mind...that doesn't even describe my emotions that week. I was like laughing and then crying all at the same time. She was so kind to me and so supportive. I will never forget, she poked her head into the room and said 'I really liked that sketch idea of yours, why don't you write it up.' That just made me feel so welcome and great.
TV Guide Magazine: How would you describe the Happy chemistry now?
Wilson: I was thinking about that, and it is different from last season, actually. It's more relaxed. At the end of last season, Adam [Pally, who plays Max] said 'If I had a gun, I would blow each of you away, one by one.' And everyone accepted that. We were like 'me too." It was nice, we were all on the same page. [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: And now?
Wilson: It was always loving, you know? We'd just spent a lot of time, 16 hours a day, sitting in the dark, in these little chairs next to each other. But something happened over the summer...we all came back in such great moods, so happy to have jobs and the chance to be funny together. There was even more love. I can't describe it.
TV Guide Magazine: The couples on the show tend to work together a lot, but since Penny is single, she gets to share screen time with everybody. As does Max.
Wilson: We're free agents and we love it. And then we get to be with each other a lot. We had meetings over the summer and — this was so nice — the writers asked if there was anything we would want. And I said the only thing I was interested in was getting to do a storyline with Damon. We've only done one, ever. I think over the course of the show, Penny and Brad have said one word to each other. It was when we were spinning together in the first episode of last season. That was our only moment of connection! [Laughs]
TV Guide Magazine: Did they grant your wish?
Wilson: I think we are getting to do a couple stories together this year. Damon is a star. Everything he does is so funny. And Eliza and I are getting to do a lot of stuff together this season. In the second episode of the season, Penny goes to buy a new car and is the worst negotiator of all time. She's trying to tip the salesman! She's like "Do I give 20 percent on the sticker price?" Then Jane goes in for her and is such a powerful negotiator that they offer her a job at the dealership.
TV Guide Magazine: Is this her new career?
Wilson: It is!
TV Guide Magazine: And you guys are doing a couple of holiday episodes, right?
Wilson: Our Thanksgiving episode, you are going to die. I can't talk about it yet, but...it is magic to me.
TV Guide Magazine: And what about your theater stuff? Any plans to get back on stage?
Wilson: Yes! Eliza and I gonna try to put together this fun one-off at Upright Citizens Brigade called "Daddy Issues." I know this is a weird niche, but a lot of my female friends have these strange stories where there their dads have seen the small successes of their daughters and have decided that they are creative as well.
TV Guide Magazine: Oh no.
Wilson: Oh yes. My dad would write these sketches for me while I was at SNL. Eliza's dad has written children's books, and another friend's father went and made a short film. So this is really just us wanting to perform the work of our fathers. [Laughs] It's like these proud dads who then move in to a different area where they start to think 'hmmm...she's getting it from somewhere" and start to fancy themselves comedians.
TV Guide Magazine: At least it's not weird Joe Simpson stuff.
Wilson: No, it's sadder. [Laughs] It is the most insane material. My dad wrote a sketch for me that was entirely, 100 percent unsolicited that he was also going to star in. Like Saturday Night Live was now going to let cast members' parents appear? And it was entitled "My Monster Daughter." I think he was working out our issues...oh, and he was also going to be in drag. So not only had he never performed live on stage before, but he planned to do so in drag.
TV Guide Magazine: Drag does work on SNL.
Wilson: You know, that is so true. If I had followed his lead, I may have done better there!
TV Guide Magazine: Well you're doing OK now. Several critics even had you in the Emmy-nomination conversation. We were bummed that didn't happen.
Wilson: Really? That is so sweet. My dad really wanted me to be nominated. He took it hard. [Laughs]
Check out this exclusive peek at the gag reel from Happy Endings: The Complete Second Season DVD.
