Michelle Pfeiffer didn’t set out to be one of this year’s Emmy contender overachievers. It was simply a bit of serendipity — and unexpected timing — that led her Paramount+ drama “The Madison” and Apple TV comedic hour-long “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” to come out around the same time.
Add in the recent Prime Video original holiday movie “Oh. What. Fun,” also eligible this Emmy season, and that puts Pfeiffer in the unique position of having projects on three different streamers simultaneously eligible in the drama, comedy and limited series/anthology/TV movie acting categories.
“Oh wow,” she tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast, still surprised at the coincidence. “What happened?”
Here’s how it played out: At first, Pfeiffer was in discussions with Taylor Sheridan about joining his new family drama “The Madison,” about a New York socialite who drops everything and moves to her late husband’s Montana cabin when he dies in a plane accident.
“But that hadn’t gone very far in any sort of negotiations when I read this book that David had given me, and I fell in love with the character of Shyanne,” Pfeiffer says. The book was Rufi Thorpe’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” and “David” is Pfeiffer’s husband, TV producer David E. Kelley.
Pfeiffer agreed to the role, not really thinking about the commitment. “In the book, Shyanne is only in a couple of pages, and I thought, ‘It’s not going to be a big deal,’” she says.
A few months later, Pfeiffer was deep into negotiations on “The Madison,” when her reps called: “They said, ‘Hey, did you tell David you would do another show?’ [I said,] ‘Oh yeah. Yeah, I did,’” she remembers. At this point, both projects were too good to pass up.
In the case of “The Madison,” Pfeiffer’s experience was similar to that of her character, Stacy Clyburn, a city dweller who’s in for a culture shock in Montana. “It was rugged, and I didn’t know how rugged it was going to be,” she admits. “I remember after the first week or so, I went into the trailer with my makeup and hair people, and I sat them down and said, ‘OK, guys, we’re camping. And it’s OK, we’re going to take care of each other!’ So we all just sort of rolled up our sleeves.”
Much like Stacy, Pfeiffer fell in love with the setting. “Montana is so beautiful that you’re willing to weather the extreme environment,” she says. “It was such a blessing to see those remarkable sunrises in the morning on my way to work, and the sunsets on the way home. And I fell in love with my ‘The Madison’ family.”
For this episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Pfeiffer talks about her busy year in TV, working with her husband David E. Kelley, and her first time in Variety. She also takes the 10 Questions quiz. But first, the Roundtable looks at the “Hacks” finale, the drama competition between “Pluribus” and “The Putt” and the latest on the Emmy race. We also answer your burning questions — call the Emmy Emergency Line at 323-617-9110! And listen below.
“Margo’s” was an extremely rare collaboration between Pfeiffer and Kelley. The couple has been married for more than 32 years, and they credit part of that success to keeping work and private time separate.
“It wasn’t like we had a hard and fast rule, like we came to some agreement about it. It was that neither of us were super eager to work together,” Pfeiffer says. “I really cherish my marriage, and I just didn’t want to do anything to mess it up. But this came along and I just love this piece so much. I knew I would be really sad to see someone else do it, and I love Elle [Fanning] so much.”
She admits she’s been “envious” in the past of the incredible dialogue her husband has written for others — especially women. “It just felt like I couldn’t say no,” she says.
And thanks to two of the most prolific producers in TV, Pfeiffer — who had mostly avoided the small screen until recently — is now one of its most frequently seen stars this season.
“I’ve been, for years, really marveling at some of the amazing work that’s been going on TV, particularly with actresses,” she says. “I’ve been sort of sitting on the sidelines, envious. So once I decided, ‘I think TV’s something I really want to do,’ here I am!”
As for Pfeiffer’s first time in Variety, it was on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 1979, when she was mentioned as part of the cast of ABC’s midseason replacement “Delta House,” which was based on the white-hot movie “Animal House.” (Pfeiffer’s character didn’t even have a name, she was just referred to as “The Bombshell.”)
“I was terrified,” Pfeiffer recalls. “The cast were, I think, pretty much all New York-based. They were these very experienced actors. It was one of my first jobs, if not my first on. I didn’t know what I was doing, so I was just making it up as I went along.”
And yes, I did then ask her about “Grease 2.” And maybe sang a bit of “Cool Rider.” She has fond memories, thankfully: “For people of a certain generation, it’s one of their favorite movies, or one of their favorite films that I’ve made,” she says. “I had so much fun on that. I got to dance, I got to sing. Yeah, it was a huge break for me.”
10 QUESTIONS WITH MICHELLE PFEIFFER:
1. Childhood nickname: Shelly.
2. Something you loved as a kid but can’t believe you were into it now: Dill pickles. “Even then I also loved avocados. My dad would give me a quarter to go to the market to get candy, and I would come home with an avocado.”
3. Go-to Karaoke or sing-in-the-shower song: [She didn’t have one, so I tried to convince her to make it “Cool Rider.”]
4. Give me an alternate title for your show: For “The Madison,” “Cry Me a River.”
5. What’s your secret talent?: “I build things. Like, I built a fireplace once. I built a deck. Just give me a hammer and some wood and some nails.”
6. Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate.
7. The one item you couldn’t live without: Eye drops.
8. What TV show in all of history do you wish you were a cast member of?: “Dark Shadows” — which she notes, she kind of already was, since she appeared in the 2012 feature adaptation. “But I’d like to redo the TV show. That would be fun.”
9. Fictional character you most admire: “I loved playing Shayanne. I just had so much fun.”
10. Your favorite piece of advice: “I don’t really like giving advice. I find that people don’t really like it. But I was just thinking about this today, getting older, and how when you get older, you just realize how much you really don’t know. You’re still learning, and you sort of give up the notion that you’re right all the time.”
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
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