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You work in every format there is.
But I love that on your bio, youre first listed as a cabaret performer.
I think of that as such an underrated, lost art.
And I hope to always do it.
Its just such an intimate thing, and its my favorite form of theater.
I dont do a lot of jokes.
Theres maybe some witty stories connected by song.
Mine is a more traditional, Eartha Kitt/Bobby Shortkind of situation.
You come in and theres beautiful songs, beautiful music, and theyre tied together with little witty anecdotes.
Well,Imsaying theyre witty, I hope they are.
But thats my sort of thing that I personally love to do.
And it can also be terrifying, because its just you doing it.
Do you approach being on Broadway differently than being in a sitcom?
I do not approach anything differently.
So I feel as though there is an audience out there, still watching.
I think that sometimes people forget onstage to be visual, because youre right there and its live.
But Im always conscious of that too, as if a camera has a close-up on you.
Because I basically wear the same costume all the time, and we have the same set basically.
Even if we go off of it, we go back onto the plane.
So its not unlike doing an eight-show week on Broadway.
We will be getting off the plane, very soon.
My apartment is used a lot, Im happy to say, in this first season.
But our touchstone, the heart of the show, is that plane.
How is it challenging?
Its challenging to shoot, because you have these small, tight spaces like the galley.
But then its interesting to shoot.
Theyve designed this fuselagewhich is a real oneto go up on the sides like a Delorean.
Its challenging because of the spatial awareness of it the environment is constraining.
But its also terribly interesting and very creative, because your mind just does different things.
Like when we had babies falling out of the overhead bin.
Tell me a little bit about your character on the show.
Bernard is a senior flight attendant.
Hes a veteran, I would say.
I like to say hes all the Ss: sassy, saucy, sexy, at times sinister.
But hes also helpful.
At times he almost feels like some kind of ageless wizard.
I will be using that from now on I will be stealing that from you.
He is an ageless wizard with so many wonderful powers.
As a matter of fact, lets just go completely to the Endora place, fromBewitched.
He is Agnes Moorehead.
He laments the loss of the golden age of flying.
Thats where his priorities are.
Well yeah, because there was something lost in that.
And to a certain extent, Nathan Lee Graham does too.
I just love the idea of an event.
I think thats why people are still drawn to these award shows.
Because at least theres something to look forward to.
If everything is all the same, then nothing exciting is left.
None of the decorum and manners of being chic, of being chic and a diva.
Thats fun for him.
Thats part of the allure and the mystique of flying.
The jet set, he misses all of that.
He tries to infuse every episode with a little glamour.
Speaking of mystique and divas, lets talk about Eartha Kitt.
Lets talk about my dear friend.
And then eventually, somehow, through some miracle, you get to work with her on Broadway?
And then you actually become friends until her dying day?
Its just a remarkable thing.
Did I really know this person?
Did I really know one oftheCatwomen?
She was such a delight.
What is something you learned from her?
That is something that I carry with me all the time.
And that requires great discipline.
I always say: whoever you are, whatever you are, become more of it.
And shes an example of that.
Finding out who you are right away as a person, somehow.
She was a great example of being singular, and letting me know that its okay to be alone.
Thats a big deal.
We might be alone most of the time, people like us, she would say.
And that doesnt mean that youre some sort of ogre or diva.
Its just that everybody has to at least sort of like themselves to be around you.
No insecure people, in other words.
it’s possible for you to be insecure about things, but you cant be insecure about yourself.
I find that I grow weary around people who arent happy with themselves.
Is that honing of the self important just for performers, or for anybody?
Its especially important for performers because we are our own commodity.
We cant turn in something separate as a brief, or something outside of ourselves.
I cant turn in some documents.
Its me; Im the document.
Its especially important for performers, but its important for everyone.
Youve really got to figure that out for yourself.
But were always looking for someone to clarify, to dictate who we are.
She was completely aware of what was going on, she and Michael Patrick King.
So proud of being a part of that.
We wouldnt allow Valerie Cherish to succeed until shewouldsucceed, and that takes time.
People were like We need her to win right now!
And we were like No, thats what youre projecting.
Thats what was so fascinating about that experience.
That, and the fact that people still think we were improvising when everything was scripted.
Your character was the wardrobe supervisor.
If Im being honest, its always everything.
Ive certainly been around wonderful wardrobe people.
One of my favorite things to do is be in fittings.
But Ive also heard what happens in a wardrobe room, especially when theyre talking about other actors.
People say to me Isnt is so fun to get a chance to play yourself?
And Im like, Are you kidding?
I mean, yes, theres some part of you in it because its you whos doing it.
But trust me, I would be exhausted if I went around acting like the characters I play.
Im actually quite shy until I have to be on.
I would be remiss not to talk aboutZoolander.How did you come to work on those films?
I was doingThe Wild Partywith Eartha Kitt, Toni Collette, and Mandy Patinkin.
All these wonderful, wonderful Broadway stars.
And Ben Stiller happened to see the very last performance of that show, a Sunday matinee.
So we met, and he said Theres nothing really for you to audition with.
I havent written anything.
Its going to be based upon a sketch I did on VH1, its about fashion.
Its calledZoolander.Youre going to be playing a character, I think his name is going to be Todd.
Do you wanna do it?
And my show had just closed, so of course I wanted to do it.
Fifteen years later,Z2started, the first thing Ben said to me was What the fuck?
You look the same!
You look exactly the same.
Milla Jovovich said the same thing.
You look the same.
Hes an absolute delight.
Just such a wonderfully generous person and performer.
So its been great.
We had no idea, when we were filming, that it would be anything.
So that was weird.
We actually were going to do the premiere in New York.
They flew me back out to LA, with no one on the plane.
And we all laughed together, because there were really only ten people on the plane.
It was a magical thing, and I will always be in debt to Mr. Stiller.
Hes been very kind to me over the years, and very supportive.
So how do you still look the same?
I have a portrait of Dorian Gray that I keep in my messenger bag!
LA to Vegas airs Tuesdays at 9:00/8:00pm c on Fox.
