00:00You listed your emergency contact as Britney Spears, as a long shot way of meeting her.
00:04And your favorite movie is that clip of John Travolta saying Adele Dazeem.
00:08If you're a fan of Mike Shaw's existential comedy, The Good Place, and you should be
00:12as it's one of the smartest comedies on the idiot box, then you'll be familiar with
00:15neither robot nor girl Janet and the actress who plays her, Darcy Carden.
00:19Carden, a disciple of legendary improv school Upright Citizens Brigade, has been an
00:23undeniable breakout star of the comedy ensemble that also features Kristen Bell as
00:27Arizona dirtbag Eleanor, William Jackson Harper as uptight ethics professor Chidi,
00:32Jamila Jamil as socialite Tahani, and Manny Jacinto as dumb but lovable Jason.
00:37In the season 3 episode, Janets, Carden had the chance to essentially play all of her
00:41castmates' characters, providing a performance that gave viewers a chance to truly
00:45witness her inimitable talent and range. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Carden reveals
00:49how she pulled off the risky quadruple play and gives insight into her own evolving character.
00:54The actress has certainly risen to the challenge of playing Janet, who is
00:57neither human nor robot, and in order to do so, Carden explains she tapped into a very
01:01human quality of her own. Says the actress, who also cites Jack McBray's character on
01:0530 Rock and Sam Richardson's character on Veep as inspiration,
01:08All Janet wants to do is help, and I have a people-pleaser side of me and I like to
01:12problem-solve, so I tapped into those
01:14aspects of my personality and in people I know and characters I've seen who have that unflappable
01:19problem-solving positive light.
01:21Hi there, I'm Janet, an anthropomorphized vessel of knowledge here to make your life easier.
01:28Carden discovered she would be tasked with taking on the characteristics of her
01:31co-stars while at dinner with creator Mike Shaw and their respective spouses.
01:35It made me excited and also feel this crazy amount of pressure to deliver for these writers
01:39that I love so much, Carden confesses.
01:41I thought it was going to be one scene. I read the episode with one hand over my face peeking
01:46between my fingers.
01:47It was this weird mix of, I cannot wait to do this, and I kind of hope we decide not
01:51to do it.
01:52Let's not say white people things. Billy Joel. I found it on Etsy.
01:56And while Carden's talent is not to be minimized for a second, she did have the help of her fellow
02:00castmates
02:00when it came time to stepping into their on-screen shoes with each of them finding their own ways to
02:04guide her.
02:05Says Carden,
02:27That good advice included a prompt to not get completely caught up in the technical aspects of the episode,
02:33such as matching eyelines and placements. Carden explains that Danson urged her to remember the point of the scene
02:38and what a big moment it was for each of the characters and to make that the number one priority.
02:43Says Carden,
02:55And when it comes to the evolution of Janet, who began the series as an all-knowing, super helpful,
02:59Siri-like presence and has gradually become more deeply attached than motley crew of dead misfits
03:04trying to navigate the very complicated and hilarious afterlife, Carden confesses,
03:09That is what remains her greatest challenge.
03:11There's always these little changes and my fear is always that I'm going to push it too far in one
03:15direction,
03:16the actress muses. I rely so much on Mike Shaw. He's very generous with my early morning freaked out texts.
03:22It's such a group effort. If something feels too robotic or too human, we try it again.
03:26I've never spent three or four years playing one character, so a lot of it now is just trusting my
03:30gut in knowing her.
03:31Turns out that the best Janet was the Janet that was inside Janet all along.
03:35To read Rebecca Sun's full interview with Darcy Carden, head to THR.com.
03:39For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.
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