00:03Hi I'm Mariah Gullow from The Hollywood Reporter and we're in studio today with
00:07Tara Lipinski. Hi! How are you? I'm good thanks for having me. We're here to talk
00:13about Kidding. Yes. So how did you come about getting this role because what I
00:18heard is that the role was written specifically for you in mind from the
00:23very beginning. It was. I was talking to Dave Holstein and he was he was saying
00:27like yeah it was written for you so you had to say yes. But how can I say no when
00:34I when I got the call my agent was like this is an amazing opportunity I want
00:38you to read the script Michelle Gondry Jim Carrey it's a it's gonna be a really
00:43good Showtime show and I read the script the writing was incredible the story was
00:47amazing and my character or myself was just a very very different version like
00:52a warped version of who I really am and so it was really fun to be able to like
00:57step into an entirely different character. You have to have a real sense of
01:02humor to play the role of yourself but have like a personality that not who you
01:08are at all yeah perhaps a little bit let's just say off-putting yeah it was
01:12yeah you have to have a sense of humor for that but is that normal I mean you
01:17know a lot of talent and celebrities like can people really be okay with me kind of
01:22making fun of themselves or I mean what for me it was like why not and I I don't
01:26take things like that that seriously and I thought it was fun and I was I was good
01:32to be in on that that joke and the the I think the way that I looked at it was
01:37that
01:38it was a lot it was a lot more fun to take on that role than just play Tara
01:42myself I mean that would be much more you know maybe it would be more genuine but
01:47very boring this was really really fun and I think probably from just being in
01:53in entertainment since I was so young you know winning the Olympic gold medal at
01:5915 I feel like as time has gone by I just love new opportunities and I feel
02:04grateful that they come along and why not make a little fun of myself right
02:09because I mean it's it's kind of a perfect opportunity to be away from like
02:14what stereotypically people think of as an Olympic ice skater they think somebody
02:19very sweet somebody very young but somebody who's been media trains right
02:23from an early age so you have that really sweet side and then as as the
02:27episodes go on we see who Tara Lipinski from Kidding is really all about a
02:34different version a very warm version as I said but it was so fun to really just I
02:39mean it's so out there and as the episodes continue it gets even worse so I'm
02:45but it was incredible to work with Jim you know a little intimidating my very
02:48first day when you like step out of your trailer and you're like oh hey Jim so I'm
02:52you know like I grew up on all your movies and we're just gonna sit here and do a
02:57scene together but he was so nice he he made me feel so comfortable and he was so
03:02helpful because I was just like asking him a million questions and tell me this
03:05tell me how to do this tell me more tell me more and I feel like I had my own
03:10little acting coach you know in every scene and he he was always making me
03:14laugh and it was just an experience I'll look back on and think wow that was so
03:18surreal yeah what were some of the examples of how he was able to coach you
03:23a little bit well I feel like every scene I'm just I'm always I'm not very shy so
03:27I'm always like well tell me more and like how would you go and and I really
03:31wanted to learn because it was so exciting to come in every day and watch him I mean
03:35he's so talented and it's crazy just to have that behind-the-scenes moment where
03:40I got to peek in on on Jim becoming Mr. Pickles and really becoming this crazy
03:48amazing character that you know just is so complex and you know I've acted in the
03:54past you know after the Olympics you do all those cameo roles and then things
03:58kind of you know rolled from there a little bit where there was a few other
04:02acting things that came along and but I haven't acted in a long time so being
04:06back part of that and and watching him really made me fall in love with it it
04:12was it was such a fun experience you just like play every day you play dress up
04:18Jim Carrey's been known to be sort of a method actor like he he does kind of
04:23disappear into his role so you said you saw that changeover from Mr. Pickles does it
04:28feel like a method acting technique or does it feel different than that well I
04:32yeah I could definitely see that once we started it was you know our as we were
04:37preparing and you could you could definitely see that and you know by the
04:42end of filming I really it was like Mr. Pickles Jim is the same and you got to be
04:50Mr. Pickles too I know I got to be Mr. Pickles but you know Jim and I had a lot
04:54of
04:55great moments that you know I'll look back on and think what a cool memory but
04:59you know when there when we were filming on set at the rink and we had some
05:02downtime we would always like we have five minutes okay we'll jump on the ice and
05:06we would you know take laps together and he loves skating I grew up playing
05:11hockey so it was it was a nice bonding moment that's nice yeah and and we get to
05:16see him doing some skating in the upcoming episode good yeah he is good yeah so I
05:22mean did you have to give him any pointers I didn't give it we worked on a spin oh
05:28you know yeah he did well we were doing some pair skating for a while and we just
05:32had fun what does Johnny Weir think about the outfit that you had to wear for this
05:36role we haven't talked about it yet but I am I'm sure he will disapprove I am sure he
05:42will be like what were you wearing I mean I had like corduroy like floodwater pants and
05:47like you know a cardigan and obviously my big head yeah what was that like meeting
05:54Michelle Gondry and all of the props masters who are working on the set well
05:59working with Michelle and meeting him and just coming in every day sort of watching
06:04him work was so fascinating and so incredible and then I was able to step
06:09into this world this fantasy world that only he can really create and there was a
06:15moment when I got on the ice and I had my whole get up on but you know it was
06:19the
06:19big ice show and just you look it really was like I was stepping into this like
06:23make-believe world and it was so fantastic that I'll always remember that
06:29moment and I feel like it's someone like Michelle who can create that you do get
06:35to skate as mr. pickles I do just a small bit so there was there were some
06:39doubles um that that got in there for me just because because of the head because
06:44of the big head now there's a couple of things I wanted to touch on from your
06:48character the well let's just say the evil term right she's a smoker and I assume as
06:55an athlete you've never never before never smoked what was that like it was
07:00crazy because when I went in I was a little nervous about it because I have
07:03never smoked and I have like a problem of keeping my my fingers would be like
07:08straight-up uncool smoker like alarm would go off and I couldn't relax them
07:14and I was like I am a terrible smoker but you know obviously they were the fake
07:19cigarettes and yeah um but again like being with Jim being with Michelle and
07:23being in that environment it was really I felt that I was able to really let go
07:27and have fun and I didn't realize it and like four hours later you know we're
07:30doing the scene and I'm like chain-smoking these fake cigarettes and the next
07:34morning I woke up and my my poor like lungs were just done for like I could
07:40barely even like oh there goes my broadcasting career ruined it in one day
07:46but no it was obviously a departure for me the other thing I wanted to talk about
07:51was the fact that your character is swears like a sailor but you don't
07:56actually have to do the swearing because it's your pet bird who is just waiting
08:02you just wait oh it's coming oh yeah I mean the last though some of the scenes
08:07were just so crazy but so much fun to do are you interested in expanding your
08:12acting resume you know I haven't really thought about it obviously this
08:16opportunity fell into my lap and and wasn't expected or reached out for but I
08:21definitely think of things come around like this I would would be so into it it
08:26was just such a fun experience and you know day after day just sort of falling
08:32into that world and and expressing yourself in that way was you know
08:36challenging and so different than what I do for my day job so I would definitely
08:41be open to that excellent and do you have a dream role dream if that were the
08:46case I don't know I haven't really thought that's a good question I haven't
08:49really thought what my dream role would be obviously this was something like a
08:55bucket list checkoff item because I mean who gets to work with Jim Carrey and
09:01act with Jim Carrey and Michelle Gondry and and also the show is so good that to be
09:06part of that it feels really special do you think that there are some badass
09:11characters in your future you like playing the badass well I mean I don't know I love
09:16comedy it's it's fun to obviously I do like making fun of myself so I definitely love comedy
09:24comedy is what you're into we'll see you know I I feel like you know at my my heart will
09:30always be
09:30with skating and you know I won the Olympic gold medal at 15 and then really had to
09:34figure out where my life went from there so my second career as a broadcaster is my passion but I
09:40have
09:41to say that when these these opportunities come along like this I I feel grateful that I get to
09:45go out and play and and try something new yeah I could see an evil Tara Lipinski in an episode
09:51of
09:51Curb Your and Thinny could you yes okay well Tara thank you so much for being here and we will
09:58see
09:59you in upcoming episodes of Kidding thank you all right kidding on Showtime
10:02you
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