MOLLY SHANNON
The Divorce star on marriage, motherhood, Sarah Jessica Parker and her advice for upand-coming comedians
M
olly Shannon rose to fame in the mid1990s with hilarious, outrageously original characters on Saturday Night Live. She’s appeared in dozens of TV series and movies, including Wet Hot American Summer, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Bad Teacher
and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky
Bobby. But Shannon, 53, considers herself a mom above all else, and along with her husband, artist Fritz Chesnut, likes to spend as much time as possible with their daughter, Stella, 14, and son, Nolan, 12. The native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, will return as Diane, the outspoken friend of Sarah Jessica Parker’s Frances, on season two of Divorce, premiering Jan. 14 on HBO.
When did you first realize how to make
people laugh? I was in third or fourth grade and I was sleeping over at my friend Amy’s house. Her mother was making chicken cacciatore for dinner. The whole family was gathering, and I said my first real joke out loud: “I’ll have the chicken, but I don’t want any
cacciatore!” The whole family laughed, and I thought, I like this!
Did you love to perform growing
up? My friends and I would make up shows a lot, like putting on leotards and making up synchronized dances. Every year at Christmas, my sister and I would put on a show for our guests. How did you spend Sundays growing up? On Sundays, my dad, my sister and I would go to St. Dominic Church in Cleveland with a family friend. My dad would always want us to dress up— he was a really good dresser and he’d wear cashmere coats with ascots. He figured if you stuck to the classics, you could never go wrong. After church, we’d go to Sam’s Delicatessen in Cleveland and we’d split corned beef hash with a side of rye toast.
What about Sundays
now? We have kind of a routine of going out for breakfast with my kids, then the farmers’ market in my neighborhood, then relaxing at home if I can.
One of the best things about Divorce is your banter with actor Tracy Letts (Lady
Bird, The Post), who plays your character’s
husband, Nick. He is so much fun. We’re really different people in real life, but we match as performers. His character is very stoic and mine is kind of a loudmouth who says whatever she wants. I feel like in life you see couples like that. I’m such a fan of Tracy’s; he’s the kind of person who just ups your acting game.
What about Sarah Jessica Parker makes her such a great comedic
actress? I was such a giant fan of hers before I ever got to work with her. She’s really funny, but she always plays the emotional truth. The comedy comes from a very real place. She’s not just trying to be funny; it’s anchored in reality. I feel like that’s the best place for comedy.
Divorce can be raw subject matter for a comedy. Do you think there’s a secret to a successful
marriage? No. I love [writer] Nora Ephron’s quote: “How could anybody know what’s going on in my marriage when I don’t know what’s going on in my marriage?” I think it’s the hardest relationship; you have to work on it, and there’s nothing greater than when you can make that work. But sure, a lot of times it doesn’t work. I guess I have a positive attitude about divorce because I have some friends who’ve gotten divorced, and I’m like, “Well, if it’s better, then—good!” As a mother of two who works a lot, how do you stay grounded? I lead a very normal life. I’m just so happy being a mother that everything else revolves around that. If a movie falls through or a TV show doesn’t get picked up, I’m pretty easygoing about it because I’m just like, “Yay, I get to be with my kids more!”
Do you have any advice for up-and-comers looking to break
into comedy? It depends on whether it’s stand-up or more character-driven work. I never did stand-up, but I got on Saturday Night Live when I was 30. I was auditioning a lot and had an agent, but I couldn’t get arrested, so I started developing my own show. If you can write and create original characters, do your own show, develop your own material; it gives you more power than just waiting around to be hired.