O’Donnell finds new inspiration in ‘SMILF’
Rosie O’Donnell is a hot-button name for many, but everyone has a different way of seeing her. She’s a stand-up comedy pioneer from the 1990s; she’s the openhearted but politically charged host of “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” which ran from 1996 to 2002. Or she’s the devil incarnate, if you happen to be the current president of the United States, who’s been feuding with her for more than a decade. (O’Donnell returns the sentiment.)
But Rosie O’Donnell is a woman in a new phase of her career — as Grandma Tutu on Showtime’s grounded-in-reality comedy “SMILF,” a series created by and starring Frankie Shaw as a financially struggling single mother. O’Donnell plays Shaw’s mother, a role that lets her just be herself. The following is an edited transcript.
Q: You’ve had a pretty tough year or so. How are you doing?
A: Not good. This was a very difficult year, yes. My daughter was diagnosed with autism. We were shooting the pilot for this show (“SMILF”) on Election Day. … And he won and it was like the ground fell out from under me. It’s terrifying.
Q: Has playing Tutu on “SMILF” helped?
A: Totally. While we were filming, my ex-wife (Michelle Rounds) killed herself. That was included in the year of hell. I got the call and said to Frankie, “You’re not going to believe this.” It was the most wonderful place to be; she really is exceptional about being open, and I think artistically she’s a genius.
Q: “SMILF” addresses topics with an honesty rarely seen on TV. How much does that frankness surprise you?
A: At the premiere, I’d forgotten all the sex in the pilot; I’m not there on those days. So when I did see the pilot, I was, like, “Oh, my God.”
Q: Were you like Frankie as a kid?
A: No way! My mother died when I was 10, so I really craved the adult attention. We were, like, five kids and looked like we weren’t taken care of, because we weren’t. Public school teachers came in and parented us. The woman I got for algebra in seventh grade became like a second mother to me. She took me to the gynecologist when I got old enough; she was the first person to say “I love you” to me. I didn’t have sex until I was much older, and I had so much body shame. (The frankness) on this show is what we worked for as feminists and women — and I’m inspired as well as terrified.
Q: About your own sex scene — how comfortable or uncomfortable was that to shoot?
A: Not as uncomfortable as the day before, when I had the “getting ready for the sex scene.” The next day, the actor playing my boyfriend was so terrified and shaky — and I’m so co-dependent that I wasn’t afraid because I was taking care of him. I was nurturing him. It wasn’t as bad or as scary as I thought.
Series star Frankie Shaw “really is exceptional about being open.” — Rosie O’Donnell, above