Its asking, whatdontyou remember her from?
I never looked like an ingenue, she tellsGlamour.I never sounded like one.
I never felt like one inside.
Sebastian Gutierrez
And so I sort of always knew that some of my best roles would come later in life.
Whats one thing that you learned about the media industry that you didn’t know before playing Grace?
Carla Gugino:It is interesting.
I don’t think I quite understood that race.
And that’s a debatable issue.
I thought it was interesting that the show, I feel, had an almost hopeful tone.
I think in general, I’m interested in stories no matter how dark they get.
It asks some really good questions in that way, which is what I think storytelling can do.
The show actually wasnt supposed to come out during an election year, right?
It was supposed to come out last year, but because of the strike it got pushed.
But I think it’s actually even more potent right now.
These candidates are fictionalized, this world is fictionalized.
Of course there are references where you could go, this person might be kind of like this person.
It allows us to look at it with a little bit more optimism and hope, without being preachy.
It might be able to express that there are ways that people with absolutely different beliefs can come together.
Your character is even a mentor to Melissa Benoists character.
It’s a complex set of circumstances, but it actually can be more deeply bonding because of that.
What is your process for picking your projects?
I’ve never looked at it from the outside in that way.
Then Ill go,I have to get back and do a play.
It’s a very active question.
It’s a very active relationship with yourself.
I think the key is putting ourselves in positions where we don’t know that we can succeed.
I don’t have that answer.
And it’s terrifying.
That’s the other thing I would say: to keep your own counsel.
That’s been something for me that is a challenge.
The rest of it is noise that you don’t need to listen to.
You just have to go: Does this bring me joy?
Do I get that little giddy feeling or not?
Just keep trying to find that.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
