Mindy Kalingis hitting a lot of firsts this year.
After closing outThe Mindy Projectin 2017, the multi-hyphenate comedic talent is making strides into some new areas.
But first:Late Night.
Credit: Emily Aragones/Amazon Studios
Playing Molly presented a new challenge, Kaling says, a different acting style than I have ever done.
I finishedThe Mindy Projectand I was like eight months pregnant and I was tired.
You also examine the notion of someone being considered a diversity hire and people in the workplace discussing that.
Molly is not just the only woman on the staff, but also the only person of color.
And once you know that, its like, where do you go from there?
I couldnt help but feel like Katherine Newbury was perhaps yourMiranda Priestly.
And Molly does not feel that way.
Molly has a more millennial approach to being a feminist.
And so the movie is a lot about intersectionality.
Molly comes into this male writers room and does fall for the charms of one of the writers.
So that felt that felt kind of natural to me.
But the romance of the movie… is not the major part of the movie.
Did you always have Emma Thompson in mind to play Katherine Newbury?I did.
I always had her in mind.
That was where it came from.
It turned out better than I could have imagined for her playing Katherine.
Its really based on a lot of different people.
Ive decided that if theyre not out there, you have to create them by training them yourself.
And then I reap all the benefits because now they work for me, so its selfish!
So Kelly, while still a tertiary character, was still a fun departure.
Has playing Molly made you want to tackle something a little different down the line?
Are you looking at different types of roles for yourself?Im open to anything.
Im often surprised when anyone ever casts me in anything that I dont write.
Like when I was inOceans 8andWrinkle in TimeandInside Out, I was delighted to do it but very surprised.
I am never cast in anything that I dont write, so those are the sort of notable exceptions.
Because of my giant chip on my shoulder!
