Leslie Bibb hates to think of herself as having a moment. “I don’t like to say moment, because it can be over like that,” she says. “It feels like I have been preparing for this my whole career, and the stars are aligning for the parts.” From her breakout role as Brooke McQueen on Popular, to her memorable turns as Will Ferrell’s wife in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and journalist Christine Everhart in Ironman, Bibb has been a scene-stealer throughout her entire career. In the past year, with roles like Dinah in Palm Royale and Kate Bohr in The White Lotus, Bibb is receiving more attention and screen time than ever. But it is her role as Monica, the wife of Cherry Jones’ character Kelly on the Hacks episode “Montecito” that has garnered her first Emmy nomination. For Bibb the recent success is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. “You can always be doing the work and it just has to be the right part, at the right time, with the right eyes on it,” she says, adding, “Look, I don’t know what the f–k is happening, but I’m into it.”
Read on to hear Bibb tell all about her on-screen (and partly off book) seduction of both Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder‘s Hacks characters, plus some news about what she’s doing next…
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DEADLINE: How did you come to guest star on Hacks?
LESLIE BIBB: Paul [W. Downs, Hacks co-creator] did a Q&A for White Lotus, and I said to him after, “God, that’s a hard job.” It’s a lot of work. So, we just became friendlier. I was like, “You’re so good,” and he was very kind about my work on the show. When he texted me, “Hey, do you want to do this?” I was like, “Yes, of course!” I would’ve done that job if I just sat there and said nothing – to be in a scene with Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder and Cherry Jones, I would’ve done it to say one line of that show. But to get to do everything that we got to do… The writers that wrote that episode, they wrote a great part. And Jen [Statsky], Paul and Lucia [Aniello] run a show like I had never seen a show run before.
DEADLINE: In what way?
BIBB: I’ve never seen a video village so positive, so supportive. They love actors. You feel it. I mean, yes, they’ve been together for a long time, but it felt like they were all working as such a unit and really enjoyed each other. It was like acting utopia.
DEADLINE: How did you and Cherry work on the dynamics of your relationship? Were they there on paper?
BIBB: I remember when I first walked in, I kissed Cherry in the scene. The first scene we shot was the beekeeper thing, and I came in and I just grabbed her and I kissed her. And then after we were done, I was like, “I’m so sorry. I probably should have asked you if I should have kissed you.” But Cherry is like a warm hug, so it’s easy to be with her. I mean, she had hurt her arm and I was like, “Cherry, hold on. Let me get this.” I was literally becoming Monica. But yes, we’d seen versions of the script. It was there, but it was also stuff that I improvised.
DEADLINE: She’s very slinky. I like how she moves.
BIBB: So, I had to go to London two days before I flew into Los Angeles. I was in London having these meetings, and there’s an incredible movement teacher named Polly Bennett. And I said, “Hey, Polly, I want to work with you. I’m going to do this thing, and her movement feels important to me.” So Polly and I did a session. It means a lot that you saw that because there was something about her that wherever she looks, that’s where she goes. There’s a very on-the-balls-of-her-feet sort of [quality to her]. She’s not hopping, it’s very slinky.
DEADLINE: Is this Polly Bennett who did Bohemian Rhapsody? Who teaches people how to literally be other people?
BIBB: Yes! Most people would be like, “You worked with a movement teacher for a guest episode?” But yes, I did. And this is a perfect example of, “You never know what can happen.” When I got that Emmy nomination, it was one of my first calls. I was like, “Girl, this, I really think, has a lot to do with some embedding of a foundation.” I also remember going to the fitting and I said, “I don’t want to wear shoes a lot.” I don’t think I ever wore shoes in the show.
I was married for 13 seconds, and I remember my [ex-husband] said to me before we got divorced, “If you haven’t made it by the time you’re 30, you should probably quit.
DEADLINE: Maybe with the bees.
BIBB: Oh, I had shoes on for the bees, but I was naked under the bee outfit because I said, “I feel like she is.” The costume designer and I thought… I was like, “Nobody’s going to know this, but you and I.” And I thought it was so funny because she has nothing protective under her big costume. I don’t have on socks. If you look, it’s like ankles… But yeah, it was a great foundation.
DEADLINE: It is interesting because I’m watching that episode thinking, “It looks so natural that it feels improvised,” but you put a lot of thought into this before you even set foot on set. Is that your normal process?
BIBB: Yes, that’s my typical process. If you look at my script for the show… (holds up color-coded script with handwritten notes across every page).
DEADLINE: Oh, wow.
BIBB: I do it all. I write a lot of stuff. I look at a script. You sit with it, you write sh-t. And then usually on the day, maybe I look at it some, but it’s like building an arsenal inside of you so that when they yell, “Action,” and I look at Jean, Hannah and Cherry, I can just react off of them. All the homework’s inside of me. I’m not sitting there going, “Oh, I should say this line like this.” Because there’s a gazillion ways you could say a line. You know what you’re trying to do in the scene, but it’s going to change with the way Hannah or Jean says her line. Usually, your overall objective of the scene is the same, but how you get to that objective, you’ve got to let your scene partner do that. So, I do a lot of prep work and then pray that something cooks on the day.
It’s funny, the scene where Hannah and I have that thing with the strawberry… we’d done all these food scenes, and that was the end of the day. And I don’t know if it was the fake wine – because I was guzzling that wine in the outdoor scene – I was green. I was eating that strawberry and I looked at Hannah – I was like, “Hannah, my stomach is upside down.” So, you’re just like, “All right, well, I’m going to use that for the scene as I seduce Hannah.”
DEADLINE: The show must go on.
BIBB: Well, that’s the thing. The show does have to go on. And anything you improvise, even if it’s not right, it still felt like it inspired something. Sam [Rockwell], my partner, had asked our yoga teacher, “Were you a dancer?” And Franz goes, “Once a dancer, always a dancer.” And Sam’s like, “Oh God, that’s so terrible. I shouldn’t have said were. I know better.” But he had said it and it just really tickled me, so I said to Paul, “I feel like that’s something she would say.” And he was like, “Change it to ballerina.” And I was like, “Great.” Because we had the Darren Aronofsky thing. But the Sia thing…that wasn’t even in [the script]. I don’t know if there was one version where we met at Sia’s. I guess that was in my head. So, when Hannah started to improvise the Shibari… First off, Hannah Einbinder, if she doesn’t get the Emmy for just that improv – none of that’s written.
DEADLINE: Wait, which part?
BIBB: When she goes, “We’re really into Shibari role play.” Hannah just goes on an improv. And, I don’t know, when she said, “chandelier,” I just went, “We know Sia.” But the thing about Jen, Lucia and Paul is that there’s something about the way they create the environment that allows your subconscious to just go. Do you know what I mean? You don’t sit on an impulse, and you’re not judging an impulse. You’re not sitting there going, “This is weird.” Because when you’re a guest on somebody else’s set, it can be nerve wracking. I know we’re not digging ditches as actors, but I do believe that it’s hard. You have to be very vulnerable, sometimes with people you don’t know or places you don’t know, and the process is a delicate one. So, when you walk onto a set like the one Paul, Lucia and Jen run, you feel so safe. They set you up for success.
DEADLINE: Talk to me about seducing both Hannah and Jean.
BIBB: That wasn’t in the script. I was supposed to grab Hannah and dance and I don’t know… I had to get Jean up. And I don’t know what I did, but I did something to her. It’s like a fever dream. It’s very easy to want to seduce Jean Smart. She’s so great. I think I did something. Like, I gnawed at her or did something at her knees, or something. She hugged me and she told me I was very funny. She goes, “Girls that look like you aren’t always that funny.” And I was like, “Oh, that’s nice.” And to seduce Hannah… Every girl should get to seduce Hannah Einbinder. I mean, I’m besotted by her as well. She’s so fun to work with, and she’s so fast. Literally, you rise up. That company is so beautiful to be in, that it’s like a masterclass. You cannot be bad with those women. You just cannot.
You’ve just got to f–king put your head down and do the work. It’s not about how many followers you have or whatever. It’s about the work.” I watch my partner who I think will go down as one of our great actors, and how simple he makes the work look. And I’m like, “They don’t know. They don’t know. Nobody sees.” You gotta do the work.
DEADLINE: If there’s such an encouragement to try things, how do you keep the day from not going on endlessly?
BIBB: Because they know when they’ve got it. They know. I don’t know how they do it, but they do it. That show runs like clockwork. The crew, the hair and makeup, it is a well-oiled machine so that when you get to work, it’s so locked and loaded that all you get is at-bats. You get tries. You get more. It’s not like you’ve wasted so much time. And Adam [Bricker], their DP, lights beautifully but efficiently. So, you get more than two stabs at it.
DEADLINE: What does it mean to get the Emmy nomination for this performance, in particular?
BIBB: It feels validating. I was married for 13 seconds, and I remember my [ex-husband] said to me before we got divorced, “If you haven’t made it by the time you’re 30, you should probably quit.” Listen, I’ve had a very fortunate life, but I think I’ve been a bit of an underdog, or maybe underestimated or like, “Oh, you look like this.” People just put you into categories and don’t see your quirkiness, or your shadow. They just assume they know your story without knowing your story. I just felt like, thank God I didn’t listen. Thank God I listened to my gut. Thank God I bet on myself. And it’s very meaningful to me to be, at my age…I’m going to start crying… it’s corny, but to be at my age and to be having this be my reality right now, I’m so grateful. I’m just really, really grateful. And I’m glad it’s happening now because I think I would’ve taken it for f–king granted. And I ain’t taking anything for granted.
DEADLINE: Also, you’re now synonymous with a haircut.
BIBB: Isn’t that crazy, that it came from White Lotus? But again, this is the thing. I want to say to every actor: “You just never f–king know. You never know. You’ve just got to f–king put your head down and do the work. It’s not about how many followers you have or whatever. It’s about the work.” I watch my partner, who I think will go down as one of our great actors, and how simple he makes the work look. And I’m like, “They don’t know. They don’t know. Nobody sees.” So, to be around greatness and to see that work – you gotta do the work.
DEADLINE: What are you shooting now?
BIBB: I’m doing a show with Brett Goldstein and Lesley Manville. It’s called Escorted. He wrote this incredible part.
DEADLINE: Is it a series? A film?
BIBB: It’s a TV show. It’s for Amazon. It’s eight episodes. It’s me, Brett and Lesley Manville. I’m so obsessed with Lesley Manville. Every morning I wake up, I send her a podcast. I just love her. I feel so lucky to get to work with these incredible women. I got to work with Jean Smart. Now I’m getting to work with Lesley Manville. And I got to work with Hannah. I’m just like, “What? How is this my life?” It’s so good.
DEADLINE: Are you also doing a Cold War series?
BIBB: Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully. We’re still waiting to finish our financing on that. But yes, I am supposed to do that. Two things that are hard: We’re trying to get the last 30% of financing, which hopefully will come in very soon, and trying to shoot in Iceland where you only have a very short amount of time to film. But no, I really want to do that show. I love that character because it’s something I’ve never done before.
