Mary Lynn Rajskub brings humor to 24 just because Chloe can’t take anyone seriously, no matter how dramatic the crisis. As herself, she’s just a total goofball. We caught her holding court in a roundtable on the new set of CTU: New York, which of course still films in Los Angeles. By season eight, she’s good at keeping 24 secrets, but we’d still take her on a headset any time.
Q: Tell us everything you can tell us about this season.
Mary Lynn Rajskub: Well, um… This season there’s a terrorist threat and there’s this peace conference happening that’s disrupted. You’re like, “I didn’t really want to hear about the plot of the show.”
Q: We figured it’s hard because no one can ever tell us anything about the plot of the episodes.
Mary Lynn Rajskub: I know. CTU’s on a spaceship this year. Not really, but it is underground. It’s under Roosevelt Island. My desk is down there. We’re paperless.
Q: What do you think of the computer screens being underneath the glass desks?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: This was my design and I hope you like it as much as I do. It’s so you can’t get to it. Because I often want to smash my computer, but this way there’s an extra barrier between being able to smash it.
Q: Is this Chloe’s wardrobe for the day or is this just for you?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: This is how I look every day, when I get ready. When I go to take care of the baby and take my dogs out, I put on a power pencil skirt and a nice blouse and pumps. It’s just the way I roll. Taking in the trashcans, just super sexy while I do it. “I’m just bringing in the trash cans! It’s not a big deal!”
Q: This seems a bit unusual for Chloe too.
Mary Lynn Rajskub: Excuse me? What are you saying? That I have to be in my character, 24/7? Believe me, every year, I’m like, “Can I please wear a bikini and get muscles sculpted?” And they say no, it would be distracting. Every year I go, “Can I please get long braid hair extensions as Chloe? Can I please wear a long robe like Maude?” “No!” Every year, “No.”
Q: Who are some of the new actors you’re getting to work with this year?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: Katee Sackhoff, Mykelti Williamson, Freddie Prinze Jr…. How cool is that? I was pretty nervous when I first saw Katee. I said, “Ah, there’s Starbuck!” And then I forgot, and now she’s Dana Walsh to me. And Mykelti as my boss, Mr. Hastings, had quite the few clashes already. It’s just been really, really fun.
Q: You’ve been here the second longest of anyone in the cast.
Mary Lynn Rajskub: That’s true!
Q: What’s it like when new blood comes in? Do you have a hazing ritual? Are you nice to everyone?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: You know, it’s just, honestly, those first couple of days where I’m nervous and they’re nervous and then we’re all in it together after that.
Q: Chloe’s had some antagonism with a lot of her coworkers, but obviously as time went on she came to bond with Jack and with Bill. Is this a whole new group for her to clash with, as the season begins?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: Yes. I would say there is more clashing than getting around, especially at the beginning, especially since my character has been away being a mom for a couple of years. So I come back and everything has changed and Katee’s character tries to be really nice and gives me a pat like, “Don’t worry, you’ll catch up!” And I just want to kill her. And then Mykelti does not take into account the ideas that I have about some stuff that is going on, and I’m always kind of annoyed with him, as he is with me.
Q: Do you have a nice new headset this year?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: [Sighs] I got a little ear thing, yes, but it always falls off.
Q: It seems like Chloe’s the type, after all of these days, wouldn’t she get used to, “Oh, here we go again?”
Mary Lynn Rajskub: I thought you were going to say, “It seems like she would just have a computer implanted in her so that she never had to use a headset.” It would be, like, under her skin or something. Um… What do you mean?! What are you trying to do? Break the fourth wall? Like I’m gonna stop and look at the camera and be like, “Not this again!”
Q: Is there any sense that she’s toughened up because she’s handled worse things before?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: Well, I think that she has. I think that if you go back and watch some of the earlier episodes, they wrote it very much like I was quoting rules and like, “You’ve got to do this and this!”, and I was lashing out at people. Now I still lash out at people, but I have more of a confidence about, “No, listen to me about this,” and I have a stronger bond with Jack. But it’s still upsetting, the stuff that’s happening. I don’t think you ever get used to that. So you know, we’re always playing with that. All this extreme stuff happening, but yet it’s still part of our everyday jobs. I’m not breaking down into tears every two minutes. But also, Chloe’s a mom, so that puts another interesting reason in there to question and to feel differently about what’s going on.
Q: How old is her baby now?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: You know what’s so weird? I totally just forgot. I think he’s two. We can’t remember. But Prescott, I do remember his name is Prescott. No, we filmed him! He looked older now. He’s like four. We filmed him last year, remember? In the bed? I was like, “Bye, Mommy might die now!” He was like three. He’s like three or four… Oh god. I feel a little sick. I’m suddenly like, “Is my son five on the show?” They grow up so fast. He’s not one of the primary storylines! The love of a mother is the same, no matter the age of a child!
