This will be the last interview with a cast member of MadTV. The SNL alternative ends its 14 year run on Fox this may. Cast member Arden Myrin touted the end of an era in this nostalgic interview.
Crave Online: How are you preparing for a big finale?
Arden Myrin: Fred Willard is going to come host our finale and we're bringing back Alex Borstein and Will Sasso and Mo Collins and Debra Wilson.
Crave Online: You've only got an hour. Which of their great characters will you hit?
Arden Myrin: Well, I know what they're doing. Will is doing Kenny Rogers. Mo is doing Lorraine. Debra is doing Oprah and Alex is doing Miss Swan.
Crave Online: Are you waiting for celebrity scandals to do Lohan or Spears again?
Arden Myrin: Oh my God. Lohan, I've done Ali Lohan. I was sort of obsessed with, I was the only person who watched Living Lohan. Have you ever seen that show? I couldn't believe how she talked so that was exciting that I got to do her. I kind of was mesmerized. Celebrity scandals are always exciting. They don't let us do those girls sometimes. We never did Paris. We never did Lindsay. I don't know why. It seems like easy fodder.
Crave Online: Is it a different sort of performance when you're doing that versus a made up character?
Arden Myrin: Yeah. I think for me, Nicole Parker's really good at mimicking voices. For me, like I always loved when Will Ferrell did Janet Reno. Not that he sounded exactly like her but it was this funny character, like the essence of her. That's how I try. I try to make it more a funny essence of somebody like that you might not expect.
Crave Online: Are you done with Cindy McCain now?
Arden Myrin: I think so. To me, she was such a funny character, I would have loved to have done Cindy McCain goes golfing. That hair, just the beehive hairdo and a huge visor. I don't know, that would be fun.
Crave Online: What will the last Coffee Twins be?
Arden Myrin: We filmed it. It is so funny. I think they aired it. We did another Cottage Life. Our last Coffee Twins they cut out some of the stuff that was my favorite. They cut out me screaming at Bobby in the bed, saying like, "That's because you're not funny. I should have married this other guy." So hateful. They cut out the most hateful parts which are our favorites. Krista and I did another Cottage Life which was similar, the lesbians living in a cottage and that was pretty funny. That was our last sketch that we filmed together.
Crave Online: Some of those extras will be on the DVD?
Arden Myrin: Yeah. That was the one thing I have to say, that one sketch in particular, Coffee Twins was probably my favorite to film. That was the one thing I was so disappointed that they didn't leave in. I was like this super evil horrible character who thinks she's important and amusing and just hates her husband and hates her life, runs a tight ship.
Crave Online: Do you get to sing in the remaining episodes?
Arden Myrin: I don't. I don't think we have any. Nicole has a few videos I feel like coming up, but those were our last ones that we did.
Crave Online: You always got to sing, so you were multi-talented.
Arden Myrin: Nicole did. Nicole did all the videos.
Crave Online: You didn't play any singers?
Arden Myrin: I did a few. I did Hilary Duff. I did two, I did Hilary Duff and Avril Lavigne which were both really fun. I would have liked to have done more of that. That was fun. It's fun to do the videos because I feel like that's one thing MadTV does really well is parodying the videos. They'll shoot four or five of those in a day. They can just bang 'em out. Our crew is so good.
Crave Online: Coming from The Improv and The Groundlings, are there a lot more places for sketch trained comedians to go now?
Arden Myrin: Do you think so? I feel sad for the up and coming people just for the specific sketch. You always had MadTV or Saturday Night Live and there are so few jobs in the actual specific sketch world. There's so much more comedy but it made me sad just for people who are coming up that those jobs were going to be gone. I feel like with the Judd Apatow explosion and with Tina Fey and all the girl stuff, I feel like there's more. People are back on comedies again like they were in the '80s.
Crave Online: Maybe I get a lot of DVD sets, but I feel like I've seen a lot more sketch shows.
Arden Myrin: I feel like on cable, there is more opportunity though. I love Flight of the Conchords. That is my favorite I think. I know it's not a sketch show but I loved Summer Heights High. This guy plays all the characters but it's brilliant. Frank Caliendo has a sketch show so I guess you're right. I guess with cable there's more stuff. I feel like also with YouTube and with the internet, because of Funny or Die and places like that, that you don't have to be a total name and you can break in. There's different ways to break in now. You can become an internet sensation. There's ways to do it. I feel like it's more democratic now. It's scrappier now. It's like all bets are off. I think they start creating content. Just make stuff with your friends.
Crave Online: Where do you go after MadTV?
Arden Myrin: I am going to be in the new Matt Damon movie with Steven Soderbergh that comes out in September. Then I'm actually going to go to New York and audition. That's where I started and I always liked working there, so I'm going to go this winter and go audition for stuff there.
Crave Online: For movies or more shows?
Arden Myrin: For movies. I'd love to be in a New York series. That would be a dream, like a cool HBO show or something and then my friend and I are pitching a show. So yeah, I'm excited. Obviously I wouldn't have chosen for it to end but sometimes when you're forced to do, I feel sort of brave because all bets are off. You can take this leap sort of.
Crave Online: What's your role in the Soderbergh film?
Arden Myrin: It's a true story about this guy who was this compulsive liar and he was a whistle blower. It turned out he actually played the FBI. He's a con man and when he starts his life over, I'm his new assistant that's not quite wowed by him.
Crave Online: Is it a comedy?
Arden Myrin: It's a dark comedy. Like Joel McHale's in it and Paul Tompkins Is in it and Patton Oswalt's in it but they all play FBI agents so it's interesting to see all these comedians doing sort of serious parts. I think it's fun.
Crave Online: Did you come up with a character or is it like the real Arden?
Arden Myrin: Well, it was scripted, so I would say it's the character, but we get to improvise a little which was fun.
Crave Online: Now that MadTV's over, do you find yourself thinking of haracters that you could've done?
Arden Myrin: But I feel like looking at the girls I admire which is like Tina Fey and Sarah Silverman, people who made their own shows. Like now, because I had to write on MadTV and stuff like that, it sort of makes me think where can I put that? What might I want to do with that?
Crave Online: Would you go back to stage?
Arden Myrin: Yeah, oh yeah. It's fun. I like doing all of this stuff. As long as it's a fun part and fun people, it doesn't really matter what it is.
