The actress reflects on her pivotal role on the Netflix comedy and working alongside acting titan Jessica Lange.
Warning: This story reveals spoilers about season 1 ofThe Politician.
Zoey Deutchs Infinity Jackson probably has the most dramatic 180 shift of all the characters in NetflixsThe Politician.
NETFLIX
And then I read the pilot and I thought it was one of the best things Ive ever read.
I wanted to audition and I did.
I read for Ryan and I was lucky enough to get the part.
I dont know if you have any friends like that.
Hes a connector and hes a unifier.
Everyone was with each other.
Whos the best dancer in the cast?Im certainly not.
Julia [Schlaepfer, who plays Alice] was a ballet dancer.
So Julia and Ben.
I would probably put myself as the worst dancer.
Talk a little about Infinitys look.
The things that were important to me were her shoes and her underwear.
What can you tell us about her voice?
That also sounds infantilized.This is her reality.
That voice is not put-on.
That is her voice.
There have been some famous cases of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, like Dee Dee and Gypsy Blanchard.
Most ofyour scenes are with Jessica Lange.
What was it like working with such an icon?I mean, a dream.
We were going to be great.
You all have many scenes set at Olive Garden.
That was Marie Callenders, I think.
Towards the end of the season, you get to sing with Ben.
Was that nerve-racking?Music has been embedded in my familys DNA forever.
I grew up in a very musical family.
On my dads side, my grandpa was a jazz singer.
He sang with Irving Berlin in World War II.
I always grew up with her music.
And then my grandpa was a jazz drummer.
And I lived with my mom [actress Lea Thompson] when she did Sally Bowles on Broadway.
I stayed in her dressing room and listened to her.
My sisters an amazing singer.
I wanted to stray away from what everybody else was so good at, so I avoided the music.
Im so grateful that I am no longer doing that, because I love it so much.
Im really so grateful to Ryan.
I talk about it with Ben sometimes.
He gave Ben the opportunity to be a producer on the show.
Ben is one of the best producers Ive ever worked with.
I was so grateful for the opportunity, and he believed in me before I believe in myself.
Its such, such an amazing gift for a creator and a writer to provide that space.
