The Campaign: Interview with Katherine LaNasa

Katherine LaNasa stars opposite Will Ferrell as his wife, Rose Brady, in the new comedy, The Campaign. She was in films such as Alfie and Valentine’s Day and starred in Three Sisters on NBC. We recently had a chance to chat with the beautiful veteran TV actress about her role in The Campaign and her love for nerds!

Nerd Reactor: Hi Katherine. It’s probably a busy week for you, yes?

Katherine LaNasa: Yes. It’s been really busy. I’m also trying to get married. That’s going to be in the next few weeks.

NR: Oh, wow. Promoting a movie and getting married.

Katherine LaNasa: And then moving to New York to start a new series in September. It’s a big couple of weeks.

NR: With the Campaign, what’s the difference between working on that and working on a TV sitcom?

Katherine LaNasa: The actors, the director, and the lighting are better. [laughs] Other than that, it’s about the same.

NR: Are you able to come up with ideas in the Campaign?

Katherine LaNasa: You know, I don’t really talk too much about any ideas I have. I just try to show up as a character and have the ideas be in there already, unless somebody else wants to talk to me about it. Even if there’s a lot going on for my character, I don’t try to think about it too hard, if that makes any sense. I just sort of open my mind up. I take in everything that’s going on.

NR: How did you prepare for your role as Rose Brady?

During the Republican primaries, I was looking at images of Cindy McCain and reading Sarah Palin’s book. I happen to stumble upon this interview with Mrs. Perry. It was fabulous! I just sort of threw all those things together and let them come out as they will.

NR: Did you get a chance to improv?

Katherine LaNasa: There were tons of improv. I’d say at least half of what I have in the movie have been improv. Some of my favorite bits I know are improv, like when Zach Galifianakis held up his father (Brian Cox). There was a scene where he’s trying to leave, but he can’t open the door. And then all the different guys, Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow, and Brian Cox, were all yelling at him, giving him directions on how to get out the door. “No, listen. Lift and jiggle. Lift, jiggle and push. Push. Push it! Lift it and push it!” They’re all just yelling at him. It’s all improv. It’s brilliant and so funny.

NR: I love that kind of humor where it just keeps on going and never stops.

Katherine LaNasa: If the materials are good and the other actors are good, you really don’t have to work very hard. It just works itself.

NR: Would you like to be involved in politics?

Katherine LaNasa: No. Who would want all that media scrutiny? I don’t. I don’t think I’m a good enough human being.

NR: Don’t you get the media scrutiny now as an actress?

Katherine LaNasa: I try not to pay too much attention to myself. My publicist has me tweeting now, but I’d rather be twatting. Well, because I have to wake up every day and say a line or two about my twat; what’s going on with it, what kind of underwear am I wearing. I’d rather do twatting than tweeting. I started to do a little tweeting, but it’s mostly about work. I can’t imagine that anything about my actual life is all that fascinating.

NR: Yeah, but a lot of people love it. It could be like the most mundane thing, and they’d be like, “Oh my god!”

Katherine LaNasa: [laughs] I find it really irritating when I’m watching an interview with someone, and an actor really thinks that the mundane things about their life are fascinating. They’re just really not fascinating.

What I did find fascinating was when I read an article about how Zack [Galifianakis] drives a Subaru. When I met him I was like, “Do you really drive a Subaru? I was thinking of getting one. My friend drives one and calls it the Lesbaru.” I love Subarus, and I loved that he had one. Some of the funny guys are really fun to read, but I don’t really need to know what somebody is doing on a daily basis.

NR: Because you already have enough to worry about.

Katherine LaNasa: I guess so, but don’t we all? I guess it’s escapism, right?

NR: Well, sometimes you just want to know what they’re doing.

Katherine LaNasa: That’s probably why reality TV shows are so popular. I realize the reason why I like it is because of the voyeuristic aspect. I’m an actress and like to see what humans are doing. Even when they realize it’s taped and are conscious of how they act; that’s another layer of it.

NR: Okay, let’s nerd it up.

Katherine LaNasa: First of all, I love nerds. Second of all, I love nerds. Third of all, when I was single before I met my fiancé, my friends would ask me, “What are you looking for?”

I would say, “A sexy nerd.” And you know, it’s exactly what I got.

NR: Sweet!

Katherine LaNasa: My fiancé, Grant Show, he’s just a sexy nerd. He likes to go fly-fishing. He has tape around his fly-fishing glasses and clear bifocals that have red tape around them. I was like, “Oh my, I’m in love with this guy.” He also basically watches science shows. And I joke because pretty much every night we fall asleep to someone going, “Rivers of molten lavaaaa.” [laughs] I wake up to, “Underneath the Earth’s core.”

NR: Have you done any nerd-favorite shows?

Katherine LaNasa: What nerd shows have I done? I’ve was on Sliders. Do you remember that?

NR: Oh yeah, the one with Jerry O’Connell.

Katherine LaNasa: Yep, with Jerry O’Connell. I love him; he’s so funny. I had such a funny role. I remember the director said it was like Josie and the Pussycats. I would have on these tight little clothes as a scientist, and I would run in and be like, “Quick, the reactor is going off!” And then I would run back out. It’s kind of like Scooby Doo. I love that show.