Mary Lynn Rajskub is best known as the hilarious, socially awkward CTU computer genius Chloe O’Brian on the hit Fox show 24. But did you know she also does standup comedy? And that she is in actuality so technically retarded that she can’t turn on her own television? Well… you’re about to know. When you start reading this interview… like, now.
Your last name is pronounced “Rice-Cub,” right?
Very good! I’m impressed already.
I’m kind of an idiot savant when it comes to unpronounceable last names. In my TV column I proclaimed a scene you did on 24 as the “Best TV Performance of the Year.”
Are you serious? I love that!
Guess which scene.
Was it Edgar and the nerve gas?
Nooooo…
Was it the Taser scene?
Nooooo… but that was a good one!
Was it when I blew the face off that terrorist?
YES! That was so awesome!
That was a good scene, wasn’t it?And fun, too! On the night we were shooting that scene, the regular director had gallstones, so we got a substitute director. But we totally clicked, and were so excited about shooting that terrorist. He did a fantastic job.
You were totally like Patrick Swayze in Red Dawn… BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
That’s been such a dream of mine… to be more like Patrick Swayze in Red Dawn.
I think Homeland Security should show that scene in airports to discourage terrorism. So do you think Chloe hates people?
No, she just does her job really well, and doesn’t have any patience. She doesn’t live in the same world as everybody else. The only thing she really knows is her job. Early on, I thought Chloe was going to be fired for being so bitchy—but after time, people started to see her as being on Jack’s side, and they accepted her more. That’s when the role started becoming more interesting.
So in this coming season, will you be rescuing Jack from the red Chinese (who kidnapped him at the end of last season)?
Absolutely. The red Chinese are TOTAL jerks.
I KNOW. Do you watch a lot of TV?
No, I don’t actually… I don’t know what happened. Wait. Yes, I do. I was watching a lot of Being Bobby Brown, and finally I just said, “I can’t watch TV anymore!”
You said, “Hell to the NO!”
That and the fact I can’t turn on my TV—that takes all the fun out of it for me. I tried for three minutes to turn my television on, and finally was like, “I don’t have time for this! I gotta go!”
You know that admission totally ruin’s Chloe’s character for me, right? How did you get started in standup comedy?
In art school I was doing performance art—and for some reason everyone started laughing at me. So I just started going for the laughs. My style has always been making myself and the audience uncomfortable. Once at a comedy club, I pretended I was too scared to come out onstage, which I thought was hilarious—but everybody in the audience really thought I was too scared to come out. I was like, “That’s the joke—GET IT? Why would I be here if I didn’t want to go out onstage?”
I know you don’t watch TV, but on Inside the Actors Studio, [host] James Lipton always asks the same questions at the end of his interviews. And since you’ll probably be on the show one day, I should ask you those questions, too—just so you’ll be prepared.
Mmmm… okay.
First question: What’s your favorite color?
I’m ashamed to say I’m going with pink.
Second question: What’s your favorite curse word.
Fuck…
He won’t think that’s very original.
Well, I’m not going to play his dumb little game, then.
Okay! Okay! Last question: When you go to heaven, what is the first thing you’re going to ask for?
Ummm… a face massage. Maybe a steak sandwich. With some fries. And then another face massage.