Netflix’s No Good Deed is now streaming, and the dark comedy features strong performances from Linda Cardellini and Luke Wilson. The stars talked about getting to be adventurous with their roles, playing characters with insecurities, and getting to show off multiple layers of a character.
“When Lydia (Lisa Kudrow) and Paul (Ray Romano) decide to move on from their empty nest to forge a new life, they list their gorgeous 1920s Spanish-style villa located in one the most desirable neighborhoods in Los Angeles — and the real estate frenzy begins. Multiple families all race to buy what they believe to be their dream house, convinced it will fix all of their very different problems. But as Lydia and Paul know all too well, sometimes the home of your dreams can be a true nightmare. As they struggle to hide the dark and dangerous secrets that linger inside their longtime home, Paul and Lydia begin to realize that the only way they’ll escape the past is to finally face it,” says the synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Linda, this is such a different role for you from what you’re typically doing, and you absolutely nail it. How fun was it getting to be this character of Margo and getting to really be adventurous in your performance?
Linda Cardellini: Thank you, thank you for saying that. It’s exactly that. Like, it is incredibly fun because it feels adventurous. That is exactly right. That’s what I loved about the idea of it. And then, being able to work again with Liz [Feldman, the creator/showrunner of the series] and know that she’s going to care, take every bit of the show. And, just that her sense of humor is so specific and special and, everybody she has working on the show with us is also just amazing artists. The house looks beautiful. I mean, everything is so fun when it’s put together that when she brought this character up, I was just so excited. I think it’s really fun to do something that is different than the last. And it’s amazing to have somebody write that for me.
Yeah. It’s really phenomenal. Luke, your character is a total blast as well. He is a former soap opera star, but his best days are kind of passed him. How is it playing into those insecurities that we see in the character? Because that’s a huge part of him right now.
Luke Wilson: Yeah, I mean, I love the idea of playing an actor or somebody in Hollywood, and especially someone who’s kind of down on their luck. Because you know, everyone has ups and downs in their career, but I’ve always liked movies like The Player or, you know, Postcards From the Edge, things about Hollywood. And I liked them before I was even in the business where you can get a glimpse behind the scenes. But yeah, I just think there’s so much material, such an opportunity for funny stuff, to play a failed soap opera star. And it’s like, Linda and I and Liz have been around for a while, so we’ve seen all kinds of good and bad behavior from actors both on set and around town.
So the idea of playing somebody like that just seemed very, very fun. And the idea to match the energy of JD, you know, a very depressed guy on medication, his career is going nowhere with this, he’s married to this powerhouse dynamo of a woman that wants the new car and the latest handbag and to be going on vacation to the best new hot spot. So you put those together and, I don’t know, I just found it very funny. And hopefully other people will, too.
Linda, your character, I believe, has the most layers of all the characters in this show. So, as a performer, how is it getting to show another little side to her every time it gets peeled back? Because that has to be really fulfilling.
Cardellini: It is. It’s really…the thing I love about the way Liz writes is, you’re never sort of playing just one thing. You’re playing that on top of something else, and on top of something else. And I always used to joke with Liz, I was like, ‘I’m playing five things at once right now.’ She’s like, ‘Yes.’ But it makes it so rich, because you can do so many different things, even in different takes, because you’re coming from so many different things. You know, you’re hiding so many different things and the great thing about Margo is she knows exactly…she sizes people up really easily and then knows how to get in there with them. You know, she’s very adept at that. And so it’s incredibly fun with this cast to look across from you and see people doing, like…Luke doing this brilliant thing about this guy who you can’t help but love and feel like, oh God, I wish this guy would just get a break and then have her just move in on him like a shark.
Wilson: And I would have the feeling with Linda where, I’d be doing a scene with her and I’d be like, “This person’s not listening to me.” And it’s like, you know, Margo does not listen to JD and lies to him. So, I mean, that kind of thing where it’s like they say, the most important thing an actor can do is listen. So you’re in a scene with someone who’s not listening, who’s thinking about something completely different. And yeah, that’s what I think really lends itself to it, you feel like you’re kind of pushing into new territory, comedically, or that I just felt that it really made things especially funny to be playing off Linda’s character.
Thanks to Linda Cardellini and Luke Wilson for taking the time to talk about Netflix‘s No Good Deed.
