PHOTOS
STARLAFORTUNATO;GREGGAYNE/FOX;DAVIDHALLORAN
POV
IntheGrind
TheGrinder
starMaryElizabethEllis talks about creatingart
onandoff the set of her latestTVhit
–
TYLERHICKS
20
APRIL2016
AMERICANWAY
MARYELIZABETHELLIS
isnostrangertoacclaimedtelevision.And if
her latestgigonFox’s freshman legalcomedy
TheGrinder
takesafterthe
successofherotherhit,FXX’s
It’sAlwaysSunny inPhiladelphia
, then it’s
safetosayshe’sontherighttrack.
Sunny
,onwhichsheappearsopposite
herreal-lifehusband,CharlieDay,playing“TheWaitress,”wrappedup
Season11 lastmonth,making itthe longest-running live-actioncomedy
incablehistory.Butgreatstorytelling,notcriticalpraise, iswhatkeeps
Ellisstriving forexcellence.
AmericanWay
checked inwiththenotori-
ous funnygirl togetthe latest.
Yourbackground includes theater and
performanceart (includingagigasa
memberof themacabremusical-theater
groupDiscountCruise toHell).Was
performingonstagewhere it all started
for you?
“I fell in lovewithactingwhen Iwas really
little.The first play I didwas at theLaurel
LittleTheatre inmyhometownof Laurel,
Mississippi— it’s a really small town, but
it’s abeautiful gemwithgreat cultureand
great humanbeings. I did
Oliver!
there, and
when Iwas connectingwith theaudience
andmaking them feel things andexpress-
ingmyself onstage, I just fell in lovewith it.”
CarolBurnett called
TheGrinder
one
ofhernew favorite shows. It’sbeenwell
received, but the television landscape
is socrowded.Whatdrewyou to this
particularproject?
“WhenCarol Burnett said that, I was like:
‘OK, I’mdone.Carol Burnett laughs at
a thing I did— is there anythingbetter?’
What drewme to theprojectwas the
script. You read a lot of scripts, and it’s
rare that they’re actually funny. But I read
this script and realized [creators] Jarrad
[Paul] andAndy [Mogel] really knowwhat
they’redoing.”
Youhave roles in theupcoming slavery
drama
FreeStateofJones
and theheist
comedy
Masterminds
.Whatelse ison
theagenda?
“There’s such a nicemovement happening
now inmainstream art that iswoman-
centric, and I’m all about it and super
excited for it. So, I reallywantmy next
thing tobe agreat woman storywith
great women involved. I lovedoingdrama
too. The last film I didwas
TheLastTime
YouHadFun
, and it’s both comedy and
drama. You laugh, you cry, and it’s just
agreat, human story. That’smy favorite
story to tell.”
MaryElizabethEllis
andTVhusbandFred
Savageon
TheGrinder
Fry ’EmIf You’veGot ’Em
Theubiquitous anddelicious sidedishgets the spotlight it’s longdeserved
Whosaysyoucan’torderyourfrieswithasideofburger?NotBlake
Lingle, theco-founderofBoiseFryCompanyandtheauthorof
Fries!AnIllustratedGuidetotheWorld’sFavoriteFood
(Princeton
ArchitecturalPress,$16.95).Thebook,dueoutthismonth,dishesup
everythingfromunexpectedhistory lessons(thefrymaynotbeas
Frenchaswethought)topairingnotes(truffleshoestringKennebec
friesarebestservedwithbeeftartareandacocoamartini).But
perhapsthebestpart isthat inthebook’sfinalpages,Lingledispelsthe
myth—hisword!—thatthisbelovedsnack isunhealthy.
—
ABBYKINSINGER
