Monaco Revue    468x60 Swimwear
Honest talk with 24's Mary Lynn Rajskub

She's been a fan favourite on one of television's hottest shows for the last six years. But Mary Lynn Rajskub, who plays crabby geek Chloe on Fox's 24, sheepishly admits to not being a fan of the small screen herself.

"I'm the worst. I hate talking about this, because I don't watch any tv. I know more people on tv and I don't watch anything," the Michigan-born actress says.

Hollywood, she says, doesn't make any sense and there's no logic to it.

"There's a lot of people that are very talented, very smart, very good that aren't working and it's frustrating sometimes to see a lot
of rubbish," being broadcast, says the 36-year-old former art student who stumbled into the entertainment industry via performance art.

"I guess I'm speaking about reality tv and gossip magazines and stuff like that; the things that are very garish that you can't stop looking at that aren't necessarily high quality or artistic in any way."

Rajskub describes her entry into show business as "very organic".

While studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1990s, Rajskub dabbled in performance art, and then started making fun of it. That led to her delving into comedy and before long she took off for LA to work in comedy clubs. Auditions won her parts in comic television series such as Mr. Show, The Larry Sanders Show, Shasta McNasty, Veronica's Closet, the US version of The Sketch Show, and News Radio.

In a departure from form, she tried out for the role of Chloe on the hit counter-terrorism drama during its third season.

"A lot of the executive producers very early on gave me a backhanded complement," she says. "They were like, 'We didn't think you could do drama.' But for me the approach is the same."

The Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning series starring Kiefer Sutherland has made Rajskub a household name, a development she's still coming to terms with.

"People like the show and they call me Chloe, they don't call me by my real name. [It's] weird. But I like it 'cause I like to hide...," she says.

Describing herself as "pretty subdued, pretty quiet", Rajskub, who once worked as a waitress in a Hard Rock Cafe, says she likes to spend a lot of time alone, with her dog.

Although a kiss planted on her lips by conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh launched a thousand blog entries and made it into the pages of august publications such as the Washington Post and Time magazine, Rajskub has insisted they are not an item. She even used the encounter as material in her latest routine, which keeps her occupied while the Hollywood writers' strike keeps 24 off the air.

In reality, her dating life is a less eventful, she hints.

"My problem is...I'm attracted to people who are, like, artists and are maybe kind of,like, trouble and don't make a lot of money and since I'm trying to grow and be, like, not trouble and be responsible and have money...that's my problem. I don't know really how to meet people."

Ever the comic, she adds: "Maybe tonight, in Monte Carlo...."

A Monaco Revue "Up Close And Real Interview"; filmed at the Monte Carlo Television Festival.

Join Friends of Monaco Revue and get the printed version of the magazine



ADD YOUR COMMENTS

Comments to date: 2. Page 1 of 1.

Madison,  Ontario, Canada

Posted at 12:58pm on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

LOL...I totally agree (eek!)

Sean,  San Francisco

Posted at 3:36pm on Thursday, December 13th, 2007

Couldn't understand how Mary Lynn would let Rush Limbaugh (eek!) get even within 10 feet of her. But hey, at least she got a comic sketch out of it.

 




Your Name:

Your Location:

Your Comments:

Security check *

 

ADD YOUR COMMENTS
     Top                                              Home

Appleseed's Free Shipping with any order of $100 or more