Charly Clive couldn’t believe her eyes when an email with the subject line, ‘The Untitled Steve Carell Project’ popped up in her inbox. “I was like, ‘OK, dream project,'” she recalls. After a lengthy audition process, the English actress saw her professional dreams come true when she was cast as Carell’s daughter in the HBO comedy Rooster.
Created by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses, the series has already been renewed for a second season and with 6.5 million average viewers, has become HBO‘s most-watched debut season for a comedy series in more than 15 years.
The show also stars Connie Britton, Danielle Deadwyler, and John C. McGinley and follows Carell as bestselling author Greg Russo. In the midst of a personal crisis, Greg takes a gig as a writer-in-residence at the fictional Ludlow College, where Katie teaches. She’s weathering her own crisis, after learning her husband, Archie (Phil Dunster), is having an affair with graduate student Sunny (Lauren Tsai).
Clive, who has a close relationship with her real-life dad, says she instantly connected to her character, Katie: “I thought she would be a really fun person to get a drink with.” In an unfiltered interview with Gold Derby, Clive opens up about coming to Hollywood, her bond with Carell, on-set shenanigans, and finding her footing in the “Bill Lawrence world.”
Gold Derby: When this role first came to you, what were your initial thoughts?
Charly Clive: Katie is a very funny, quite acerbic biting woman with a kind, jolly, sweet father played by Steve Carell. Katie has quite an English sense of humor, but is American and I thought, “Well, I can add something to that.” I like the fact that she seems like a character that would make very good decisions and she’s not. She’s a total contradiction of the person that she presents herself as, which I think is actually extremely charming and relatable.
What do you remember about your first meeting with Steve Carell?
All of my auditions were over Zoom because Steve at the time was filming The Four Seasons. We kept trying to find a way for us to do a screen test in the same room and it just wasn’t really possible with his filming schedule. They’d told me there was a possibility of it, so I had a go bag ready and my real dad was ready to drive me to the airport in quite a Greg style. They’re quite similar, which made it easy for me to play. Steve would start every Zoom with a chat. We’d just have a conversation about something and he’s a very quick laugh, which is great because there’s no greater feeling on earth than making Steve Carell laugh.
What was it like most when you finally met in-person?
It was at our initial in-person read-through. We filmed everything on the Warner Bros. lot. After, I told Steve I’d never been on a lot before so he said, “Oh, my God, well, we’ve got to go around it,” and we commandeered a buggy and it was like a little adventure.
In one memorable scene, Katie starts a fire that soon gets out of control. What was that day like on set?
That was one of my favorite days on set because we’ve got 50 men on set and we’ve got pyrotechnics. So everybody turned into a little boy. Everyone was so excited to see the fire guys come in and the Warner Bros. lot has its own fire brigade. Half the crew were excited by the fire, half the crew were excited by the firemen.
What was your experience like working with show creators Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses?
It’s really an honor to be playing the daughter in Rooster because the men that created the show are girl dads and the relationship is so important to them. So to get cast as the daughter, considering all of these guys are completely obsessed with their daughters, it’s very sweet. To be in the Bill Lawrence world is lovely and also feels particularly special considering he works with his friends. So to be a new friend of Bill Lawrence is a privilege.
What surprised you most about Connie Britton, who plays your mom on the show?
I was starstruck constantly. I have whiplash from how many times I was starstruck in my four-and-a-half months in L.A. But Connie, I mean, Friday Night Lights was huge for me. I idolize her talent. I idolize her hair. She’s just iconic. Working with Connie feels like the cool girl in school that’s invited you to sit next to her, and she’s just wonderful.
What was going through your head when the season wrapped?
I was dreading it to be honest, because it took a while to get used to the idea that I was in the show. The impostor syndrome faded, which was a relief, and then I could really enjoy it and take a step back from it and see how extraordinary the experience was and feel really grateful. So when they called wrap, I thought, “Oh, man, I wonder if I’ve taken enough mental pictures or made enough memories just for me.” At the end, the cast had a big celebration altogether, which was really lovely.
They just announced there’s going to be a Season 2! What would you like to see happen next with Katie?
In an ideal world, I would love a way for Katie and Sunny to have a positive relationship. I don’t know that they’re ever going to be friends, but I would love for there to be a mutual understanding that they both bet on the wrong horse that being Archie or a sort of respectful distance. I’d love us to see what Katie looks like without Archie. I’d love to see a maybe more emboldened, less embarrassed Katie.
