By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, August 5, 2015
For the third time in three years, actress and comic Mary Lynn Rajskub (yes, that's Chloe for all you "24" fans) visited Atlanta's Laughing Skull Lounge to do stand-up last month.
"I have no sense of time," she said in an interview Friday afternoon after she did her first Thursday show. "Wait. This is my third time? I couldn't remember! When I arrived, then it call came back to me. I feel like I'm finally getting a feel for this place."
And somehow, she landed at (where else?) the Clermont Lounge after that Thursday show on the suggestion of Laughing Skull Lounge staff. The hipster strip club bar has already been name dropped to me in recent weeks by Jeff Ross and Anthony Bourdain.
In her case, it was "a little intense. It was good vibes, totally good vibes. The owner of the Vortex [neighboring Laughing Skull] bought me a lap dance. It felt like kind of an assault. I just tried to smile and clap and wait until it was over. I kind of went outside of myself. 'Huh, okay. This is interesting! This is happening right now!' "
Her comedy show, she said, is a mix of older stuff she refined when she first started doing stand-up a couple years back and fresher material. She loves the Laughing Skull audience, which has been receptive to both her older and newer stories.
Her Thursday night show went swimmingly after a very stressful arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson.
She felt like it took forever from the plane to the rental car counter, which is in a separate location. Then she found out her driver's license had expired. No rental car for her! She wanted to do Uber but there was no WiFi connection. She had to take the shuttle back to the airport and grab a taxi. She was, to say the least, annoyed. "I was texting my husband, 'Why am I even alive?' He (Matthew Rolph) calmed her down.
"I was having this huge meltdown," she said. "Then I end up having the best show!"
Two new acting roles
She was cast as part of the Amazon series "Highston," a half-hour coming-of-age comedy executive produced by Sacha Baron Cohen. Here are Deadline.com details:
The single-camera project centers on Highston Liggets, a kind 19-year-old and perched on the edge of adulthood. When he encounters a world he doesn't understand, like Elwood P. Dowd, he retreats into his vast imagination, where famous "friends" are his companions and mentors. Rajskub is set to play Jean, Highston's mother.
She also nabbed a role in the film "Wilson" opposite Woody Harrelson and Judy Greer, playing the wife of the best friend of Wilson, played by Harrelson.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
On Amy Schumer and Tig
And among female comics, the hottest woman out there is "Trainwreck" star Amy Schumer. Rajskub really enjoys her incisive skits on "Being Amy Schumer."
"To be able to comment on that women stuff without being soft of pandering or uninteresting. She's totally kicking ass. It's really amazing to watch."
They aren't friends. "We have a lot of friends in common," Rajskub said. "I'm sure I've met her at one point. I've known Judd Apatow for years. And Tig has worked on her show."
And speaking of Tig, Rajskub was there when Tig did her 30-minute cancer set. (Netflix has a documentary about her.) "It was really really stunning," she said.
On a rumor she would be on the Indian "24"
"I was just in India. I had completely forgotten Anil Kapoor was on the American '24.' There was an Indian '24.' Somebody brought it up and I said, 'Maybe they'll be able to get me a part on it.' I guess it ran that I was going to get a part. Actually, I should try! I love they misconstrued that."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Answering to the name Chloe
Not surprisingly, people yell out at her "Chloe!" all the time. "You have to flip it," she said. "Understand it's a huge compliment. It's very weird. It does feel good. I usually smile and wave and keep going."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Mispronouncing her last name (pronounced like rice-cub)
It happens all the time. "People often just give up," she said.
Being recognized
While most of her fans come up to her to talk about "24," one person in Los Angeles name-dropped her appearance on FXX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
"She was freaking out!" Rajskub said. " 'Oh my god! I love you. But I really love Charlie Day!' She was obsessed. She touched my hand and walked away. She only liked me because I was close to him!"
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
On the "Live Another Day" reboot that aired last year
"I was thrilled I wasn't killed!"
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
On yet another "24"
"They're talking about doing it without Kiefer, that he doesn't want to do it anymore. I personally don't think the show exists without Jack Bauer."
When can her seven-year-old son Valentine watch "24"?
"He has alluded to me being able to watch '24.' Probably 13-14. Me and my husband have to sneak watching 'The Walking Dead.' My son loves zombies. He'd love it. We just wait until he goes to bed. If we hear him and he's coming to the bedroom, we pause. 'Nothing to see here!' "
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