Julia Louis-Dreyfus On Why She Chose HBO And Why She Chose 'Veep'

[Brian Damage]

There are so many fantastic things about Veep. The swearing and the wardrobe, for instance. Is it liberating doing a show on HBO?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus: I like to wear nice clothes and I like to say “****” and “****.” It is very liberating. There’s the face value. It also really does highlight the world we’re depicting. You’re presenting a certain way of being, her political person in front of the curtain. And then it helps highlight what’s behind the curtain. Because it’s so surprising and maybe alarming that people in government speak that way. It just helps to emphasize the on and off switch that is manipulated so well by many politicians.

How did you get involved with the show?

It was pitched to me as [a show about] an unhappy vice president. It struck me as inherently funny. I was also told that it was being developed by Armando Iannucci, whose work I was familiar with because I knew In the Loop, the movie that he made with James Gandolfini. Long story short, Arm and I met for a 40-minute coffee/tea that turned into a three-and-a-half-hour work session, in which he was telling me the story of the pilot that hadn’t at that point been written yet. I understood the tone and we just clicked immediately. We were coming up with ideas for Season One sitting right there.

Did you base your Veep character, Selina Meyer, on people in your life or in the real political arena?

All of the above. There are plenty of parallels between being in Washington and being a political animal, and being in Los Angeles and being a showbiz animal. I’d like to think the people in Washington are ultimately nobler and more intelligent. I’m not sure that’s always the case. This is an amalgamation of a lot of different things from both sides of the aisle.

How many takes does each scene require? Do you ever crack up?

All the time, particularly with Tony Hale. There’s something about his face, his big eyes. In Episode Seven, there is a scene that we could barely get through. We didn’t get through [in] a lot of the edits because we started laughing so hard. There is a lot of laughing on the set, which is always a good sign because that means you’re having fun. If you’re having fun, that is translated into performance.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/osc...son-finale-hbo

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

I love this show more with each episode. And I love how well she plays that line between public show and behind the scenes. The on and off switch is done so well. I was dying at the finale.

I love that they can swear. Because that's real life - that's how people talk. Especially, I'm sure, people in high-power, high-stress jobs like politics. The insults they come up with...it's wonderful.

[Screwball]

I agree. JLD is a veteran. Incredibly capable!