COBIE SMULDERS

You are known for portraying positive characters and protagonists but not this time. How did you feel about stepping in the other direction with your character of Ann Coulter in Impeachment?

Well, I think that this was a production, the story that took place in the late ’90s. It was really thinking about where Ann Coulter was in terms of her career at that time and just focusing on that slice of her life. This was really, I think, a time where she was at the beginning of her career, she was trying to make a name for herself. I think she was learning the amount of power she could find and the voice she could have by just being a media pundit, by being an author, by writing books instead of being within politics themselves, within doing something, running for Senator or any kind of office.

I think she was realizing, “Oh, I can really say what I think and feel if I’m working on the more critical side of things.” This was an interesting moment in American history and I think that she saw an opportunity to speak from a female perspective on it, which was looking to the Clinton administration and seeing and believing that they were doing things that were inappropriate, and being able to comment on that in a public space was very enticing to her.

Can you tell us about how you met Ryan Murphy?

I think the first time we met was my first time as Ann because it involved a wig and makeup and a particular wardrobe. I got all suited up in my Ann glory and met him like that. He’s lovely. Obviously, I don’t think I need to say it but like just so supremely talented. It couldn’t have been nicer and because we had such a great hair and makeup team on this project, he was very happy with how I looked, and so we’re able to slipstream from that into doing scenes together a little while later. He was really kind and a wonderful guide through this process because there are moments that have to reflect real life, which can always be tricky. He was very helpful in creating that to be a believable scenario.

How did you prepare for such a role considering Covid production restrictions in place?

I had enough time to prepare and never felt overwhelmed, but this production moved quite quickly when it started going. I had enough time to set in her voice and her cadence and her physicalities and then I was able to move from scene to scene keeping that intact. It wasn’t like a super last-minute thing, but I had time to prepare. Maybe to production, it felt last minute, but to me, it felt like I had ample time.

Ann Coulter wrote quite a few books and she was really vocal in her books as well. Did you read any of the books while preparing for the role?

Yes, I read the book that she wrote about the impeachment trial and her experience of it and just the general feeling of it and that moment in history. Then I listened to almost all of them. I think she has 12 or 13 books via audiobook because she read those ones. That was quite helpful to be able to listen to her voice and just really listen to her voice and her cadence and what not to pick up certain words and inflections.

In EP 2 your character Ann states, “I am not a Republican, I’m a conservative. This is not about the justice, it’s about impeachment.” In your interpretation of Ann, what do you think she meant by saying she’s not Republican, she’s a conservative?

I think that she has very conservative ideals, her political beliefs, the way that she’s presenting them to the public. Again, it’s very hard to comment on somebody’s actual beliefs when you haven’t had a true conversation with them, so I can only pull from what she presents in interviews and such, but she’s very conservatively minded and I think anyway the portrayal that we’re giving of her is someone who sees the president of the United States as somebody who has to act in a certain way. In her mind, Bill Clinton was acting in a very inappropriate way and thus, he’s doing all these activities in the oval office and I think that that was infuriating to her.

I think it’s about being more conservatively minded than politically minded. I don’t know if that’s really what she believed or what the process was, but I do think that she’s a religious person and I do think she holds those beliefs pretty true. It’s more about the stain on American history, rather than the political ramifications. I think that’s what the writers are trying to make in that statement.

Was it soul-draining to portray Ann? She’s not an easy character. How did you feel with your views on life and your views on what’s happening these days?

In this version of her, she is the one who’s allowed to have a good time because she’s not affected by really any of the events that are happening around her. For me personally, I was able to step into this woman, to this role, and imagine that I’m having the best time, that I am the smartest one in the room, that I am confident. I will say it must be fun to be Ann Coulter, the way that she perceives herself, the way that she carries herself. In this version, was able to just manipulate and try to play a little chess game with all the players involved and hope and work towards the outcome benefiting her career.

In terms of what her actual beliefs are and the type of person she is, I had to sort of shelve it and think about this moment where she was in history, that this is the late ’90s and this is what she’s going, and thinking more about her motivations rather than the type of person she is and her beliefs that she has. I just had to go like, “What is motivating this woman in this moment in time?”

Clinton’s story resonated across the globe back in the late 90s.
Did you ever think when you were growing up, that 20 odd years later you’ll be portraying one of the actual, not fictional characters from Clinton’s story?

Never in my wildest dreams, would I [laughs] from back then. Yes, I was a little young for this moment. I was, gosh, it was ’98. I was like 16, 15. Obviously, I knew-ish, I kind of understood what was going on. Certainly, I didn’t understand the details of it. Certainly, I didn’t understand what was happening politically with it. I think I was more aware of the dramatic love story of it. The infidelity of it, I think I was aware of. I did not understand how that affected American politics. I didn’t clue into that at all.

Doing this show, really was an education for me about this moment in time, and just amazed, I’m amazed with Monica Lewinsky and the fact that she survived this and continues to survive this. Having had her entire adult life to be attached to this moment in history and just to sustain her life and to also go on and be an amazing champion in anti-bullying campaigns and speaking out against it, and now using herself as an example of like, “Look at what happened to me. Let’s reflect upon that as a society.” I think it’s a really inspiring thing. That’s been a big takeaway from me just going back and revisiting this moment and just going, “Wow, what a woman.”

Do you hope that this show would change the perspective of Clinton’s story? Is there hope that the next generation of the viewers, the audience, will change the perception of the story, especially towards Monica Lewinsky?

Yes. I think that what the show does brilliantly is it showcases different perspectives, right? You’re not only going to get to see Monica Lewinsky’s perspective. I think that you definitely will and that’s kind of the main one, but you’re also getting to see the perspective of Linda Tripp, everyone within the Bill Clinton administration. I think you’re getting a full picture, and I think that what it’s done for me anyway is just humanize everything.
We are all humans and we make mistakes. It’s important to admit when we are at fault and we are honorable and falling through on that. I hope that that’s the takeaway for people is they’re going to learn something positive from it, but I think it will give a clearer vision of this moment and see it from a bunch of different sides.

How different is it for you to play a fictional character to portray someone that actually can watch the show? She is a quite powerful person in her own right. How different for you to play someone like that?

I think it might be my first time playing a real, live person. It’s stressful. It’s certainly stressful because you want to be believable, obviously. That takes an extra amount of awareness. I think when you’re working, you’re also listening to yourself. It was my first time going, normally when you’re acting and you’re in a scene with somebody, you’re able to just be present and you’re reacting, and you’re more in the moment.

When I was her, I had to be more listening to, “Oh, that sounded good. Okay, remember to hit it.” Then also physicality stuff, mimicking the stuff that she did and I think eventually, it became a bit more organic, but certainly, at first, you had to self-monitor to make sure you were staying on top of things instead of slipping into a more casual version of it, because she is very particular in the way she talks and the way she holds herself. I didn’t want to let that slip.

Ryan Murphy assembled a perfect cast for Impeachment. There are a lot of makeup and prosthetics used but the actors are still somewhat recognizable. Personally, I’m impressed with both Clive Owens as Bill Clinton and Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky. Can you tell us about working with your castmates?

Well, I was lucky enough to work with, I’m usually paired with this great actor, George Salazar. He plays George Conway. George and George, it’s a tandem. All of my scenes were really with him and a couple of other actors playing other lawyers, and I got to do one scene with Billy Eichner, which was really fun. A couple of scenes actually. Sorry, it was so sporadic at the shooting, I’m like, “Oh, right, there’s multiple.” I mean, I agree with you, the Murphy team knows how to cast the show a hundred percent, amazing.
I knew about that, my husband is on the show too. Who’s, in my opinion, the greatest one on the show. When he got hired and started doing his work on it, it was that conversation. It was like, “My God, everyone is so good.” He has most of the scenes with Annaleigh Ashford. He’s wonderful. Just hearing, not only how amazing the cast is, but how incredible the crew was, who were working through a pandemic and who were just so, they were artists and they were also so efficient, it was really wonderful. A wonderfully safe, creative environment. You look at the cast list and you just go like,”Yes, of course, I want to be working with all those people.”
I didn’t get to work with a ton, I worked with the people I mentioned before, but got to have met some of them since during press and whatnot, usually, that’s what happens is you get to meet everybody on press tours and stuff, but it’s lovely, and it’s so exciting to be in a project with these people because it just makes you want to do your best work.

How relevant is it to tell this story these days?

Well, I think there’s always something to look into your past and learn from it and try to make things better. I think it’s funny because I became an American citizen a year ago and my American history, my political history is not fully formed, but it is interesting to better understand the workings of the American government and the election system and everything. It’s been fascinating. I think that it is relevant because it is about politics, which are still the same today. I think that, again, these are very human stories, so I think that people will relate to them.

You are known as Robyn from “How I Met Your Mother”. Currently, there is a spinoff “How I Met Your Father”. Are you planning any appliances on it? Did they approach you?

If they want me to come and play, of course, I would. I would be happy to. It’s an entirely new cast, it’s an entirely new group, it’s a new journey. I think I’m only flattered that people liked our show enough to want to see it in another iteration, but I mean, of course, I would want to be a part of it if it made sense to them and their production. I don’t know if it would, but of course, I would want to support the new version of that show however I could.

For the final question, I would love to ask you my favorite, If you had a chance to give your younger-self advice, what it would be?

I love that question. I think it would be to not worry so much. I think I spent a lot of my youth worrying about, is this going to work out? Is this going to be okay? Also, I had cancer when I was 25 too, so it’s like, I would love to go back and to be like, “Everything’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be great. Don’t worry so much. Just be present and just enjoy it more.” I don’t know if it’s everybody’s experience, but mine was just the hustle. Hustling and hustling and hustling, and then worrying about stuff. Now, I’m just like, “It’s all good. It’s going to work out how it’s meant to work out.”