28
BeforeGilmore Girls, she was hanging out at the mall between auditions.
In 1995, Lauren Graham was sleeping on her aunts couch in Long Beach, California.
Happily, the hours she put in at the food court paid off.
All the agents said, Everybody goes to LA for pilot season.
Nobody gets a pilot their first season.
Just go to some auditions, and meet some people.
And I did get a pilot.
In the middle of my speech, [Moreno] goes, Dont whine.
And I was like,Is that the scripted line?
I think she was telling me to toughen up.
Its a world apart from how Graham began her career.
I could only see what was next.
I was like,Wait, this is too big.
Luckily, when shewaspushed into the deep end, she handled it just fine.
Take me back to 1995, as you were embarking on your career.
What were your goals at 28?
I do remember being a combination of ambitious and timid.
Then those things happened.
So, I thought these half-hour shows are the big thing.
I could play girl of the week or girl behind the counter.
I had goals that were on my bucket list, like I wanted to be on Letterman andCelebrity Jeopardy.
Then Ill know I really have gotten what I wanted.
On the one hand, Id go into auditions fearless and full of myself.
But then sometimes, when these bigger opportunities would come up, I would really choke.
Its just very human, right?
We all were told the statistics of how many people [find success].
By the way, theres so many different ways to be successful.
Theres a huge range within working as an actor.
Some people do enough to get their health insurance, but they still have another job.
One huge break was after grad school.
I got an agent in New York, and some of my classmates who did the same showcase didnt.
So that was a little bit of encouragement.
Only you might know if the pain of the noes outweighs the couple of yeses.
You could be unemployed today and employed tomorrow, only you’re free to keep you going.
You did end up getting quite a few yeses.
You had a string of guest roles on sitcoms.
That year, I still had a boyfriend back in Brooklyn.
So, it would have been him or my college friend, who was also one of my roommates.
You had your top three, thats how you were going to report a fire or any other issue.
I was like, No, Im fine.
Ill just call back to New York.
What were your friendships and relationships like at the time?
We didnt know each other that well, but we were going out to see what would happen.
Thats when I got3rd Rock, and she got a part onEllen.
But it was fun.
We were getting a couple lines on a sitcom.
We were having parties in our empty rental house.
There was possibility in the air.
What was the typical night out for you?
There were three typical nights out.
There were still smoking sections in restaurants, if that tells you anything.
The other was sitting at the sushi counter at Matsuhisa.
Who could afford that?
I guess we thought we could.
Thats how you got peoples phone numbers.
InThe Z Suite, your characters Gen Z colleagues make a point to advocate for themselves and each other.
Was there a time in your late 20s when you felt like you had to advocate for yourself?
Oh God, no.
We wouldnt have had the balls to do that.
You didnt think twice about being handed the most padded bra youve ever seen.
It was all of them.
It was the theater I did in college and grad school because I find that show very theatrical.
You could put it on as a play, except that nothing ever happens, really.
But the density and energy of the language is like theater.
I do think I walked in with a sense of ownership.
I came in feeling like [I had] support around me.
It was one of those times when I read something and I just could see it.
But [withGilmore Girls], I just felt like I can do what this wants me to do.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
