Margo Martingale Dishes on Playing Complex Women in John Krasinski Film ‘The Hollars’

Allyson Gronowitz

Margo Martindale plays against type in “The Hollars,” the second directorial feature from John Krasinski. Martindale is well known—by face if not by name—for inhabiting the roles of sly and sinister women on television, including her turn as a tough-as-nails crime boss on “Justified” and as a sharp KGB handler on “The Americans,” both of which earned her Emmys. In “The Hollars,” however, the Texas native plays gregarious matriarch Sally Hollar, diagnosed with a brain tumor in the opening minutes of the film and confined to a hospital bed for most of the remainder. Yet Sally is the one who keeps her cool as her dysfunctional family falls to pieces around her— Don (Richard Jenkins), Sally’s husband, is distraught over Sally’s diagnosis and his impending bankruptcy, Sally’s son Ron (Sharlto Copley) has sunk to the lowest of the low in a post-divorce haze of grief, and John (Krasinski) is trying to cope with his mother’s illness while contemplating his own impending fatherhood.

While promoting “The Hollars,” Martindale sat down with Entertainment Voice to discuss the film, the diversity of roles for women, and how she was convinced to play “Character Actress Margo Martindale” on the cult Netflix series “BoJack Horseman.”

Overall, how was your experience working on “The Hollars”?

It was short and it was perfect. We all had immediate chemistry— we became a family in a short read-through and we started working the next day. John [Krasinski] cast this movie so well, and it was as if the movie happened to us. I don’t think it’s ever happened to me this way that I felt so much who I was playing. It was like I was really talking to my husband, like I was talking to my sons. It was a unique experience.

So much of the film rises and falls with the characters’ relationships. Did this rapport emerge naturally between the actors?

Oh, sure. It’s either there or it’s not. I think it was a perfect storm. I really do. Richard [Jenkins] and me, John and me, Sharlto [Copley] and John. And then Charlie Day and Randall Park, and Mary Elizabeth [Winstead] and Josh Groban, and, of course, Anna and John.

You’re known for playing complex, often menacing female characters, such as Mags Bennett on “Justified” and Claudia on “The Americans.” What has that experience been like for you?

It’s just been a dream. As I’ve gotten older, it’s just gotten juicier and juicier. I feel extremely fortunate. This movie was different because [Sally] is not as complex, so it’s kind of a different part for me. She’s a quieter, more gracious person than I’ve been playing.

How is your character in “The Hollars” different from or similar to your previous roles?

Sally is incredibly loving of her family, but she’s also very much in charge of her family. It’s like she’s the chief and they run around the circle, doing whatever she says to do. But she wants all of her people around her to know that she’s had doubts. Having doubts in life is fine, she’s trying to give them all the tools that they need to move forward.

Do you think the climate is changing for female actors in Hollywood?

I do. Doesn’t it look that way? Especially on television. It’s hard to make movies— it takes a lot of money to make movies. Television has given everybody a lot more opportunity, especially women. Especially mature women.

You in particular have had a charmed run on FX, and FX President John Landgraf has been at the forefront of increasing diversity in front of and behind the camera.

I love John Landgraf. He has really supported me, and is a great guy. He’s as smart as a whip. I did “The Riches” on FX, and I did “Justified,” and now “The Americans.” It’s great. I’m very, very happy.

What’s in store for Claudia during her return to “The Americans” next season?

I don’t know, I have no idea. I know that I will be there quite a bit. That’s all I know. I don’t know anything, we haven’t talked about it. They say, “We have a lot of great things in store for you.” That’s all they’ve said to me.

What kind of role have you always wanted to play, that you haven’t yet?

Oh, I’d love to do a musical. I’ve been offered musicals, but it wasn’t at the right time, or I thought that it was too much singing for me…I mean, I’m extremely musical and I can sing, but I’m not a singer. So, I have to be very careful that I’m not taking on too much. One of the dysfunctional people I haven’t played is a drunk or a drug addict. At least, I don’t think. I probably have in a couple of places, but not in something that you’ve seen.

“The Hollars” perfectly toes that line between tragedy and comedy. How did you and the other actors strike that balance in tone?

It doesn’t feel jarring, does it? It’s absolutely, tonally kind of perfect. I think that’s due to, of course, John, but also to Jim Strouse’s script. He writes like that. He writes a normal story that gets messy, and is surprising, and is funny… as all things life are. I think this is a really great slice of life, and this family finds humor in being in a hospital room.

What was your most memorable moment during filming?

I loved the Jenny Craig stuff because I think that says a lot about the tone of the movie. [Richard’s character says]: “I thought it was a weight thing!” and he starts to cry, and I go: “Well, I lost six pounds.” I think it’s totally real. All the comedy comes out of reality. And of course, going into surgery…[acting it] wasn’t hard because throughout the whole movie, I won’t allow myself to feel fear or anything, because I am here, on this day, with my family, and I am happy, and I will not let any doubts or anything come into my mind about what might happen. But when that moment comes, it comes. So, having suppressed that throughout the movie helped that moment.

Sally has a particularly special relationship with her son John (John Krasinski). Where do you think this connection comes from?

I only have one child [in real life], but I understand that when you have more than one, they’re usually always very, very different. I think that John is the one that I felt was most like me, and I think that draws us together. He’s an artist, and clearly I had artistic ideas that I let go by. But he’s my son and it’s coming out in him. So I think that’s what brings us closer together. That’s what makes us have a different relationship than the one that I have with Ron (Sharlto Copley) which, um… he has his problems.

Many characters in “The Hollars” wrestle with the regrets in their lives, especially Sally, who is suddenly faced with mortality.

And I think that was such a loving thing to say: “I have regrets, I have doubts, and it’s okay to feel that way. Because when you get there, you will know.” I had doubts and everything, but when I go to the diner and John says, “You said that about dad…” And I said, “Did I say that?” Who knows! Did I do that to help him? Because I think I know that I said that.

On “BoJack Horseman,” you play “Character Actress Margo Martindale.” How did all of this come about?

Will Arnett asked me to do it when we were doing “The Millers,” and I said, ‘I don’t want to do a cartoon, I don’t have time to do a cartoon.” I said, “No, I’m not.” He said, “It’s Margo Martindale, Character Actress. Who else is going to do it?” I said, “Well, I guess it’s going to be me!”

“The Hollars” opens in New York and Los Angeles on Aug. 26.