Everybody knows a Jonah—the obnoxious, cocky, little runt of a man (though actually quite tall) that serves as White House liaison to the vice president's office on HBO's "VEEP." The comedy, a satire of dysfunctional Washington politics, returns this weekend, and so does Jonah in all his foul-mouthed, imbecilic glory. Timothy Simons—who is far more pleasant than his character—talked to U.S. News about Jonah's style evolution, meeting a real-life version of his character, and where the show came up with the term "pencil f--k."
How did you shape your character?
I talked to somebody who worked on the Obama campaign leading up to the pilot and one of the things I talked to him about was position is capital, position is currency – your position next to power is the money that you can spend, and what would you spend it on? I think it's pretty clear what Jonah would spend it on, generally. So I just tried to think of what somebody who so wants to be considered important – even if they aren't important at all - I think he understands that, now matter how important, 'I am close to power so therefore I am powerful.' It's been fun in the second season to see who has the power throughout the season, whether it be Selina [the vice president played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus,] or Gary Cole's character [who plays a member of the president's staff ] or our other characters from the White House. You can kind of tell who has the power because Jonah is then sucking up to them or following them around or making himself subservient to them somehow. Powerless as he is, he's going to find a way to always be in a room or close to someone who has power.
Did you ever dream of working in politics?
My parents were definitely cut from that cloth of "you can do anything if you put your mind to it," so I probably said that when I was six. I look at working in politics now and absolutely not. I would never, ever want to work in politics at this point. I used to be very interested in it, in that I would follow it day-to-day, but I found that it was just flat out ruining too many of my days to stay on top of it, moment-to-moment. I want to be a part of an educated electorate, but I just thought it was ruining my days. So I'm now sort taking a larger view. I want to know generally what's going on, but not so much that I am just going to be angry, because that doesn't help anything.
What kind of research do you do?
We would take staffers out for drinks and you really got into the truth around midnight, at least four or five beers in, where all the stuff came off, all the walls came down and it's just, "You know what man, this is off the record, but this [job] f--ing sucks." You actually got some truth out of them.
One of the things we found out in taking people out to drinks is that everybody has two phones, little prop things like that, some of the vernacular, some of the terms. We picked up "pencil f---ed" [a term used when the vice president's speech is heavily edited at literally the last minute] from that meeting. Somebody was like, "Oh yeah, a guy had a speech today, I totally pencil f---ed him." And we were like, "I'm sorry, what? I'm sorry, what?," and we wrote stuff down and that ended up making it into the pilot. The process is pretty collaborative one, so we always come in with stuff like that and we'll pitch it.
What we will learn about Jonah in the second season?
You see him in his element a little bit more. You see how other White House people respond to him. It's pretty clear that the VP's office hates him, but up until this point, you don't know how the White House staff feels about him, so you start to see that a little bit more. As comfortable as he is going into the Eisenhower [The Eisenhower Old Executive Building, which holds the VP's office] and just being a total c--k, you get see him in his element, where he is even more comfortable being a c--k.
What's been the feedback you get from people who work in politics?
I would say 99 percent of the feedback we've gotten back from people in D.C. has been positive and it's all been geared toward, "Yes, it's absolutely just like that," and that's a really flattering thing to hear, because that's what we're going for.
There was an article that came out last year about how there's a Jonah in every office. That's definitely been something that I've talked [about] to everyone I've met in D.C. If we're going out to drinks with a friend, they have a Jonah in their office. I'll get stopped while I'll be in D.C. and people will tell me about their Jonahs. But I've never actually met one. I've never actually met a Jonah, because if you are going out for a drink or getting dinner in D.C., nobody is going to invite the Jonah out. I would really like to meet one. No one would ever admit to being one. Nobody is ever going to actually bring one out to the bar, so I don't know if I ever will.
Anything else we should talk about?
You're going to see Jonah's style is elevated a little bit this year – his actual clothing choices. He's such a suck-up chameleon. I was pretty excited just to get a suit that fits this year. Last year we always had this discussion of that he probably sleeps in his car most of the time – never really leaves [Capitol] Hill. He's got suit pieces that if you're walking by his desk, it looks like a suit, but on closer examination it's definitely three disparate pieces of clothing. This year, you'll notice he has to up his game if he is going to be hanging around the chief of staff and senior strategist. So I am excited that Jonah actually has a suit that fits, but also kept his ridiculous sweater vest collection. I'm taking that s--t back from Santorum.
VEEP premieres Sunday, April 14 at 10 p.m. on HBO.
Anna Chlumsky stopped by to talk about playing Amy Brookheimer, the Vice President’s Chief of Staff on the HBO series VEEP.
Anna says that she actually got a lot of pointers on the job from Barbara Boxer’s Chief of Staff. Ali, who grew up in DC, said Anna’s portrayal of the character is spot-on, “Constantly on the blackberry, a little frenetic, and your life is gone.”
Ali also asked about Anna’s background as a child actor, and while you may think “My Girl” was her first role, she actually scored her first job—a modeling gig--at ten months old. In the years after her hit movie, she went to college and then tried some non-acting gigs. She worked in an entry-level job for Zagat guides, which, “was really a step above telemarketing,” and then worked as an editorial assistant in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy division of Harper Collins, where she says she developed her geeky side. “Reading about princesses and mages…the wizardly cover art, it’s pretty fun for a 9-5 job."
Ali also asked six-month pregnant Anna, “What’s the grossest thing that’s happened since you got pregnant?” To hear her hilariously adorable answer, check out the video.
[Yahoo sucks and doesn't allow their videos to embed]
“Parks and Recreation” may have heart, but HBO’s “Veep” has an even greater trick up its sleeve: it doesn’t have a heart.
Like at all.
That may sound like an indictment. It’s not.
The heartlessness of “Veep” is what makes it so funny.
Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, HBO’s original comedy follows the adventures (but mostly misadventures) of Vice President Selina Meyer and her staff.
Like most television shows, “Veep” struggled in its first season when it came to finding what exactly it wanted to say.
With the last few episodes of season one and Sunday’s season two premiere, however, the show has finally found its footing.
The show’s season two premiere sees Selina at a rare high: after trekking around the country to advocate for candidates during midterm elections, Selina received some positive news.
She learned that her approval rating was higher than that of the president, even though her candidates’ ratings were low. This information immediately went to her head, and she began some painfully comedic angling for greater responsibility in the administration.
None of this would seem out of place on a political drama. To be honest, it seems rather boring written out like it is above. But trust me: this show is funny.
“Veep” is actually a lot like a dark mirror of “Parks and Recreation” — it centers on a female politico and her cohorts, but it’s nowhere near as sweet.
Instead, it’s deliberately dour, and it positively overflows with constant (and terrific) swearing.
And that’s what makes the show so wonderfully unique. “Veep” never tries to tug at your heartstrings.
It would rather punch you in the gut with its intricately-crafted jokes.
The series’ greatest strength is, without a doubt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Tackling her third major sitcom role (Remember “Seinfeld” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine”?), Louis-Dreyfus is as fresh and funny as ever.
She’s especially funny in “Veep” because her character is so deliberately unfunny.
Selina Meyer is a bumbling, misguided idiot, but Louis-Dreyfus imbues her with humanity. Selina is not a funny person, but Louis-Dreyfus’ portrayal of her is absolutely hysterical.
It takes a true comedic champion to tackle a role like this, and Louis-Dreyfus makes it look absolutely effortless.
The show’s ensemble cast has also grown tremendously over the course of the show’s short run.
Whereas the first few episodes of the series made every character seem like they were trying too hard to be funny, the end of season one and the beginning of season two show marked improvement.
Sufe Bradshaw, Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons and Matt Walsh have all blossomed into their roles, with Hale being a true standout as Gary Walsh, Selina’s personal aide.
“Arrested Development” fans will remember Hale as Buster Bluth, and that’s essentially who he plays in “Veep.”
Picture Buster as the vice president’s lapdog and you’re on the right track. Sunday’s premiere includes a hysterical scene where Gary scrubs Selina’s lipstick out of the carpet of the Oval Office.
Despite its initial struggles, the cast, writers and producers have found a tone for “Veep” that makes it unique.
Don’t watch this show if you like your TV shows to be cloying and sentimental — “Veep” bypasses the heart and goes straight for the funny bone.
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Can't wait for Veep tomorrow night!