Interview: Leslie Bibb Straps In to Talk About Her Hilarious Guest Spot on the Final Season of ‘Hacks’
There are some episodes of television that stick with you and stand out amongst the rest, even in a great show like Hacks. The series has, across five seasons, given audiences many hilarious episodes that shine a light on the generational relationship between Deborah Vance and Ava Daniels. None of them compare to episode seven of season five, “Montecito,” a contained episode that follows the two women on a journey to find an elusive outfit worn by Carol Burnett for her final show, designed by Bob Mackie. Deborah finds out that Kelly Killpatrick (Cherry Jones) has it – not Deborah’s biggest fan, admittedly, because of how Deborah reacted when Kelly came out – and drags Ava to spend time at Kelly’s house with her partner, Monica (Leslie Bibb), pretending to be in a relationship to draw favor with Kelly.
The episode is one of Hacks’ best, as the conversations escalate simultaneously with Deborah’s discomfort. Leslie Bibb, in particular as Monica, stands out in the episode with her joyous performance of an intellectually curious woman who just wants to have a good weekend. It’s an episode of nonstop laughs, so I sat down with Bibb to talk about it.
We talked about the short time she spent on set, what she learned from the other women, creating her relationship dynamic with Cherry Jones, and the line of the decade: “do you strap?”
Tyler Doster: What has the fan response been like to your role on the show?
Leslie Bibb: It’s crazy. Tyler, it’s nuts. I didn’t expect it. It’s been awesome. I was just in the grocery store. It’s like crazy. It’s crazy. I mean people stopping on the street. It’s as exciting as White Lotus. And I thought White Lotus couldn’t be more…
Hacks is such a beloved show. And so it’s getting a little bit of that fairy dust, which is awesome. And you sort of make something. Paul [W. Downs] called me in November and asked me to come do it. And then we shot it right before Christmas. And then for it to come out five months later, it’s fucking awesome. It’s just awesome.
TD: How long was filming for your part?
LB: We shot, I don’t know, four days. Four days. But Paul was saying… Paul, Lucia [Aniello], and Jen [Statsky] were saying, because they block shoot that because they shoot in Las Vegas and they shoot in Los Angeles and they were going to France, that usually sometimes people… If you’re guesting, you’ll come in, and then you’ll leave. Sometimes it can take longer to shoot something. He said, “It’s very rare that something is sort of contained like this, like bookended, like you come in and you finish your stint.”
So I really liked it because I felt like every day it just got… Just the energy, you just sort of built on it. And to get to be with Hannah [Einbinder] and Jean [Smart] and Cherry [Jones] and get to see them work was… I keep saying it’s like a masterclass. You know, you take jobs for different reasons. But as soon as I… When they said, “Oh, Cherry’s doing this,” and I knew all my scenes were with those three women, I was like, “Oh, I’m going to come out of this experience a better actor.”
TD: The four of you work so well together. How was creating that dynamic with Cherry?
LB: We shot the beekeeper scene first, and I just came in, and I kissed her. They were doing coverage. And then afterwards, I was like, “I’m so sorry. I should have asked you.” And she was like, “No.” She was like, “We got to get ready.” She’s like, “That’s it. It’s on.” And I was like, “I’m going to kiss Cherry Jones. It’s happening. Get ready.” (laughs)
But I don’t know. It just was from the jump, there was… I mean, listen, there was a part of me that I look up to those three actors, or I’m very inspired by those three actors. And they’re so talented that you could get a little like, “Oh, no.” You know what I mean?
TD: Yeah.
LB: You got to step up to the plate, you know? It’s time. Shit or get off the pot. But I don’t know. From the jump I was like, “Pull the shoot. Let’s see what happens.” I don’t know. It just was easy.
I think, also, it’s a testament to Hannah and Jean being so wonderful as one and two on the call sheet and being so open armed with people who come in on that show. But I also think it is the most testament to the way Paul and Lucia and Jen run a show. The crew is incredible. The crew is supportive. They’re supportive. I mean, I’ve never seen a video village that happy before. They’re just so… I don’t know. It makes you feel fearless. It makes you feel like there’s never a moment of self-doubt.
I’m playing a woman that has zero insecurity, has zero… She doesn’t question anything. She’s like the world… I mean, Monica is like – the world’s her oyster. Yes and yes. She never hears a no. She’s going to spin a no into some way of being positive. And they just made it so easy to walk in those shoes. I don’t know. They run an extraordinary show, you know?
LB: And you feel it from the minute you walk on that set. It just gives you so much room to be creative.
TD: It sounds like an empowering place to be for a creative person.
LB: That’s the word. That’s the word. It’s empowering. It’s very empowering. I mean, and you’re in these scenes. I mean, we’re sitting at that dinner table scene. And watching Hannah… She’s so extraordinary the way she can input information, digest it, and then if they change something or they improvise something, if there’s an alt line that then the writers are like, “Oh, this is something,” the way she can just digest it is extraordinary.
I mean, I remember they gave her a long list of a riff on something, and she just took it in, made it her own, and then did a take. And I was looking, and Jean was like, “I know, she’s like an IBM computer.” And I mean, Jean is extraordinary.
And then I was saying to her… Because I had been watching Mare of Easttown for research for something, and I said, “Jean, is it true that you went from that to this?” And she was like, “Yeah.” And I was like… To watch her on Hacks, to watch Mare of Easttown, to watch her on Fargo, to revisit anything of Designing Women.That’s rarefied air, what Jean Smart does.
TD: Yeah, one of the greats.
LB: One of the greats. And I think Hacks… I was just watching the finale today, and that’s an extraordinary show. That finale will go down as one of the best finales ever for any show. The way they were able to walk that narrow line between humor and great sorrow was just extraordinary to me, even in our episode. It’s all like, “Oh, we’re trying to get Carol Burnett’s jumpsuit,” but really it’s the cancer’s back. I’m really in awe of Lucia and Paul and Jen and how they run a show, but also how extraordinarily talented they are. It’s just amazing.
TD: I saw that you did the acting challenge on Instagram-
LB: (laughs) Oh, my God. That acting challenge. It’s so fun, right?
I was thinking about doing, “We know Sia.” But I was like, “No, you got to, ‘Do you strap?'” I don’t even know how many. I don’t think that many. I don’t know. I don’t know. But it’s just so easy because she’s just tipsy enough and bored enough with like, “I don’t want to talk about any old clothes, any clothes that have mothballs.” All Kelly talks about is those vintage clothes from people that she’s just mischievous enough that she would ask somebody at a dinner table, “Do you strap?” It’s the greatest question ever.
But to Jean, it felt… Like I was saying to somebody, I said, “This haircut of mine has sort of become a thing just because of White Lotus.” And I said, “I love putting this haircut that’s so synonymous with Kate from White Lotus and putting it on somebody like Monica who’s so the opposite of Kate.” And in the same vein of like, “Did you vote for…” Are we really going to talk about politics?” That line and then that sort of same-looking person then asking, “Do you strap?” just feels so fun at a dinner table with women, the same sort of mirrored things.
TD: I would say it’s the question/line of the year.
LB: I love it. I love it. It was really funny how many people love that little acting thing of saying… It’s kind of fun to try. You should do it.
TD: I haven’t done it yet.
LB: Do it. Do it. Just, “Do you even strap?”
TD: If I do it, I’ll tag you.
LB: Please tag me. I just think it’s so funny to be like… Trying to say, “Do you strap?” sarcastically and disappointedly are.
TD: “Disappointedly” was the really funny one.
LB: It’s so fun, and so fun to do. So great. I mean, how lucky am I? I’m so grateful to have been a part of this show, even if it’s just for a breath, because I do think it’s one of the great shows that has and will have the legs to be one of the great shows ever on television.
Leslie Bibb is Emmy-eligible in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the episode “Montecito” of Hacks.
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