MELISSA McCarthy Ruben V. Nepales
LOS ANGELES—Melissa McCarthy relishes that the tables are turned in “Ghostbusters”—Chris Hemsworth is the eye candy working as a secretary for the movie’s four paranormal exterminators. But the actress was stunned that Thor, as the ditzy assistant, could improvise and ad-lib with four of the best, quick-witted comediennes today.
That would, of course, be Melissa, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon, who traded lines with Chris in Paul Feig’s reboot of the franchise that began in 1984.
In our chat, Melissa talked about Chris, who turned out to be more than just a token “beauty,” carrying those heavy proton packs as she and her fellow femme ghostbusters battled those pesky spirits and raising her two daughters (with husband, actor-director Ben Falcone), Vivian, 9, and Georgie, 6, who are apparently budding Melissa McCarthys.
Excerpts from our talk:
In this film, not only are the women the funniest but they are also the bravest. And you have Chris Hemsworth’s character, who would have usually been played by a woman, as the eye candy.
It was such a fun play on the stereotype of the beauty, the secretary, coming in and Chris is such a surprise—how funny he really is. I did love that it was four women who are the heroes, in charge, smart and are scientists. I loved everything about that.
I have two daughters and I thought, that is a very good thing when they don’t think twice about four women being the heroes.
As for Chris, I got all these calls when Paul cast him. People were like, “Oh, he’s so nice. You’re going to have such a great time. He is such a good guy.” I can’t figure out why no one was like, “Oh, by the way, he is bizarrely funny.”
I don’t know how that was missed. Chris is truly one of the best improvisers I have worked with. It was a little crazy. At one point, Kate and I were like, “Did he bring writers?”
But then, we were saying things that you couldn’t have prepared for. And everything he said was incredibly funny. Then, he would come back to it in 20 minutes and say something else. It was like, “How have you not been doing just comedies? Like, how are you also Thor?” I thought, that’s too much. But I didn’t complain.
Can you talk about the criticism of the all-women main cast?
I don’t read any of that stuff. We hadn’t even started the movie; it was just a concept at that point. So, for people to be critiquing it was strange. It’s like critiquing a book that you are about to start in a month. How about reading it first?
I don’t read any of that stuff ever, because I don’t think I can improve myself from it. I can’t become a better person, actor or mother … anything.
If somebody has a good point, I am the first to be like, let me have it. If someone just wants to spew hate and tear down women, I prefer to keep that out of my life.
What was it in your youth that gave you courage?
I have great parents who said, “If you work hard enough, you can do anything. Be kind, be good to people and to yourself, then keep your head down and work.” I have a very good work ethic from my parents.
It took me 20 years to get my first (acting) job, but I kept doing it. Because I thought, I love it, so even if no one hires me, I will get a play and I will hire me (laughs). So, I hired myself for many, many years.
Did you always feel that your time was going to come?
I grew up on a farm. I had a sister, but I spent a lot of time alone. We didn’t have neighbors. I pretended to be different things. I was just looking to get a job.
I thought, my God, if I can just do this as a living … which I wasn’t able to do for a very long time … I thought, if I can get a job that I love or if somebody was paying me to do that, I hit the jackpot.
MELISSA McCarthy and Chris Hemsworth in “Ghostbusters”
Are you more confident?
I have more access to be confident. I have always had ideas and I have always had thoughts, right or wrong. Now, I’m simply lucky enough to have places I can put them in. I have always been confident, but not cocky. It depends on the situation. I listen to my gut.
How cool was it to wear a proton pack?
Oh, my gosh, yeah! The proton pack felt incredibly cool. Every time our fantastic AD artist would load ’em up, I’d go, this is the closest I will get to SWAT. We would load up, buckle up and everything would get tightened—that was an incredibly heavy pack. After running, it was like having a 10-year-old child on your back.
I think that always adds to the realism. I’d rather have them real heavy than fake. So, it was super cool and tricky all in one.
The movie touches on friendship, that at the end of the day, friends have your back. Do you have friends like that?
The friendship aspect of the movie is incredible. It’s not talked about so much—four outsiders come together and they are better together putting that out into the world, that it’s OK to need other people and to join forces for good.
My dearest friends all came into town last night, and I am going to go meet them. I’m still friends with my best friend from high school and two guys I met at 20.
All of my friends go back some 25 odd years. I have some new friends, too, but it’s always good to have those people who know you backward and forward.
How are you raising your daughters? Have they inherited your sense of humor?
They definitely have. They are very funny, confident girls. How am I raising them? As best I can. Boy, I wish there was a magic trick. I work every day on making sure they aren’t hearing things that alter them. That make them say, “Oh, my hair is weird.” I say, “Your hair is not weird. Your hair is wonderful.”
I try every little thing, try to counter it without … making too big a deal of it, because it’s the constant—your hair isn’t right, your legs aren’t right, you have a strange nose, blah, blah, blah. After years of that, we chip away, and we are a shell of ourselves.
I do it with my adult friends, too. I won’t let them start apologizing for something like, “Oh, I am so sorry, that was dumb.” I am like, “Don’t say you’re sorry and don’t say it was dumb.” I am a stickler for that, for grownups or children. I say, “Don’t apologize for a thought, but say the thought, then we can deal with it.” My daughters are strong, confident girls. My hope is to keep them that way.
Do they make you laugh?
They’re incredibly funny. They are the two funniest in the family. Because kids have no censors, they are funny on top of being kids. They say things that I can’t even comprehend what has floated into their heads. Ben and I are always like, “What did you say?” And then they are off, and they don’t care.
Are you the life of the party in real life?
(Laughs) I like a party. Yeah, why not? I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Let’s hope not. But I always think, why not have fun?
How is your clothing line doing?
The clothing line has been a blast. It’s so much work, and it’s learning a whole new business.
I feel like in the last year, I have learned so much about it. It takes up a good 60 hours of my week, but I absolutely love it.
E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.