Veep returns tonight, so it seems only right that we become reacquainted with the comedic genius that is Julia Louis-Dreyfus. But rather than us personally waxing lyrical about her depth of talent, we’re going to leave it up to these 12 people, all of whom have been lucky enough to work with her.
From Tony Hale
Of his costar’s positive, and not so positive, qualities, Tony Hale told Ellen DeGeneres last year, “She’s just a dream to work with… she’s super sweet, she’s so kind, but when she get’s going, some colorful stuff comes out of that mouth.”
From Amy Poehler
Upon inducting her friend into the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame, Amy Poehler said, “[Julia Louis-Dreyfus] is the greatest. She is good at everything, and she is everybody’s favorite — she’s at least mine… Julia’s work is just singular, inclusive, outstanding and very, very special. We’re celebrating her tonight because she’s hilarious, she’s a great actor, and I think she has the best timing of any actor working today.”
From Larry David
When Julia Louis-Dreyfus was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Seinfeld‘s creator announced that she “couldn’t be more deserving” and vowed to protect the star at all costs. “I am prepared to give up my nights and weekends to guard this [star] with my life from the filth and pollutants to which it’s prone,” he said. “Anyone who so much as sneezes near this area, while I’m on duty… well, I’ll say, ‘God bless you,’ but I won’t be happy about it.”
From Tina Fey
When Tina Fey accepted the Emmy for Lead Comedy Actress (a category in which Louis-Dreyfus was also nominated) in 2008, she thanked her rival, saying, “My husband will remind me, ‘Just try to act like Julia Louis-Dreyfus.’ So thank you, Julia. That’s really working out for me.”
From Hamish Linklater
JLD’s costar on The New Adventures of Old Christine, Hamish Linklater, didn’t mince words when he spoke to broadway.com in 2012: “Julia is a technician of comedy. She knows how to make funny all the way through her body. It’s not just a reading, but an attitude — how you hold your body, how you punctuate a line with your body. Her whole instrument is a comedy oboe.”
From Anna Chlumsky
Speaking to The Huffington Post in 2012, Anna Chlumsky had this to say about Julia vs. Selina: “[Julia Louis-Dreyfus] has embraced Selina completely. It’s kind of funny now that we’re doing all this press. I’ll see Julia on-screen and, in person, it’s different — I expect to see Julia and talk to Julia… she really embodies her… it’s a testament to how good she is.”
From Armando Iannucci
Veep‘s creator was very direct when he told Rolling Stone last year about the exact moment he knew the show would work: “We gave Julia a lot of mean-nothing phrases and said, go ahead, play around with these as much as you like. In the final cut of the episode, I think it only takes up a minute or so of screen time, but we had endless material we could have used. Julia just went with it for a long while, and then in the end, she hit upon this sort of noise that was like a long time-killing “uhhhhhh…” I was just doubled up with laughter watching her do it. I’m laughing just telling you about it now!”
From Toni and Catherine
During a roundtable discussion for wegotthiscovered.com, Catherine Keener and Toni Collette spoke of what it was like to work with Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Enough Said. “She’s so smart and so funny and she was so dedicated,” Collette said of her costar. “Yeah, she’s fantastic. And she makes me laugh!” Keener added.
From Nicole Holofcener
In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes in 2013, the Enough Said director said, “It was sort of like, I met her, I wanted her, I cast her… and she is beautiful. You don’t see a lot of movies with unattractive middle-aged people, either. But she’s still really, really pretty, and I’m so happy that she was willing to look her age. I think that gives a real intimacy to the movie, and a realism that I really wanted.”
From Timothy Simons
Last year, Timothy Simons talked to OK! Magazine about what it’s like to work with Julia Louis-Dreyfus: “I speak very effusively about Julia because she’s so incredible as a cast mate. I find her to be a perfect cast mate. She’s incredibly talented, she works incredibly hard. She has a one-of-a-kind brain for comedy. She’s screaming at me, and in the next second gets this child-like glee because she’s thought of something to make it funnier. So even when she’s screaming vitriol in my face, it ends up being fun.”
From Frank Rich
Veep executive producer, Frank Rich, spoke to Entertainment Weekly earlier this month about JLD’s status as one of the greats: “In Julia’s case, she just keeps trying different things. To me, it’s the test of a great actor in any medium that they don’t just play one role over and over again. Julia is a great actor as well as being a great comic actor.”
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