LOS ANGELES 鈥� For Quinn King, the gruff executive producer of a Bachelor-like reality show in Lifetime鈥檚 UnReal, a normal day of boss-dom includes manipulation, shouting into walkie-talkies when scenes don鈥檛 have enough drama, and dressing down the crew with words of 鈥渆ncouragement鈥� like, 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 you go and be useful?鈥�
Not exactly the approach Constance Zimmer, who plays the acerbic honcho in the weekly drama, adopted when she made her move into directing during the show鈥檚 current third season.
鈥淚 definitely was not as intense as Quinn would be,鈥� Zimmer, 47, says while seated on the front patio of her Hollywood Hills home. 鈥淚 saw Greta Gerwig [an Oscar nominee for her directorial debut of Lady Bird] on a panel recently and she said, 鈥榃hen it鈥檚 your first time, that鈥檚 when you can fail.鈥� That was my approach. If you don鈥檛 go big, you don鈥檛 know if you could have done better.鈥�
Zimmer, who has directed a few one-act plays in recent years as part of the Blank Theatre Company鈥檚 Young Playwrights Festival, made her TV directorial debut in the UnReal episode titled 鈥淩ecurrent,鈥� which aired Monday.
The actor, who has made a career out of playing caustic characters on shows such as Entourage, House of Cards, and The Newsroom, talked about going behind the camera, her brief stint as a gymnast, and Hollywood鈥檚 reckoning with sexual harassment and assault. Later this year, Zimmer will return as hard-nosed reporter Janine Skorsky in the final season of Netflix鈥檚 House of Cards.
Q: We鈥檙e seeing a lot of actresses in recent years branch out into producing and directing as a way to take control of their career and create opportunities that might be lacking in Hollywood. Was that part of your motivation?
A: I had always wanted to direct. I directed a bunch of plays through the Blank Theatre Company. It was then that I thought, 鈥極oh, I really like this, but I wonder if I鈥檒l ever get a chance to do it beyond theatre.鈥� Obviously, at the time I didn鈥檛 have a lot of female directors that I was looking at and going, 鈥極h, wow, look at them, they鈥檙e working all the time.鈥� Instead, female directors were such an anomaly. So when Shiri (Appleby, her co-star on UnReal) directed an episode in Season 2, I thought it would be the best place to try it out.
Q: What was your experience like directing something you were also acting in?
A: I found that I really liked directing, and I want to do more of it, but I鈥檇 like to not be acting in it. There鈥檚 a lot of people that do it, and they鈥檙e really good at it. I鈥檓 just still too new at it that I would like to be more confident in my directing skills before I start directing myself. When I鈥檓 in the scene, I鈥檓 worried about everything 鈥� I鈥檓 worried about my acting, and the other people鈥檚 acting and if it鈥檚 the right look or if it鈥檚 the right lens or if it鈥檚 the right lighting. I mean my scariest thing for me was the day I had to shoot 12 pages and there were 13 actors in one scene. And the other challenge with UnReal is you also have to do 鈥淓verlasting鈥� (the show-within-the-show) takes.
Q: Did you learn anything while being in director mode that you never realized when you were in actor mode?
A: Oh, God, yeah. From the casting, to looking at the wardrobe, to doing rehearsals. There鈥檚 probably a lot of directors that are mad at me and have been mad at me because I tend to not do a full-out performance at rehearsal because then I feel like it鈥檚 gone. Being the director, it was the first time I realized, 鈥淥h, I get it now. I get why they need it.鈥�
Q: As a kid, you were training to be a gymnast 鈥� how did that eventually lead to a career as an actor?
A: I was doing gymnastics after school, and I was one of those kids that the coach plucked out of the crowd and was like, 鈥楾his girl has it. She needs to start training for the Olympics now.鈥� My mom was like, 鈥淥K, great,鈥� because I loved it. I was obsessed. But I was training 18-hour days, and I had no life. It was like gymnastics, school, gymnastics, eat, gymnastics, go to sleep. I just thought, 鈥淗uh. There鈥檚 something about this I don鈥檛 like and something I like.鈥�
I went on the dance team while still doing gymnastics. I realized I like being in front of people, I like performing, I like creating. I don鈥檛 like working out. I don鈥檛 like being in little shorts and leotards.
Q: And you鈥檝e amassed quite the IMDB list of credits. You played 鈥淕irl鈥� in the pilot of 鈥淔elicity鈥�!
A: 鈥淕irl in the Bathroom鈥� became 鈥淕irl in the Glasses in the Bathroom鈥� because apparently they thought I looked a little too similar to (series regular) Amy Jo Johnson. So they had me put on glasses so we wouldn鈥檛 look so alike. I was like, 鈥淥h, my God, you can鈥檛 have two brunets with bangs on one show?鈥�
鈥淪einfeld鈥� is definitely one of my all-time favourites because that was the third TV show I ever did, I was such a huge Seinfeld fan and it was their last season. I remember walking on that set, and I was just like, 鈥淥h, my God, I鈥檓 in Jerry鈥檚 apartment.鈥� It was the first time that I had been on a set of a show that I was so obsessed. I was so scared, and I was so nervous, and I was only in one scene. I just remember being so afraid that I would get fired.
Q: These days, you鈥檙e in the midst of an interesting time in Hollywood 鈥� does it feel like real change is underway?
A: I think an awareness, an open line of communication, is what we鈥檙e seeing. It started people not being afraid and realizing they鈥檙e not alone, and that I think is what鈥檚 definitely making a change. It鈥檚 a beginning of a movement, and any time there鈥檚 a beginning of a movement, it鈥檚 slow. It鈥檚 baby steps, but it鈥檚 better than no steps.
Q: As someone who has worked with a couple of those who have been accused of misconduct (Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Piven), is it a hard line to walk? Your association almost guarantees you鈥檒l be asked about 鈥�
A: It happens to me every day. I鈥檝e worked with almost the majority of the ones that are accused. My thing is I don鈥檛 have anything to add. What I have is to move forward. Because I鈥檓 not adding fuel to the fire. I have nothing bad to say about any of the people I have ever worked with, but that鈥檚 my personal experience and I can only speak for myself. We can鈥檛 stay stagnant. We have to go, 鈥淥K, this happened. OK, what do we do now? How do we fix it? How do we change it? How do we make it not happen again?鈥�
Q: You鈥檙e going to be in the final season of 鈥淗ouse of Cards.鈥� Had you already shot before they halted production?
A: I did, and then they halted production and then I was like, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. What am I doing?鈥� And I kind of had to lay it to rest because nobody knew what was going on. And so, when they called me and said that Janine was still coming back for the final season, I was very excited because that鈥檚 definitely a character that I missed.
Q: And Robin Wright is taking the helm.
A: Isn鈥檛 it sad that you have to have a fall of a man to uplift a woman? That show was a duet, it was a couple. Just like Rachel (a field producer, played by Appleby, on the fictional reality show within 鈥淯nReal鈥�) and Quinn are a couple. We are a team on that show, and it鈥檚 hard to imagine one without the other. But (鈥淗ouse of Cards鈥�) has still so much to tell, and I鈥檓 really happy that they鈥檙e doing a final season. And I鈥檓 excited as a fan, I鈥檓 excited as an actor. It鈥檚 gonna be fast and furious. It鈥檚 eight episodes, so I read every single script and I鈥檓 like, 鈥淥h, my God, what鈥檚 gonna happen? I鈥檓 so excited.
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