Casey Wilson was born on October 24, 1980, in Alexandria, Virginia. Even at a young age, Wilson knew that she wanted to become an actress. After graduating from T. C. Williams High School, she studied at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts as well as the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

Wilson performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles and New York. One of her most popular shows there was the long-running Rode Hard and Put Away Wet. Wilson co-wrote and performed the sketch comedy act with her writing partner June Diane Raphael.

Wilson went on to have roles in the shorts Derek & Simon: A Bee and a Cigarette (2006) and The Definition of Sex (2007). She likewise found work in the features For Your Consideration (2006) and The Brothers Solomon (2007). Meanwhile, Wilson appeared on TV via Human Giant (2007), Revenge (2007) and The Very Funny Show (2007).

Wilson found a dream come true when she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, in 2008. The comedienne made her debut on the show’s first new episode following the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike.

In the meantime, Wilson continues to appear in various films. This year, she will be seen with Colin Hanks in The Great Buck Howard. In 2009, the actress will appear in Julie & Jula and Bride Wars, the latter picture being one that she co-wrote with June Raphael.

Casey Wilson and I recently had the opportunity to speak about her career thus far, particularly about her being a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Wilson also shared her thoughts on collaborating with Raphael, providing content for FunnyOrDie.com, and continuing her film career.

________________________________________

Josh E Armstrong: When did you realize you wanted a career in comedy?

Casey Wilson: I didn’t realize it until late in the game, I think, because I was under the impression or illusion that I would be a serious dramatic actress. I went to the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and I did Chekhov plays and Sam Shepard plays.

I spent a summer at the Yale School of Drama. We were doing a serious scene. But I kept laughing during it! The teacher said, ‘I think you should do comedy.’ I hadn’t even thought of it until then. My leanings had always been that way. But I think I was like, ‘I have to star in theater!’ So then I kind of got with the program.

JA: How did you become a performer for the Upright Citizens Brigade?

CW: There’s a UCB in New York and one in LA. In college, I would go see the shows in New York. I loved them! I had seen Second City a lot in Chicago. I loved that kind of performance, so I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll take a class!’ I started taking classes there.

But, mainly, my comedy partner June and I wrote a two-woman show called Rode Hard and Put Away Wet. The artistic director of UCB saw us doing the show at NYU and invited us to bring it to the UCB Theatre. We were lucky enough to get a run at the theatre, and we ran our show there once a week for about a year.

JA: How did you meet June?

CW: We met at NYU. We were best friends there. We were roommates and would do everything together. Then, strangely, we decided, ‘Oh, we should do a two-woman sketch show,’ having graduated and not gotten any jobs.

JA: Before becoming a cast member on Saturday Night Live, didn’t you also work on Creature Comforts America?

CW: I did, strangely, yes. Before that, June and I had sold a pilot to the network UPN, which was still around at the time. The pilot didn’t get picked up.

Writing for Creature Comforts really wasn’t our bag at all. Claymation or stop-motion - I have total respect for that kind of thing. But we would typically write scenes of two girls sitting in a bar - yet, somehow, we got the job to be story editors for Creature Comforts America. We worked for about eight months on it. It was actually incredibly fun! But it was definitely a departure from our normal kind of work.

JA: What was the pilot that you and June did for UPN?

CW: Basically, we just sold an idea about the two of us being friends and misguided girls who are out of college and have no money and really no self-worth to speak of. It was the first thing we had ever written, and we didn’t quite know - I think it’s safe to say - exactly what we were saying.

We had taken our sketch show to the Aspen Comedy Festival in Colorado for HBO, when it was still around. Off of that festival, we had gotten the pilot. It was just basically called The Untitled Raphael and Wilson Project. It didn’t get much further than that.

JA: How did you become a member of Saturday Night Live?

CW: Basically, through performing at the UCB out in LA a lot, I performed a lot with in-club teams. I would always be working on things with people, doing sketches and videos for FunnyOrDie.com. June and I were making videos probably for the last five years, putting them on the Web. We would have them in our shows.

I said to my agents, ‘I really, really want to audition.’ I had to bug people about it, because in the industry - I guess it’s hard to say - it doesn’t pay a lot. I couldn’t tell people, ‘I want to audition.’ I had to bug everyone and say, ‘This is my life’s dream!’

I put together a tape of about 15 characters and impressions. It was a pretty short tape - like five minutes - and really low-budget. I put everything I could on there, sent it off and hoped for the best.

It was a really long process. I didn’t hear anything for about three months. Then I got a call that the casting people had responded to the tape and that [SNL executive producer] Lorne Michaels had liked it. They pulled me out to just have a sit-down meeting with Lorne, which was obviously incredibly nerve-wrecking for me. (I’m nervous thinking about it, even though it turned out well.) It was really, really fun! We actually had a great meeting!

Lorne was wonderful in the meeting. He told me, in the meeting, ‘We’re going to have you come out and audition.’ From that, I guess it was a couple months later that I even went out and auditioned.

The total process was like six or seven months. They don’t give you a common notice. They just call you and say, ‘Okay, we’re bringing you out to New York.’ I think I left the next night. Then, the following morning, I was on the stage at 8H. You have five minutes with lights, cameras and makeup. Then a lot of the writers and producers watch and film you doing your audition on the stage.

JA: What is your schedule on a Saturday when the show is set to air live?

CW: The schedule for the week is very crazy. Then, on the Saturday of the show, everyone gets in, and we do a run-through with costumes and wigs, no makeup. We kind of put it together with the sets and everything. We run-through each sketch just once on Saturday.

Then they run the musical dress and “Weekend Update.” (I haven’t been on “Weekend Update” yet, so I haven’t ran-through that part.) That takes us right up to about 7 o’clock.

Then we do the dress rehearsal at 8 o’clock. After the dress rehearsal, everyone gets like an hour dinner break. Then Lorne, the producers and the host meet up and decide what they want to cut from the dress.

Then we all gather in Lorne’s office for the pow-wow where he has a big bulletin board with note cards. He’s moved the sketches that aren’t going to make it to air - they’re on cards and moved to the left. So you immediately look to determine the fate of your sketch. This is about 10:00 or 10:30. The show kind of comes together then. You see what the show is going to look like.

There’s one thing I kind of learned a little later in the game. Even if your sketch is in, if it’s the last sketch, then you can tell that the show is still not going to have enough time for it. That is because the actual show runs long. If your sketch is last, there’s a lot of hoping, during the show, ‘Oh, I hope we’re running okay on time!’

During that meeting, Lorne gives some pretty detailed notes about acting, problems, cuts, writing and costume changes. Then, when we leave that meeting, it’s about 11 o’clock. Everyone runs down and gets into makeup for the top of the show.

By then, Jason [Sudeikis] goes out and warms up the crowd. Kristin [Wiig] then goes out and sings to warm up the crowd. Fred Armisen plays the guitar. Fred and Maya Rudolph used to do it. This year, Kristin and he do it.

Then the show starts.

JA: After the show, don’t you guys have a party?

CW: We do! We have a big party! We get there about 1 o’clock in the morning. It goes all night. Then we basically have an ‘after after party.’

JA: How is it decided which cast member will play a certain role on Saturday Night Live?

CW: It’s cast early, in the beginning of the week. Whoever has written a sketch casts it. Whether a cast member or writer has written a sketch, it’s determined when we get to the table read on Wednesday.

Very rarely is someone recast. That only occurs for reasons such as someone has to change costumes, or maybe it becomes clearer throughout the week that a different person could handle that role better. Pretty much, how it is cast in the read-through is the way it shapes out.

JA: What are some impressions you are eager to try on the show?

CW: I’m really eager to do Jennifer Aniston and Paula Deen. I don’t know, I’m into the Dina Lohan and Denise Richards TV shows. Maybe Tila Tequila. Just the strange oddities and sadness of reality TV stars.

JA: How did you become involved with FunnyOrDie.com?

CW: Just through different things. They are kind of tied with UCB, because a lot of their workers used to be members that write for them and even run the website. A lot of them are our friends. I guess there is a link.

Basically, I just started posting videos. I did those blogs for Funny or Die. I was a guest blogger - they had me write a blog a day for a week. That was really fun!

Just through being in, I guess, the comedy world seems to be at the actual center of how I became involved with Funny or Die - at least the comedy world in LA. I’m not speaking of Chicago or New York, obviously. It’s pretty small out here. Everyone kind of knows each other.

JA: What can you tell us about Bride Wars?

CW: June and I wrote Bride Wars. It’s just finished shooting. We’re hoping it’s coming out next year.

It’s about two best friends who plan their weddings on the same day, which, of course, is crazy. They have, essentially, a War of the Roses-type of story to their weddings.

The movie has Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. They’re a riot! They’re hilarious! Candice Bergen is in it. And Kristen Johnston, who is great.

Bride Wars is really funny. We were really, really, really excited to have a movie where the two leads are women who do the funny, physical humor that I feel guys always get to do in maybe a Judd Apatow movie.

JA: How is Julie & Julia coming along?

CW: Oh, it’s good! I’m finished shooting it. I have a really small part. But it was great!

I love Nora Ephron. It was a dream to work with her. I had worked with Amy Adams on SNL. She was hilarious and funny!

The part was ‘me.’ I literally have, like, one scene. But it was really, really fun!

JA: What are some of the other projects you are working on?

CW: June and I are writing something for ourselves - a low-budget, fun movie that we would like to film and star in. We’re also doing a rewrite for an America Ferrera movie.

June just finished her role in a new Jack Black movie that’s coming out, called Year One. We’re both hoping to maybe start moving in the direction where we can write stuff for ourselves to be in.

Then, hopefully, I’ll be going back to SNL in the fall!

Sphere: Related Content