Clea DuVall Is Veep 's Most Singular Player

Finally, after a long two-year wait, the inside-the-Beltway-warts-and-all talk-of-the-political-town-on-both-sides-of-the-aisle document everyone in Washington D.C. is dying to see drops.

Veep is back, baby.

This Sunday, the final season of the HBO series begins with Selina Meyer back on the campaign trail to once again become the first female President of the United States, but, like, for real this time. The show debuted before Barack Obama was re-elected, during a time of a scandal-free White House, and will end during a Donald Trump administration that often makes Veep feel like a Frederick Wiseman documentary.

As insane, petty, corrupt, and back-stabby as the only fictional Oval Office could be, there is love and joy in the Meyer family. At the end of season six, Selina’s daughter Catherine and her girlfriend, Marjorie Palmiotti, welcomed son “Little” Richard into the world. From their new Manhattan brownstone, the lovely couple is also overseeing the millions of dollars in the Meyer Fund, the whopping inheritance left from her grandmother. (Catherine gives her potential POTUS mother an allowance.)

Played by Sarah Sutherland (of the Donald and Kiefer fame!) and Clea DuVall, the loving couple gives the show a little breathing room away from the political swamp. DuVall in particular is a singular Veep figure, a non-neurotic lady of few words who offsets the roving clown car that is the Selina Meyer universe. DuVall, 41, joined Veep in season five as the Julia Louis-Dreyfus Secret Service doppelgänger and with the right electoral college outcome, Marjorie just might end up being the first First-Lesbian-Daughter-in-Law-of-these-here United States of America.

Even though her breakout role was a lesbian teen wooing Natasha Lyonne at gay conversion camp in the cult fave But I’m A Cheerleader, DuVall, 41, used to keep her sexual orientation close to the vest. Today, she is a public activist who is set on bringing the classic holiday rom-com into a world where young people can be who they want to be, even over Christmas dinner in a MAGA household.

Veep’s stealth comedic bomber spoke to GQ about the difference in filming post-2016, walking the line of “acceptable” crude humor, and how Veep helped her land three episodes as Abbi’s bright yellow hat-gifting doctor girlfriend on Broad City.

GQ: When you got the gig, was Marjorie’s story arc fully written, or was it a surprise to find out she ends up with Catherine?

Clea DuVall: When I auditioned I didn’t know anything. When I arrived on set, executive producer Dave Mandel told me that’s what they were hoping to do with the role. I don’t think they had fully committed, probably in case they hated me as Marjorie and wanted me to leave as soon as possible.

How did Marjorie’s deadpan style develop? Was it a conscious decision to counter-balance all the lunatics in the Veep asylum?

I can’t remember if it was an explicit direction at the audition, but it felt appropriate to the scenes we read. I was so nervous that I decided doing less would be better. I knew I shouldn’t try to be funny.

Marjorie’s whole persona—calm, collected, reserved, dignified—is so different to everyone around her, it makes her unique and a bit mysterious…

It’s because her relationship with Selina Meyer is different than everyone else. Marjorie is the only one who isn’t constantly trying to get her approval.

Had you ever worked with Julia Louis-Dreyfus prior to Veep?

Nope, the first time I met her was at my audition.

How terrifying was that?

I didn’t even know she was going to be there! I walked in at 8 a.m. and there she is. Julia was so kind and generous, meeting her was such a thrill. I loved Veep before I ever auditioned, but I remember leaving and thinking, ‘even if I don’t get the job at least I got to read with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.”

Your chemistry with Sarah Sutherland is interesting as well, a departure from the other relationships on the show. How has it developed?

Sarah is a sweet person and we get along really well, which helps make the relationship between these two awkward characters feel natural and comfortable. Building their romance has been a lot of fun.

Veep debuted in 2012, obvious a very different time--

Whatever do you mean? What’s been going on in American politics lately?

Does it feel different on set?

I wasn’t there on Election Night in 2016, I came a few days later, but making political satire is definitely harder. Some of the literal things happening right now are too over-the-top for our show. In season six, during the presidential campaign, it felt like the writers were following the day’s headlines in the scripts, but the show had already been written. Before joining Veep, I assumed it involved a lot of improv, but it’s a tightly scripted show. It has to be to get all the jokes in, so there isn’t a lot of riffing on the latest CNN report. I’ll say this about the new season, the show has tapped into a lot of what’s transpired over the last couple of years in a really smart way.

You don’t have to dig too deep on the web to find critics of Veep’s homophobic lines—Congressman Furlong’s crass quips are frequently cringe-inducing. Have you ever felt that the show took it too far?

No, because that’s the Veep universe, and people like that do exist. Pretending awful people aren’t out there doesn’t mean less of them are actually out there. But we do have boundaries, there have definitely been jokes that were never filmed. It’s a fine line, it’s the attitude of nothing is off-limits, while knowing there are some things that are off-limits. For me, it doesn’t feel like the writers cross the line, and when they do, there’s never a problem with scrapping it and coming up with a better joke.

The comparison between the Trump administration and Veep is made a lot, but so many of the characters are venal, self-centered, craven. Even if its apt, it’s awful as a reality…

It’s a comparison that gets made more and more. Too much, really. Yes, Veep has some of the worst people on television, but the difference is there are also characters like Mike McLintock who have a lot of heart and want to do the right thing but don’t necessarily know how. I don’t know if those people exist in the current administration.

What stands out working on Veep from all the other shows you’ve been on?

The unwavering integrity of never shooting until it’s the best it can be. We spend a lot of time trying to get it right, taking a few extra hours on a single scene that was scheduled for one hour if needed. I’ve never worked on a show where if a scene isn’t working in rehearsal, the writers go off, redo it, and deliver something even funnier.

It’s also an amazing experience because I wasn’t considered an actor who can do comedy.

Really? What about But I’m A Cheerleader?

One thing I have learned over the last 25 years is that for an industry filled with creative people, a lot of them aren’t imaginative. I was known mainly for dramatic roles, told I couldn’t do comedies, so I believed it. Thanks to Veep, I got out of my comfort zone, got to stretch, and try new things. It led to Broad City, which was another of my favorite shows. Ilana Glazer directed one of the episodes and created such a comfortable space. I got to see myself in a way I never had before.

I’m now working on animated show—another new experience—with two Veep writers. It’s called Therapy Dog and it’s about a dog who leads group therapy for neighborhood animals when their owners are at work. Later this year, I’m directing my second movie, Happiest Season, which stars Mackenzie Davis and Kristen Stewart as a couple headed home for the holidays. One hasn’t come out to her conservative parents yet, so they have to play as friends, even though they’re planning on getting married. Hilarity ensues.

Getting to direct a major studio romantic comedy with a lesbian couple at the center is a dream come true. I’m so excited and I couldn’t have imagined it happening five years ago.

Lastly, what do Catherine and Marjorie have going on in the final season?
Mothering Little Richard and spending Me-Maw’s money. Marjorie also has a new big role in Selina’s world, which is all I’m saying about that.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misidentified Abbi Jacobson as the director of one of the Broad City episodes; it was Ilana Glazer.