Vella Lovell On Following Your Bliss, Evolving Each Day and Her New Series 'Mr Mayor'
Vella Lovell talks about following your bliss, evolving each day and her new series Mr. Mayor.
Vella was virtually photographed in Los Angeles by Alison Engstrom
I’d love to start out by learning more about how you got to where you are now. What inspired your creative path of performing?
I was always trying to make my single mother laugh and entertain her. My mother, in turn, wanted me to be a professional pianist and put me in piano lessons when I was very young. I love playing piano now but when I was growing up, it was very hard for me to concentrate because my heart just wasn’t in it. It wasn’t until high school that I realized that my happy place was on the stage. It felt like a big risk, at the time, to pursue something that I wasn’t even sure I was good at, but I’ve come to learn that if something makes you happy, you should probably just go ahead and do that. Life is too short. You can train and learn technique and refine the mess, but you can’t fake genuine joy and passion for something. So I guess my creative path started when I chose joy! After realizing I wanted to pursue acting, I went to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and studied both Experimental and Classical acting as well as Africana Studies, then hustled in New York and did a bunch of downtown theatre, mostly for free, while I nannied and waited tables. After realizing I wanted more training, I auditioned for Juilliard’s Graduate Program for acting, was accepted, and then booked Crazy Ex-Girlfriend a couple months after graduating!
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Southern California, and lived there and in Oakland until I was five years old, when my mom and I moved to New Mexico. In New Mexico, we lived in Alamogordo and Las Cruces before settling in Santa Fe when I was nine.
What have you learned about yourself in the process of striving towards your hopes and dreams?
I have learned that you will without a doubt keep learning every single day. There is no “arriving,” “figuring it all out” or “solving the puzzle.” That being said, I think every day I know myself a bit more and the statue that I’m carving becomes a little more clear, as opposed to the lump of clay when I first started out. I have become more sure that in my personal life I am striving for kindness, honesty and compassion to myself and others, and that in my professional life I want to lift up people and storytellers who value humanity and equity, and are as authentic and diverse as the world around me.
What role would you consider to be a game-changer for your career?
Definitely Heather from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. My life absolutely changed because of that show. I got a crash course in acting on film, being on set, and got to know the ferocity and passion of diehard TV fans. I am so grateful to Rachel Bloom, Aline Brosh McKenna, and Felicia Fasano, the Crazy Ex casting director, for giving me the opportunity. I still can’t believe that a two-minute audition I filmed in a casting office in New York led to being a part of such a special ensemble for four years of my life!
You have starred in some great comedies like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Big Sick and Dollface. What gets you excited about working with funnier material?
I love when I’m reading a script alone in a room and I laugh out loud. It’s the best feeling. That’s usually when I know I want to be involved in some way. You get excited and kind of giddy. It’s a bit of a high, really. I think the stuff that makes me laugh the most is when I’m surprised—an unexpected point of view, word, or image that just makes you go “wait--what did she say?!” I am so grateful for humor. It’s saved my life multiple times and I think can be a shelter from the storm that life can be sometimes. Laughing and crying are incredibly therapeutic. Hilariously, if you had asked me when I was younger, I would have told you I wanted to be an incredibly dramatic actress making people cry, but whenever I tried to do that people just ended up laughing, so...here we are!
You also worked in theater. Is there any type of project or role that you would like to explore in the future?
I love theatre so much and I hope to be doing it until I’m old and grey! My heart really is in all of the incredible new playwrights that continue to challenge the way we see the world and push the boundaries of theatre. However, something on my professional bucket list is a Shakespeare play, I would love to do that. I did many in school, and as an actor, that material is both the greatest challenge and reward. So I’ll work on manifesting that, Lady M, here I come!
Congratulations on ‘Mr. Mayor’! You star along some legends like Ted Danson and Holly Hunter, not to mention the show was created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. How did the project come to you and what excited you about the role of Mikaela Shaw?
The audition came to me in my email, like countless other jobs that you don’t end up getting do. I think when you read “Ted Danson, Tina Fey, Robert Carlock” (Holly Hunter wasn’t involved yet) as an actor, you just kind of go, well, yes, please. Put me in the ring for that. I didn’t in a hundred million years think I would actually get the part. I think I had either three or four auditions. Tina and some of her team were in maybe my second or third audition and I pretty much peed my pants. My only goal was to make her laugh in the audition, and I think maybe she let out a half giggle and I was like, Okay, you did it, you accomplished your goal, you’re done. Mikaela went through a lot of different iterations in various versions of the script, but I loved that she was this brassy, uber-confident yet simultaneously insecure young woman who is in way over her head, and would also never admit that. The fact that she’s his (Ted Danson’s) Chief of Staff and also doesn’t think he’s qualified for the job—the juxtaposition of that was really fun to me. And when I found out Bobby Moynihan and Holly Hunter were involved, it became this dream job that I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to receive.
Can you talk a bit about the premise of the show for those who haven’t tuned in just yet?
Mr. Mayor is a half-hour workplace comedy about a retired billboard businessman named Neil Bremer, played by legendary actor Ted Danson, who runs for mayor of Los Angeles to impress his teenage daughter (Kyla Kenedy) and randomly wins, much to the surprise of his staff. Did I mention his staff includes Oscar winner Holly Hunter, SNL’s Bobby Moynihan, Orange Is The New Black’s Mike Cabellon, and me? After we set the premise up, the show is very much a wacky workplace ensemble comedy mixed with a bit of family sitcom. And it’s written by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, so literally every line is a joke. It’s really a joke fest. It’s twenty minutes of rapid fire jokes.
I feel like it’s the comedy we need about unlikely and unfit people in government positions!
It’s not like we’ve had any real life experience with that or anything—just kidding, that was our life for four years and it was a nightmare! I hope this is a soothing, comedic balm to the tumult we’ve been through as a country. Politics really haven’t been funny because they’ve felt unsafe for so many of us that felt in danger, and I hope this is a step in being able to heal and gently poke fun of local government again in a safe and loving way.
Was it at all intimidating to step onto a set like that?
Absolutely; shooting the pilot was terrifying. You’re surrounded by legends and I couldn’t help but develop a huge case of imposter syndrome. Luckily, Ted Danson and Holly Hunter are incredibly kind, genuine human beings who made all of us feel at ease and like equals, which is still insane to me. And then, coming back to set after the pandemic shut us down for nine months brought a whole new level of awareness and stakes to what we were doing. All of a sudden, since the world had shut down, getting to tell jokes felt like such a blessing. The pandemic really has had a way of equalizing us all. I felt very lucky to be on set and to be safe.
Do you have any funny behind the scenes moments you can share?
I was fortunate enough to get a couple episodes that had storylines with Holly Hunter. Acting with her has been truly the honor of a lifetime. She is so committed and veracious. She really makes you up your game, because she is like swimming in the deep-end of the pool, so you can’t help but jump in as well. A couple of times, in between scenes, she would kind of look at me and start improvising in character before we started shooting, to get in the groove. I was like, oh my god, Holly Hunter is staring at me deep in the eyes, you bet I am going to improvise back! That usually doesn’t happen on sitcom sets. But Holly approached this comedic character with the same intensity that she approaches her dramatic ones. It’s made me a better actor, and also made me realize that every character and story deserves complete engagement! No half-assing!
We were chatting during the shoot about how you made the move from New York to LA. How has that transition been and is there anything you miss about living on the east coast?
I miss New York all the time. So many of my dear friends are there and I think NYC is the best city in the world. I miss being able to walk everywhere and people-watching on the subway. I’ve been surprised at how much I love Los Angeles, though. I think being born in California definitely contributes to that—it’s kind of in my bones. I love being close to nature and being able to hop in a car at sunset and visit the beach or drive up into the hills. It’s magical in its own way. I think in LA you have to work a little harder to find the magic, but it’s there. In NYC the magic happens upon you, and those moments are incredibly special.
How have you stay centered over the past year or so?
The past year has been so hard for all of us. I have found moving my body in some way every day makes me a better person. Meditating when I can remember it. Cooking big meals, baking and FaceTiming with friends. Just trying to stay safe and sane and count my blessings. Remain grateful always!
My most memorable trip was to…
Italy with my friend Mallory! We went to Florence, Venice, and Rome.
The movie I can watch over and over again…
Center Stage.
When I need to get inspired I…
watch Beyoncé music videos.
The secret talent I have…
I’m a classically trained pianist.
The secret talent I wish I had…
tap dancing.
One person I would love to work with is…
Maya Rudolph. If I ever meet her, I’ll pass out.
