No stranger to comedy—as an alum of MadTV—Mo Collins had a lot of fun as a guest on the new Night Court series. It’s no surprise that her role was such a fun fit, since she usually brings a flare for comedy to each role, including one of my favorites, Sarah Rabinowitz on Fear the Walking Dead, and the scene-stealing Joan Callamezzo on Parks and Recreation.
For Night Court, she further cements the show’s legacy with her character, Starla, being the former magician’s assistant to Judge Harry Stone (the much beloved, late Harry Anderson) from the original series. In the episode she tangles with Stone’s daughter, Abby Stone, played by Melissa Rauch, the series star.
In an exclusive interview with Culturess, Collins talked about working with the Night Court cast, how she developed her love of humor, the thrill of standup and what’s next for the 59-year-old actress.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Veronica Bruno: I love the blend of comedy that you do. You brought some of that to Fear the Walking Dead as well.
Mo Collins: That was my job. I mean that literally. The producer said, ‘We want you to bring light to the dark.’ It was very specific.
VB: What was it like working with this cast on Night Court, particularly alum John Larroquette?
MC: I'm a fan of the original show, and specifically John Larroquette was my favorite. I was telling my mom, actually, yesterday, I said I remember having a crush on him.
VB: We all did [laughs].
MC: He’s so tall and he was super funny. I love working with people that are funny bones, just the people that I believe should be doing comedy, which is a treat.
VB: It’s such a fun dynamic on the show. Was that the first time you worked with that cast?
MC: Yeah, I'd never met Melissa before. I had worked with John Larroquette on a sitcom years ago. My friend Gary Anthony Williams is on Night Court. He's a good friend of mine, so that was super fun. Yeah, it was a good bunch. I love going on to a show where it's just good people and good attitude. I just have this belief that if you're going to be making comedy, the people should be funny, and they all were. And Wendy Malik’s hilarious, right? What a treat to talk with her. We reconnected on this show.
VB: Do you think that you'll be back on the show?
MC: Well, it's on my wish list.
VB: You were on MadTV for several seasons. How much do you pull from that experience when you’re doing comedy now?
MC: It runs through me. It's in my blood, it's in my bone. It's who I am. I'm lucky that that's my thing.
VB: I also love the work that you did on Parks and Recreation. You seem to relish playing funny roles who mess with the main characters of a series.
MC: I’m always called to do these adversarial characters. I don't know, it goes against my Minnesota nice grain.
I play a lot of drunks, but I don't drink. So that doesn't make sense [laughs].
Playing characters like this are just a hoot, completely fun. Like, maybe that's part of it is because, as a general rule, I think I'm probably a pretty decent, kind person, but maybe it's fun for me to just kind of exercise those demons.
VB: What was your favorite part about being part of the episode on Night Court? Did you have a fun experience on set?
MC: The fun thing for me was being in front of a live audience again. That was really, really fun.
I realized doing the show just how much I missed that. I love the audience. And look, the fans are the only reason I am still around in this business. I love to be there for them. I love it.
VB: Do you do a lot of plays?
MC: The last play I did was in 2018. I still venture out and I'll do some stand up here and there. I’ll have people invite me and say, ‘I'm doing a show, would you like to come do some time?’ I'm like, okay.’
VB: Have you ever been heckled?
MC: Oh, of course, of course. But you know, I'm Irish, Don't come at me [laughs]!
I love doing standup. It's the scariest thing. And I get so mad at myself when I say yes to doing it, and then I'm up there and I'm like, why would you ever say no to this? This is the most incredible thing. I love the audience, I love making people laugh. It's always been a favorite thing. And, God willing, it makes me live longer.
VB: Do you think it's harder to do comedy than drama? A lot of people say comedy, but, you know, I'm wondering what your take is on it.
MC: My take is comedy is easier, but I'm funny. That was a terrible egotistical thing to say, but, after decades of doing this, I can say that, yeah, I'm probably funny because I've made a career doing it. And, I'm comfortable doing it. I've gone into every single type of comedy you could possibly put in front of me. I've done it and assimilated.
VB: I had to ask, did you take anything from the set when you get to guest star on something like this?
MC: I didn't steal anything.
VB: Really, not even from Fear the Walking Dead? Please tell me you got the famous baseball cap you wore. That's iconic.
MC: No, I didn't get the hat. I think it's gone.
VB: I’m sorry to hear that. What do you have going on next?
MC: I have March 5. I have a new animated series coming out called Lil Kev on BET+, with Kevin Hart. It's a really funny show. It takes place in the 90’s in Philly, and it's really funny.