One on One: Patrika Darbo

She's been in many many things. She also appeared in another Clin Eastwood film, I Think Beyond the Garden of Good and Evil I Think is the name of the film. But we're gonna bring her on now, so excited to talk with her. She's very distinctive, very funny, very talented actress. Let's bring her on, wo Patrica Darbo is well known and beloved actress behind the character of Nancy Westerl and the popular and credit lungs running soap opera Days of Our Live. So thanks for coming on as how are

you doing? Oh our pleasure? Um, I want to get into so many things. You have a varied resume here, very deep resume. Clint Eastwood The Line of Fire. John Malkovich, I remember that scene. What a terrifying scene. Oh my god, Uh, Rosanne, all kinds of things. So let's get into the uh the Gilmore thing. You are seen as the hungry diner waitress in this episode. How did you get the role? And? Uh? Did you audition for the waitress or was it another role or they decided to that I had to audition.

I went to the room with my checkbook and offered to pay for That's that's what I did to you. And uh, Amy Ladino said, um, somebody views that we ever watched her here, it's like this, um. And so I auditioned and then they were so later they Callden said, I got the part. I was so. I was just very excited because I was a big fan. I watched it all the time. I listened to the town uh, Sally Strutters and all these characters, so that I don't remember everybody's name because I'm an old dog, so if

you please forgive me. But we had the strolling inflow and and you know, it's just it was just it was something you tuned in because they were all family that you you watched that show and you became very involved in it because, oh my god, in the episode just for mine, Um, you know, she's got a broken arm and everybody's upset with the here I forgetting names. Um who was just on This is Us helped me

something recommended leigli Um. You're talking about Rory. Yeah, Well, when Rory got her broke and arm from the car accident, everybody's you know, blaming j and it just was amazing. But for me to be the waitress when they want coffee and all I have is a regular diner room cup, but I just I just remember thinking, I'm with the Gilmore girl. They want coffee and I don't have a big enough It's a good bit. It was a very good. But so what do you remember about working on on

the show. It was very fast. Uh, you know, I'm did my scene and I think we did mine and just after lunch we came in. I came in earlier to get ready and then we went to lunch and then we we found it a little bit of like this. Everything was like that. Her Amy kelle is crisp writing and stuff and her husband that worked together collaboratively. There. It's just an amazing show and she still got things going on? Your character uses this high pitched voice. Is

that something that you put on? And if so, why, well, you know it was an actress choice at this point. I mean I could have been. I think she was very like everything was for me. My choice for the character was that everything is a character. And how are you in coming in and today? Specialist? Do you want? Okay? Fine, what do you mean? You want? A cup? A boat, a bowl of coffee? What you know? Suddenly things shot her and she's out of there. But was my choice

becauld feel like something my cheerful and everything he's wonderful. Okay, So talking talk about the food? Was it real? People want to know they like this these little details? Was the food? The food is real? If you watch that, I only starved coffee. Nobody was eating in my scene. Who you unique was over there with him? Well? I didn't. He wasn't in my station, not my job. Nice safe, good one. Um, So we can't have you on and I'll talk about the soap operas. Tell us about how

you got the soap opera and your experience on that. Well. I was asked by fran Bascom, who has since passed away. She was a very famous casting director. She saw me. We were at a party together, and she said, Patrica, would you do a soap? Well, in my mind's eye for me, I'm not your normal soap character, and I said, of course I would, thinking I'm coming on too serpeanuts or beer or coffee. Uh. So I get there and I find out I have this gorgeous soap opera husband.

And my first thought was, they don't know who I am. They've made a mistake like this. Um. But I ended up being called the full figured bitch goddess of daytime because my husband and I were stinkers. Um and uh it blossom from that. I think that a lot of the audience could. Was it hard to live through a size too? I am assize to but my zeros on one side, whereas Christian Alfonso, who was our leading lady,

was on the other side. Um. And then it blossomed into me having a daughter, um, and it just on and on, and then having another daughter to say that daughter's life who got leukemia? So it was um and right now and um back on the show. And at this point, my husband of thirty five years has just told me that he's gay and needs a divorce. And that's as far as I can tell you right now, because that's all. It's sad, but it's uh. My grandmother

called it her stories. She watches those. Um. We come into people's lives every single day, so we're uh and some family you don't want to talk to. We worked kind of one of those. H I've enjoyed it. It's the hardest work that I've ever had to do. So much memorizing. Uh. Your script comes and there's probably if if you're in the story on that script, you may have thirty to forty pages to memorize movie script a day.

Whereas you're doing episodic, you make shoot five pages and you're out when that when the close up the medium shot close up shot. UM, and your five pages takes all day. We go in there. Here's your rehearsal, which is walk in the door, and you go to hair and makeup, and then you're on the stage and you better have your line to memorize because of maam bam, thank it man. That's a real proving ground, you know, wow, um and that haven't done so far fests before and

they're not aware that you can't go cut. What was this so you generally have maybe maybe two takes if you're lucky. Um, but it's very fast because they have to get through a movie scripted. Yeah. So um, going down your resume. Uh, you know you were in the Line of Fire, A Line of Fire Cling Eastwood directed, starring John Malkovich. You had a pivotal scene with Malkovich in the bank, and then when you caught him in the lie Uh, he visited upon you at your apartment

with your roommate and did terrible things. Um. I have to say as a as an acting student in New York, Um, Malkovich's star was on the rise in theater. Uh. And I you know, everybody went to see him and burn this the Lanford Wilson play on Broadway. Um. And everybody was also aware of his work with Gary Sinise in the Sam Shepherd True West that was American Playhouse actually filmed it and released it on video because the live

performance was so legendary. So, you know, in New York acting circles at that time, that was the late eighties, Malkovich was was truly a god. And every single acting student, male acting student was doing John Malkovich scenes from either True West or branness, and it was like, I couldn't stand going to acting class anymore because I was going to see another bed John Malcovitch imitation from somebody in the class. So but you got to work with the

legend himself. What was that like? Uh? First of all, it was amazing because if I kind of go back to the end of it, he made sure when we were working with the stunt director that we all knew that like he was going to kill me on one to three, that was how he was going to kill me. He roommate and he she this was her first acting job in film. He's a wonderful singer, stage actress. This was her first stage thing and she spent all the

morning being slammed into that mantelpiece and killed by him. Um, then it was my turn in again. Like I said, he was wonderful. So I have to tell you that when I found out I was working there, I was also doing a play in Burbank and one of the young girls who was a student at u c. L A Theater and she said like this, if we don't

get to keep me John Macovich, I'll kill you. Oh I can ask, I can add and um, they were gracious enough to let me ask her to come with me to set, and John Malkovich spent the time they were setting set up talking to her about theater. I mean, here's a young college student and a consummate theater actor who took the time to do that. So I can't

ever said I would never say. I would defend him to the end because I thought he was He was wonderful to me as to make sure I wasn't hurt and to marry Van r still in my roommate at the time. But he spent all this time talking to her at this and he didn't have to do it with all of us as actors. He wasn't in his dressing room. Um, he was great. Um. A lot of my publicists things like this. Part of the leading for me is you shouldn't have been from Minneapolis, so um.

But I can only speak very well of that. I have to say that the scene in the bank was Clint Eastwood's favorite scene between the Natural reportang going back and forth, and he asked me to be in Midnight a Garden of good and evil character in that one. So if I could say anything to young actress would be nice to everybody, because it just comes back to you absolutely. Um. Yeah, what was it like working with Clint? Did you audition for Clint? Or did did you go

on tape and chose your tape into auditions? Thinking he knew who I was, Um, I got the part and then he said I want you to do X, Y and Z, and I went, um, mysteries, which should I? He goes, it's Clint little Darwin and so he was very nice and stuff like that. So we did something else and then he said you should do this and I said, but if I do that, I won't be able to be in the center and stuff. He goes thinking after here, thinking he was, I mean, my experiences

have been wonderful. I I give out what I wanted to get back and it comes back to me very nice, very very very nice. Um, So you have done how many episodes getting back to Days of Our Lives? Um? Do you know how many episodes you've done with Days of Our Lives? Have you counted them? I think when I first started Night, then we run episode seventy thousand or seven thousand, and now I'm at fourteen thousand something. So, as I said, the show has been on because nineteen

six five. Um, there's only four soaps left that the days of our lives, General Hospitals with both and The Beautiful and Young and the Restless. Um. Uh, so all the networks are virtually uh, we're all very high. I think both in The Beautiful just got celebrated their thirty fifth year, so they're long running stuff. But when I first started in there were still soaps in New York. But we lost all my children and asked the world

turns all those shows that were there. Um, And it's a shame because the soap operas are what virtually supported the network. You know, back in the six every procer gambled fighting to see who was gonna do what show and all the types of things. So um, it's often. But at the same time we now have all these screaming and uh podcasts, but web series that go on things like that, So it's it keeps going. Information tells

me that you have done four hundred and fifty episodes. Damn, that's a lot of memorizing one of my Yeah, is it different doing uh? How much different was it doing Gilmore Girls versus doing uh? Let's you know, some of your soap opera work just the sheer amount of dialogue because we had a lot of dialogue too, and we did ten pages a day, so so you're tim pages and I was like a half a page and I was in and I went out right, So it's a quick thing. Yeah. Now at six o'clock in the morning,

I may not leave until six o'clock at night. I'm doing a scene in the pub over here, and then I'm doing a scene in my bedroom over here, so that I have to wait till the seat at the cameras, I'll move to the second stage. And when you're memorizing thirty things, or you're shooting more than one show, sometimes we're shooting a piece of the show. So it's yeah, it's a lot difference because even though you have ten days at fast, we're very fast. H m hmm. It's

time for rapid fire. You ready to answer some questions very rapidly? Are you team Logan, Jess or Dean? Oh? Gosh, I don't know, I don't know. I don't know your team Jess. I can I can tell what's your favorite Gilmore girl's character? Oh, that would have to be Um Laurli. What would you order? Luke Steiner Hamburger. Would you rather go on a road trip with Taylor or Michelle? Taylor? Finish the lyric and where you lead, I will follow. Oh, I have no idea, but I'll go anywhere that you

tell me too, was the correct answer, Jeff. But that was great. That was good. Uh, Jackson's Vegetables or Suki's Baked Goods. Would you rather listen to Drella's Harp or The Trooper Door? The Trooper Doors, Cover Songs, through the Door, Children, Prepper Stars, hollow High, Whoa, I went hollows High? Favorite? Yeah, favorite, Gilmore Girl's memory. Golly, I don't you know? I can't remember. I mean it's been and wats since I've seen the show. I just watched my episode, so that at least be

intelligent in this conversation. I think probably um the episode where uh gosh, I'm gonna trying to think to download it just properly here. But when Lorie loses her virginity, I mean, m Alexis character loses what I'm a woman? Honey, Come on, all you know? No, no, no, wait a minute, what you know what I'm talking? Oh? From an episode? I see I haven't seen the episodes. Well, how can you talk to me, give me a record fire. I think you need to go in there. Oh my god,

she loses her virginity. I'm gonna flip out. Oh my goodness. I think how it was handles and stuff and you know, and I think people don't covering my ears. I'm sorry, I'm covering my ears. Boiler Oh my god, what a bombshell. Well, look, it was a pleasure talking to you, Patrika. We uh, we gotta we gotta go. We got more more episodes to do. Wish I could talk to you further. You're fascinating. Um, and thank you so much for your time and keep on keeping on and uh looking forward to seeing you

in more films and TV shows. You're wonderful actress. And good luck with everything. Okay, hey, thanks for coming on very much. Talk to you all later. Okay, by hot Hey everybody, and don't forget follow us on Instagram at I Am All In podcast and email us at Gilmore at I heart radio dot com. Oh you gil More fans. If you're looking for the best cup of coffee in the world, go to my website for my company scott ep dot com, s C O T T y P dot com. Scott ep dot com Grade one Specialty Coffee