ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you build this character?
I give a shot to use that as the spine.
Indecisiveness ultimately cost Chidi everything, including his life.
Justin Lubin/NBC
To talk about whether to eat food, which is just a human thing, is ridiculous.
Just because theres not enough time in the day.
Working on this character has actually made me a bit more decisive.
Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Having conversation after conversation, its awful to subject people to that.
Make quick decisions so Im distancing myself from that old habit as far as I can.
Its employment as therapy.
Im guessing that playing a moral philosopher is maybe not something you should enter into lightly.
Who or what were the inspirations for you?
Did you go down some philosophical wormholes, studying Plato, Artistole, T.M.
Here, everybody read this article and weigh in.
And I got through the entire thing and I was stumped.
I was like, You know, whatever you feel is right here Im on board with.
I dont think any of you better hear what I have to say about this.
Youve said you were close to quitting acting when this role came along.
I think if I skip this one, Ill be kicking myself.
I just couldnt make ends meet.
And living in New York, thats impossible.
I knew I couldnt keep doing what I was doing.
I was just angry all the time and full of anxiety and it was really affecting my relationships.
Its like, Look, Im on my way out anyway, lets just have fun.
And I like to think that that helped.
Generally, a lot of the conversations turn to self-help and self-care and our personal flaws.
So we spend a lot of time unpacking that stuff.
Or maybe Im unpacking that on everybody else and theyre just sort of being unloaded on.
She knows how cameras work, what angle were getting when.
She knows how to play certain things.
He seems so loose, so relaxed, but hes trying to figure out exactly what thing is funny.
If you landnearit, it just doesnt have the same impact.
The good news is that Ted has helped your figure out how to get the best joke.
The bad news is that people think you talk to your hand.Yeah, that is a downside.
Its a lot of fun to watch your reactions to pretty much anything Eleanor says.
Sometimes what happens is completely non-usable, and other times its kind of cool and it works.
I literally have no way of responding to what you just said.
Sometimes the silence is the thing.
And just allowing that confusion to do what its going to do, a furrowed brow.
I thought thats what I wanted, and it totally turned out to be not what I wanted.
Actually, you know what?
Nope, never mind.
I dont like this.
This is freaking me out.
You didnt find out about that the-Good-Place-is-actually-the-Bad-Place twist until just before the finale.
Is this the idea of goodness enough to get you into paradise?
These people dont seem good to me.
So there was always something there that I was like, This is strange but well see.
I was sad that these people who were trying [to be good] wound up in hell.
They just made mistakes.
No one took them aside and said, What you are is not good for other people.
Youre not bringing any happiness into the world by being who you are, youre actually making people miserable.
It was good not to know until the very end.
Its just part of the character to not know.
Who knows what I would have done?
You make those little choices that are too clever by half sometimes.
The concept we wait for 13 episodes to get that twist it was definitely like a Bravo, Mike!
for stringing us along that well and having us wait for this huge twist at the end… Now it opens up the world to everything, and now theres really no telling what can happen.
Did that surprise you too?It did.
Its sort of a harsh rubric for everyone to be held to.
A lot of those questions will be answered, to some degree.
And it changes things.
EW put up a first look at season 2,which included a clam chowder fountain.
Anything you’re free to say about that?
Is that as nasty as it looks?Its not a trick.
It definitely is as disgusting up close as it will be onscreen.
It just gets weirder and stranger and funnier from there.
A cryptic hint about season 2?Acupuncture and pigs.
What is your personal opinion about frozen yogurt, by the way?
Is it the devils work?Yeah, because it tears me up on the inside.
Its a big old loss for everything and everyone.
