Ari Graynor stars in the new CBS sitcom, “Bad Teacher.” While the show is loosely based off of the movie by the same name, it takes on a whole new entity in itself. Along with Graynor, rounding out the cast in the series are Sara Gilbert, Ryan Hansen, Kristin Davis, and David Alan Grier. Graynor plays the role of Meredith Davis, your not-so-typical gold-digging ‘ho who just got kicked to the curb by her husband, left with nothing after the divorce, and scammed her way into teaching to meet the students’ rich fathers. In spite of that, deep down, she has a heart. Graynor spoke about what makes Meredith so unique:
“It’s funny, because Meredith doesn’t want to be seen as a good person. However, she can’t help it because she is an underdog herself. The show starts off with Meredith being dumped, cheated on, and left with nothing. Instead of sitting on the couch and being a victim, she pulls herself up and goes after what she wants. It’s so freeing to play someone who doesn’t care what she thinks, who just goes for it and is comfortable with who she is. It’s a pleasure.”
One of the aspects that we also spoke with Graynor about was her reluctance to doing a network television show for a long period of time. She shared with us her thoughts on that and what finally drew her in to accepting the role of Meredith:
“A lot of it was a general fear of TV. You read one script, and you sign a seven year contract. You could be there for that long, or longer, only after reading just one 22-minute episode. It’s incredibly anxiety provoking, thinking, ‘What if I get stuck with something or a character I don’t really like,’ ‘What if I get bored,’ ‘Will this make it harder to do other things?’ All of these fears would just come up, and I decided to not do TV at all for a while. Last year, I said that while I am not looking for it, but would be open to it. So, I got the script for ‘Bad Teacher,’ and I was like, ‘I don’t want to do a TV show based on a movie.’ Then, I read it, and the show itself is so funny, smart, and the humor was not a barrage of dirty jokes. It was really stuff that was based on character, which as an actor, it’s the most exciting. The truth is that I think there are still not that many, rich, full, dynamic, complicated female protagonists, especially in film. It’s a wasteland out there. This was something that was real and here, and I felt that I could have a lot of fun with this character. Hilary Winston, our show creator, is so smart. I knew she would allow enough room to play around with for Meredith to be not just your average gold-digger ‘ho. Meredith is much more dynamic than that.”
Aside from starring in the CBS sitcom, Graynor will be appearing in the Off-Broadway production of “American Hero” alongside Jerry O’Connell. The show is a dark comedy about three up and coming sandwich artists who ultimately work together as events occur.
Tickets for “American Hero” went on sale this past Monday. A preview for the show begins on May 12th at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre, and officially opens May 22nd.
To purchase tickets, as well as view more information about “American Hero,” visit: http://www.broadway.com/shows/american-hero/
Follow Ari Graynor on Twitter: @AGraynor.
Watch “Bad Teacher” on CBS every Thursday night at 9:30/8:30c.
Download the full podcast with Ari Graynor by clicking on the player below:
