Not Dead Yet's Lauren Ash Discusses Lexi's Insecurities & Forming a New Understanding with Nell
Lauren Ash, who was a massive success on NBC's Superstore, made her return to comedy on ABC's new series Not Dead Yet. The series follows Nell (Gina Rodriguez) as she returns to work, writes obituaries, and is visited by ghosts.
Lauren plays Lexi, who is Nell's out-of-touch and sometimes snooty editor. Throughout our interview, Lauren revealed that underneath, Lexi has many insecurities like other people, which came out in Not Dead Yet Episode 6.
In many ways, Lexi wants to be loved for who she is, and Not Dead Yet explores the intricacies of relationships beautifully. Check out the interview.
Hello Lauren. I just watched the first six episodes of Not Dead Yet in the last two days and fell in love with it in the first five minutes.
Oh, that's amazing. Thank you so much.
What enticed you to do the series and the character of Lexi?
I got a phone call that I was interested in playing a character opposite Gina Rodriguez. I was interested immediately because I'm a massive fan of hers, and she's incredibly talented. So, I told my manager, I don't know how bad the script would have to be for me not to want to do it.
I read the script and was so excited about playing Lexi. She's different from the characters I've been playing on television for some time. I loved how she was written. I loved that by the end of the pilot; we learned that there's more under the surface for Lexi, which is why she is the way she is, so I was intrigued.
Once, I went through a meeting with Casey and David, who created the show, and talked to Dean, who's our supervising director; it was a no-brainer. This was something I wanted to be a part of.
Yes, I love it. Are we going to learn more about how Lexi and Sam went from work colleagues to best friends?
We do learn a little bit more about that. The big thing that's eluded to in the pilot, which is relatable, is the idea that there are times when unlikely friendships can be forged due to circumstance.
It was one of those things where Sam's best friend left, and then the pandemic hit, and Sam didn't have any other friends with kids. So Lexi suddenly became this very convenient friend by circumstance, but what's beautiful about it and what you will see more of is they have a genuine friendship.
It may have been born out of convenience and circumstance, but there is a real connection between them, which is also realistic. In life, we can have different relationships with different people, which doesn't make one better or worse. It's just different.
I love the bits that we get to learn about Sam and Lexi's friendship and then, of course, how it continues to confuse and confound Nell.
And as you said, by the end of the pilot, especially Episode 6, we see that Lexi is highly motivated to please her father, but he constantly lets her down. How has that shaped her personality?
It's the most significant factor that shaped her personality in conjunction with growing up with such luxury and entitlement. We have perceptions of people who have those upbringings that they have these perfect lives that are so happy and never want anything or a care in the world.
Lexi's a great example that shows that's often not the case, and in her case, she has a very demanding father whom she's constantly tried to please and frequently failed her entire life. She's been set up to fail by him a little bit.
That's what humanizes the character for me and will continue to her audiences, seeing that that's a universal concept. The idea of having a parent that you desperately want the approval of even into adulthood that you don't get that response from that's relatable.
Even if someone doesn't have that personal relationship with their parents, it's something that people can understand how that can shape your entire life. It doesn't matter how wealthy she is. All she is chasing is that I'm proud of your sentiment, which we'll have to see if she gets it.
It affected me when Lexi said in passing that her father only had time to hug one kid a night.
Yes. That's one of those moments that I like that they wrote for Lexi throughout the season. They'll be these little asides that she'll give, which give you more context and another piece in the puzzle that makes you wonder what her childhood was like.
Those little details are comedic, and it's a funny concept. However, when you think about it, that's horrifying that those were her personal experiences with her parents.
That's heartbreaking, and you again start to look at her through a different lens where this character may have seemed off-putting because of her disconnect from the real world due to her extreme wealth and privilege.
You start to see her again through a more human lens that you wouldn't wish that upon anybody. I don't care how wealthy or entitled someone is; I wouldn't wish that kind of experience upon anyone. So, more details about that will continue to come, and Episode 6 touched on a lot of that.
Yes, it did. It also seemed like in Episode 6. the issues between Lexi, Sam, and Nell that have been bubbling all season came to the surface. Why do you think there is so much tension and jealousy?
It's interesting because Lexi obviously doesn't have many friends and profoundly values her friendship with Sam. When asked about Lexi and why she is the way she is, I think her bravado is ultimately rooted in insecurity.
The only way she knows how to try and make herself seem more confident than she probably is deep down is to lead with her money and experience.
That's interesting about that episode, especially when the cracks start forming and spinning many plates simultaneously; she becomes worse at keeping up her façade. That's when we see these moments of what could be perceived as Insensitivity, meanness, or rudeness.
But ultimately, it's pure insecurity and fear, so I think that's the big driving thing for her in that dynamic with the three friends.
But then a thing for Nell is that she's tried to deal with this as best as she can, but will Lexi be in our lives?
She has difficulty accepting that Lexi is a part of Sam's life and learning to put up with this woman.
And then, at the end of the episode, your character shared a moment with Gina Rodriguez as Nell. Do you think they reached a new understanding in their relationship?
That is true, especially for Nell at that moment. She's almost like the audience representation in that scene like she's coming in and seeing a side of Lexi that she's never seen before and that the show's audience has not seen yet.
It casts Lexi in a new light, and again, Nell has her issues and quirks, but ultimately she's a deeply caring, compassionate person. So that's a turning point for her, where she sees this woman who seemingly has it all as a scared little kid inside like we all are, in a sense.
That's the first time Nell has even contemplated that they could have some common ground. Even if their experiences were significantly different, again having the common ground of insecurity and fear, all were human traits.
Yes, I thought that was a critical moment for them. What has been your favorite moment on the show so far?
Oh my gosh, it's so hard to choose. Lexi's painting of her and her horse Todd is on the show in her office. It's an actual painting, not like it's printed out. An artist painted that painting, which is quite stunning in real life.
So that's a favorite part of mine about the show, but my favorite part about making the show was the people. We are an incredible cast, creators, and crew. Everyone was so wonderful. It was a loving, warm set to be a part of it and a joy for me to be a part of.
Okay. And for my final question, please tell us what else you're working on. Including your podcast True Crimes and Cocktails?
Yes, my podcast True Crime and Cocktails is in its third year now, which is wild. We've done over 100 and just recorded episode 117 last week. I do it with my best friend, sister by life, cousin by blood Christie Ox Borrow. She is an incredible True Crime researcher, as we've come to learn.
This is, again, one of our hidden talents we discovered during a pandemic, and it's been such an incredible journey getting to go on that with one of my favorite people in the world, whom I've always known is lovely and hilarious.
Now the rest of the world, our listeners, deeply agree with me. So that's been an absolute joy for me.
I also have a new Disney animated series, KIFF, coming out on March 10, which I'm excited about. I play the mother of the main character, who shares the show's title.
I'm always working on a million different projects and have my fingers in many pies, but those are the two big things I have going on top of Not Dead Yet.
Excellent. We'll have to check those out as well. Thank you, thank you so much for your time. I love Not Dead Yet. It is so fresh and fun. I will recommend it here and suggest they should check it out.
Not Dead Yet airs Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30c on ABC.