Tony Hale talks his sleazy show host in Woman of the Hour and Veep’s Legacy

True crime has been a hot topic in recent years, with a wave of podcasts, novels, TV shows and films taking over pop culture. While Netflix’s upcoming Woman of the hour It may appear to be yet another title jumping on the bandwagon, it stands apart on closer inspection. For one thing, the serial killer it follows is one whose story was in the public eye before his crimes were ever known. Known as the “dating game killer,” Rodney Alcala appeared as a contestant on the dating game, where he actually won a date with “woman of the hour” Cheryl Bradshaw.

Bradshaw is played by Anna Kendrick, who is also involved in Woman of the hour As director and executive producer. She rises to the occasion admirably, bringing 1970s Los Angeles to life and balancing the sometimes humorous tale of an actress attempting to hit stardom with the dark reality of a murderer and rapist (played by David Zovetto of Station Eleven) set his sights on vulnerable women. Several other characters are based on real people who knew Alcala or participated in the game show – including host Jim Lange, who becomes the two-faced Ed Burke (portrayed by Tony Hale in a fascinating departure from his usual roles).

ShCreepy rant Interviewed Hale about portraying a fictionalized version of real-life game show host Jim Lange in Woman of the hour. The actor shared the research he did to play Ed Burke, the sense of comfort he received from Anna Kendrick as a director, and his own reflections on the renewed success of Veep 12 years after originally premiered.

Tony Hale looked at Ed Burke’s real-life counterpart for Woman of the Hour research

– You also saw that he himself is a very reserved guy.

Screen Rant: Ed Burke is such a unique role for you. Can you talk about stepping into the character and how different it was for you?

Tony Hale: Yeah, Ed’s not a nice guy. He is the host of the dating game. When I got the role, I remembered – because I’m a child of the 70s – this show and saw some of it. I didn’t have much memory of it, but I knew about the story.

And when I got the role, I obviously went on YouTube where everyone goes and listened to the rhythms of [Jim Lange’s] Speech. He’s like, “Hey, welcome to the dating game, da, da, da, da,” [cadence]. Almost this kind of detachment. And you also saw that he himself was a very detached guy. Obviously very objectifying to the guests, and just like Anna paralleled that with Rodney’s story of his victims and stuff. [interesting].

It was a part that I don’t typically do, but it was just such an honor to do, honestly.

Screen Rant: Speaking of an honor, you get to be a part of Anna’s directorial debut. What stood out to you most about her directorial style?

Tony Hale: That’s not blowing smoke, but it’s really true. As an actor, you always want to know someone’s captaining the ship because a lot of times you feel like someone’s not captaining the ship. And I always have the comfort that she has it. She knows what she wants.

Obviously, she’s playing the lead, which is really tough too. But she also came with a real honesty. She was like, “Hey, let’s take it day by day. We’re all in this together.” There was no arrogance or entitlement, which I really believe saps the creative energy out of a room. And so then you just felt like, “Okay, the captain’s got it.” And that’s really important.

Screen Rant: You mentioned her looks The dating game footage. Were there any other avenues of research you did for the time period or to flesh out Ed as a character?

Tony Hale: Ed has a really nice toupee, so I can have Doug in Men’s Hair Club. [Laughs[ My favorite shot is when he is fixing it.

I don’t know if I did. I probably went on a Google image of ’70s outfits for The Dating Game just because when you step into that kind of period, all boundaries are off. It’s like, “Yeah, I’ll wear that. Yeah, let’s put me in a plaid bell bottom.” I think they put me in two sizes too small intentionally or something. I was like, “Ooh, this is tight.” But the whole thing was fun, and that really helped with the rhythm. My voice went higher.

Tony Hale Reflects On Veep In The Wake Of 2024 Elections

“These are people making huge decisions for our world.”

Screen Rant: I loved you in Veep, which is more relevant than ever thanks to this year’s election. Has it made you reflect on the show or think about Americans finally realizing how the political system works?

Tony Hale: Oh, it’s so funny. When I was doing the show, a lot of the people that came up to us were from DC, and they were just like, “Man, we love this show, and this is a real picture of what’s going on behind the scenes”. And I’m like, “Why are you saying that out loud?” There was actually one time when somebody came up to me and said, “I am the Gary in my office,” or “I’m the Jonah.” And I’m like, “That’s not something to be proud of, to say that you’re the Jonah of the office. Why are you saying that? Why are you announcing that?”

But I think there’s a real comfort [because] You see the humanity of people. Yes, they are put in the lauded positions, but you see behind-the-scenes, and it’s like these are people who make huge decisions for our world.

More about Woman of the Hour (2024)

The stranger-than-fiction story of an aspiring actress in 1970s Los Angeles and a serial killer in the midst of a year-long killing spree, whose lives intersect when they are cast on an episode of The Dating Game.

Check out our others Woman of the hour Interview here:

Source: Screen Rant Plus