Tony recipient Rosie O'Donnell stopped by Late Night With Seth Meyers November 2 to talk about her new television series SMILF on Showtime.
The role marks her first recurring role on a television series, although she, of course, was host of her own talk show The Rosie O’Donnell Show from 1996 to 2002.
In addition to the TV show, O’Donnell is returning to the stage in a new play by David Rabe called Good for Otto.
“David Rabe, who wrote Hurlyburly, there are long monologues, and there's no, ’Cut, take two,’” she said. The show also stars Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, and F. Murray Abraham.
Read: Rosie O’Donnell, F. Murray Abraham and More Join Off-Broadway’s Good for Otto
O’Donnell is gearing up for rehearsals, which begin in January 2018. “I recorded [my monologues] and then when I’m working out—which I don't do—truthfully while I’m eating Entenmann’s crumb cakes trying not to hate-tweet the President, I listen to it. Hopefully by the time we start rehearsal, I’ll be ahead of the game.”
Though O’Donnell has never done a play, her stage career includes multiple Broadway musical appearances: 1994’s Grease as Rizzo, Seussical, Taboo, and, most recently, Fiddler on the Roof in 2004. She also hosted the Tony Awards in 1997, 1998, and 2000.
Even with her theatre pedigree, O’Donnell is bracing herself for the challenge of working alongside acting greats: “You want to rise to their level. Those are some amazing actors, and it’s really an honor to do it.”
