Enjoy Your Rabbit: Amy Sedaris on Her Bunny and Her New Movie

 

AMY SEDARIS (SECOND FROM LEFT) WITH PETER SERAFINOWICZ, BONNIE SOMERVILLE, AND NEIL PATRICK HARRIS IN THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST.

 

 

Comedian, craft-master, advice columnist, and collector of fake meat products, Amy Sedaris lives in the West Village with her rabbit Dusty, the namesake of her catering business Dusty Food Cupcakes. She is the author of two homemaking books, I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence and Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People; and as an actress, she continues to delight audiences with hosts of offbeat and gross-out characters. She currently plays a kooky counselor in The Best and the Brightest, an oddball comedic farce also starring Neil Patrick Harris and John Hodgman, which opens tomorrow in New York and Los Angeles.

DEENAH VOLLMER: How did you get involved with The Best and the Brightest?

AMY SEDARIS: Well, the director came to me and talked to me about the part, and we sat down and had a conversation and he offered it to me.

VOLLMER: What made you want to play Sue Lemon?

SEDARIS: It just sounded like a fun character. She was a practical character, and no-nonsense, and I just thought it seemed like a part I’d be able to do.

VOLLMER: I heard that Neil Patrick Harris signed on to the film only after he heard that you were going to be in it.

SEDARIS: That’s funny, I signed after I heard he was on it. [laughs] I was like, really? Neil Patrick Harris is in it? He’s amazing, Neil, he can do anything, he can even do a back flip.

VOLLMER: Was it fun to work with him?

SEDARIS: Yeah, a lot of fun. He’s very smart, very funny, really easygoing. I just adored him. And he taught me a lot of magic tricks, and he bought me some magic supplies.

VOLLMER: Oh yeah? What kind of magic tricks?

SEDARIS: Just like, stuff to do with flash paper, things like that. Easy things.

VOLLMER: How is your crafting going?

SEDARIS: I haven’t been crafting much, since the book came out, you know, I kind of got away from it for awhile. I’m not really doing anything crafts right now.

VOLLMER: Well, I love your book Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People. I thought it was hilarious and had a lot of good tips.

SEDARIS: Thank you.

VOLLMER: Have you ever crafted with real poor people?

SEDARIS: I’ve been around real poor people, but I’ve never had them in my craft circle before.

VOLLMER: What’s your next book going to be about?

SEDARIS: I don’t know if I’ll do one. My goal was to do the first one with cooking, and then I had that little craft section in the back, and then I wanted to do more of that, so I did a craft book. But I don’t know if I’ll do another one or not. I haven’t decided.

VOLLMER: Did turning 50 change anything for you?

SEDARIS: It’s okay; I’m fine with it. Nothing really changed for me. You know, I didn’t panic.

VOLLMER: What about cooking, have you been doing that recently?

SEDARIS: It’s still a bit hot to put my oven on, but yeah some really light things. Nothing major. Have you been cooking a lot?

VOLLMER: Yeah, I made a wheat berry salad yesterday. It was good. Do you ever find any occasions to bust out your fat suit anymore?

SEDARIS: No. I still have them all and they’re all in my closet here, but I haven’t found an occasion to pull them out.

VOLLMER: Are you waiting for an occasion to arise?

SEDARIS: Yeah. I’m waiting for that occasion to be within arm’s reach.

VOLLMER: Where are you spending your time these days?

SEDARIS: In New York.

VOLLMER: Are you still living in the West Village?

SEDARIS: Yeah. I’m in the West Village.

VOLLMER: Do you still have your bunny, Dusty?

SEDARIS: I still do. I just saw her hoppin’ around in the living room.

VOLLMER: You let her run free, or hop free, around your apartment?

SEDARIS: Yeah. I do. She has my whole house.

VOLLMER: Does she ever get into trouble?

SEDARIS: Yeah, sometimes. I’ll hear a crash, or she goes crazy. She’ll dart up and down the room entertaining herself.

VOLLMER: [laughs] What makes her excited?

SEDARIS: I don’t know. They just get little bursts of energy, like during the twilight hours early in the morning, [she’ll] bust out a bunch of energy.

VOLLMER: Are those the hours that you’re active as well?

SEDARIS: Certainly not when the sun comes up, no.

VOLLMER: Do you take her walking around the neighborhood?

SEDARIS: No. That’s not good to do. The last thing you want to do is put a harness on a prey animal. I’ve seen people do it, but it’s not good. I mean, or on a leash—their bones are fragile, so it’s really stupid.

VOLLMER: Interesting. Does she ever chew on things in your house?

SEDARIS: Yeah, I try to keep wires away from her. She’ll chew on the bed sheets and cords. But that doesn’t bother me.

VOLLMER: So your house is rabbit-proofed?

SEDARIS: It is. Very rabbit-proofed.

VOLLMER: Good. Are you sad that the Kim’s Video closed in the West Village? I remember reading it was your favorite place.

SEDARIS: I am.

VOLLMER: Do you remember the curly-haired guy, Chris Anderson, from Kim’s?

SEDARIS: I do. He has a rabbit.

VOLLMER: Yeah, Bernie.

SEDARIS: Yeah that’s right. How’s he doing? Do you know what he’s doing now?

VOLLMER: Yeah, after the video store closed he got a job handling shipping for beauty products.

SEDARIS: Good for him.

VOLLMER: How are your siblings doing?

SEDARIS: They’re fine. Everyone’s fine in the family.

VOLLMER: Good. How do your less successful siblings deal with the success of your successful siblings?

SEDARIS: I don’t know. Everyone gets along. I’ve never really heard anyone talk about it.

VOLLMER: What’s next for you?

SEDARIS: I have no plans right now, really. I’m just reading, and relaxing, and whatever comes my way, you know? I’ll decide if I’m going to do it or not. I don’t really have anything on the horizon.

VOLLMER: So you’re open.

SEDARIS: I’m completely open.

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST IS OUT IN LIMITED RELEASE TOMORROW.