Peter MacNicol (‘Veep’) on his ‘descent into darkness’ playing Jeff Kane [Complete Interview Transcript] (2024)

Peter MacNicol earned an Emmy nomination this year for his recurring guest role as Jeff Kane on “Veep.” MacNicol is a previous Emmy winner for “Ally McBeal” back in 2001. He was notably nominated in 2016 for “Veep” but it was rescinded due to a technicality.

MacNicol recently spoke with Gold Derby contributing editor Zach Laws about saying goodbye to “Veep,” his memories of winning an Emmy for “Ally McBeal” and whether he would participate in a Jonah Ryan spinoff series. Watch the exclusive video interview above and read the complete transcript below.

Gold Derby: Peter, you’ve been with the “Veep” family since Season 5. You’ve been one of everyone’s favorite characters on the show as the foul-mouthed Jeff Kane. Talk a little bit about returning for this final season. Were you sad to see this show go, to have to say goodbye to this character?

Peter MacNicol: Yeah, I was. I was doing a play, which made it a little awkward. I was doing a play, rehearsing down in San Diego, so it was awkward to get back up here but I made every attempt because I love the show so much. It’s like nothing I’ve ever been involved with before. The character, god knows, is such a descent into darkness. I haven’t seen his likes before. I’m glad I got a chance with this. It was just a wonderful opportunity, the deepest bench, I think, in comedy history. Wonderful directors and writers.

GD: I have to wonder, the first time you ever got a script for this show, for the part of Jeff Kane, what did you think of that character? He is outside of your wheelhouse. He’s such a distinctly vitriolic individual. What did you think the first time that you got a script for this character?

PM: Funny you should ask because typically, I didn’t get scripts. I didn’t. I would sometimes get sides but they were throwaway, almost. I’d learn them and I’d show up on-set at 5:30 a.m. or something and they would say, “What pages do you have?” And I’d show them, “These would be the ones I learned all night long.” They’d say, “We’re not doing that.” I would then be sitting in the makeup chair at 5:45, trying to learn a brand new, often a little dense package of text like that and you know how the dialogue is. It’s hallucinogenic, these constructions of expletives calling him a diarrhea, hair-lipped golem. I’m trying to keep these in my head. And then, of course, when you get on-set, you play the scene and they say, “That was great. Here, now try these.” And they’re equally complicated, equally dense. It was like living in a black hole. I was a black hole as the character and the lines were a black hole because they were so packed with expletives and nothing was logical. You’d have seconds to learn it before the camera was running. It was the actor’s nightmare every time.

GD: It’s such an interesting dynamic between you and Timothy [Simons]’s character, somebody that large getting chewed out all the time by somebody as small and fiery as you are. Talk a little bit about working with Timothy and what that dynamic was like between the two of you. I have to imagine he was a bit intimidated at times just from you screaming at him all the time.

PM: I loved Tim so much and I did think the height differential was so funny. In fact, I would sometimes take my shoes off to comment on it further. He’s hilarious, not the best actor for keeping a straight face. He would often just go, just freely go. It was full down and out. He’s just fun and he’s smart and he doesn’t forget his lines. Complete professional. Sam Richardson the same. I had the best to work off.

GD: You submitted the episode “Oslo.” Talk a little bit about that episode and why you chose to submit it.

PM: Well, I didn’t choose it. I told the producers, “Just choose one,” because I hadn’t seen the episodes. I hadn’t seen any of it. I still haven’t. I can’t look at myself. So I said, “Choose the one that you feel is most representative,” and Dave Mandel chose that one. I’m thinking it might be the one involving the cemetery.

GD: Yes it was the one with the funeral. The official description says that you chew Jonah out in a way that you’ve never chewed him out before and I don’t know if I can repeat some of the phrases that you said to him but it was quite salty, as I recall.

PM: And there we are on hallowed ground and I’m this human desecration in this place. It was early in the morning, sylvan setting with birds singing and I’m saying, “Shut the fuck up!” (Laughs.) It was just so startling. Every time I talked it was startling. I would sometimes actually knock myself physically off-balance. I got so far out ahead of myself in my attacks. I love that scene just because they were really wonderful and allowing. I don’t remember getting physical blocking ever. Only in the most general sense, like “We’re in here.” In the course of the rehearsal, I decided to sit on the coffin, just guffawing and just have to rest in the arms of the Secret Service agent from exhaustion from my own laughter. They’re fine with anything. They’re just fine with it. It was so much fun. “Just do it!” I’ve never had a job like that, I don’t think. Nope.

GD: You also made an appearance in the final episode. What was the vibe like on-set for that? How was it knowing that this was gonna be the last time that this group of people was gonna be together doing these characters? Can you talk a bit about that?

PM: Well, I will disappoint you by saying I was completely self-interested and terrified because again, I had new lines! I had not only to hold them in my head but I had a new challenge that day that I’d never had before. I had someone else yelling. We were in concert. Julia Louis-Dreyfus was now yelling at him too. So I had to somehow modulate my voice from being deafening to merely booming. It was more of a challenge than you might think. At the end, of course, it was sad saying goodbye to everybody. They were far more sad than I because they’d been together for so long. I’ve seen these closings before and been through that. I think I’ve been on about six series as a regular so I’ve had these experiences before. They were all very moved and I understand why. This was a magical show. It was just plain magical.

GD: Yeah, fans of the show were all sad to see it go as well. Since you were such an integral part of people’s love of the series, I wonder if you could talk just a bit about what you hope the legacy of this show will ultimately be.

PM: Gosh, what is the legacy? It was a post-mortem on our whole political scene. Things were smartly observed and truthfully observed and barely did we reach satire. It was verisimilitude a good bit of the time and we were told that by Washington insiders. They were actually asking us if this or that character was based on somebody currently in politics. We’re saying, “No, not that we know of.” It certainly rang true for them. I hope that in 10 years, people will still relish in the devilish, savory dialogue. My god, it was brilliantly crafted, just excellent writing, and that cast. I would sit sometimes in rehearsals and look at this actor or that actor and I’d think, “Any one of them is worthy of the A-story and any one of them could have a series.”

GD: Another question going off of that, I have this dream of a Jonah Ryan-Jeff spinoff. If David Mandel said to you, “Alright, we’re gonna have a Jeff Kane-Jonah Ryan spinoff series, would you participate in that? Can you get that done for fans of the show?

PM: I would, but can the American people take it? We’re so exhausted. No, I would certainly do anything like that that came about. He was fun. It calls upon resources you don’t even know you have to play somebody so effortlessly vile. Maybe it wasn’t effortless. He was loud. I didn’t enjoy saying goodbye to him. I never had my fill. Never.

GD: We definitely did not have our fill of the character as well so I think we would love to see more of this guy. This was technically your second nomination for “Veep.” You had been nominated for Season 5 and then a technicality rescinded that nomination. We were all sad to see that happen but you were very gracious about it. I wonder, being nominated for the show this year, what does that recognition mean for you? And did you double-check a couple times to make sure you were still nominated?

PM: I hung fire in thanking the committee. I waited about a week. No, obviously, it’s an honor. That category, I think it may be about the hardest category there is because there are so many guest stars and so many comedies. You look at the cast of regulars, that’s a fixed number, but just in the course of one episode you’re gonna have several, two, three, four, maybe five guest casts, maybe more. It is a high honor. I appreciate it.

GD: You are an Emmy winner for “Ally McBeal,” which also got you a SAG prize and a couple of other nominations as well. Talk a bit about winning for that show and what winning an Emmy in general meant for you and for your career.

PM: Let’s see, that came late in the run and I just assumed Robert Downey [Jr.] was gonna win it. I was sitting next to him and actually handed him a $5 bill and asked him to please mention my name when he accepted. I was so startled. This is my memory, I hope it’s not failing on this. I had a little scrap of paper on which to thank people and I put it in the wrong pocket. So I reached in as I was walking up and I couldn’t find it. So up onstage I was totally winging it, not ready, really, really not ready. I was deeply startled, deeply honored. But at the end of the day, come Monday morning or whatever, Tuesday morning, you’re back out there trying to get the next job. That’s what it comes down to. They don’t convert into jobs, in my experience.

GD: Before I let you go I wanted to ask you, you were in one of my all-time favorite movies, “Sophie’s Choice.” I believe that was about your second film role. It was also Kevin Kline’s first movie, obviously, Meryl [Streep] had already won an Oscar previous to that but she was just beginning to be recognized as probably our greatest living actress. A lot of people consider that to be her greatest performance. I wonder if you could talk a bit about just the experience of making that film so early in your career? Did you know that you were making a modern classic then?

PM: The book had enormous weight behind it. There was the sense that it was something weighty and important. There was the subject matter, of course. There was all that behind us, but in terms of going in with the knowledge that we were making a classic, I don’t think that ever crossed our minds. Never crossed my mind. I’ve never worked that way before. We were inside a huge set at Camera Mart on the West Side, mid-50s in New York City and there was a completely realistic set, and I remember Alan Pakula, the director, asked us to spend as much time on the set as we wanted, as we could, just to live inside it and have it live inside us. Kevin and I actually spent the night there one night and played Mahler and whatever else all night long. That was a wonderful thing. I remember Alan also encouraged me to keep a diary, as the character not as the actor, which I still have and still value. It was a deeply moving experience, really. There was a true pain when we wrapped on that. I got drunk. There’s a drinking scene which happens and that was actually the very last shot that we set up, for the American portion of the movie. Then they went to Zagreb. When you see us drinking in that scene, it’s real stuff. I was plowed. I had to be carried out to the car by teamsters. It was just a glorious experience. Nestor Almendros, who shot that film, he and I became good friends during it and I remember we’d go to the Thalia movie theater and see a John Brahm film festival. I spent a lot of time with Nestor. I always have to stop myself before I say these kinds of things, but I guess, yeah, it was my happiest film experience, by far. Not to hurt anyone else’s feelings.

GD: It’s certainly one of my favorite movies and one of many other people’s favorite movies. So I think you’ll long be remembered for that one as well as for your many wonderful roles in things like “Veep.” Peter MacNicol, thank you so much for your time. Congratulations on your nomination.

PM: Thank you very much. Pleasure talking to you.