There were so many absurd scenes on this show — which moment made you break character the most?
We broke character every single day, multiple times a day. We just did it when [Ronald] wasn't looking. . . . It was hard. There were times when the pressure was on, Ronald's there, he's right next to you, and something crazy happens, and you just have to eat that. Sometimes, I kid you not, I would think about stuff that would make me mad or annoyed me because Vanessa, my character, was kind of over it with everything, but things around me were happening and they were funny, so I would be thinking like, "OK, I'm in a long line at the DMV."
"We broke character every single day, multiple times a day. We just did it when [Ronald] wasn't looking."
The one thing that almost everybody who was on set broke over was the defense's animation video where it gets all glitchy. They didn't show us that video beforehand. All we knew was that it was gonna be not good. The plaintiff's attorney was gonna be fabulous, her animation was gonna be on point, and his was gonna be busted — that's all we knew. When they showed that damn animation, we all lost it. I could not pick my head up; I was laughing so hard.
So much of the dialogue was improvised on the spot. Is there an improvised line or moment you're proudest of creating for your character?
We were on camera for hours and hours a day, and they'd cut it down to 10 minutes for that day. One episode is maybe two full days, and it's cut down to 20-25 minutes. We would do the group interviews, and it's funny when you cut it and go from person to person, but at the time, it may not be funny.
The funniest one — and I wasn't proud of it when it happened, and I was surprised they put it in — was when Vanessa's like, "I just wanted to fight her," when she's talking about Genevieve [a witness]. They're cutting from Genevieve talking to Vanessa's response, but that's not what happened in real life. . . . It was hours later during a post-day interview, and everyone was like, "What do you think of Genevieve?" and that's when I said I wanted to fight her, I wanted to punch her right in the throat. I tell you what; it got awkward. I was like, "Oh, I think that was too violent, I don't think they liked that. They're not gonna keep that one." And they put it in.
How has your life changed, if at all, since the show came out?
I think I would be flattered to be recognized, but I would also be like, "Please don't notice me. I have no makeup on, I'm in sweats, I have spit-up on my shirt. Please just see me as a regular ol' person." I have that because Vanessa, her hair was braided, and when my hair is my natural curly hair, I look very different, so people don't really put two and two together. The most that my life has changed is that I'm actually somewhat paying attention to my Instagram. Before I was just posting once every three months, it's mostly just my kids. Now I'm like "Oh god, I have to do something. I have to work on this."
What was your all-time favorite moment from filming the show?
I think it was the day when we revealed to Ronald. First of all, it was like a weight off our shoulders to finally be able to tell him, "Hey, we're actually just regular people, and most of us are pretty nice." Being able to get relief from the burden . . . I didn't have to pretend to be anything. I could just be like, "Ronald, I like things! I enjoy things! I'm a happy person." Just being able to talk to him as a real person, that was the most relaxed I felt.
