"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" Star Chelsea Peretti on Ad-Libbing & Podcasts

We're just playing. I'm here with the lovely Chelsea Peretti. How are you?

Yes, I'm great. How are you?

I'm wonderful. We were just saying that it's great that we're both in happy moods. Uh happy moods. We both have Italian last names, but I'm finding that your I'm a fraud.

Yes. Mine is sounds Italian, but it's not Italian and in no place have I ever said it is Italian, so I'm not a fraud. Okay?

People also enjoy Brooklyn 99. Yes. Which is uh you're Gina.

I'm Gina.

Which is very Italian. Netty.

Yeah, it's uh I think people have trouble spelling both.

Two T's.

Two T's.

I would guess that. I would guess that. Um and Gina is a you're the administrative officer in the. Well, you're and you're very um let's say you don't have much of a filter.

Yes. I don't well, I don't think that Gina Linetti, my character Gina Linetti, I don't think that she fears anyone. So I think that very infrequently. Right. So she kind of just says whatever she's thinking. I don't even think she super fears being fired because I think her relationship with her boss is pretty strong.

Right. Where would you like to see Gina going? What do you think Gina might end up becoming more involved in the station or just the office administrative side. Because she had like a you had a good good dancing scene I love. You're by the way. Just to pay credit for that. If you hadn't seen it, um Chelsea's a great dancer. Really, really strong. Dancer. And you went to the gun range as well. So you guns.

Guns are very loud. As it turns out. That was a shock. Um I actually had two dance scenes where I danced wildly for so many takes and they were both cut subsequently. So that was well, demoralizing to say the least, but um no, there's more dancing coming actually. There's a whole choreographed dance scene coming up which should be cool with Floorgasm, my my dance troop. Um but

And it is you dancing, it's not a stunt double. You do your own stunts.

Yes. It's me dancing.

Because I always wonder when I see these actors. I'm like, is it them or did they get a stunt double? But it's you. That's right. That would be hilarious if I was a stunt double. But you're I don't know that the dancer But your leg goes up at one point. Your leg is very close to pointing up straight up. So well done for not using the stunt double. That was dangerous.

Yeah, you're right. The detail is astounding.

How is this a fresh take on cop shows?

Um, well, I think it's been a long time and uh I think that the casting is pretty unique and I think that we all kind of jelled pretty early on, which I think these are all things that kind of combined to make it feel like an exciting show.

Working with guys like Andy Samberg and Terry Cruz and you know, is it so funny onset as it is to watch? Because it's funny as it's a nightmare.

Is it a nightmare? It's a nightmare. Uh a lot of personalities. No, everyone's fun. Everyone, you know, everyone uh laughs, you know, you get to do lots of different takes as they say in the biz. You know what I'm talking about. You know what I'm talking about. Uh yeah, I love I love um being able to improvise.

Well, because it means you don't have to learn your lines.

That too. But let's not, you know, say that openly. But yeah, you get the scripted version and then they let you play around with it a lot of times and uh I love doing that. It's fun.

You mentioned obviously writing is a big part of your life.

Yes.

You will you write for this show?

I don't know. I mean, I'm really enjoying just acting.

Right.

Um, but uh

Do you have more time?

Yeah. And it I mean we have pretty long days and I just like thinking about the lines and Just doing the job. Yeah, and showing up at a table read and you just get a full script and get to see what you say. It's very it's pretty exciting.

And you're very big in in the in the online world. You have this podcast um where people call in.

Yes, I do. It's called Call Chelsea Peretti.

Very That's exactly what it says on the teen. Very straightforward.

Yeah. Very straightforward. Very straight. It works. It works. Uh, and I just open a line and let people call and and just we talk about random things. Sometimes they have very little to say.

Okay.

And then I hang up on them. Like heavy breathing, very little. Um, I've had not surprisingly few creepy guys, but um, one German guy from Germany.

Germany.

Yeah. As it turns out. That would be a very strange phone call if it's a German guy from America. Yeah, I would have been confused. Very confused. But he um kept asking me if I received his letter in a very Germish accent and it was terrifying. He made quite a name for himself. He just kept saying it, you know, in this soft voice over and over just asking if I received it. And I was just like, I was going to hang up actually, but my friend was there that day. He's like, don't hang up. Don't hang up. And then it did wind up being one of the more entertaining calls.

He's still wondering if you received that letter.

Yeah, and I was just like, where would you have sent it to? I mean, ideally, that would not be an option.

Chelsea Peretti, lovely. Thank you for stopping in. You're very funny in every way. We love watching you.