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Jul 06, 2023

Andrea Martin Has Been Waiting for Her Big ‘Only Murders’ Moment

By Donald Liebenson “The White Room,” episode four of Only Murders in the Building season three, delivers what those who revere Andrea Martin have anticipated since the show introduced her character

By Donald Liebenson

“The White Room,” episode four of Only Murders in the Building season three, delivers what those who revere Andrea Martin have anticipated since the show introduced her character last year. After a tantalizing few episodes of limited screen time, the Emmy and Tony winner’s Joy moves in with Steve Martin’s Charles—bringing a trampoline, exercise balls, her fish tank, and 62 fish. “It’s the sweet spot,” Joy explains to Charles. “Sixty-three, and you’re a crazy fish lady.”

It’s an ideal Andrea Martin moment, the kind of grace note that made series cocreator John Hoffman want to add her to the Murder-verse. “What I’m really into is specific choices and really specific personalities,” he says. “That’s the thing you come to learn with these great comedic actors: You realize they are really actors who do comedy.” Martin, too, has found the role to be a perfect fit. “They wrote Joy with me in mind, so my interpretation and their writing really met in the middle,” she says in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

And she’s not afraid to go big. At one point in the episode, Joy lures Charles into bed with an animalistic mating call. “I asked if that was an antelope,” Hoffman recalls, “and she said, ‘I don’t know, but I just enjoy it.’ It was sexy and kind of insane, and I thought, ‘Let’s go for that.’”

“Sexy and kind of insane” seems par for the course for Martin. Hoffman got to know her—and her unique energy—at a small birthday party for her thrown by Steve Martin. “She got up from the table after a full meal and planted herself on Steve’s carpet underneath the dining room table and started planking,” he remembers. “We’re all counting out the seconds. She went beyond two-and-a-half minutes.“

Martin hasn’t had a chance to show off her core strength on Only Murders—at least not yet. But she still saw the show as an unmissable opportunity. The actor spoke with Vanity Fair about bringing Joy to life, career longevity, and when she knew she loved Steve Martin.

Vanity Fair: Had you watched the show before you joined the cast?

Andrea Martin: I had seen a couple episodes. I was less curious about the product and just more enamored that two veteran performers were the leads in what was fast becoming a huge success. It was very gratifying. John said my part would be small at first, but that it would grow. He was honest: It was small and it did grow. But I have been doing Evil and although I worship the show, it’s certainly darker than Only Murders in the Building, so I was excited to be in that kind of platform that was going to be light and comedic.

When you did Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast three years ago, you talked about how the best you can do at this stage of your career is pray for opportunities and keep getting better. How do you choose your projects?

I wouldn’t say there was one consistent way. A few times in my career, I have done some things for money and you know what? Never once has it ever proven the right decision. Not once. It was never satisfying. [Regarding Murders], I loved the project. In the last few years, I’ve been afforded opportunities where everything comes together—wonderful people, great director. I don’t think, ‘Oh this could be a success and I’ll win an award.’ That never motivates me, but a couple of times, that’s happened, so that’s been the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae.

You were seen only briefly in season two. What were you initially told about Joy?

I knew that she was going to be in a relationship with Steve’s character. I didn’t know the intricacies of the relationship. I didn’t know if they would be together the rest of their lives. I didn’t know if it was going to be contentious or romantic. I just knew we were going to be each other’s love interest. I can’t tell you anything more. Being involved in this show felt like a natural extension of our friendships, and it felt enormously comfortable.

This is the first time you and Steve Martin have acted together, right?

Marty [Short] had a sitcom in the 1990s, and Steve and I were on it. I think we had a little scene together; it’s all a little hazy. I’ll never forget this, actually. SCTV was being honored at the Aspen Comedy Festival. Steve was there because he was interviewing Elaine May and Mike Nichols. Can you believe that? It was spectacular. Various people performed [at the festival]. I didn’t really know Steve at that point. We were backstage. I’m always nervous before I go on, and I saw Steve in the corner. He was nervous and going over his lines, which is what I always do. So, I fell in love with him that night. We’re both very serious about what we do. Coming from a place of—I wouldn’t say self-doubt—we just want to be very careful that we’re honoring the material, so we’re hyper-focused. It was so great to be working with him. I thought we complemented each other’s working style.

By Rebecca Ford

By Hillary Busis

By Rebecca Ford

Did you give Joy a backstory?

I give every role I do a backstory, oh my god. The writers didn’t write what my feelings were for Charles, so I had to come up with how intensely I was attracted to him or not attracted to him. The bare bones of it was I was his makeup artist on Brazzos, Charles’ television show, many years ago, and he asked me back to be the makeup artist for the reboot. I was always secretly kind of in love with him, and we say in the very first scene we did two years ago that we had a little fling in the 70s. We hadn’t seen each other in years, and he’s shy, but I’ve always loved that, and I think he wants to come out of his shell. I think he’s been attracted to Joy, and so you see the last scene of season two, we kiss on the street, and he asks me out. And this season you see where it goes.

I grew up a comedy fan during the golden age of the TV variety show, and when the Little Rascals, the Three Stooges and Buster Keaton were on TV after school. What was your comedy gateway?

Did you know I watched all those shows, or is that just an unbelievable coincidence?

It’s a coincidence.

Oh, my god. Let’s talk about this forever. I don’t think growing up in Portland, Maine, that I thought I would be an actor. Acting was my hobby. I would go to after school acting classes or children’s theater. But what I did watch all the time were those variety shows: Ed Sullivan, The Honeymooners. I watched Disney every Sunday night. I watched Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy. I really grew up on those shows. That’s what I was attracted to, that kind of innocent comedy. Do you remember Ernie Kovacs and the Nairobi Trio? That kind of innocent frivolity. It’s certainly not what kids are watching today, which is much darker. I had the benefit of watching all those shows when I was younger and that contributed to my career.

In what Oliver calls “a fun twist” at the end of “The White Room,” Joy accepts Charles’ unwitting marriage proposal, and it is revealed that it is your lipstick that drew the threatening message on the late Ben’s dressing room mirror. I know you can’t say one way or the other, but I hope Joy is in it for the long haul.

I’m sworn to secrecy, but I hope so; I will say that.

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