Melora Hardin: Life Outside the Office
Interview by Shawn Michael Lukaszewicz
Photo by John Russo
In 2005, Melora Hardin scored the supporting role of Jan on the hit NBC TV series sensation The Office. Fast forward to 2007 and 2008, Melora shared the SAG Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series” for The Office. Her roles in films include 27 Dresses and Hannah Montana: The Movie. Most recently, Melora directed and co-produced her own independent film You and has become a pioneer in Internet distribution and marketing.
Independent Film Quarterly’s Shawn Lukaszewicz caught up with Melora Hardin to discuss The Office, working with Steve Carell, her directorial film debut, and her promising music career.
IFQ: You star in Knucklehead an exciting new action dramedy about the wrestling world coming out on DVD this October 22nd, 2010. Without giving too much away, can you share a bit about the film and your role?
Melora Hardin: It’s a limited theatrical and DVD release. It’s a film about the “Big Show” who plays a character that’s a misfit raised in an orphanage that was never adopted. I play a woman who works at the orphanage alongside Mark Feuerstein who plays a wrestling manager that is down on his luck, in debt, and owes a lot of money. Mark asks for a sign from above and somehow crosses paths with “Big Show” and wonders if maybe this kid is meant to be a wrestler and decides he’s going to teach him how. Basically, the whole movie becomes a road trip where I get sent to look after “Big Show” as Mark’s character is teaching him how to become a wrestler. Mark’s and my character do not like each other at first because I’m really protective over “Big Show” but eventually we find a way to connect.
IFQ: What can we expect to see from the upcoming movie Ben Banks?
MH: I have a cameo role where I play a character who is someone that helps point these guys in the right direction as they figure out a murder. My character helps put one little piece of their puzzle together. The guys liked my past and had some sort of fantasy about my character I guess because I play an ex-porn star.
IFQ: I can tell from some of your history you are cast to play a lot of funny roles. Are comedies your forte?
MH: It’s funny because I’ve been acting since I was six-years-old. As a child, I never was cast in comedies. I always thought I was a dramatic actress until I was cast in The Office. Now, everybody thinks I’m a comedic actress, but I do both. I like both; I think they’re both awesome!
IFQ: In 2007 and 2008, you shared the SAG Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series” for the hit TV comedy series The Office. How did you land the supporting role of Jan?
MH: It was the pilot episode and Jan was a guest star and possible recurring character after the pilot. I really liked the material. I went in and I guess I just kind of nailed it. They liked me; they cast me and the character grew. They made me a regular in the second season. So yeah, Jan just became kind of integral to the craziness of the show.
IFQ: How was it working with such a talented funny cast and playing off of Steve Carell?
MH: I think that our characters really had great chemistry.
IFQ: Did you find it hard to hold back your laughs during production?
MH: Oh yeah, we laughed; we always laughed; there’s a lot of laughter for sure. But you know, my character is really the straight man, so I’m pretty good at holding it together while everyone else is cracking up.
IFQ: Any memorable on-set stories?
MH: Well, there was this one episode “Boys and Girls” where we got to do a lot of improvisation and throw it to the wind and see what happens. That’s always kind of fun. It was really entertaining to see what Steve would come up with and then what I would come up with and just sort of play.
IFQ: Can we expect to see any future collaborations from Steve and yourself ?
MH: I don’t know. Maybe one day they’ll make a movie out of the show. It’d be funny to see Michael Scott and Jan get married or something.
IFQ: Tell us about directing You, the love story that you co-produced with your husband, actor and writer Gildart Jackson. What was it like working with your family on this personal film?
MH: It was great. Once I tell everyone that my whole family is involved I’d always say you probably think it’s the worst movie in the world. But the difference between my family and most families is that I come from a family of professional actors and I also have tons of amazing musicians around me. Paula Cole wrote the title song for the movie; she is one of my best friends. My husband is a really talented writer. It was like a family adventure. It wasn’t like teaching a class because everyone already knows what they’re doing, so I was just really leading the ship and there was lots of love and support there to make it the best experience it could be. Everyone was committed 100%.
IFQ: Why did you choose to independently create and produce your feature film directorial debut?
MH: It was a very personal story. My husband wrote the script in three days. I read it and said, “This is a beautiful film. Not only should we make it, I want to direct it!” At first, we thought we would raise the money and do all these other things, but ultimately we decided to just make it ourselves. We decided to go for it; we didn’t want to wait around for someone to tell us we can do it. We just went for it and did it! It was a passion project for me!
IFQ: From a director’s and actor’s point of view, which is more challenging– independent or studio films? Why?
MH: In some ways, independent is more challenging because you don’t have the hundreds and thousands of dollars to market it. The only way you hear about my indie film is through word of mouth. When a studio releases a film, usually, whatever the budget of the film is they spend at least that much on marketing the film and usually double that amount. So it’s challenging to get people to see what you’re doing when there’s not some big star in the film. People don’t necessarily go to it or find it if it doesn’t say Brad Pitt or whomever. I think that’s probably one of the biggest challenges—and then sort of finding your way to making it. We were lucky because I have lots of relationships from working in this business for as long as I have. I was able to call on a lot of people and get some amazing talent involved, but that’s not always the case for indie filmmakers. I think because of my reputation, people wanted to work with me. It was also, in a way, freeing to not be under the watchful eye of a studio and be able to make the movie you want to make.
IFQ: I read that You was one of the first feature films released and distributed over the Internet. How do you think the Internet has changed and is changing film?
MH: Well, I think it just makes things very available. Still it’s not easy or 100% clear in how to do it. It’s still like some unknown land in a way, but it’s definitely getting more and more accessible, and I feel there’s so much more potential. We’re going to look back and be like, “Oh my God, that’s all we did? Why didn’t we know?” I feel like we’re pioneering something. It’s cutting edge, and I feel that independent film is going to go down this route. There’s always going to be the big Hollywood movies, but also indie films, and I feel that this is a great way for those indie films to get exposure.
IFQ: Any upcoming projects?
MH: I just did an indie film titled I Melt with You. It’s a very dark drama with Rob Lowe and Jeremy Piven. I think it’s Sundance bound, so that’s kind of cool. I also have a record that just came out. The type of music I like to create is funny, sexual, and romantic. It was suggested to me that I should make a dance mix for the gay dance clubs and stuff, so I did. This one particular song is called “A Boy and his Cat” and part of the chorus goes a little something like [sings] “Here pussy, here pussy, here pussy, come!” At some point, I’ll be releasing it and will have a great video to go along with it, as well.