I’m actress Sara Rue from the new TV show “Impastor.” AMA!
Hi Reddit!
I’m actress Sara Rue. You might know me from TV shows like “Less Than Perfect,” “Popular,” and “The Big Bang Theory” and movies like “Can’t Hardly Wait,” “Dorfman in Love” and more. I have a new TV show called “Impastor” with Michael Rosenbaum from “Smallville” that premieres next Wednesday, July 15th on TV Land! I hope you guys check it out. You can preview the pilot for free on iTunes and Hulu right now! http://www.hulu.com/watch/811643
Proof: https://twitter.com/SARARUEFORREAL/status/618126702145863680
IAmA mod /u/courtiebabe420 is here helping me get started.
Sara, when you were first filming Popular, did you think it would attract such a cult following?
That’s a cool question! No, I don’t think we even were aware of the possibility of cult status on the WB because everything was so fresh and new. So it just seemed like oh, this was going to be a teen show that teens watch and hopefully like. It was sort of pre-social media, so having a cult following was more rare then. The fact that people are still coming up to me. Even teens are coming up to me now and saying “I loved Popular!” and I’m like “you’re 13, how did you even see it?” and they’re like “Duh, DVDs.”
It is amazing how much the show spoke to people, but I think it gave a voice to certain kinds of kids that had speaking up for themselves at the time.
Do you still feel immense pressure to stay thin in Hollywood in order to get the parts you want or has that pressure subsided some since you have made a name for yourself?
Of course, I’ll be honest about it. There is a lot of pressure. I try really hard not to let it get to me, and concentrate more on health than anything else at this point. Most importantly, I want to set an example for my daughter of a strong, healthy, capable woman more than I want to stay thin for Hollywood.
Do you still think that everyone is a sheep?
Yes. Absolutely. That is my most honest moment as an actor, ever.
If you had to defeat a man with just one hit,what would you do?
Balls, every time. Go for the balls.
What was your favorite moment on the set of Idiocracy?
Watching Terry Crews do this big, long, hilarious monologue as the president. To be honest, I can’t even remember if it made it in the movie or not. It was so hilarious, he is such a funny guy. I loved working with him.
What’s it like being and actress? Is it what you hoped it would be? How do you like your new coworkers?
I hate them.
Just kidding! The truth is, to answer the question “What’s it like to be an actor” is kind of hard because I’m lucky enough to never have had to be anything else. But, I think I’m pretty lucky and I feel very very grateful to have gotten to work as much as I have for as long as I have. It’s a crazy life but I love it.
The cast is stellar. I have fallen in love with them. We shot up in Vancouver so we were our only friends and it was just a really great group of people to spend a few months in a rainy city with.
You always seem to play really happy and bubbly characters on screen. How much of that is simply your own personality rather than acting?
None, I’m a bitch.
*Edit: That was a joke. 🙂
Does Rosenbaum ever act like Lex Luthor on set?
answYou mean is he controlling and terrifying? Every day.er
Where is your favorite location to vacation?
Hmmm, what resort should I say in hopes that they’ll send me on a free trip? Kidding, kidding (not really), kidding.
Sadly, we don’t take many vacations. Our family is spread out all over the country, so we spend most of our time visiting family.
BUT my dream vacation would be a free trip to Hawaii where I get free things and free drinks.
Your husband and daughter came with you to Vancouver when you were filming ‘Impastor’. Sweet 🙂 Did they enjoy the experience?
They did. It was definitely a challenge for our family. She’s two and the transition was a little rough in the beginning. But he is such a great dad and was so amazing with her when I had to work all the time, so I think they had a really great experience. The road trip up brought all of us closer together. Also, the cast was really great to Talulah. They made her feel included whenever she came to set, and I think she really liked visiting with them and getting to know them.
Who is the funniest person you have worked with?
That’s a really good question. I know Rosenbaum would want me to say him, but I’m not going to. My buddy Will Sasso is pretty f-ing funny. Also, Ike Barinholtz is pretty great.
I find you to be a real inspiration. I’ve had weight issues my whole life. Do you have any advice?
The best advice I have is to love yourself fully the way you are, and if after truly loving yourself, you then want to make a change, it’ll be a lot easier.
What’s the craziest, funniest thing that has happened in the set of Impastor?
Michael Rosenbaum wrote a little theme song for Impastor, which we performed for the crew. I think we have it on video somewhere, maybe we’ll upload it after this AMA 🙂
What is your favorite thing about Impastor?
I really like Dora’s dork-tastic fashion.
What has been your favorite episode of Impastor to film so far?
Look you guys. There was a masturbation episode. It was my favorite. I’m not gonna lie to you. I’m not gonna sugar coat it. It was awesome.
What’s the one piece of life advice you would want everyone to know?
If you or your wife is given the option for an epidural, TAKE IT!
Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, or Spock?
Spock. All the way. Every time. No doubt.
Just watched the pilot episode of Impastor, and I really liked it. How is it different then any other show you have been on? Good or Bad.
So glad you watched it and liked! Impastor is not only different than any other show I’ve been on, but I think it’s different from any show that’s been on TV. We are making a dark, weird, funny comedy but it has a lot of heart and also has taken on the gargantuan challenge of having a procedural element to it. Every week will end in a cliffhanger. So I guess, to answer your question, it’s a totally new format, and I’m really excited to be a part of it. I hope you keep watching!
Came back to ask another question and I am gonna ask and hope to not sound like a weirdo. What made you decide to do the topless scenes in For Christ’s Sake?
You don’t sound like a weirdo. Maybe a pit of a perv 😉
I thought the script was hilarious. My friend was the producer, and I had a lot of input, and I felt like it was appropriate for the role. She was a porn star and my boobs are fantastic.
Is it the same working with Michael Rosenbaum on Impastor as it was working with him on Zoey, Duncan, Jack and jane?
No, he’s a producer on Impastor, so he has more power to wield.
Joking! I really adore Michael. We’re both grown ups now, so it is different. We have a much more mature relationship (she says as she recalls him pulling down his pants and farting on her set chair, and her chewing up multiple tootsie rolls and spitting them on his chair to look like poo).
What has been your favorite role to play so far in your career?
I don’t know, but Dora from Impastor is way up on the list. Although I loved playing Claude Casey on Less Than Perfect for 4 years.
When you were younger and you dreamed of acting professionally, you must have had ideas about what it would be like. Can you describe something from recent experience that is just as you imagined and something that is completely different?
This is such a typical answer, but I always – even now, after acting for almost 30 years – expect it to be glamorous than it is. I’m always like, “Oh right, it’s gross here, and we all look terrible, and it’s 4 in the morning, and no one is at their best for those early calls.”
But something that is just like I imagined is the feeling of total satisfaction and accomplishment when you shoot a scene and you feel really good about your work. It’s the greatest feeling, and it’s why I still do it. Being able to make someone feel anything – laugh, cry, anything – is really satisfying.
What’s it like at Michael Rosenbaum’s house?
Shockingly clean.
Are you all going to do the periscope thing again after the premiere like you did a few weeks ago?
Rosenbaum is OBSESSED with periscope. If you follow him, he’s on it all the time now. So I’m guessing the next time we all get together to watch, we’ll be doing something on there.
Did you get a Dora puppet like Michael’s Buddy puppet?
No. No I didn’t. I check the mail every day.
Do you go to conventions like Michael does?
No, no I don’t. I AM however, going to my first convention EVER on Thursday with Michael. He and I will be doing a panel at Comic-Con in San Diego. I hope people come down and ask some cool questions about Impastor. And I hope Michael lets me have a word in edgewise 😉
What was it like to be in The Big Bang Theory?
So fun! Jim Parsons has become a very good friend of mine. I feel really lucky to have been a part of a little piece of TV history. That show is so huge, and all the people in the cast were really wonderful to work with. I’ve been working a little bit on Chuck Lorre’s new show Mom, and that’s equally as exciting. Especially getting to work with those ladies has been a blast.
Would Dora keep his secret to keep face?
Maybe. But not to save face, but maybe if she felt it meant saving the church and the rest of the congregation from falling apart. I personally would love for Dora to be in on the secret somehow. Would be super fun to play.
What is Dora’s favorite bird?
I don’t know what Dora’s favorite bird is, but mine is my middle finger.
You worked with Jim Parsons, what’s he like in real life?
He is delightful. I absolutely adore him as a human being and an actor.
I think I’m the only who really remembers Zoey,Duncan Jack and jane, fanwise. What was your favorite thing in that show?
I loved my dodgeball scenes. So much fun to play someone that angry.
I was a big fan of Less Than Perfect when I was younger(you were 15 year old me’s tv crush) and have enjoyed your appearances on Big Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement. My question is how was working with Will Sasso? I remember an episode where he fainted and face planted into a table and it just looked so real and was hilarious.
Working with Will was incredibly awesome. He had multiple running bits that every day would make me laugh. He and I are quite close. He read a beer pong haiku at my wedding.
Do you think Michael Rosenbaum is planning any pranks for you and your chair for when you all go back to film season two of Impastor?
Rosenbaum is not much of a planner. I’m sure I’ll have to endure something gross and dumb. We did have so much fun season one, even though I had to put up with his antics, I really hope we get a chance to do it again.
Are you and the other cast of Impastor going to live tweet during the episodes?
Probably! I think we’ll definitely be live-tweeting for most of them.
Since I’ve had a mega crush on you since Gypsy 83, what about your personal life matched with your character of that movie versus how you think now?
I’ve always felt like there was a little bit of goth in me ever since I shot that film. I don’t know about anything matching up in my personal life, but I will tell you that on the way to do this Reddit AMA, I thought I saw the club where we shot the Night of a Thousand Stevies sequence, and it made me super happy.
Loved you on Rules Of Engagement & The Big Bang Theory, who’s your inspiration for getting into acting?
I started acting when I was a little girl. My parents were in the theater, and I grew up watching incredible performers and wanting to be a part of the magic. So no one person necessarily, it was just a feeling backstage.
I loved Popular and felt very familiar with your character. What was it like to play her?
I never went to high school in real life, because I was acting, so I was set-schooled. So playing Carmen was like going to high school for me, for better or worse. She took a lot of shit, but ultimately, I feel like she was an empowering character, so it was a really good experience.
Do you have any pranks planned for Michael Rosenbaum for when you go back to film season two of Impastor?
Nothing specifically planned yet. But I’m really looking forward to doing something that upsets him. I don’t know what it’s going to be. I’m taking suggestions!
How did you get started with Can’t Hardly Wait, and did you get any say in your part in that movie? Did you have to take lessons or anything on “baa-ing” for it?
Yes, I’ve had extensive baa-ing lessons over the years. It’s a skill you have to keep fine-tuning, so I keep having to go back to baa-ing lessons over the year to make sure I’m still on my game.
They actually wrote that part for me, which was super cool of them. I had auditioned for a different role, and they didn’t feel like I was right for that role, but they had liked what I did. So they called me and told me that the writers had written a small scene for me and asked me to do it. Such an honor, and who knew people would still be baa-ing in my face 15 years later!
What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
I try to eat mostly plant-based so I don’t eat ice cream. But mama can dig into some raspberry sorbet.
What 5 things would you do (physically) if you were the opposite gender for a day?
- Pee standing up
- I have nothing else.
