The Marvelous Mrs. Maiselis back for its fifth and final season. The period comedy-drama follows the life of the titular Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) who goes from becoming a housewife in the late 1950s to becoming a stand-up comic in New York. Along the way, she meets Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein) who becomes Midge’s manager and one of her closest friends, advising her and helping her launch her career. Midge’s comedy stylings make her an instant delight to her audience, but, she’s a newcomer on the scene and there is a lot she has to sift through before she can get to the top. The current fifth season jumps back and forth through time, taking us to various points in the future for us to take a look at what the future is like for Mrs. Maisel before the end of her story.
We spoke withAlfie Fullerwho plays Dinah Rutledge, Susie’s vivacious and chipper receptionist. We spoke with Fuller about the highlights of working on a show likeMaiseland talked about the fantastic costumes from the series and also the nuances of working on a period piece. She also talked to us about the actor who she would have liked to have a scene with but never did and what lessons she took away from working on the series.
Check out our full interview in the video or read it below!
COLLIDER: So I’m just going to jump right into it with the series ending. What was your favorite part about being in this show? Was it the clothes? Was it the time period? The people that you’re working with? What was the biggest highlight?
ALFIE FULLER: This show is like myStar Wars; I’ve been obsessed with it since I saw the trailer years ago, in 2017. So, all of it has been very exciting. I’ll say, more specifically, yeah, the costumes were amazing, the cast is amazing, working with Amy and Dan has been just the highlight of my career so far. It’s all been really, really incredible.
I would love to wear some of the clothes that you guys wear on that show because they blow me away every time I see them. We get a glimpse into Dinah’s life as a Black woman operating in this white world, and there are a few moments in this series, in this season especially, where we see that she takes a stand rather than ignores some of the stuff that happens, especially with Susie’s clients. Was that a storyline that you enjoyed exploring, and was that something that you felt was fitting for your character?
FULLER: For sure. I loved exploring that side of Dinah. I thought it was very representational of life, like of real life. And I like how, [with] Amy and Dan, we didn’t harp on the fact that this is a Black woman working in this white world. We didn’t harp on it, right? But when it came up, it was addressed and quickly squashed, and life moved on. So I really enjoyed tapping into that part of Dinah, for sure.
It was great to see, and obviously, a lot of your scenes are with Alex [Borstein], and I love those scenes. That sort of dynamic that you guys have together is very entertaining to watch and it’s infectious. Was there someone in the series that you didn’t get to have a scene with that you wish you could have had?
FULLER: Oh, sure. I would have loved to work with Caroline [Aaron], Shirley Maisel. Oh my goodness, I just think that she’s brilliant, a brilliant actor, and the character was just so entertaining. I would have loved to see what their dynamic would have been.
For sure, Shirley is also such a hoot. Whenever she’s on-screen, 90% of the time she’s so funny. I don’t know how anybody stays in a scene with her.
FULLER: And keeps a straight face? I know!
Is there an aspect of Dinah’s character that we didn’t explore in this entire season that you wished we had more time to maybe go into?
FULLER: I mean, yes and no. There’s always hope for more, more time, more exploration, more storylines to tap into. But on the other hand, I am really satisfied with how everyone’s story wrapped up this season. I think it was done really, really well.
Speaking about your role and this character, and getting into this character, is there something that you took away from this experience? What was the biggest lesson that you have after working on this project?
FULLER: This project really helped strengthen my memorization skills, really helped train my tongue into articulating, like really making sure I’m saying full words, and I’m not chopping off the end of my words, because I’m from the South and I love to chop a word off [laughs]. Let’s see, what else? Being in a period piece, but keeping it very relevant still, very fresh and modern. Yeah, all of it.
Had you done any period pieces before this, or was this sort of your first experience with it?
FULLER: No, I’ve done some period pieces before on stage, and, you know, if I could go back and do them again, I would because I’m like, “Oh, you don’t have to play it like it’s a period piece!” These people were just living, it just happened to be that year, you know what I mean? That’s something that I really learned withMaisel. It’s like, “Oh, no, you’re not playing like it’s the 60s, this is just a woman who’s working and growing her life, and it just happens to be in the 60s.” You know what I mean?
Yeah, for sure. There’s a sort of modernity when you’re watching the characters on screen, especially the way that they’re talking and the dynamic that we see. It feels very believable to us here today rather than the very uptight and posh sort of mannerism that I think we all have of the past, like “old-timey,” like, “Oh, I expected them to be very put together!”
FULLER: Right, but people have been people forever! [Laughs]
The Marvelous Mrs. MaiselSeason 5 is now streaming on Prime Video.
