natasha lyonne poker face interview

Natasha Lyonne leads Rian Johnson’s newest addition to the mystery genre, pulling double duty as the star and an executive producer of Poker Face. The new series follows Charlie Cale (Lyonne) as she sets off on the road, coming across different mysteries and a unique cast of characters in each episode. With an uncanny ability as a human lie detector, Charlie can’t help but investigate these crimes when she sees that something isn’t right and people are keeping secrets.

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Johnson has taken over the mystery genre with the highly successful Knives Out and Glass Onion whodunit style of mystery. Now, Johnson is tapping into another classic style in the genre. Taking inspiration from Columbo; Poker Face is not his signature whodunit but instead a “how catch ’em.” The series features an impressive cast of characters in each episode, with Lyonne as the constant. Lyonne will also wear a few more hats this season, co-writing and directing the eighth episode of Poker Face.

Related: Russian Doll Got Natasha Lyonne Cast In Rian Johnson’s New Show

Screen Rant spoke with Lyonne about her new series, Poker Face, in which she stars and executive produces. Lyonne explains how she met Rian Johnson, how they bonded, and why she felt the need to take on this series. Lyonne also shares what motivated Charlie to dig into these mysteries in each episode.


Natasha Lyonne On Poker Face

Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cade in Poker Face with sun glasses

Screen Rant: Natasha, I absolutely love Poker Face. Even though I know who did it, I want to see how it’s done and how Charlie figures it out. Not only are you the star of Poker Face, but you’re one of the executive producers. How did this collaboration with Rian Johnson come about, and does that give you more agency with your character?

Natasha Lyonne: Yeah, and thank you. I love it when Rian says, “It’s not a ‘whodunit,’ it’s a ‘how catch ’em’.” Rian and I became friends through his brilliant wife, Karina Longworth, because I was opposite her on an episode of her podcast. I have this production company with Maya Rudolph called Animal Pictures, and so we just became friends.

Having co-created Russian Doll, and obviously writing and directing on all that, I wasn’t really looking to do another show. But suddenly Rian and I were just text messaging and having these dinners and kicking around ideas, and not only is he just such a brilliant and extraordinary filmmaker, but he’s just really one of the greatest guys I know. He is so funny and kind, and we share just a deep respect for lineage, like the history of cinema.

Obviously I’ve love Philip Marlowe and all iterations. As a sort of self-taught youth, I dropped out of the film program at Tisch to just go to basements at the YMCA and watch all the noirs, and all day, or the film forum. And he comes at it from a totally different perspective. So talking to him about Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe and Altman’s The Long Goodbye, in Russian Doll I’d use that to craft Oatmeal the cat or something. And here we were coming at it to a totally third way of “What if Charlie was also a marriage of that, but also Jeff Bridges, the dude, Big Lebowski?” Just back-foot, sort of soaks in the sun. I was like, “Rian, I’m in my Gene Hackman Night Moves era. I’m post-Popeye Doyle.”

And so we just had a lot of fun communicating in this very particular way. And so we really were kind of dreaming it all up, but then he really put pen to paper. And a year later he sent me this script, and it was just a beautiful self-contained puzzle box, and all this stuff was there. And at that point it just really felt like it was so personal to us. It was our special little thing that we were going to make. And I just really love this dude. I’m a Rian Johnson head honey.

You and me both. This show is so well-crafted that, the retirement community episode alone got me trusting everybody, and then I was like, “What is going on?” It was so amazing. But why do you think Charlie isn’t able to walk away from some of these mysteries that know that’s going to put her in direct danger?

Natasha Lyonne: I think she just really cares about the truth, and I think she just can’t stand for injustice. And especially when that’s happening to the little guy, I just think she just doesn’t like it. And I think on some level also, she really is a bit of a human puzzle box decoder. She needs to get to the end of a thread, almost on accident, and then will sort of a little bit find herself in over her head. So she’s got to get to the end of it, otherwise people will be at risk. So I think it’s a combination of all those things, which is what makes it so fun.

I know that you have a cameo in the Glass Onion. I know it says Natasha there, but is it possible that that could be Charlie and that this could all be connected into the same universe with Knives Out and Glass Onion?

Natasha Lyonne: Hell, that’s a real Rian Johnson question. I know not, I just show up to Zooms and reply to text messages.

There you go. Poker Face really does feel like the successor of Columbo. How do you think audiences will connect with that style of mystery?

Natasha Lyonne: I guess we’re going to find out in a couple of weeks. You always hope that it’ll be received well and people will like it. Obviously, I’ve made no secret of my deep love of Peter Falk, and he’s a sexy, sexy guy. I also love him in Wings of Desire. I love him in all of the Cassavetes film. He’s somebody that’s always just really resonated for me. But then again, I also really have the hots for Dennis Franz as Sipowicz. So they’re all floating my boat. And I guess we’ll find out. It feels like the time might just be right, and I think Rian’s a visionary in that way. I think he really knows how to scratch the itch of what we want.

About Poker Face

Poker Face

Poker Face follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), who has an uncanny ability to know if someone is lying to her, when she hits the road in her trusty Plymouth Barracuda. Every stop pulls her into a new mystery with a unique cast of characters that she can’t help but solve. Ryan Johnson’s new series is a “how catch ’em” style of mystery inspired by the television classic Columbo.

Check out our other Poker Face interviews.

Next: Where To Watch Rian Johnson’s Poker Face

Poker Face premieres January 26 on Peacock.

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