Canada’s Claire Stollery talks joining Jay Baruchel in ‘Man Seeking Woman’ … literally
They say laughter is the best medicine. They say it is contagious. They say laughing several times a day will increase one’s life span. Laughter is joy, and when someone has the effortless ability to make people laugh, they constantly bring happiness to those around them. Canada’s Claire Stollery knows this well. Known around the country for her comedic talents, her audiences are often left with smiles on their faces and their stomachs aching from laughter. There is no doubt why she is considered one of the country’s best.
With an extensive resume, Stollery has taken on a wide variety of projects showing what a versatile actress she can be, always bringing her unique touch to every role she takes on. She is known for her perfect comedic timing, and was even nominated for the prestigious Fresh Meat of Comedy Stand-up Comedy newcomer in 2013. Now, four years later, this hilarious actress is internationally sought-after.
“Comedy always came naturally for me. I understood the timing. There’s a real feel to it. I like to be truthful and grounded with my comedy. People don’t want the overacting and laugh tracks of the 90’s anymore; they don’t want to be told where the jokes are. They want great stories with better acting that makes them actually feel something AND laugh. Television has put the demand out there for better acting, especially in comedy. TV shows like Love Sick get it right. Just because something is a comedy doesn’t mean it can’t be real,” said Stollery.
Despite working on several successful projects, including her film Hannah, the timely short Love in the Age of Like, and the television show True Dating Stories, Stollery considers the highlight of her esteemed career to be her time acting on the acclaimed series Man Seeking Woman, alongside the award-winning Jay Baruchel.
“Jay directed me in Goon 2 and I acted across from him in his show Man Seeking Woman, and I just adored him. He’s such a lovely human and so incredibly talented. I grew up watching him on Are You Afraid of the Dark and Popular Mechanics for Kids, so it was a treat to work with him so closely… in the literal sense, as we were strapped together for several days on Man Seeking Woman,” Stollery joked. “I had always been a huge fan of his movies, and getting the opportunity to watch him work up-close taught me a lot about comedy and how to be a selfless actor. Everything he does is so effortless. On Man Seeking Woman he was the star of show, but he always managed to make everyone else look good. He sets you up for success. That’s a great co-star: when they are the lead of a show but they don’t make it about themselves. He never stole the scene away from anyone, but you also can’t take your eyes away from him. Of course he’s been doing it for a long time, and you can tell. He’s perfected his craft, and on set he’s a total pro. Any time extras would leave for the day he would stop what he was doing and go over and thank them each individually. That’s a classy move.”
Stollery knew the show and knew she wanted to be a part of it, saying any comedy nerd would. The project has had big names attached to it, like Lorne Michaels, Eric Andre, Simon Rich, all people that she had looked up to and admired. Writer and Executive Producer Ian Maxtone-Graham had been on The Simpsons since the nineties. Executive Producer and Director Jonathan Krisel created Portlandia. Stollery says everyone involved with the show is a legend.
“Man Seeking Woman has changed the game in comedy. It was such an original concept and they executed it flawlessly. Having a massive penis puppet as a guest star could have gone very wrong! If someone had pitched it to me I’m sure I would have called them insane, but having the massive penis puppet represent the guy you don’t trust around your girlfriend is genius. I died laughing in that episode. The writing is so great and their minds are brilliant. They took a lot of risks with the show, which is really important right now for comedy. Everyone is so scared to offend someone nowadays, but that type of thinking stunts not only comedians, but also great art,” described Stollery.
Man Seeking Woman tells the story of Josh (Jay Baruchel), a naive romantic who goes on a desperate quest for love when his longtime girlfriend dumps him. Stollery’s character Rachel is a bit nerdy and over-eager, and Stollery’s portrayal is endearing. Rachel ends up liking Josh more than he likes her, but he feels like he has to be a grown up and be in a grown-up relationship. They end up taking things too fast, and in the typical and hilarious Man Seeking Woman fashion of heightening reality, this causes the two of them to conjoin bodies, ultimately leading to a mutual dislike and break up, both mentally and physically.
“We had to be strapped together 14 hours a day when we we’re conjoined. An hour in I’m sweating all over him, so that broke the ice really fast. I think he though he would be the sweaty one, but I proved him wrong,” said Stollery.
When looking for the part of Rachel, the casting director reached out to Stollery knowing with that her talent and sense of humor, she would be perfect for the part. The director, Tim Kirkby, was extremely impressed with Stollery from the moment he saw her audition. Even though the show films in Toronto, Stollery was the only Canadian guest star they cast that season, a credit to her rare talent. Kirby knew Stollery had great instincts and wanted her to follow them, immediately trusting her with the decisions she made for the character.
“Claire is creative and collaborative, hardworking and will always give you a solid performance on every take. She approaches every scene with intelligence and makes good choices,” said Tim Kirkby. “Claire has an incredibly natural ability, which is what I look for in a good actress, the skills to tell the truth in any genre with great confidence without pushing makes Claire standout.”
On the show, Stollery also had the ability to improvise some of her lines and scenes, something that she not only excels at, but loves doing. It takes both a confident and talented actor to seamlessly work and react to improv, but Stollery makes it look easy.
“A lot of writers can be precious about their words, but thankfully the writers on Man Seeking Woman weren’t like that. They really let us play on set. Jay Baruchel and Eric Andre are obviously some of the best actors you could ever ask for to improvise with. They’re open to anything! Which is great, except when Eric is running around in a cock sock,” she said.
What’s next for this Canadian comedy star? Her upcoming film Must Kill Karl is set to premiere on CBC early next year.
