MB: So on the set...who are you? Are you, like, the troublemaker? Are you the wily prankster?
MP: No, I'm the good kid, I think. There's not a lot of troublemakers, actually. 30 Rock is definitely split a little bit between the younger cast members and the more experienced cast members. And I have so little to do with Jack McBrayer or [the actors that play] the writers, so whenever we do get to have a day together, it's so much fun.
MB: Now...because I am a total fanboy geek and have seen Mean Girls upwards of ten times, I must ask you: What's it like working with Tina Fey?
MP: Tina is so nice. I don't know how she does it. She creates, writes, [and] stars in the show, and I believe she executive produces. And she has a kid. And you can tell she's a great mom. And she did a movie on our hiatus. And still somehow she has time within a day to respond to my "congratulations on all the Emmy nominations" email. She instantly wrote back to say thank you. I just feel like you don't find a lot of people like that at all. Not only in the industry, but anywhere. People who can just get that much shit together.
MB: And you just want Tina Fey to do well, or at least I do. She just seems so cool. Like I was really happy when 30 Rock got all those Emmy nominations and that she got a nomination for her acting. It was like an acknowledgment that she and the show are great.
MP: I think you're totally right. And I think that's great because the show developed a lot. Especially the characters. Liz Lemon could have been just the insecure, smart writer who didn't understand the network, but she's this woman with this incredibly complex relationship with Jack Donaghy. You got to see her, as an actress, become more complex over the season. It's not surprising to me at all, but I just think it's really cool to get to see