In the 1980s, a mysterious woman was making late-night phone calls to powerful and famous men, including music producers, rock stars, writers and restaurateurs, each of which opened up to her and shared intimate details about themselves that they didn’t publicly discuss. The woman on the other end of the line was Miranda Grosvenor, an invented persona that was ever-evolving to make herself more appealing to whoever she was talking to and such notables as Billy Joel, Art Garfunkel, Eric Clapton and Sting just couldn’t seem to get enough of their conversations, even though they never led to in-person get-togethers.
During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Rachel Brosnahan, who not only voices Miranda for the Audible Original podcast series The Miranda Obsession, but is also an executive producer on the project, talked about why she found this to be such an appealing character, what got her hooked on the story, what made this a good fit for her production company, how she approached the character, getting to record with some of her voice co-stars, and what most surprised her about what Miranda did. She also talked about shooting the final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and her reaction to Midge and Lenny Bruce finally taking their relationship to the next level.
Collider: How was this project presented to you? Was it through the Vanity Fair story? Was it just an idea that was expressed to you? Did you get scripts to read? What stage of development was it in, when it came your way?
RACHEL BROSNAHAN: Our partners at Vice and Wingate Media brought the article from the Vanity Fair archives to me, with the idea of potentially turning it into a podcast. I joined them with my company, Scrap Paper Pictures, and we brought on Jen Silverman, our brilliant writer, and (director) Tyne Rafaeli, to help develop this project and figure out what sort of story we wanted to tell. As a team of all women, we were really interested in swinging the lens a little bit on the story that was in the Vanity Fair archives. This story captured the interest of America at the time it came out, but was predominantly explored through interviews with the men and by a fantastic male journalist, in Bryan Burrough. And so, this team of women was interested in digging a little bit deeper into who the mysterious Miranda was and what may have motivated her to pick up the phone. That was the birth of The Miranda Obsession.
What was it that ultimately made the character so appealing to you? It’s such a crazy stranger-than-fiction story, so what got you hooked?
BROSNAHAN: I always approach a story from a place of character. For me, it was that I admired her, in a lot of ways, and we all did. We were so fascinated by this woman who curated a rich fantasy life for herself. Through that exploration of this fantasy, she was able to connect with some of the most powerful and influential men in Hollywood, sports, politics and music, in the 1980s. In order to do this and to pull this off, she must have just been brilliant and smart and sharp and funny, and could match wits with so many of these men. We were also really interested in the idea of what made so many of these men stay on the phone with a stranger who called them in the night. We wanted to explore conversations about fame and isolation and male loneliness, and about connection at large, especially at a time when we’ve been so largely disconnected from each other. We began developing this project right before the world shut down, and it took on a new meeting, during that time.
Did you think about what made her think she could even do any of this and that it would actually work?
BROSNAHAN: I don’t wanna give away too much. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to get into that exploration a little bit further. This is a series of imagined conversations, hoping to answer just that question. Jen Silverman did a beautiful job of taking us through a journey with her, and through a number of points at which I imagine that she asked herself why she’s still on the line.
What made this a good fit for your production company? Do you have a guide that you use for deciding what projects might work, in that regard?
BROSNAHAN: We’re always looking for ways to push boundaries of traditionally understood genres and mediums. One of the things that was really exciting to us about this project was that it felt tailor-made for audio, which was a space that we had never experimented in before, and have been so excited and inspired by so many creators in the audio space. We’re so grateful to our partners at Audible for really giving us the space to explore and play and figure out how we could use this form to enhance this story and tell it in a way that we haven’t heard in the audio space. I love that this podcast should hopefully give listeners the experience of being a fly on the wall in these incredibly intimate phone calls. That’s what made it a good fit for us.
How did you approach doing the character? When you know that you’re just going to be doing a voice performance for something that feels similar to a radio play, does it change the way you prepare for the character? Did you want to change anything about your own voice, at all?
BROSNAHAN: It was definitely a challenge for me, as someone who acts with my eyeballs. In the last couple of years, I’ve been playing this character who’s so physical, so to have all of the other tools and tricks stripped away and to rely on your voice alone was a real challenge. Thankfully, this particular story really lent itself well to that transformation because that’s exactly what Miranda was doing on the phone. She was slightly altering her voice, depending on who she was speaking to. Those subtle changes and shifts were really fun to explore. We relied really heavily on our director, Tyne Rafaeli, to keep us in check and to make sure that we were telling a clear story. We trusted that she would have everything she needed, and that she would be able to craft some of this in the edit, as well.
What was the recording process like for this? Were you just by yourself, or did you get to record these at the same time that the other actors did and have them to play off of?
BROSNAHAN: I’ve done it both ways, but with this project in particular, it felt really important to be recording it as much like a play as we could because the back and forth in the conversations is so crucial to this story unfolding. The ability to listen and respond to each other, as some of these turns are being navigated, was really fundamental. So, those of us who were in New York got to record together in the same space. John Benjamin Hickey and Josh Groban came into the studio with me in Brooklyn, which was really fun. Although, it was a bit strange, actually having someone right next to you while you’re pretending they’re on the phone, miles and miles away. Milo Ventimiglia Zoomed in from L.A. I think Harry Lloyd Zoomed in from London. Morgan Spector was in something called a whisper booth in upstate New York. We had a lot of time and space to try these scenes, what felt like a hundred different way, and play out all the versions of what these twists and turns could look like. It was so fulfilling. It really did feel, in a lot of ways, like doing the play without a set and without the use of your body.
There’s also a lot of talking, with a project like this.
BROSNAHAN: Tell me about it. I lost my voice, after day three.
How long did it take to record this and how much did you record, at any one time?
BROSNAHAN: We did a pickup day, at some point, so I wanna say seven or eight days in total. It was about eight hours a day for eight days, which starts to make you lose your brain. The time goes by faster when you’re on a film set. We work much longer hours. You can be on a film set for 14-plus hours sometimes, but you’re not stationary and sitting in one place. We definitely felt like we lost the plot together, at various points, but having that time to play and explore, and find these scenes and these people together, was a real gift. I’m so glad that we had that time to figure out what the story wanted be, and that we had Jen Silverman, our writer, and (director) Tyne Rafaeli present. It was just fun to be with everyone again. So many of these actors are actors that I’ve worked with before, and it was all kinds of fun reunions.
What’s it like, as an actor, to be in the fifth season of a TV show, with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel? You’re in an industry with as much content as there is to choose from now, so it’s a big accomplishment, any way you look at it, to get a project that goes for five seasons. How does that feel?
BROSNAHAN: We’re so grateful. And I’m so grateful to be a part of a group that expresses gratitude, freely and openly, often. We often find ourselves looking around at each other and looking around at these extraordinary sets. So many of the crew have been with us since the first season, and we just turn to our ourselves going, "Can you believe this?" We’ve all been a part of projects, shows or films, that are extraordinary and are so much fun to work on, but that never quite find an audience. We’ve all experienced that. And so, it’s not lost on us that being a part of something that has lasted five seasons and found an audience all over the world is like capturing lightning in a bottle. It’s just been so fun
At the same time, how does it feel to know that you’re doing the final season? Does that change things? Does it feel different?
BROSNAHAN: Yeah, it’s bittersweet. But we trust completely that we are in the same fantastic hands and capable hands that we always have been, in Amy [Sherman-Palladino] and Dan [Palladino]. They know when their story should come to a close and how to bring us home. And so, we’re just excited to keep receiving the final scripts. We just finished [episode] three. There’s a couple more. It’s definitely bittersweet, but it’s mostly sweet.
What was your reaction to finding out that Midge and Lenny Bruce would finally take their relationship to the next level? Were you a part of those conversations? How hard was that to keep a secret?
BROSNAHAN: Oh, God, well, it’s no secret that I have fully gone on the record going, "Amy promised me that she would never do this." So, I’m eating my shorts on that one. But she pulled me aside very gently, because she knew that she had made me that promise at some point, and whispered it in my ear. There was a serious of, "No. No. What? No." But actually, I just think it was so beautifully written. That entire sequence between two of them was just gorgeous, and I could couldn’t imagine a better way for them to get together.
I love that they get together as equals and completely on their own terms, and I love that it’s funny and lovely. If they were ever gonna get together, despite initially being adamantly against it, I couldn’t be more happy that that’s the way they chose to do it. I should never have been surprised that they would have nailed the landing. It was so fun. Luke [Kirby] and I just love working together so much. We’ve had scene after scene together that’s just dreamy. So, more to come.
That’s cool, though, that they had to sell you on it first and won you over, before doing so with the audience.
BROSNAHAN: Oh my God, it was a real journey. I just love their friendship so much. But I love the way that scene unfolded because it’s both things. They’re still soul friends, at the bottom of it all.
What most surprised you about someone like Miranda and who she ultimately turned out to be? As you learned about this story and then performed this story, what most struck you about her?
BROSNAHAN: I don’t wanna give too much away because I want everyone to have the full experience when listening, but I was so struck by her courage and by how courageous it is to go after something that you want, to that degree. I was also impressed with the logistics of it all. There were so many men, and so many men that she seemed to have really genuine and intimate friendships with, who valued her opinions, and whose opinions and feelings she valued, as well. I’m so in awe of women who know what they want and go after it with such courage. It was really fun to get to explore all the ins and outs of what may have led her there, and some of the harder parts. What goes up must come down, in some ways, and that was also interesting to explore.
The Miranda Obsession is available to stream at Audible.