Michael Zegen did not expect his turn as Joel Maisel in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” to be a recurring role. But by the end of five seasons, we watched him turn from philandering self-centered husband to a man who really does redeem himself, over and over, and who is there for Midge when she needs him. We all fell in love with Joel as we fell in love with the show, wanted him to come into his own, and were glad when he did.
If you’ve missed the scumbag side of Joel, or just Zegen’s expressive face, he is now starring in “Notice to Quit,” out today in theaters, in which he plays Andy Fisher, a single dad, conman and macher struggling to make ends meet. Set in one sweltering day, the movie follows Fisher as he walks up and down the streets of New York City, saddled with his daughter who is about to move away to Florida with her mom, his ex-wife. He visits his dad, a quirky artist who doesn’t seem to be any help. He leaves little Anna out on the street while he shows apartments. He steals and gets entangled with petty criminals in a tale that feels so firmly rooted in the New York real estate world.
Zegen has the most incredible ability to make even the least likable characters likable, and he does this with Andy, carrying literal and metaphorical baggage in this, his first lead role. It’s impossible to look away from his tortured face, to not want him to wise up, to not see at the end of the day that he is a father who loves his daughter, but just isn’t currently equipped to be the parent she needs.
Kveller talked to Zegen about filming in New York, being recognized for “Maisel,” his Jewish family and his upcoming projects with Lena Dunham.
I was thinking about Joel Maisel a lot as I watched the film.
Really? Why?
I think it was the New York background, this story of a father in search of redemption…
Sure, OK, yeah, you’re right, I’ll give you that. He is different though.
He’s very different. And over the course of “Maisel” we got to see Joel redeem himself on multiple occasions, whereas this is just one day for Andy.
Right? Exactly.
I also thought about Joel in the way I was rooting for this character who was making all these terrible choices…
There are a lot of parallels now that you mention it, but I see it as a different character entirely. Different time period, right? Especially with the father-daughter relationship; I mean, Joel was a good father, but you never really saw his relationship with these children. The children in “Maisel” were kind of an afterthought in a way.
Yeah, it’s true. People were like, “Oh, where are they? What’s going on?”
A lot of people said that. But this is why — because it’s so hard to have child actors on set. Luckily, we were so fortunate to have Kasey Bella Suarez [in “Notice to Quit”], who’s fantastic and couldn’t have been more professional if she tried. She was just the best. So sometimes you have to take a chance.
One of the things that makes Andy so redeemable is that kind of relationship with his daughter. It’s so beautiful, the scenes between the two of you, the dynamics, the chemistry.
She was really wonderful to work with. I mean, she’s not a jaded actress yet, and she doesn’t have stage parents or anything like that. She was really learning, and so was I. So we were kind of in the same boat together.
What do you feel like you learned from this project?
I’ve never been the lead in a movie before, so this was all kind of new territory to me. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve been on a lot of great shows, but even “Maisel,” despite being one of the leads, I didn’t work every day like Rachel [Brosnahan] did. This movie was every day. Every day I had to show up, whether it was in the Bronx or in Brooklyn, we shot all over. You’re exhausted by the time you get to set and I just had to learn how to be “the guy” on a project. Luckily, I had an amazing director, Simon Hacker, who was very collaborative. We talked a lot, and he had all the answers, despite being a first-time director. Obviously he probably had nerves and jitters and whatnot, like I did, but whenever I had a question, he had the answer. And that’s what you want from a director.
That’s beautiful that you all had these first experiences together.
And it wasn’t just us, it was the crew, too. The heads of every department that we had on the crew was their first time being the head of that department. And so we all felt really like a family. We had this project that we wanted to see through, and we did, and now it’s going to be on the big screen, which is crazy.
What was it like shooting with Robert Klein? That father/son dynamic was really special.
Robert Klein is a legend. Luckily, I knew somebody who was friends with him, and I had been talking to Simon about who we can get to play this character, and he just popped in my head. And so I asked my friend, and he asked him, and he agreed to do it. And he couldn’t have been more lovely. He was a total pro, and he had a lot of great stories. He was perfectly cast, if I do say so myself.
New York is such a big part of a lot of your roles.
Yeah, I know, get me out of here!
I know you’re from Jersey. I’m in Jersey. Maybe it’s time to get you back here.
I would love to.
I mean, look, [NYC] is the greatest city in the world. I’m not complaining. And it’s such a part of this movie; we shot in every borough. I’ve said it before, but this is the type of movie that, if you watch it 30, even 20 years from now, you’ll see stores that don’t exist anymore. It’s kind of like watching “Dog Day Afternoon” or “Midnight Cowboy” or something like that, where you see New York and like…
It’s a time capsule.
Exactly.
You’ve played a lot of Jewish roles and a lot of Italian characters. Andy’s last name is a bit Jewish-coded, especially with Robert playing his father, who does feel a bit Jewish.
They definitely pepper in some Jewish bits here and there. I don’t necessarily want to only play Jewish characters, but I’m also not opposed to it, if something good comes my way. I’m not gonna be like, no, he’s Jewish!
You won’t be like, I’ve reached my Jewish role quota, actually!
No, I’ll play whatever! I want to play everything. But obviously I want to play characters that people can believe me as. I don’t know if I’ll ever play a Swede or something like that. But right now, the religion or the nationality doesn’t necessarily matter to me. It really boils down to the script.
And you’ve played such fascinating, dense roles! What connected you to Andy’s character?
He’s a hustler, and I’m a hustler. At the end of the day, I think he means well. He’s a good guy at heart, and I think I am too. The fact that he’s the lead, I hadn’t done that before, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could. It was hard, I’m not gonna lie — it was really, really hard. It was probably the hardest job I’ve ever had.
Now you’re ready to take a break.
Oh my God, yes. I didn’t want to have to carry that bag around. I think the bag got heavier and heavier as we kept filming, just because I kept shoving things in — keys and scenes we had previously filmed, just everything was in there.
And then you’re carrying the air conditioner!
Oh my God, the air conditioners. Yeah, those were heavy, too. I mean, you know, they could have gutted them, but they didn’t. You wanted to get the realness of it. Plus, we shot on 35 millimeter, which is a lot harder than shooting on digital, and we’re battling the weather. The whole movie takes place in one day, and so it’s supposed to be the hottest, sunniest day of the year, and so we’re battling the sun constantly. And we’re dealing with a little kid who has kid hours…
You were feeling all the pressure Andy was.
Yeah, but it helped. It definitely fueled my character for sure.
You’re the grandson of Holocaust survivors. This has been a very complicated year for Jews everywhere. Has it changed your relationship to your Jewish identity? Has it changed the way that you think about your grandparents?
I don’t know if it’s changed anything, because I am who I am, there’s no changing the fact that I’m Jewish. I’m Jewish! I think it’s a hard time for any marginalized group of people right now, so we just have to keep fighting and be loud and make sure people know that racism is not OK, bigotry is not OK, and just keep going along with that mantra of “never again” — never again for anyone, not just Jews. It’s obviously been a hard time but hopefully we get through it OK.
What do love you most about being Jewish?
I love a good Jewish deli.
What’s your Jewish deli order?
I like a good brisket sandwich. I like pickles. Just classic Jewish stuff. Actually, my favorite Jewish dish is probably chicken soup. I make a good chicken soup. My grandfather used to have diners in the city. When he came over after the war, he started out as a short-order cook in a restaurant and then worked his way up to owning his own places, and he was really proficient in soups. That was his specialty. So it kind of got passed down.
From generation to generation!
My mom makes great soup, and both my brothers make great soups, and I feel like I’m no exception. So food is definitely something that’s brought us all together. And maybe it can bring the world together. I don’t know.
Everyone needs some comforting chicken soup, right? Are you doing anything for the High Holidays?
I’m probably gonna go home to New Jersey and see my parents.
That’s so nice.
Yeah, we do a big dinner. We’ve always done that, and then they go to the temple. I’ll probably go as well but maybe not with them. I can’t go to their temple anymore. I get swarmed…
Is that your childhood synagogue?
Yeah, and it’s kind of nice to go back in there. Everybody knew me when I was a little kid acting, and now they’ve seen me grow up and continue pursuing it. So I think they’re all very proud.
That’s the problem, you’re so iconic, you’re part of the Jewish lore. You’re an indispensable part of Jewish culture now!
The last time I went during the High Holidays, I went with my brother to a synagogue in New York, and people were coming up to me during the service. And I get it. I get it. But you know, you could do this after!
What are some of your fondest Jewish childhood memories?
I loved hearing my grandparents talk about where they came from. My grandfather didn’t really talk about [the Holocaust]. He lost most of his family; only his brother survived, and he was in Auschwitz for two years. But hearing how my grandmother escaped from Ukraine through the woods to Russia — those were my bedtime stories when I would sleep over at their house. They lived a few blocks from where I lived. So I grew up with them literally right down the block. So that was really special.
That’s amazing.
Yes, my grandma’s still alive. She’s 100.
How did you celebrate the 100 birthday?
She’s not all there right now, which is unfortunate, but just the fact that she is here, that’s the only kind of celebration I need.
And you got to have her stories.
I only wish I had asked my grandma for more stories, you know, because now I can’t. But she is a really special woman and a survivor. And my grandfather was, too.
What’s next for you?
I play a part in “The Penguin” series coming out on HBO Max. It’s really cool. I was really thrilled. It’s actually way funnier than I thought it was going to be. It’s dark, but it’s still funny. And then I’m doing a play. And then next year, I did a series with Lena Dunham that’s coming out on Netflix called “Too Much,” and I think that’s going to be really amazing.
That’s so exciting. I recently got to talk to her about “Treasure” and she was brilliant.
I saw that. It was incredible. I love her. I mean, I worked with her on “Girls,” and we’ve just kept in touch ever since. And so she asked me to do this, and I got to film in London. It was really cool and the scripts were amazing. I really feel like it’s a true follow-up to “Girls,” and I’m really excited to hear what everyone has to say about it.
