This interview was originally published on ComicBookMovie.com.
A hilariously terrifying comedy, The Parenting follows young couple Rohan and Josh as they plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon and Frank and the laid-back Liddy and Cliff, the families soon realize that their rental – managed by eccentric local Brenda – is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist.
When one parent becomes thoroughly possessed (Brian Cox in one of his most unhinged, side-splittingly funny roles to date), it’s up to the young couple and their meddlesome BFF Sara to unite the families and stop the evil entity once and for all.
We recently sat down with star Dean Norris to discuss his role as Cliff, husband to Lisa Kudrow's Liddy and dad to Josh. The actor starts by reflecting on the fun this movie's cast had behind the scenes before reflecting on his and Lisa's on-screen dynamic.
Dean, who was recently seen in Netflix smash hit Carry-On, also reveals what it was like working with special effects and having to imagine going toe-to-toe with a demonic poltergeist. Finally, he briefly reflects on Breaking Bad's immense legacy and the show's upcoming 20th anniversary.
You can check out the full interview with Dean in the player below.
I had such a fun time watching you and Lisa team up in this movie. What was it like working with her and matching wits wand going toe-to-toe with Brian Cox and Edie Falco?
Yeah, it was just absolutely fantastic. Myself, Lisa, and Parker Posey were all in the same house. We obviously had our own areas and stuff but from the beginning...Edie lived very close so we went out to eat all the time. Sometimes we would cook and would do movie night. It was just the best. Lisa couldn't be...I think she's one of the most brilliant comedic actresses out there. To get to play scenes with her...we did a lot of improv and, of course, Edie Falco and Brian Cox.
The time off the camera was as much fun as doing the show. When we would sit around waiting, you're talking about a bunch of smart, funny, brilliant people, and we just laughed and told stories. [Laughs] We had this long-term thing. I forgot how it happened but Parker and I pretended like we were having an affair. Everyone knew we [weren't] but there were times when we were happy, times when we were sad, and people just loved us going off on [Laughs] pretending we had this thing going. There was a lot of stuff like that so it was just so much fun.
It's great to hear you had so much fun making it because this is a really funny movie. There's a lot of horror going on too, though, so what were those days like on set when you threw in the monsters, demons...and noodles?
Yeah, the crazy noodles! The thing is, you don't see a lot of that. You have to kind of imagine it because they put that in after. You basically had to imagine it because they'd describe what it was like but you're basically acting to a dot or a thing over here that's gonna be like that. It was a little more difficult because you have to try and imagine it and hope that your response was the right one when they put the poltergeist in there.
The dynamic between Liddy and Cliff...it's so much fun to watch. I know you said you had a good time behind the scenes, but how much of that relationship would you say was in the script and were you and Lisa coming up with your own ideas?
I think a bit of both. Obviously, the relationship was there in the script but she's such a brilliant improvisational actress that I just went along for the fun and enjoyed those moments when we got to...we took our relationship to a new...once we kind of established it, which was very early on, and because we had a lot of fun off-camera and off set, that it became easy. Acting is fun when it's easy. If you have to struggle to try and find it, it generally doesn't work out. For comedy, in particular, just the chemistry between her and I felt like it was immediate and right on. That allowed us to develop this relationship. That's what you get when you work with great actors. Lisa Kudrow is one of the best.
In my opinion, Breaking Bad is the greatest TV show of all time, but how do you look back at that show's legacy? You've done a lot of great projects since but it must be amazing to have that behind you.
It is! It's striking that it's gonna be, I think, the 20th anniversary in three years. It's incredible. It's insane. But yeah, that's always something I have in my back pocket and probably won't happen again, but you never know!
The Parenting will premiere on MAX on Thursday, March 13, 2025.