Lifestyle Asia sits down with Nick Offerman and Thaddea Graham to talk about the new Apple TV miniseries Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
Just a glance at the synopsis of Apple TV’s new miniseries, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, and you’ll soon realise that it’s a pretty wild ride. Elle Fanning plays the titular character in the adaptation of Rufi Thorpe’s 2024 novel on the streamer, who turns to OnlyFans to support herself and her new baby. Giving her support is her room mate, Susie (Thaddea Graham), and later on, her estranged father, Jinx (Nick Offerman), who she reconnects with. The eight-episode miniseries is a both a hilarious and heartwarming ride, and before the first episode premiered, Lifestyle Asia got to talk with Nick Offerman and Thaddea Graham about Margo’s Got Money Troubles.
[Hero and feature image: Apple TV]
Nick Offerman and Thaddea Graham on the costumes and writing of Margo’s Got Money Troubles
What was it that drew you to this project?
Thaddea Graham: For me, it was [executive producer] Dearbhla Walsh. She was the one who put my name in the mix and called me into the audition, and she directed me on Bad Sisters too, so we had a familiarity. When we got out to LA to shoot this, I was so lucky to have her, because I felt like I had a little safety net being so far away from home. She’s the reason I’m here sitting with you. I got to meet our incredible cast, and got to work with our incredible writer and the writing team. They’re our anchor.
Nick Offerman: It was a no-brainer for me. I was working in Budapest, and this offer came in. I mean, this novel by Ruthie Thorpe, David E. Kelley, Nicole Kidman, Apple TV, it shoots in Los Angeles… I was absolutely flipped out. I said, please sign me up before somebody with better cheekbones shows up.
Speaking of the legend that is David Kelley, he’s had such a long list of hit after hit. What was it like working with him?
NO: I mean, he’s like an institution. I have loved so much of his work. I remember watching James Spader perform speeches David had written for him on Boston Legal 20 years ago thinking, how can I find somebody like this? I just want to work with this kind of writer who makes me feel this way. And lo and behold. He’s also reclusive; he’s very quiet. But for me, the most thrilling thing was to learn that he’s still completely obsessed with writing himself. Usually, people in his position have a staff underneath them and don’t have to try as hard. They have four or five shows they’re overseeing. But he is still making the show, and his talent is coursing through the veins of it.
TG: Every character, there’s so much depth, and there’s so much warmth and so much heart, and he really, really cares. When you work with people who care, that’s just gold dust. And that then infiltrates into the production, into the day-to-day of it. And when you’re around people who are all at the top of their game, you step in and you go, “You’re making me better just by being around you.” You learn so much, and you lift each other. So we’re very, very lucky to have him at the helm.
Did you have any input on your characters, or did you just take the script and run with it?
TG: I got the script, and Susie was just so joyful and so whimsical. And for all of those big elements of her, at her heart she’s a real, loyal, good human being. I read it and I was like, I can’t touch this at all because it’s just fantastic. And we always say it goes back to the writing. We were lucky enough to have [executive producer] Eva Anderson on set with us every day. So if something was feeling clunky—very rarely did—or if we needed to change something, she was there, and she had a good hand in that. She was just so generous.
Thaddea, you’ve worked on a lot of, shows including Doctor Who, which I personally love. But this is one of the most star-studded casts out there. Was it intimidating?
TG: It was absolutely daunting. I was so nervous. And again, having Dearbhla there, I was so grateful for that. Everyone has been so generous and so kind and so welcoming. I was saying to Nick earlier, we did the Today Show this morning, and I was like, look at this! Being able to go in there and be scared, but be beside you, who has so much knowledge and youre so generous with it.
It was the same on Doctor Who. Jodie Whittaker is so generous and such a giving actor who really cares about the lore of Doctor Who and about what every single button in that panel does in the TARDIS. She got a note saying, “We’re going to put the TARDIS into hyperdrive, just push a button”. And she said, “Which one?”. And they said, “Whichever one you want.” And she went, “No, no. This has come before me. There’s a history to this, and I know there is someone sitting out there who knows exactly what each of these buttons do. Please go ask the writers.” And they did. I remember watching that and just feeling the respect and admiration she has for what comes before her and what she’s stepping into. I hope to be like that.
NO: I love Jodie Whittaker. She’s fantastic in Broadchurch.
Nick, was it a dream come true to play a wrestler in this series?
NO: You know, I learned a long time ago that the kid in me still wants to play a pirate and Robin Hood and a spaceman and a cowboy and a sheriff. I always have that. I actually got offered a role of a pro wrestler four or five years ago in a different film, and it wasn’t right, and I passed. I was always bummed. I thought, “Man, it would be such a crazy challenge to try and become a pro wrestler.”
But what I learned is I don’t have specific goals like, “Okay, I’ve checked that box”, because these writers are so good that whatever they think of is so much more complicated and real and delicious. The things I’ve been lucky enough to affect an audience with, I never could have come up with myself. If you had given me the choice, I would have come up with something much stupider.
So when this comes in, the most important thing is the relationships I’m getting to play. When you read it, I’m like, oh my god, this moves me so much, and it’s also so funny. Hopefully, I have a chance to give that to the audience. The wrestling is a bonus. The relationships are the outfit, but the wristwatch is being a wrestler. It’s a nice piece of flash. I do absolutely love it. I love any opportunity to transform myself, whether it’s learning an accent, wearing a funny set of teeth, or becoming a big, muscular, extroverted wrestler.
Your costumes are incredible, almost like characters of their own. Did you have a favourite, and did you by any chance take anything home?
TG: Mirren [Gordon-Crozier], our costume designer, is fantastic, and has an eye for detail. One of my favourite things was walking into my fitting. There were about five rails of a thousand different things, and we’d stand in front of the mirror, and she’d put on a vest, then a shirt, then another layer, then another layer, and stand back and go, “Something’s not right”, take off that second layer, pull it out, and it would transform. I was like, “How do you do that?” Watching her work was like watching someone paint or compose.
And making them all sing together in harmony, that’s an even bigger skill. We talked about crocheting because I like to crochet, and we put that into Susie’s character. In one of the costumes later in the season, without giving spoilers, there are elements that Susie will have made herself. Mirren heard that and went, okay, let’s take it this route. Again, it’s collaboration. Everyone here loves what they do, and they’re passionate about the story we’re all trying to tell. It’s a real treat when you get an entire crew that does that together.
NO: I feel the same. My favourite was the flashback, the actual Jinx wrestling outfit. It was just incredible, like a museum piece: a helmet, a cape, the boots. I generally don’t take costumes home, though… my wife [Megan Mullaly] was Karen on Will & Grace, and she had this sexy Santa’s elf costume one time. We may have taken that home. That was a very anomalous case. But we put it to good use.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles is streaming on Apple TV
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
