PURIST: I want to talk to you about the new season of Shrinking. I binged all the seasons in the spring, and your character is wonderful—acerbic, funny and no-nonsense. Kind of the way we all want to be. Say it like it is.
Christa Miller: Say it like it is, yeah.
How much of that character is you?
I tend to be authentic, but I was raised to be quite polite, so I will have restraint of pen and tongue way more than Liz. She could have easily become a Karen. I wanted Liz to be an homage to all the PTA moms who help all the other moms. I did not want to make her an annoying person. She does say whatever she wants. I’m authentic, but not like that.
We all aspire to be that aware of what the exact right response is. She always seems to nail it. I know your husband created the show with you in mind as a family. What’s that dynamic?
Actually he didn’t. Brett Goldstein from Ted Lasso was writing a show about a psychiatrist that was much darker than Shrinking, and he had written a character named Christa in it. It was after the pandemic, and people were showing their work and I kept saying to Bill, I’m doing Brett’s show. Then Bill called up Brett and said he’d like to do it and base it on Christa’s shrink. I go to Phil Stutz—I don’t know if you’ve seen the documentary on him, but he’s been my shrink for 25 years. I used to be very private about it, but now I feel like it’s such a great thing. After the pandemic, so many people got into therapy. Bill said he wanted to write a character based on Stutz, and let’s do it together. I get to say all those perfect things because they’re written. The one thing that I do in real life that Bill can’t believe is if someone asks me to do something and I don’t want to, I’ll just say no. I’m an introvert at heart. Bill is an extrovert.
There’s a blurred line between reality and fiction. Your shrink is actually the guy that story is about.
They’ve duplicated things from my house. Brett came over during the pandemic while I was in the backyard. I am a nerdy rock collector and tumbler, so rock dust and sand was everywhere. Brett said: “What is she doing? We have to put that in the show.”
Do you go to the trade show in Arizona?
No. I find my own rocks, and then I tumble them. Sometimes I make them into hearts, but not quite, because I’m not a sculptor, so my husband says I should have a company called Almost Hearts. I love agates—when they’re tumbled they’re like marbles. Since I was little I had a tumbler out in Quogue.
Tell me why you collect rocks and why you want to shape them.
It’s just like meditation. I grew up in the city, and went to Quogue every weekend all summer and even in the winter. I rode horses out there. I was in Malibu and we were hiking on Kanan at Dume and I found these agates, and was like, sometimes you have to saw them apart to see if there’s an agate inside. So, I got a wet saw. I have the mask on. It’s a whole thing, my outfit.
You should have an exhibition.
You know what’s really cute that I do with them—I display them in antique glass jars in my bathroom, the sun comes in, and they’re beautiful. My kids’ friends love them, my daughter’s friends in particular who travel, all of her supermodel friends, will text me from all over the world and say, “I have my rock with me.” Even Harrison [Ford]. I had to do a scene with Harrison in the second season, and I gave him a rock, one of my good ones. He said may I keep this? I said yeah, so he has one of my rocks.
Much like Liz—she gives her friends a rock only when she bonds with them. What’s it like working with Harrison Ford? For crying out loud, how special is that?
It’s special, but he doesn’t make it seem like anything. He’s also my neighbor, so I knew him from before. He’s the most fun. Harrison, he’s so good. Every take is just a tiny bit different. I remember one time I had this long scene with Harrison on a park bench, and my husband said, “Why are you being so thirsty with Harrison? You don’t want to be staring in his eyes the whole time.” I was like oh, right, right, right. He’s incredibly funny and sweet.
You elevate all your co-characters. I saw your whole Cougar Town series as well, which I loved.
It’s just badly named, before its time. I just thought that was the funniest show. We had the most fun. Courteney [Cox], Busy [Philipps] and I are still close friends. We would just scream-laugh all day.
That’s great.
This show is fun, but Shrinking has a lot of serious moments in it, as well.
You learn a lot, too, about how to handle situations and find the humor in everything.
It’s all real stuff. It’s double-checked with Phil and another psychiatrist before they begin writing the stories. In the second season, Harrison used a tool called the “reversal of desire.” It’s a real tool that Dr. Stutz uses. They do it right, the writers.
What’s your favorite aspect of playing Liz?
When I went to acting school in New York, I thought I was going to be a dramatic actor, and then ended up getting a part on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It was the most fun. So, I got into comedy. If you’re cute and you can be funny, it’s a good niche to be in. Shrinking has ignited my passion for drama. I love when I have a vulnerable scene. It’s such an A-team cast. Jason Segel has become a very close friend. He sets the tone of loveliness and kindness, and Bill does, too. You watched last season, so you know I cheated on my husband.
Yeah. A kiss.
Yes. Just a kiss.
With Josh Hopkins, your co-star from Cougar Town.
Yes, from Cougar Town. Bill was like, “Who do you want to kiss?” I wanted to kiss Josh, because we’re such good friends and I thought it would be fun and we love him. The kiss was supposed to be, as I described it to my husband: one Cincinnati, two Cincinnati. Josh and I are kissing all day for like 20 Cincinnatis, because why not. You get to, because you’re an actor and you’re working. You get to make out with someone for 20 Cincinnatis. It was great, and I think Josh is sexy.
Tell me about this season coming up. What can we look forward to?
We have a couple of iconic guest stars. Michael J. Fox did an episode, and he had such a good time, he came out again. Bill and Michael have known each other since Spin City. Harrison loved him.
You have a very talented daughter, who is a big singer now. Are you a momager?
Bill and I are both involved. She just finished a tour, but she also did a recurring role in Bad Monkey, Vince Vaughn’s show on Apple TV+. The executive producers wanted Charlotte to be a regular, so she’s now going to shoot Bad Monkey in a couple of weeks, until January. Then she’s going on tour in Europe. She writes her own music. She’s classically trained, plays piano, guitar, electric guitar, drums. She’s the real deal.
And she’s a great performer.
That’s probably why she’s good at acting. She just is not shy. I am a momager in the way that I am annoyingly braggy, and if I ever do a meeting with a casting director, I’m like, you know my daughter, Charlotte Lawrence. I also am the music supervisor on Shrinking. I did Ted Lasso, Scrubs and Cougar Town. I’ve been a music supervisor for a long time.
Tell me what that’s all about.
I like using new artists because it really helps their career launch. We’ve featured a lot of new artists on Scrubs, and even on Shrinking.
What’s on your current playlist?
I can’t say, because I go down wormholes of music and I listen to music that I just discovered or someone sent me. I’d be able to answer that better once I finish the music for this season. I love who we put in last year, Angie McMahon, who had a song called “Letting Go.” I love an artist named Leif Vollebekk.
It’s so nice to be able to express that other side.
Yeah. It’s really fun. I work with my husband. It’s great because at home, he’s so dumb and doesn’t know where anything is. I mean, he was just at home in LA alone and he didn’t know how to work the air conditioner. I’m like, you know the app. At work he’s really dynamic and charismatic. He’s sexy to me at work, thank God. I never fight at work. Cristina, he would tell you, at home he just follows me around. If he had a Baby Björn that he could carry me around in, like an adult one, he would. At work, he treats me like everyone else. The music we’ll fight over, because I trick him by playing in the car all the new music of my super-favorites. By the time he hears them in the edit, he’s like, that song has been on the radio. It’s not been on the radio. A lot of times I think a song is going to be perfect and it doesn’t work. Then I put in another song, and you get goose bumps, you get all the emotions.
Tell me what some of your wellness regimens are.
I work out with a trainer with weights. I’ll work out with Gabby Reece. We do no-joke workouts, they’re like an hour-and-a-half long.
She’s incredible.
She’s all about wellness and nutrition, and we talk about that a lot. I have a bike on set, because some of where we shoot is not close to our trailers, and I’ll bike around. I don’t drink. I always wear sunblock. I do have a magical thing: I double-sunblock. I have a tinted sunblock that’s from Alastin. It’s amazing, and it works on everyone. I even use that at work for base, because I don’t like wearing foundation. I’ll wear it even at night, because it’s so light. I eat very well, I do Pilates and I go to spin, just because it’s fun and I like to get that endorphin feeling. I love naps.
It’s very important, nap time.
At work, we’ll have an hour lunch and then, when they turn the cameras around, it’ll take like 25 minutes, so sometimes we’ll have an hour-and-25-minute lunch. Not all the time. I go in with my book. I call it booking out from 1 to 3.