Poker Face: Natasha Lyonne Has Great Reason For Why She's "Not Having Fun" Playing Charlie Cale

The first season of Poker Face has come to an end on Peacock, but the Rian Johnson-created series will be back for a second season. The show stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a woman who has the ability to tell when people are lying. In each episode, Charlie finds herself having to solve a different murder, and the people she encounters are typically played by an exciting guest star. Lyonne has received a lot of praise for her portrayal of Charlie in addition to her work behind the scenes. Not only does Lyonne star in the show, but she also helmed the eighth episode. Recently, Lyonne spoke with USA Today and was asked if she had fun making the series, and her answer was extremely honest and inciteful. 

"To be honest, I'm not having fun, in the sense that I'm working really hard to make it seem very lazy and back foot," Lyonne explained. "To feel that lazy on screen, you have to be unbelievably prepared." Lyonne explained that in addition to "memorizing 60 [script] pages a week," she is also often "storyboarding, scouting, and working hard to make sure the special guests feel welcome and get the tone of the show." She went on to compare their appearances to a musical ensemble. "Acting with people like [Nick] Nolte and Ellen Barkin, I'm like a session musician. Wow, here comes The Beatles and The Stones. Maybe that's the fun the camera picks up on."

Which Poker Face Guest Star Was Natasha Lyonne Most Nervous To Meet?

The eighth episode of Poker Face, "The Orpheus Syndrome," was directed by Lyonne and featured veteran actors such as Nick Nolte and Cherry Jones. Nolte played Arthur in the episode, a character based on iconic visual effect artist Phil Tippet. During a recent interview with Variety, Lyonne admitted that she was shaking when she met Notle. 

"Of all the Poker Face people, [Nolte's] the only person I was a little bit shaking when I first met," Lyonne revealed. "He swiftly handed me a copy of his memoir called Rebel. It was sort of like, 'You and me, we're just the same, kid.' And I was like, 'OK, in with Nolte! This is fun.' That was when I knew it was very important to have a deep and dark life experience, so that the big boys like that respect you right away. He and I had so much fun together."

The season finale of Poker Face is now streaming on Peacock.