Michelle Pfeiffer Doesn’t Think She’s Funny, Despite Starring in Comedies (Exclusive)

Michelle Pfeiffer doubts her comedic skills, even after starring in movies like marry the mob And spray,

in a joint interview with him Oh. What. fun. Three-time Oscar-nominated costar Denis Leary, 67, tells People she was “nervous” to sign on very sick A wacky Christmas comedy from director Michael Showalter.

Pfeiffer says, “No matter what he does, you’re in good hands with him, but if you’re going to do comedy and a little bit of screwball comedy, you couldn’t be in better hands than that.”

“And so, I was a little nervous because it was weird, and I don’t even think I’m funny, so when I committed to doing it, I remember saying to Michael, ‘Okay, I’m going to do it, but you better make me funny.'”

“So that was our running joke throughout filming, but I’m so glad I did it and did some of those things,” she adds.

In Oh. What. fun. Pfeiffer plays Claire Closter, a Christmas-loving (and underappreciated) mom who is preparing to host the perfect holiday for her husband Nick (Leary), their three adult children (Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz and Dominic Cessa) and their significant others. When they forget about her one afternoon and leave Claire at home, she sets off on her own adventure.

During one scene, Claire – in a desperate attempt to win over a neighbor (Joan Chen), who gifted her a three-wick candle – steals from Crate and Barrel and is chased through the mall and parking lot by an army of security guards.

“It’s weirdly based in reality, and these are all things that could potentially happen. Keep in mind, this pushes the boundaries,” says Pfeiffer.

She says that as she continued doing films, she became more confident in her comedy. “As an actress, the more I trust my director, the more I’ll go out of my way,” she says. “And it’s a wonderful, wonderful way to work because you discover things — and not all of it will be good. There were some things I really loved and they didn’t end up in the movie: I have to deal with a security guard and stuff.”

Leary, 68, feels Pfeiffer isn’t giving herself enough credit in terms of her comedy skills.

He says, ,She has been very funny at times. Even in dramas, her characters have had very funny moments, so I always felt like she was and has been funny., ,marry the mobThere are so many!”

She added, “From the moment we started rolling, I was like, ‘The character is so funny.'” “It seems like what’s written is funny, but what she brings is really funny. And the rest of the cast, we spent a lot of time laughing on set.”

Pfeiffer earned rave reviews and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her performance in the 1988 film. marry the mobHe also stole scenes in the 2007 film version of the musical, sprayIn which she played former beauty queen Velma Von Tussle, who sings “(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs”.

Although Pfeiffer and Leary have both been in Hollywood for decades, they never met until the table read Oh. What. fun,

Pfeiffer recalls, “I was doing the last scene with Felicity, and I just got a little emotional.” “Then we continued reading and I was sniffling, and Dennis got up in the middle of it and brought me a tissue. And I thought that was very kind. He’s a softie.”

Oh. What. fun. Stream on Prime Video on Wednesday, December 3.