Gillian Jacobs Is Ready to Let Go of Her Fears

In 2008, not long before she was cast as Britta Perry in NBC’s “Community,” Gillian Jacobs — a theater nerd with Juilliard creds — appeared in Stephen Adly Guirgis’“The Little Flower of East Orange,” directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman at the Public Theater.

It was the last time she acted on stage. “Little Flower” was a hard act to follow. It fulfilled her dream of working with Hoffman (he died in 2014), and her co-stars were Ellen Burstyn and Michael Shannon. The result, she said, was “incredible.”

Her new series required her to move away from the New York theater scene to Los Angeles, where she remains. “I felt a little trepidatious to do another play because it had been such an important experience for me,” she said. “But then enough time passed, and I got a little less precious.”

A decade later, she’s back at the Public — this time in Sarah Burgess’ “Kings” as Kate, a Washington health care lobbyist. Kate is trying to persuade a newly elected representative, Sydney Millsap (Eisa Davis), to support a bill that will benefit the American Podiatric Medical Association. (Now in previews, the show opens Tuesday.) Kate is feeling the heat: Washingtonian magazine has just released its list of top D.C. gay power couples under 45, and her ex-girlfriend Lauren (Aya Cash) and her wife are on it.

This year, Jacobs will appear with Melissa McCarthy in the movie “Life of the Party.” In a surprisingly emotional interview at the Public’s Library restaurant, Jacobs, 35, talked about conquering her fears and why her role as Mickey in Netflix’s “Love,” whose final season begins March 9, resonates. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

A: I wanted to challenge myself again. I wanted the rigor of having to be word perfect, of not being able to pull the panic button and say “Cut!” When we did our first full run-though, something went wrong, and I instinctively looked over to Tommy [Kail], the director, like, “Make it stop!” Then I realized there’s no stopping. So I’ve been cherishing both the sheer terror and the pleasure of letting it fly when you know so well what you’re doing.

A: I’ve learned about broadening a bill to death, in which a lawmaker can publicly say they support something while privately reassuring the lobbyists and “super PACs” that they won’t vote for it. That concept — of saying, “I support this, but this bill doesn’t go far enough, and I don’t want to lose out on an opportunity for more comprehensive legislation down the line” — I am now going to regard with suspicion.

A: I left Juilliard feeling like I didn’t know how to act on stage anymore. I felt so criticized and wasn’t sure that I could do it. But they didn’t teach us on-camera acting, so I didn’t feel like they had told me I couldn’t act on camera, and I gravitated toward movies and TV. I think I had to go away, find my confidence again as an actor, and then be able to come back.

A: The dynamic between Mickey and her father [a dysfunctional alcoholic] was shockingly similar to my father even though the writers didn’t know anything about my dad. I’m a very tightly wound person who’s tried to have control and decided never to drink or do drugs, and that was my response to a father like that. And Mickey wound up imitating the behaviors of that parent. So maybe the behaviors are different but the drivers — the anxieties, the fear, the pain — are the same.

A: [Begins to cry] Well, he passed away. [Long pause] So mine is a closed chapter. The gift that the show gave me was when I tried to perhaps see things from my father’s perspective for the first time. It was surreal to work on that episode and say, “I love you, Dad,” which is something I can’t ever say in real life again.

A: OK, do you want me to cry again? I had moments years ago where I spoke up and was not listened to. I tried to take it to people in positions of power and was told it was my problem to deal with. So it’s been incredibly painful because I’m allowing myself all those feelings for the first time. But if I allow myself the possibility that this is a moment of real and lasting change, then maybe I can let go of some of that cynicism and hurt and hopelessness.

A: Oh my God, anything is possible, right? But I’m used to finding out news about the show from other people. So I’m sure, like, you will tell me.