Things are not looking good for Lonnie Hawkins (Will Ferrell) at the start of The Hawk. The Netflix comedy series, co-created by Ferrell, Harper Steele, and Chris Henchy, finds the permanently sunburnt former golf legend as his career and personal life are on the outs. Then, his longtime caddy suddenly dies.
Desperate for a way back into golf, Lonnie is floundering when he comes across Sam (Fortune Feimster) trying to fix her car. The chance encounter outside a strip mall turns out to change everything for the better. Sam boasts that she can fix just about anything, and eventually lands a job as Lonnie’s driver and new caddy. Except Sam doesn’t know the first thing about golf.
It’s not easy to steal a scene, particularly when you’re acting across Will Ferrell. But Feimster, who you might know from The Mindy Project, her various stand-up specials like Crushing It or Good Fortune, or her podcast “Handsome,” is a joy to watch in The Hawk.
We spoke to Feimster about performing with Ferrell, the surprising magic of the golf caddy, and what it’s like to riff to Hanson.
TIME: All the characters you play seem like a good hang. Where does that come from?
I’ve had this since my Chelsea Lately days. I think it’s my laid-back demeanor. I’m pretty chill in life, and that seeps into my characters. [Sam] definitely has that vibe. You see my character with Will hanging, eating chicken wings and riding the bus, so you automatically want to be that person’s friend. I’m more exciting on camera. In real life, I feel a little boring—I’m just eating cheese in a corner somewhere at a party.
Sam seems pretty laid back. How did you get into that headspace?
I knew [Lonnie] was gonna be a big character for Will. Day one of our table read, he dressed in the outfit, he came in smoking a cigarette, wearing the visor. You knew from the start that this was gonna be one of his classic overly confident, crazy characters. You don’t want to have two of those. I decided that my character would be an extension of him. Whatever he wants to do, I’m gonna go for it. If he says something, I’m gonna back him up. If he says something ridiculous, I’ll tap into that ridiculousness, too. But because he had this energy that was so larger than life, it sort of lent my character to be grounded. Otherwise, you’re just seeing two insane people the entire show.
What were the initial conversations you had about being in The Hawk?
I first met Will filming You’re Cordially Invited, which I had a very tiny part in. We got to know each other a little. Before filming The Hawk, he invited me over to his house, and told me they wrote Sam with me in mind. It certainly helps when the writers are familiar with your work. They already had that character well thought out.
Will was my comedic inspiration, as was Molly [Shannon, who stars as Lonnie’s estranged wife], which is what’s so trippy about doing this show. When I was in high school, I watched Saturday Night Live religiously, and they were the cast. I’d memorize their sketches. A lot of what I learned early on is them. Will and I also both studied at the Groundlings, so we have a similar background on improv. What no one could have anticipated was the chemistry Will and I had. Things were so organic, and that’s because we became friends in real life. We had really similar energies. That really bled into the show, where you see these sweet moments between our characters.
Now, he’ll invite me to watch sports and we have such a good time just hanging. I love that because I grew up with two brothers, and it reminds me of that brotherly connection.
What was your process for getting into character?
Sam felt like the first character I’ve played that I didn’t feel myself as much. I felt like I hit a different level with the acting. I don’t know if it was the writing, Will, or just the situation. I tapped into a different place than I’ve done in other projects, so I’m really proud of it. I don’t know that I set out to do that.
When I took on the role, I wasn’t sure what it would all look like. The costumes helped. They’re these vintage sports windbreakers and a captain’s hat. Sam’s a weird person who has layers to her. Midway through the season, Will’s character and I have a fracture, and I got to genuinely cry. Shiri [Appleby] was the director in that episode, and she’s also an actor, so she helped me dig deeper to try to get to that emotional level. Everyone guided me along the way with the writing and the directing. I was also working with a fellow improviser so I got to add some of my own writing and flair. It ended up being a really fulfilling creative process.
Was there any improv involved in the scenes with you and Will singing? There are some excellent moments with them, like the pronunciation of Hanson’s “MMMbop” and a passionate rendition of the Baby Back Ribs jingle from the Chili’s ad.
They always joke on my podcast, Handsome, that I’m always breaking out in the song. I don’t even realize I’m doing it. It was definitely fitting that this character breaks out in a song with Will. They had written all of those songs in because of clearances, but Will and I were riffing with “MMMbop” for sure. And we really did take the Chili’s song very seriously! We were legitimately trying to harmonize and be very musical about this Chili’s jingle.
Is there anything you would like to see Sam sing next season?
I hope we get to do another season. I like those sort of throwback songs. I’d love to do a little Salt-N-Pepa.
You mentioned Will and Molly are both comedy icons of yours. Who are some of your other inspirations?
Definitely Carol Burnett. She’s my original North Star. She was my first taste of comedy—I grew up watching reruns of her show with my grandmother. I just loved how silly she would get. She never seemed to take herself too seriously, but it still felt elevated. Watching her be ridiculous made me not be so self conscious, whatever I was doing. Also, a lot of the SNL people, from Will and Molly to Adam Sandler to Chris Farley. I always gravitated towards the big characters, the over-the-top silly people.
Sam doesn’t know anything about golf, and barely knows what a caddy is. Were there any movie or TV caddies that you watched before making the show?
No. I grew up on Caddyshack, Happy Gilmore, Tin Cup. You have these classic golf movies where these characters are very familiar. If the main character is a golfer and you’re the caddy, you’re the sidekick, right? So you know where your lane is. I’ve watched all of those movies a million times, so I didn’t feel like I had to go back to them because they’re so ingrained in me. Also my character did not know anything about golf, so I didn’t want to learn. When I’m pulling out the clubs, that’s me genuinely not knowing what Lonnie wants.
What is it about that role as a caddy that makes it so intriguing to audiences?
The golfer is driving the plot and has to serve us a lot of different storylines. The caddy’s there to insert the humor. The main character builds the tension, and I get to be part of the release, which is what comedy is based on. So when you’re the character that gets to sprinkle the extra stuff onto the show, it ends up being the person you want to watch and root for. If I’m doing my job right, you’re into the caddy. What I like about this show is I also get to add a lot of heart too, which as a stand-up comedian, I feel like my own personal comedy style is very silly, but also has that heart as well. So it hit home for me.
How do you measure success?
It’s hard these days. In the old days, if you were on a television show, you made it, you’re successful. We’ve entered this new realm where you know you’ll finish a TV show and the question is always ‘What’s next?’ And you’re like, well, ‘This was cool, right? Can I celebrate this for a second?’
There’s so much content. Everyone expects a comedian to have multiple jobs. I feel successful—I’m making a living doing what I love, and I’m getting paid to make people laugh. Not in my wildest dreams did I think that could be a career. To pay your bills and have a comfortable life, doing the thing you genuinely love, to me, that is success. All I want is to just continue to work. I know how lucky I am to be in this space.
