Fortune Feimster as Sam in 'The Hawk' —Colleen E Hayes—Netflix 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. Fortune Feimster as Sam and Will Ferrell as Lonnie —Colleen E Hayes—Netflix 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 fro
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In The Hawk, Fortune Feimster Steals the Show
