Interview: Anne Dudek discusses her new comedic role on Corporate

Corporate’s Anne Dudek spoke with Hidden Remote about her role on the upcoming Comedy Central show.

The corporate world can be a soulless, drab place – and sometimes all you can do is laugh to make it through the day. Corporate, a new Comedy Central show, premieres on January 17, with a humorous look inside the offices of a conglomeration with Anne Dudek starring as a top-level executive.

Dudek, who has previously appeared in House, Covert Affairs, and The Flash, normally plays in dramatic roles. Now it’s time to be funny.

"“The payoff is totally different,” Dudek said in an interview with Hidden Remote. “I feel like there is pressure in comedy that the joke is working in some way. It’s either working or it’s not. The feedback Is kind of clear. If it’s a dud on set, you have to try something else. So, there is much more instant feedback about whether the scene is working or not.”"

Corporate, created by Pat Bishop, Matt Ingebretson and Jake Weisman, follows the lives of two junior executives-in-training in a conglomerate. Dudek plays Kate, a top-level executive at Hampton Deville.

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With dramatic roles, the instant feedback isn’t necesarilly there. There is more of reliance on the director to examine if a scene is working. But on Corporate, Dudek knew when the crew was in stitches, she hit her mark.

Yet, even with a comedic role, there are certain elements Dudek focused on to bring her character to life. She is one of the few women on Corporate along with Aparna Nancheria, who plays Grace, a human resources employee. Dudek, on the other hand, is a top-level executive who is dealing with men the entire time.

"“This is a woman in the workforce and in the context of the show, she is surrounded mostly by men,” Dudek said. “So, her struggles come from being that odd woman out and just the extreme behavior that she exhibits I found really compelling and I could see the humor in it. It was just super fun to play that whole scenario.”"

"“She has a major chip on her shoulder for many reasons,” Dudek added. “I think one of them is feeling really powerless and then overcompensating by domineering the people under her. That dynamic is really relatable and creates some extreme scenarios that are really fun to see them play out.”"

Though Dudek had never worked in the corporate world, having spent her life on stage and on-screen, she found the life interesting. Corporate was filmed in the L.A. Times building, so Dudek and co-star Adam Lustick took a walk to another floor of the building just to see if life imitated art.

"“We were walking around, and we were in our suits,” Dudek said. “We were wandering around, looking at the cubicles. Our show looks just look that. We wandered through the floor dressed up for our show and we fit in perfectly.”"

The first four episodes of Corporate are available to stream on Comedy Central’s website. Just about every one of Dudek’s scenes is alongside actor Lustick, who portrays John, another top-level executive.

The two work off each other and Dudek enjoyed working with Lustick, seeing his comedic mind at work.

"“His brain is always creating jokes. He is a lot of fun to be with,” she said. “He keeps the energy really high. He is someone who is completely different from the character he plays, constantly in a state of finding what’s funny. I love being a comedy duo with him because he is comedy. He is totally uplifting. I feel so lucky that I get to work with him on the show.”"

Dudek also enjoyed working with Lance Reddick, who plays Hampton Deville CEO Christian Deville. Many know Reddick from The Wire.

He’s done his share of comedy too and he uses similar styles in his comedic and dramatic roles to bring the laughs.

"“He is an actor that does both comedy and drama,” Dudek said. “It was nice to feel, here are two dramatic actors on this comedy show, maybe we can be funny too. Sometimes I feel like in a world of comedy, where Matt, Pat and Jake, they have really strong comedy backgrounds. I was really inspired by watching Lance, how funny he could be, he took the comedy thing in on so strongly, so wonderfully.”"

Next: 6 new shows to check out in January 2018

While Corporate is set to premiere this week, Dudek is hoping for news on a Season 2 pickup. She also filmed several episodes of Bosch that will be airing soon – though she didn’t have any scenes with Reddick, who also stars on the show.

Dudek didn’t have any updates on a return to The Flash where she played Tracy Brand.

"“That is open as well. I have my fingers crossed,” Dudek said. “I loved playing that character. There are certainly ways for her to come back. That was the word among a lot of actors on set that they love having people back and if It fits into their storyline.”"

Corporate premieres Comedy Central at 10/9c on January 17.