Side Dish: More with Mary Elizabeth Ellis

Summary

Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Side Dish: More with Mary Elizabeth Ellis
Episode Date: January 29, 2026

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Overview

In this “Side Dish” mini-episode, Jesse Tyler Ferguson shares extra moments from his dinner with actress and writer Mary Elizabeth Ellis (“A Man on the Inside,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”). Recorded at The Ceviche Project in Silver Lake, the conversation is bright, funny, and reflective, covering their theater backgrounds, career pivots, family, parenting, and the inside scoop on working with Fred Savage and Taylor Swift. This episode serves up candid insights into the joys and anxieties of a creative life, the value of artistic partnerships, and the sometimes-surreal experience of interacting with Hollywood icons.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Theater Roots & College Memories

• Mary Elizabeth Ellis’s Path
  • Grew up in Mississippi; parents wanted her to stay near home for college, so she attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas (SMU), majoring in Fine Arts (BFA).
  • Sorority Life: While involved in theater, her parents required her to also join a sorority. “If you want to be with theater weirdos, you also have to be in a sorority.” (06:28)
  • Felt at home with fellow “weirdos” in the theater scene, even as she balanced sorority life.
• Post-College Launch
  • Discusses “Januarys,” the period when regional theater companies come to audition students. Landed her first professional acting gig in “The Tempest” as Ariel at PCPA in Santa Maria, CA, then in Solvang, CA (08:14–09:09).
  • Jesse and Mary bond over Shakespeare, with Mary admitting to using “No Fear Shakespeare” editions. “I would carry around secretly the No Fear Shakespeare edition… and then I’d bring the Arden version to rehearsals.” (10:26)

The Lure of Live Performance

• Both miss the thrill of live theater and riff on possibly pivoting to stand-up or storytelling shows.
• Mary: “I just miss that. Like, I love that…what’s this audience into?” (11:11)

Improv Roots & Comedy Circles

• UCB and the Comedy World
  • Mary talks about performing at Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) in both LA and New York, including a stage show she later adapted into a spoof Lifetime movie for Adult Swim. (13:57–14:13)
  • She names collaborators like Artemis Pabdani and reflects on the interconnectedness of the comedy world.
  • Jesse jokes about how he knows Mary’s face so well, he assumed she must’ve been on “Modern Family” at some point. (14:39–14:46)

Working with Fred Savage

• Both worked with Fred Savage: Mary on “The Grinder,” Jesse on “Modern Family” (where Fred directed episodes).
• Jesse recalls: “I remember one day...I tried to lighten the mood on set and I called him Kevin (from Wonder Years) … I think he didn’t like it. He was like, ‘Jesse, not now.’” (16:01–16:45)

The Changing Nature of TV Jobs

• Mary reminisces about the structure of older network seasons (“The Grinder” had 20 episodes), versus shorter seasons for newer projects (“A Man on the Inside” shoots 3 months, “Sunny” 2.5 months).
• Discusses the complicated scheduling for “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” as cast and writers have competing commitments. “We don’t have a traditional shooting schedule…It’s always figuring out when people could work.” (17:27–18:00)

Creative Partners & Parenting

• Mary and Jesse reflect on the importance of having partners who understand the creative grind; Mary shares about “running everything past” her husband, Charlie Day. (18:09–19:12)
• Joy of watching their kids develop a sense of humor: Jesse shares, “My three-year-old, his sense of timing is insane…he’s like a comedian.” (19:28–19:52)
• Discussion of nurture vs. nature, blended families, and seeing different parts of themselves in their children. (20:06–20:38)

Life as a Creative Parent

• Balancing work and family as children get older and school schedules require more planning.
• “We started hitting a point where… it’s like, second grade, you know what I mean?” (22:00–22:03)

From Acting to Directing

• Mary recently directed a short film and speaks candidly about the learning curve:

  • “I didn’t know the language. I don’t know how to speak to [the] DP or…art department on the same page… how to speak to a composer…” (23:29)
  • She recommends doing a short before a feature and credits a collaborative approach: “It’s just putting people who know what they’re doing in places where you don’t know what you’re doing.” (23:51–24:10)

• Jesse praises director-friend Elizabeth Banks’ (Liz Banks) approach: “She’s like, no, I just… know I can’t do everything. People who are here are hired to do their thing very well; I can’t worry about them.” (24:34–24:38)

Tone and Directing

• Mary on holding the “tone” of a piece: “Please, please don’t make me look stupid. Like, hold my tone the same as everyone else.” (25:07)
• Discussion of “Showgirls” as a tonal outlier, now admired as a camp classic.

Working with Taylor Swift

• Both Mary and Jesse have appeared in Taylor Swift music videos:
  • Jesse and his husband cameo as a married couple in “You Need to Calm Down.” "We get married in the video and it's very brief. It's like blink and you miss it." (26:58)
  • Mary appeared in a Swift-directed video; she calls Taylor “so confident… it’s her song and it’s her idea, and so she kind of doesn’t have to answer to anyone else.” (27:31)
  • Shares stories from set, including action/fighting scenes and the excitement of working with Taylor directly. (27:49–28:11)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Mary on Sorority/Theater Crossover:
  “When anyone weird came into rush, they’d be like, and here’s Mary Elizabeth. She has her nose pierced, you know?” (06:24)

• Jesse on Fred Savage Directing:
  “I tried to lighten the mood on set and I called him Kevin, which is his character’s name on Wonder Years… He was like, ‘Jesse, not now.’” (16:41)

• Mary on Directing:
  “I didn’t know the language. I don’t know how to speak to [the] DP… It’s just putting people who know what they’re doing in places where you don’t know what you’re doing.” (23:29–24:10)

• Mary on Parenting with a Creative Partner:
  “Because making him laugh is my favorite thing.” (19:13)

• Jesse on Parenting:
  “My three-year-old—his sense of timing is insane… he’s like a comedian.” (19:28)

• Mary on Taylor Swift as a Director:
  “Just totally knows what she wants. So confident. And it’s her song and it’s her idea, and so she kind of doesn’t have to answer to anyone else.” (27:31)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 04:17 — Theater school memories, college experiences
• 08:14 — Auditioning and working in regional theater (“The Tempest” stories)
• 10:26 — Reliance on “No Fear Shakespeare”
• 11:11 — Missing the energy of live audiences
• 13:57 — UCB and improv comedy roots
• 14:39 — Comedy community and “Modern Family” connection
• 15:00 — Working with Fred Savage (“The Grinder” and “Modern Family”)
• 17:27 — TV shooting schedules, “It’s Always Sunny” logistics
• 18:09 — Creative partnerships in marriage/family
• 19:28 — Raising funny kids, nature vs. nurture
• 23:06 — Short film writing and directing journey
• 24:34 — Lessons from Elizabeth Banks’ directing style
• 25:07 — Importance of “tone” in film/TV
• 26:30 — Cameos in Taylor Swift videos
• 27:31 — Taylor Swift as a director

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Tone & Style

The episode is warm, witty, and conversational—filled with playful banter, humble stories about creative stumbling blocks, and affectionate mutual admiration. Jesse sets a relaxed dinner vibe, with Mary sharing both the anxieties and rewards of juggling multiple creative roles.

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For more in-depth conversation, check out the full episode of Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Mary Elizabeth Ellis.

Transcript

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

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[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Did you start in New York?

[Guest Actress]

Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Okay.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah, I lived in New York for probably like 14 years maybe.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Okay. Did you go to college there?

[Guest Actress]

We're gonna put college in quotes. It was a performing arts school. It was a conservatory. I was given a certificate of completion when I finished and like, I was able to. It's a two year program and I went through the summer and for some reason, like, I was able to complete the whole thing in like 14 months.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh.

[Guest Actress]

Which doesn't really equate to a two year program. Like, I feel like I was getting.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, that's fast. Yeah. And it was all like performance. Like.

[Guest Actress]

Yes.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Okay.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Acting class. I was in musical theater.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, that's amazing.

[Guest Actress]

You went to theater school, right?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

So I did. I did. I grew up in Mississippi and then my parents told me I had to stay Below the Mason Dixon line and on the east side of Texas. I wanted help with school.

[Guest Actress]

Okay.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

So I went to Southern Methodist. And that's a good school.

[Ad Voiceover]

That was good.

[Guest Actress]

They have a good performing arts program.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

It was great. And I like the people that I met that, like my first time to be like, oh, these are my weirdos. And like.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

While also being in a sorority there.

[Guest Actress]

You were in a sorority?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, because my parents were like, if you want to be with theater weirdos, you also have to be in a sorority.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

See, it's so funny because I feel.

[Guest Actress]

Like growing up, like, being in sororities and frat houses were kind of like what the kids wanted to do. And the parents were like, oh, God. But they wanted that.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, yes. Because they were, like, very Southern, Very, like, sec. Like, yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Do you think it was a way.

[Guest Actress]

For them to, like, make sure that they were keeping tabs on you, like, that was a way for you to stay?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Like, I think they wanted me to marry a nas Christian man who. Who was like an old baron or something. You know what I mean? Who was like, a doctor or, like a. Yeah, that's really funny. But I just was like. I mean, my people are artists, and, like, I also love a lot of the women who are my sorority with me.

[Guest Actress]

Right.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

You know, like, they'd be like, when anyone weird came into rush, they'd be like, and here's Mary Elizabeth.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

She has her nose pierced, you know?

[Guest Actress]

Totally, totally. Do you.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

This school, I don't know too much.

[Guest Actress]

About the program, but they have a really good. I know they have a good performing arts program.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, but like, their business school and, like, lawyers and.

[Guest Actress]

Got it, got it. Do you think were your parents sort of like, maybe this would be a backup career in lieu of something else?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I think they just were like. It was liberal arts, so, like, they were like, absolutely not to a conservatory.

[Guest Actress]

Right.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

You definitely will get. I don't know, cheat your way through an education is. What did you.

[Guest Actress]

What was your degree?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

A BFA Fine arts.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Which I like to announce on set because it means nothing.

[Guest Actress]

I'm a B.F.A. yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Because it means nothing.

[Guest Actress]

Right, right, right, right. Well, as the one who holds a BFA in the room, I feel like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Should I turn out. Am I cheating to the audience?

[Guest Actress]

That's so funny. But you never wanted to go to New York.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Well, so when I graduated, it was kind of like New York or L. A. And then we had this thing called January's that was like, regional theaters Came and auditioned us.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, wait, did I know about this. January's is called at ours.

[Guest Actress]

January. Isn't that convenient?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah. That they've come for January.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I remember in New York, and maybe.

[Guest Actress]

They were January, so I just didn't know it. But, like, we would. There would be like. Like kind of mass auditions where, like.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

All the regional theaters would come and you would just do a monologue or two, and then people would pick you for different things. You would be like, these. Certain theaters are interested in me for these plays.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yes. And then they might be like, I'm gonna do a callback with you. Here's.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You would decide.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

No, no, no, no. They would call you back and then be like, here we're doing the Tempest. So that's what I ended up doing in Santa Maria. Yeah. I played the Ariel.

[Guest Actress]

I did the Tempest.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

You did? Who did you fight?

[Guest Actress]

I played Trinculo.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, amazing.

[Guest Actress]

I had to go back and think.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Was Trinculo the, like, handsome prince that came okay.

[Guest Actress]

In my mind. Yes. Yes, he was in my mind.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Cause there was the monster, the cat.

[Guest Actress]

Caliban.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Caliban.

[Guest Actress]

I was the drunk clown.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, amazing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

Which was really fun. Okay, wait, I wanna back up. So the Tempest was. You did the Tempest?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah. So I graduated from college and I was a professional actor. Like, I got cast. I was getting paid. Like, I moved to Santa Maria, California. There's a trade school called their PCPA Performing Pacific. I don't know. Anyway, so I was doing theater there and then in Solvang.

[Guest Actress]

I know. Solvang.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So cute up there.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

So cute. So they have that little theater.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Doing the Tempest there.

[Guest Actress]

I love that theater. I've seen.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

It's pretty great. And they do musicals. Like, they have people driving up LA doing the musicals there.

[Guest Actress]

No, I've seen several things. In fact, Sarah Hyland, my co star from Modern Family, got married up there and I officiated her wedding. So I, like, spent like, a magical weekend up in that area, too.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

It's so great.

[Guest Actress]

It's really great.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

That's such an interesting place to leave to go do theater. I mean, it's a great theater, obviously, but I always imagine the east coast and I guess.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

But that's everywhere. It's a Kentucky rep was a big thing. And then, like, Louisville. Louisville, yeah. And then isn't there, like, a big theater in, like, Minnesota? Like a big, great repertory theater where people go and. Yeah, yeah. So I don't know. I was like, okay. I'm like, how cool to.

[Guest Actress]

And the Tempest is Like, Shakespeare.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

That's like. First of all, Shakespeare's difficult. I've done a lot of it.

[Guest Actress]

Like, I'm always like, this is gonna be the time where they find out that I done what I'm doing.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, no one does.

[Guest Actress]

No one does.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, it's true. Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And.

[Guest Actress]

And then, you know, the Tempest on top of that, having worked on it, is like, not an easy play. Yeah. You know, so that's like, kind of like diving into the deep end as far as, like, a professional actor.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Wasn't it fun, though? Like, you had your lexicon, and you would have to, like, look through your lexicon and.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah, I did that. But also, I've told the story before, but I. I would carry around secretly the no Fear Shakespeare edition, which has, like, the plain English on one side. Thank you so much. The plain English on one side and the Shakespeare on the other. And I would just be, like, at home. I would like to see. And then I'd bring in, like, the Arden version to, like, you know, rehearsals. Oh, yes. No, this is what this means.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Like Shakespeare for Dummies.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah, basically. Basically. Totally.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I mean, you need it. Like, I don't know. I didn't know how people spoke then.

[Guest Actress]

No. Do you miss doing theater? Do you still do it?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I miss it. I just did a play reading last weekend, like a new play reading, which was cool, but. Yeah, I haven't been on stage, like, doing that in a long time. In fact, I was like, maybe I need to do standup. I just miss that. Like, I love that.

[Guest Actress]

Like, that live audience.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

What's this audience into? And, like, are they into the. Okay. Like, they're not this kind of an audience. So I won't lean into those jokes tonight. Like, how can I find what I've done? Storytelling.

[Guest Actress]

Okay. Yeah, me too.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah. But not like an hour. I mean. I know. Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Or even, like a tight 10.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, we talk about working with Fred Savage on her legal TV show, the Grindr, and me with him on Modern Family. And we talk about the joy of seeing our children develop their own sense of humor. We're both so proud of our kids sense of humor. Okay, be right back. You know those moments where your brain suddenly goes, wait a minute, wait a minute. Did I lock the door? Or you're already out to dinner and.

[Guest Actress]

You think, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Did I turn off the stove? Or worse, you come home and you're.

[Guest Actress]

Like, wait a minute, wait A minute.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

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[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And we're back with more dinners on me. Well, you started.

[Guest Actress]

You also did ucb.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yes.

[Guest Actress]

Okay. And that's here in la, right?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I did it.

[Guest Actress]

But they have one in the west, on the east coast as well.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yes, there's one in New York and I did like, I had a show here that I took to New York and. Yeah, and we got to turn that show into an Adult Swim movie.

[Guest Actress]

Oh, nice.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Which. It was like a spoof of Lifetime.

[Guest Actress]

Incredible.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

So like eating disorders and abuse and like all the Lifetime things, all the fun things. It was very delightful. Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

Did you go to UCB with people that are like working today that you.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I mean I did my show with Artemis Pabdani who she worked at least on. I was like, it's so crazy that I never did A Modern Family. I feel like it was like Law and Order of like you guys got every comedy acting.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

When I, when I was researching you.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

A little bit I was like, well, surely.

[Guest Actress]

Because I know.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I know your face so well. And it's like, well, I probably.

[Guest Actress]

She probably did A Modern Family at some point. Like, I just. I know I didn't work with you specifically, but I can't believe it didn't happen.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I know. Funny. I definitely. I think we were doing the Grinder during that time.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Yes.

[Guest Actress]

With Fred Savage, who is one of our directors.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yes. I've heard stories.

[Guest Actress]

Yes, yes, yes, that's right. The Grinder, which I actually kind of loved. It only lasted one season, right? Yeah, yeah, it was very good.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Only one season, but, like, 20 episodes. So.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Four seasons of a Now show, right.

[Guest Actress]

Exactly. I know.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

It's crazy. What. It is.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It was also weird having, you know.

[Guest Actress]

Because Fred Savage is someone that I grew up loving from the Princess Bride.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

And of course, the Wonder Years. And so when he came on as our director, like, it was so.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

First of all, I felt like I've always felt older than him.

[Guest Actress]

I don't know why.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So I think we're about to the same age.

[Guest Actress]

But I guess it's because as an adult, like, I still watch the Wonder Years, and I still watch, like, especially Princess Bride.

[Ad Voiceover]

Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

Like, I've shown, like, scenes of that to my kids. So I see Fred Savage as, like, this kid. And so he would come on to direct the episode.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'd be like, I can't take this kid seriously.

[Guest Actress]

Like, and.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

And he was very serious about, like. Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Oh, absolutely.

[Guest Actress]

He was very prepared. He's a great director. But I remember when he was doing the Grindr, and it was interesting because we still sort of had him on set sometimes, but it's like, he also had this other job that he was starring in this series, and I was. I don't know. I had such an interesting working relationship with him. I remember one day, like, he was, I think he was, like, really stressed out. I was trying to, like, lighten the mood on set, and I called him Kevin, which is his character's name on Wonder Years, to, like, light the moon. I think he didn't like it.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, yeah. He was, like, not having it.

[Guest Actress]

He was like, jesse, not now.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, yeah. And you're like, sorry, Swing and a miss. Swinging a miss.

[Guest Actress]

Totally. Yeah. I was like, come on, Kevin, let's pull the shot together. He's like, not today. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

You guys were doing, like, 20 episodes, right?

[Guest Actress]

Yeah, like more of 24 thing.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

That's so much work.

[Guest Actress]

It was a lot. Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

But I do also kind of miss the times when they'd be like, you get a job. And it'd be like, okay, well, this is my year.

[Guest Actress]

Right.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I have a full year of work now.

[Guest Actress]

Right.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Where like a man on the inside, we shoot like three months. Sunny, we shoot two and a half months.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

You know, has always sitting in Philadelphia.

[Guest Actress]

Been something that has been consist. I can't. I can't fully keep track of the timeline. Yeah, yeah, I know.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's been on.

[Guest Actress]

On and off. Not on and off. It's never been off. But like, you don't have a traditional shooting schedule, right?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

We don't. And because everybody also even more now has like a lot of other stuff going on. It's kind of like, we. When can we work with like Caitlin's schedule because she's shooting her new show for abc and like, Rob had Mythic Quest for a while that he was working on. And a lot of the writers who write on Sunny also wrote on that show. And so it was always kind of figuring out, like, when people could work because of their schedules.

[Guest Actress]

Right.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I don't know if this will be the last year, I think I feel.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like every year they're saying, is it.

[Guest Actress]

Gonna be the last? And then it comes back.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I know.

[Guest Actress]

It's like Grey's Anatomy.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I know.

[Guest Actress]

Like All My Children.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yes. It's so hard. I think it's really hard just writing it, like for like coming up with new ideas. And. Yeah, I don't write it, but it seems Charlie does. So, you know, to your question earlier, like, I can't imagine not having a partner that I could talk to about, like, creative things, you know, and maybe you can too, because your partner learns to speak that language.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah, he does for sure.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

And sometimes, especially when Charlie was shooting his movie Fool's paradise, it was also happening during lockdown. So we were spending all of our time together, only together. And we would wake up in the morning and he'd be like in scene 24, and I'd be like, man, I gotta like, let me pee and brush my teeth before this starts, you know? Yeah. Sometimes it is like, I also have creative stuff going on and I need like a little. And I feel like. I'm sure he feels like that with me too. Yeah, we love to run everything past each other.

[Guest Actress]

Right.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Because making him laugh is my favorite thing.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

And then also when our son really hits us. I don't know if your kids have gotten like quite to this point yet, but when they start hitting you with your sense of humor because you put it in them.

[Guest Actress]

My three year old, like, his Sense of timing is insane.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, that's amazing.

[Guest Actress]

He's so funny.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And just thought, like, how did this. Like, how already. How is he already so funny? And our older son's not, you know, he's not wired that way.

[Guest Actress]

Like, he's, he's. He's humorous and, like, really insightful. But, like, my 3 year old's like, he's like a comedian.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, that's amazing.

[Guest Actress]

And it's really astonishing.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, it must be. I mean, we obviously only have one child, but it must be so incredible to have two different humans. Be like both of you, though.

[Guest Actress]

Like, it's wild because also, you know, genetically one is connected. Like Beckett's genetically connected to Justin and Sully's genetically connected to me.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Wow.

[Guest Actress]

They share an egg donor, though. It's like there's. There's genetic connection between them there. Wow. And so we see ourselves and them and in very different ways. It's wild seeing pieces of me in Beckett, who has no DNA connection to you. It's really wild.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I bet, because you're like, yeah. Is it. Yeah. Being born that way or being raised that way?

[Guest Actress]

Nurture versus nature.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Do you find yourself just losing.

[Guest Actress]

Oh, all the time.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

There's a very well known thing for this, but.

[Guest Actress]

And then I'm like, I need to take that vitamin. Oh, God, what's the name of it again? Jess is like, ginkaloba. It's like, ginkaloba. Totally.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

You're like, whatever. We're in a partnership. We remember half the stuff. I'll remember half this stuff. We'll figure our way through.

[Guest Actress]

I'm trying to memorize a play right now, and it's about Truman Capote and it's a monologue.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, amazing.

[Guest Actress]

It's just. It's basically a 40 page monologue. And I'm about almost halfway through learning the play, and I'm trying to learn it before I start rehearsal, and I.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Anytime.

[Guest Actress]

I can't, I can't remember anything. And Justin gets frustrated with me.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's like you try and memorize 40.

[Guest Actress]

Pages of a monologue and get back to me and tell me how much you're retaining about everything else.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I think you should just start monologuing at him.

[Guest Actress]

Truly.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

Well, can you do this?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah. That's so exciting. Where are you doing that show?

[Guest Actress]

In New York.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Amazing.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Will you all go? Do you guys all get to go together?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It's hardly over the kids spring break.

[Guest Actress]

So, yeah, they come up for that, but it's tricky now that they're in school.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, it Gets trickier as they get older.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah, for sure.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah. We started hitting a point where we couldn't be like, whatever, he'll just miss a day. It's like second grade, you know what I mean?

[Guest Actress]

Yeah. We're also doing that a little bit too.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, we talk about making the pivot from acting to directing. And Mary tells me all about working on set with Taylor Swift. Okay, be right back.

[Evan Ross Katz]

This episode is brought to you by FX's the Beauty Official podcast. Join host Evan Ross Katz on the official podcast for FX's hottest new series, the Beauty, taking you behind the scenes with its amazing stars as they discuss the show's most joyous jaw dropping moments. Featuring Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, Ashton Kutcher, Rebecca Hall, Bella Hadid, Meghan Trainor, Isabella Rossellini, Jessica Alexander and Ari Grayner. Search FX Is the Beauty wherever you listen to podcasts?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And we're back with more dinners on me.

[Guest Actress]

You were saying that you were like writing a bit and you direct as well, right?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

I just wrote and directed a short film.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

How did that go?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

It was really fun. Have you directed?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

No, I'm supposed to.

[Guest Actress]

I have a feature that I meant to direct.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Amazing.

[Guest Actress]

And we're trying to put it together right now. And it's, we're just, you know, waiting for castings sort of come together.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

But I mean, I, I'm really glad I did a short film first.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Not that they're like easy or cheap to do because I would be like, direct a short film before, if you can, just because I, I didn't know the language. I don't know how to speak to like DP or like, how do you get our department on the same page as you? And like, how do you speak to a composer and say like, I want this, but like more of this and like, you know, it's so exciting.

[Guest Actress]

I'm really excited about it.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, you're gonna be great because you're, you will. You're such a good, like you're present and you're like a good listener and I think celebratory of other people's talents. And I think that's, it's just putting people who know what they're doing in places where you don't know what you're doing, you know?

[Guest Actress]

No, I'm, I'm good friends with Liz Banks when she was directing Cocaine Bear. I was, you know, observing her and watching her. I was like, how, like you're, I've.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Known her for so long, and I'm.

[Guest Actress]

Not surprised that she's such a confident director.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But I was like.

[Guest Actress]

I was just, like, proud of her.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like, you're doing such an incredible job. Like, I mean, do you ever get.

[Guest Actress]

Nervous about, like, this new role you're sort of stepping into underground at this point in Been like, this is, like her third film that she directed.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

And she's like, no, I just. I know that I can't do everything.

[Guest Actress]

And, like, either people who are here to. That are hired to do their thing really well, and I cannot worry about them. I don't need to know about all the lighting and I don't need to know about all these other things. Like, I can just do my thing and trust that people are going to do their thing well. And, yeah, I mean, it's nothing I didn't know already know, but, like, just tearing. It sort of, like, articulated that way.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

It was like, oh, yeah.

[Guest Actress]

It's like we. It is a collaboration.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yes.

[Guest Actress]

So, yeah, I'm excited about it.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

And holding the tone, I think is.

[Guest Actress]

That's right.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

As an actor, you know, too, like, I'll. I'll do it however you tell me to because but please, please don't make me look stupid. Like, hold my tone the same as, like, everyone else or it ends up.

[Guest Actress]

Becoming like Showgirls, which is, like, now a modern masterpiece.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah, that's true. But it had the same tone. Like, everyone was just like, I feel.

[Guest Actress]

Like there's no way. When they were doing that. And I've talked a little bit with Kyle McMan, who was on this EP guest of the podcast. I was like, were there moments when.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Like, you were being direct?

[Guest Actress]

You're like. And he's like, no.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

We all just, like, frosted that.

[Guest Actress]

It was like, you know, this is what we're doing. Yeah, yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

And then did you say when you saw it, were you like, whoa.

[Guest Actress]

You know, he sort of famously backed away from, like, doing press for the movie and, like, Elizabeth Berkeley was the only one left. He's like, yes, I'm the only one doing press for this. Yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

It really is, like, such a classic. I think I referenced it yesterday of, like, shoving someone down the stairs.

[Guest Actress]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

So amazing.

[Guest Actress]

Love it so much.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Yeah.

[Guest Actress]

We share something in common. I didn't know this about you. I found. I found some random facts on some website, but. And I was barely in.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

That is gonna be true.

[Guest Actress]

Probably not. We've both been in Taylor Swift videos.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, amazing.

[Guest Actress]

I was barely.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I'm in.

[Guest Actress]

I'm a true Cameo of one. I was in the you need to calm down video.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Okay.

[Guest Actress]

Which she.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Thank you.

[Guest Actress]

It's like all gay icons truly love it. It's like the queer eye for straight guys guy. Cass and Ellen DeGeneres and, well, Katy Perry, but, you know, she's not gay, but she's a gay icon. Yeah, it's. It's in me and my husband.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Oh, amazing.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Justin.

[Guest Actress]

We get married in the video and it's very brief. I mean, it's. It's like blink and you miss it.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

But we.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Did she direct that one?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

She did not.

[Guest Actress]

She directed yours.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

She did, yeah. So was she around when you guys were shooting?

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

She would have been if we had.

[Guest Actress]

Been able to do it on the day that they wanted us to do it, but we couldn't and so we had to do it with a green screen. But we do know her a little.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

Bit.

[Guest Actress]

And she's lovely. I would love to be directed by her.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

I think she's so smart.

[Guest Actress]

Talk to me about her as a director.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Just totally knows what she wants. So confident. And it's her song and it's her idea, and so she kind of doesn't have to answer to anyone else. And had a great dp. And then there was a lot of, like, fighting happening, but, yeah, also getting to work with.

[Guest Actress]

What do you mean fighting?

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

There was like fighting, like people doing stunts. Yeah, like, got it.

[Guest Actress]

I was like, oh, there's some tea. Tell me about that.

[Mary Elizabeth Ellis]

Well, it was me and her. I had a different idea and I just kept saying out loud to myself while looking at her, I'm not the director. So.

[Jesse Tyler Ferguson]

So that was a little side dish from my conversation with Mary Elizabeth Ellis. If you haven't heard our full conversation yet, make sure you check it out on Dinners on Me. Next week on Dinner's on Me. You know him from the Bachelor, from Coming Out. Colton. He's a best selling author, he's a podcast host, and he's on the new season of the Trait. Colton Underwood. Dinners on Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans Dale. She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tameka Balance Kolasny and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.

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