Melissa McCarthy Says This Common Behavior at Work is 'Unflattering'
Melissa McCarthy is gracing the cover of InStyle's February issue, where she has an exclusive interview aptly titled, "It's a Good Time to Be Melissa McCarthy." The actress has been living her best life lately, recently nominated for both a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award as best actress for her performance as the late biographer Lee Israel in Can You Ever Forgive Me?.
It's obvious that the comedian knows a thing or two about winning in the workplace — she's won over Hollywood, after all. So we can all take note of the piece of advice about "unflattering" workplace behavior that she shares in her inStyle interview.
"If you’re too cool to do the job, it pisses me off," she reportedly said.
"Even if it’s a dumb joke, your job as an actor is to make it better. So [if you don’t], you suck more than the person who wrote it. I spent 20 years trying to get a job, so when someone doesn’t really put in the effort, it just makes me mad. 'How easy did it come for you that you don’t feel like you’re grateful, or that you don’t have to try?'"
She adds that "nothing is more unflattering than someone who doesn’t try," calling a lack of effort is a "poseur thing to do."
McCarthy has worked hard herself over the course of her storied career.
She got her start as a standup comedian in New York before moving to Los Angeles, where she joined the legendary comedy group, The Groundlings. And, only after various smaller television appearances did she have her breakthrough as Sookie St. James on the acclaimed series Gilmore Girls. She ultimately went on to land a lead role on the show Mike & Molly, for which she won an Emmy. And she then was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Bridesmaids. She's since starred in other comedies like The Heat, Tammy, St. Vincent, Spy, The Boss and Life of the Party.
The now inclusive clothing line designer had put in her time, working her way up through Hollywood — and she immersed herself in every aspect of the industry along the way.
"I do feel like I work 500 percent on everything," she told inStyle. "I’m a complete obsessive. I’m in on every department. I want to talk about wigs, costumes, makeup, and construction because I love every part of it. If this all goes away and I didn’t try, I’d be, like, the dumbest idiot on earth."
That's why she said she'd "rather watch someone try hard and fail" then expect that success would be handed to them, she added.
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AnnaMarie Houlis is a feminist, a freelance journalist and an adventure aficionado with an affinity for impulsive solo travel. She spends her days writing about women’s empowerment from around the world. You can follow her work on her blog, HerReport.org, and follow her journeys on Instagram @her_report, Twitter @herreportand Facebook.
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