The Real Reason You Recognize Susie From The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is one of the hottest series available on streaming platforms, and it has brought home multiple awards, having charmed a variety of critics. At the heart of the show is Midge Maisel, played by Rachel Brosnahan, a housewife-turned-stand-up comedian in 1950s New York City. And by her side is her fast-talking agent Susie Myerson, played by Alex Borstein, who believes in Midge's talent and is willing to give it her all to help her succeed. Together the duo create comedy gold as they navigate the business of being funny in a male-dominated world.
If you recognized Borstein or felt that you'd seen her before, that's for good reason, as she's been in the entertainment business for a long time. She's also done voice acting for several different cartoons, which means you've probably heard her voice before as well. So without further ado, here are the many reasons why Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel seems so familiar.
The actress behind Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel played two characters on Gilmore Girls
If you're a fan of Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, you can thank Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Dan, for creating the hit show. The pair also created the beloved series Gilmore Girls, which ran from 2000 to 2007. Borstein had two small parts on the show — Drella the harpist and Emily Gilmore's stylist Miss Celine — but she was originally cast in a much larger role. "When I auditioned for Gilmore Girls, I played Sookie," she explained in an interview with Vulture. "Amy had written that with someone else in mind, and when it came down to testing in the pilot, she ended up going with me."
But because Borstein was busy with MADtv at the time, she wasn't able to take on the role. "It probably worked out for the best, because the trajectory of what I got to do during that time was pretty amazing," she continued. "It would have been great, I'm sure, to be Sookie, but you never know."
Melissa McCarthy was cast as Sookie instead, so it all worked out in the end!
The Lizzie McGuire Movie featured Alex Borstein before she was Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
It's not just on television shows where you'll find Alex Borstein — aka Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — as she's also appeared in several movies, giving her the chance to flex her acting muscles. Notably, you might remember her from the 2003 Disney film The Lizzie McGuire Movie starring Hilary Duff. In it, she plays Miss Ungermeyer, the stern school principal who chaperones Lizzie and her classmates on a trip to Rome.
While The Lizzie McGuire Movie wasn't exactly a critically acclaimed Oscar hopeful, the teen film raked in a considerable amount of profit — over $55 million, according to Box Office Mojo. And Borstein has fond memories of working with Duff, who was just starting out in the entertainment business at the time. "She was just a little kid then, so funny that we both have toddlers now," she revealed in a Reddit AMA. "Life moves fast, people. She was always a sweet girl."
As for whether Borstein would appear in the Lizzie reboot if asked? "In a heartbeat," she said. "Especially if it shoots in Rome again. Or maybe Spain this time?"
The star who plays Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel appeared in Bad Santa
In 2003 and 2004, Alex Borstein, who'd go on to be known as Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, worked on several different projects. For one, she appeared in an episode of the sitcom Frasier entitled "Farewell, Nervosa" in the role of Evelyn. She also snagged a small part in the hit comedy Friends as "Bitter Woman on Stage" in the episode "The One with the Soap Opera Party." Additionally, she played Tracy in the Wallace Wolodarsky-helmed rom-com Seeing Other People.
However, you might be most likely to recognize Borstein from the raunchy comedy Bad Santa, starring Billy Bob Thornton as a cynical, foul-mouthed con man who dresses up as Santa with predictably malicious intentions. The film also featured Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, Brett Kelly, and Tony Cox, each in comedic roles. Borstein appeared in the movie as "Milwaukee Mom with a Photo," which isn't quite the role of a lifetime, but certainly being in Bad Santa gave her some comedic cred.
You may have heard the voice of Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Robot Chicken
While not appearing on screen, Alex Borstein (aka Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) has lent her voice to several characters on the stop motion animation series Robot Chicken, an Adult Swim staple. That includes the show's characters Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Encyclopedia Brown's Mother, Rita Repulsa, Demi Moore, and others. So, even if her face isn't shown on screen, you may have recognized her voice from this series.
Borstein credits experiences in her childhood for nurturing her comedic capabilities. "I grew up with a grandmother from another country and having a different language in my house," she explained in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. "That gave me an ear for accents."
Robot Chicken has some fairly offensive content at times, but Borstein believes shows like this have value. "You need little tiny tremors constantly letting off some steam, otherwise I think people are going to blow," she told Daily Beast. "I think it's great to have valves that people can loosen up and in the privacy of their home really have a great laugh at their own expense." Fair enough!
Alex Borstein was Catwoman's BFF before she became Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Some movies have the unfortunate fate of being panned heavily by critics and tanking at the box office, no matter how big their stars and budgets are. Such was the case for the 2004 film Catwoman, which starred Halle Berry in the titular role, with Alex Borstein as her right-hand woman. "I play Sally, Halle Berry's (Catwoman's) best friend," Borstein told Super Hero Hype. "My character enjoys all the good stuff in life: food, wine and sex. She's a fireball."
Borstein enjoyed her time on the Catwoman set regardless of its imminent failure. "It was great fun to work on a film of this magnitude," she continued. "Big stars, big budget, big stunts." She added that she hadn't heard any of the gossip about Berry's costuming or the bad feedback that was circulating at the time.
In the end, the film ended up on Roger Ebert's list of most-hated films, which tells you all you need to know about it. Oh well, you can't win them all. Plus, Borstein went on to be known as Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, so things clearly looked up.
The woman behind Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel had good luck in securing this role
One of the especially magical things about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is the way the set designers and costumers were able to capture the essence of New York City in the 1950s. The same holds true for the 2005 film Good Night and Good Luck, although the focus and the feel of the latter film are different. Shot completely in black and white, Good Night and Good Luck details the take-down of Senator Joseph McCarthy by the famed broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow.
While Alex Borstein didn't have an especially huge role in the film — she played Natalie — she did have significant screen time. Additionally, because she did a lot of homework studying the 1950s for her role, she was able to use that knowledge when she was cast as Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel years later. "I did a movie several years ago called Good Night and Good Luck and I did a lot of '50s research then," she revealed in an interview with Vulture. "So I was able to be lazy on this and hold over." That's pretty convenient!
Alex Borstein, who plays Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, voiced this Bordertown character
On the animated series Bordertown, which was created by writer Mark Hentemann, Alex Borstein provides the voice of Becky Buckwald, one of the three children of Bud Buckwald (voiced by Hank Azaria), a border patrol agent. "(Bud) is a bit of an Archie Bunker racist," she explained in an interview with WTOP. "He's a bit of a bigot set in his ways, believes that Americans are only people who are here already."
Although Becky's father is bigoted, Borstein's character is the opposite of her father, and finds his actions morally wrong. "She is very politically correct, can't believe her father wants to build a border wall, and she's engaged to J.C. Gonzalez, the Mexican next door," the actress behind Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel continued. "So it's kind of bumping heads, and it can be extremely political at times, but what it is most of the time is extremely funny." That's pretty timely commentary!
Before she was Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Alex Borstein was a trigger-happy neighbor
The 2010 film Killers had just as much romance and comedy as it did action. Starring Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl, the film goes from straight rom-com to shoot-em-up action when — spoiler alert! — after three years, character Jen learns that her perfect new man was a sanctioned killer before they got married. In addition to that, the couple soon become targets themselves and have to figure out how to get out of the situation alive. In the movie, Alex Borstein (aka Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) plays Jen and Spencer's neighbor Lily Bailey, who presents as a kind, regular neighbor with an effervescent personality... at first. But eventually it's revealed that Bailey isn't at all what she seems, as she's out for blood. Hoping to collect the bounty for assassinating Spencer, Bailey joins her husband and arms herself with an intimidating automatic weapon.
Borstein must have had a blast playing a character that's so different from the bulk of her other work!
Alex Borstein played a nurse on HBO's Getting On before playing Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
One of Alex Borstein's favorite projects of all time was the HBO series Getting On, which ran from 2013 to 2015. In the dark comedy, which was set in the geriatric wing of a hospital, Borstein played Dawn Forchette, a nurse who helps care for older patients. And as Borstein tells it, she absolutely loved every second of working on this show. "That was like the perfect baby," she mused in an interview with the Daily Beast. "That was the baby that slept through the night, that cuddled. That was the baby that latched perfectly and you made enough milk and everyone was happy. That was perfection."
So why exactly did she love Getting On so much? "The location was seven minutes from my front door," she continued. "The group of people was tiny, the crew was dedicated and everyone was very like-minded. We all knew the material was so special and the writing was special."
Although Borstein was heartbroken when she show ended, it opened her up for new projects, including her role as Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
The woman behind Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was once a Shameless lawyer
For years, Alex Borstein worked on Showtime's comedy drama Shameless, which stars William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum at the helm of a large ensemble cast. The show centers on the Gallagher family, who are dysfunctional in a variety of ways, as they try to cope with their problems.
Borstein was first and foremost a writer for Shameless, which is one of the longest-running shows in Showtime's history. "I LOVED writing on Shameless," she gushed in a Reddit AMA in 2015. "The only bummer about doing [HBO show] Getting On is that the schedules conflicted and I wasn't able to write this past season."
Fortunately, Borstein also did some work in front of the camera for Shameless, which is why you might recognize her. "I did get to come back as 'Lou' Frank's sleazy lawyer, so that was fun," the actress who'd go on to play Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel continued. As for who her favorite person to write for on the show is? "I always liked writing anything for Joan Cusack because you never knew how she was going to deliver it. She is truly one-of-a-kind," she added.
Before playing Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Alex Borstein portrayed a busty brothel madam
When Seth MacFarlane was developing the 2014 Western A Million Ways to Die in the West, he knew he wanted to cast Alex Borstein right out of the gate. "This film, A Million Ways to Die in the West, the second it was happening and they were writing it, he thought of me as playing the madam in the brothel," she revealed in an interview with Trailer Addict. "I don't know why, but he did. And I'm so glad he did!"
The film also stars heavyweights like Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, and MacFarlane himself, whom Borstein called a "genius." She continued, "He finds humor in places you didn't know were there," adding, "Once you see it, you're like, 'How come I never thought that way? How come I never called that out?'"
Borstein, who'd later become known as Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, added that the film was so good that you could have sold tickets to the script reading alone. That's some high praise for the writers!
Alex Borstein was a part of a star-studded holiday film before playing Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Alex Borstein hasn't played a lot of motherly characters in films and television shows. But she has a specific reason for that: being pigeon-holed. "I've been so hesitant to play moms," she confessed in an interview with ScreenSlam. "I've been so terrified of getting stuck in that, of feeling like it would be the last stop."
But that wasn't an issue for Borstein when it came to the 2015 family Christmas movie Love the Coopers, as her character, Angie, had enough depth and dimension to keep Borstein interested. "I think so long as the moms are interesting, I'm happy to play an interesting woman," she continued.
Additionally, Borstein was admittedly starstruck on set, as the cast included legends like Diane Keaton, Steve Martin, and John Goodman, to name just a few. "Every day's a little bit of a freak-out still. I just try to maintain my cool and pretend like I got this," added the actress who'd later be known as Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
You've definitely heard the voice of Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Family Guy
In the late 1990s, Alex Borstein met comedian Seth MacFarlane, who was starting to develop the now-popular animated show Family Guy at the time. MacFarlane asked Borstein to help him develop the pilot, which she agreed to, and the rest is history. Borstein has been the voice of Lois Griffin ever since, as well as a regular in the writer's room and one of the show's producers, according to IMDb.
Borstein, who plays Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, enjoys playing Lois for a variety of reasons. "My favorite thing about playing Lois is that she isn't a typical sitcom mom," she shared in an interview with Vulture. "She's this dark character with this evil little underbelly that rears its head every once in a while."
Additionally, Borstein likes that Lois is a multi-dimensional character. "Even though she's animated, she's very real and I love that she's got a sex life," she continued, adding, "She also has a soft side and is sometimes the voice of reason on the show." That certainly keeps it from being a boring job!
The actress who plays Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maislel was a MadTV cast member
Before playing Susie from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Alex Borstein's big break was on the beloved sketch comedy show MADtv, which ran for 15 seasons from 1995 to 2016, as noted by IMDb. Borstein was a cast member from 1997 to 2002, and, during her tenure, she played a variety of seminal characters, such as Cordo the Gap troll and Eracist Anne. But easily Borstein's best-known character was Miss Swan, a woman of ambiguous ancestry who didn't speak English very well. "She's a rip-off of my grandmother," Borstein revealed in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. "I knew that anytime I would do my grandmother's voice at Passover, people laughed their (butts) off. There was something about that voice and being so obtuse."
Part of the reason Swan was so popular was due to the fact that Borstein drew from her life experiences to create the character. "I knew that Swan was based on something real, and usually real things tend to pick up steam because they come from someplace personal," she continued. She was right, as people thought she was absolutely hilarious!