Rose Byrne

She really plays with the edge of consciousness, I think, in many ways, and tapped into the monster within and the fear of being a parent and the horror of being a parent.

Your purpose.

When Rose Byrne appeared on American TV in 2007 in the show Damages, it was clear she was a dramatic force.

Playing opposite Glenn Close, she was nominated for two Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards.

Then she starred in a series of comedies, Get Him to the Greek, Bridesmaids, and Neighbors, and it became apparent that she's also one of our most gifted comedic actors.

Her work in The Last Year Alone shows that she's so good at playing complex characters in any genre.

She stars opposite Seth Rogen in the Apple TV comedy Platonic, and she received an Oscar nomination for her raw performance in the film If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You.

Now Rose Byrne is on Broadway in the play Fallen Angels.

It's a revival of the 1925 Noel Coward play, a farce about two wealthy women, married, English, who go a bit crazy when they hear that the man they had both been involved with before they were married is coming to town.

Both Byrne and her co-star, Kelly O'Hara, have been nominated for Tonys for Best Actress in a Play.

Rose Byrne, welcome to Fresh Air.

Hi, thanks so much.

Now, this play is from the 1920s.

It was scandalous back then because it was about two women talking about having affairs with the same man before they were married.

Had you known this play or had you performed Noel Coward before?

And I'll say that Coward is a British playwright known for writing sophisticated, witty comedies about the upper class, you know, funny with a lot going on underneath.

I wasn't familiar with the play.

Scott Ellis, who's the artistic director of the Roundabout Theatre, brought it to me and Kelly O'Hara for a benefit reading for the Roundabout.

So that's how I discovered the play.

Obviously, but I was familiar with Noel Coward.