Nikki Blonsky Gets Smash'd

She's certainly adorable...but can she be trusted? Nikki Blonksy of Hairspray fame joins NBC's Smashon Tuesday in the recurring role of Margo, assistant to Jerry Rand (Michael Cristofer), the creep producer who now has control of the Broadway-bound musical Bombshell. How will young Margo figure into this cutthroat world? TV Guide Magazine chatted with the effervescent Blonsky to get the dish.

TV Guide Magazine: Exec producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron discovered you for the movie version of Hairspray, and they're also the big cheeses at Smash. They didn't have the audacity to make you audition for Margo, did they?  
Blonsky: No! It was an offer but I would have happily auditioned because I love Smash so much. When you get to be on a show you're crazy about, you just go through the roof with excitement. For years I'd bump into Craig and Neil at various Broadway openings and they'd always say, "We're gonna work together again someday!" And I'd be, like, "Well, okaaay...hopefully sooner than later!" Those were the guys who made my dreams come true the first time, and here we go again. Hopefully, I hit it out of the park for them. The table read was like Hairspray déjà vu, what with Craig and Neil and [composers/exec producers] Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Plus, all through the making of Hairspray I used to have Will & Grace DVD parties in my trailer at lunchtime and the cast would come and watch. It's my all-time favorite show, and now here I am on a series with Debra Messing and Sean Hayes. I just need to do a project with Eric McCormack and Megan Mullally and my fantasy is complete!

TV Guide Magazine: And you're finally playing your age?
Blonsky: I am! Margo is basically my age, which is 24, but I also have a movie coming out, Geography Club,where I'm back to playing 16 again. [Laughs] Thank God for being 4'10" — I can still pull it off! It's a really wonderful film about kids coming to terms with their sexuality and how cruel the world can be when you're young and different. I play this cornrow-wearing lesbian who goes around in a leather jacket with a guitar strapped to her back. Whatever you are — gay, straight, bi — you'll find characters you can really relate to.

TV Guide Magazine: So what's the scoop on Margo? Is she as evil as her jerkasaurus boss? Is she another Ellis?
Blonsky: Yes, she's on the evil team and she's certainly very driven but Margo is no Ellis. She's a really funny, lively, vibrant character and very dedicated to her job and getting everything done precisely and perfectly. She wants to be the best assistant ever — and that includes making the best cup of coffee ever. Jerry lets her read Bombshell and she falls in love with the show.

TV Guide Magazine: Aren't people wary of her, given who signs her paychecks?
Blonsky: They're probably a little suspicious that Jerry hired someone so bubbly and outgoing, that maybe it's a facade. And she does do one thing that may not be in Jerry's best interests, something that benefits someone in Bombshell. I think Eileen Rand [Anjelica Huston] certainly must be leery since she was married to Jerry but once she gets a sense of Margo, that she's really just an outgoing do-gooder, she realizes she may be able to take advantage of that. Unlike Ellis, Margo is not looking to claw her way up and be a producer. [Laughs] She's not even looking for a raise! She's just looking for a pat on the back.

TV Guide Magazine: How did someone so naïve get such a hot job on Broadway?
Blonsky: Margo may come off naïve but that's not the case — she's very, very aware of what's going on around her. When something interesting happens, she's like a dog who hears the treat bag. Suddenly her ears perk up and she's sitting at attention. But she doesn't say a word.

TV Guide Magazine: Will you get a chance to go all Tracy Turnblad and sing? You can't stop the beat, baby!
Blonsky: I wish! Not yet anyway. But that would be fantastic.

TV Guide Magazine: Hell, with the way the Marilyn Monroes keep getting hired and fired and hired and fired on this crazy show, Margo may need to step in and save the day.
Blonsky: Hey, why not? I'm all for it. Why couldn't I be Marilyn? [Laughs] I certainly am curvy!

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