Parker Posey reveals her total bewilderment during fan-favorite Will & Grace appearances that audiences still adore.
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Awkward Laughter
Parker Posey made Will & Grace fans crack up during her guest stint as Dorleen. Yet weirdly, she had no clue why they were laughing!
The quirky actress recently spilled that she just “didn’t get” her own jokes while managing Jack at Barney’s.
Her confused delivery actually made everything funnier without her even trying!
Sitcom Culture Shock
“Like tap dancing,” is how Posey described jumping from indie films to mainstream TV when chatting with Lisa Kudrow.
The rigid sitcom world totally threw her off balance. She’d deliver lines that had everyone howling while she stood there baffled.
“People would laugh, and I’d be like, ‘I don’t get it,'” she confessed with refreshing honesty.
Lost in Translation
When Kudrow asked if she meant “What are they laughing at?”, Posey nodded enthusiastically.
“I didn’t think it was funny,” she admitted, completely mystified by audience reactions.
The Friends star teasingly wondered if these were scripted jokes, but Posey was simply out of her comfort zone, taking everything way too seriously.
Fish Out of Water
Posey felt like a complete outsider watching “a whole other vaudeville” happening around her.
“Everyone else had been doing it for years,” she explained about the well-oiled sitcom machine.
Despite feeling totally out of place, her deadpan delivery and awkward chemistry with Sean Hayes accidentally created pure comedy gold that fans still talk about.
Indie Darling Meets Network TV
By 2001, Posey had already made her mark in indie cinema working with cool directors like Richard Linklater and Hal Hartley.
Her weird, wonderful acting style made her stand out in films like Clockwatchers (where she first worked with Kudrow).
This Will & Grace appearance was a rare TV adventure for the Baltimore-born actress.
From Confused Guest to HBO Icon
Fast forward to today, and Posey’s found her TV groove in HBO’s hit show The White Lotus.
Her performance as pill-popping Victoria Ratliff in season three got her some serious praise.
When asked about dream casting for a future all-star season, she excitedly suggested bringing back everyone, especially Jennifer Coolidge’s unforgettable Tanya.