The Dropout follows infamous businesswoman Elizabeth Holmes as she founds her biotech company Theranos. After its well-intentioned start, hiccups in research and production force Holmes to tell a series of lies to keep her company afloat. Even before any of these lies can be revealed, Theranos finds itself in some legal trouble, from technology patent issues to NDAs and threats of libel. As Theranos' influence grows, Holmes hires a lawyer to represent the company and protect their work from these outside threats.

Michaela Watkins takes on the role of corporate lawyer Linda Tanner, who wholeheartedly believes in Theranos and defends the company and its executives from increasing legal hot-water. Watkins spoke with CBR about bringing this character to life in The Dropout, including what resonated with her about this powerful woman character. She also dove into how impressed she was with her co-workers and finding comedy in the true-crime story.

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Michaela sitting at office desk speaking to Stephen Fry

CBR: One of the themes of The Dropout is powerful women and what's expected of them. While normally the focus is on Elizabeth for that, I think we also get to see this strong woman character in Linda Tanner, the in-house lawyer for Theranos. So what was it like to take on that role? Did that resonate with you at all?

Michaela Watkins: Does it resonate with me? I'm fascinated by women like Linda Tanner, we could say that. I think what resonates is I want so badly to believe that the people I work for and the people that I think are impressive are as great as I want them to be. I think that Linda Tanner is all-in on Elizabeth Holmes. I think also [that] my character really wanted to believe that she's on a winning team. I think corporate attorneys... It's a pretty dry run, usually. Here she is at the most exciting company ever that is on this trajectory that is skyscraping.

That doesn't happen probably a lot for corporate attorneys. I don't know if that's like a day in the life, that your company, Theranos, is on the precipice of having the greatest innovation of our time and that you're the person who is looked to to protect the brand and to protect the CEOs. I think she takes her job super-duper seriously and doesn't question it, and does whatever needs to be done to protect this company and to protect the CEOs. I think it is highly morally ambiguous what she was doing, but I don't think that's where she was coming from.

I think that she thought, "I gotta keep these guys safe so they can bring forth our country's greatest innovation." Also, "Hell yeah. Look at this young woman who's not being held down by preconceived ideas of what women are allowed to do." She pulls out the stops and is just like, "I'm gonna just go drop out of Stanford and then go have a $9 billion company and go sit across from four-star generals and have them give me all their money. I'm just gonna do that." It doesn't happen! [laughs]

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Elizabeth sits on the floor

It's definitely impressive.

I got a little amped up about it. No, I think it's impressive. It's too bad it's all bull crap, but I think it's impressive.

I think one of the surprising things about this telling of what amounts to a true crime story is how much room there was for comedy, for finding comedic elements in the telling of it. This is something that you are a pro at, so were you able to pull in any improv into the filming?

I don't know if I did too much improv. Everything was really in the script. I mean, Elizabeth Meriwether is a comedic genius. I don't say that lightly. I don't think you do that many seasons of New Girl and everything else she's done without... I mean, she's just funny bones. I think even in any kind of serious situation, Elizabeth is always finding what is humorous about it. [With] this, there's no shortage of humor.

For me, what makes me laugh is sort of... I really believe my character, but I wanted to make her a little bit insipid. I just wanted to enjoy, a little bit, the humility that comes with when you've pumped yourself up a little too much. That to me is what's humorous sometimes. Life is funny to me. Like I said, destroying the lives of people to protect a corporation and then [finding] out that you were wrong, I think, is funny.

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Absolutely.

Not that destroying people's lives is funny. I don't mean that. I mean the mental gymnastics that my character has to do to make it okay to do it, and then find out that you're morally reprehensible -- I think that is what's humorous, in like a Chekhov way.

So you get to be a part of a lot of really intense scenes in The Dropout, sometimes shouting across the table. What was it like when the cameras weren't rolling? Was it more fun?

It was just [a] full punching match. [laughs] No, when the cameras were not rolling [it] was very amicable and fun and usually me sauntering over to get a sandwich. I would say that there's nothing like free food. No, I would say that the caliber of actors on this show is exemplary. I got to work with legends -- Sam Waterston, Kurtwood Smith. I mean, I love these dudes. Oh, gosh, who else? I mean, [there were] so many.

Amanda Seyfried is such an incredible... Her portrayal is so real that I got goosebumps all the time. Like I genuinely had a hard time being like, there's Michaela, who is just so impressed by Amanda, and then there's Linda Tanner, who's so impressed by Elizabeth Holmes. The two were happening at the same time. So yeah, it was cool. It was really cool. I'm so glad. I'm so glad I got to do it.

Catch the first five episodes of The Dropout streaming now on Hulu, with new episodes releasing Thursdays through April 7.

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