An Interview with Caitlin Reilly & Charlie Bushnell from ‘In the Know’

IN THE KNOW -- Episode 101 -- Pictured: Caitlin Reilly as voice of Fabian, and Charlie Bushnell as voice of Chase -- (Photo by: PEACOCK)

Caitlin Reilly and Charlie Bushnell are a pair of rising actors in Hollywood and are quickly popping up often on our television screens. Currently, they play Fabian and Chase in the upcoming Peacock series, In the Know, and we here at NTG had the honor of sitting down with both of them to learn about how they brought their characters to life and more.
 
John Betancourt: I would love to know what it was that attracted each of you to this project.
 
Caitlin Reilly: The money.
 
John Betancourt: The money, easy enough.
 
Caitlin Reilly: (Laughs) Okay. No, I thought it was such an original idea to have, you know, stop motion animation. I, you know, I'm such a fan of ShadowMachines’s work. I think that what they do is so genius. And yeah, I heard about the project. And I sent in a tape, and it was the funniest thing I'd ever read. And I really, really wanted to be a part of it, and I blackmailed them into hiring me. (More laughter) And I'm glad I did. And it's such an original idea. I think these characters are so well written. And, you know, sort of the mixed media aspect of the show, I think people are gonna really like, and I love it.
 
Charlie Bushnell: Yeah, basically, same as Caitlin. You know, I thought it was just such a cool and unique and interesting idea. I love the fact that it's, you know, we're animated puppets but at the same time, there's, there's real world human guests that are being interviewed as well. And I like that aspect of it. But also just, the writing is hilarious, and it's so much fun. And, but, um, I think more than anything, just the people involved as well. You know, I got to meet with Zach (Woods) and Brandon (Gardner). And right off the bat, like, that meeting lasted like an hour. And we just were just running through the scene and just talking about the character and just laughing the whole time. And I just really wanted to be a part of it, you know, even after that. And then, of course, I heard like, Mike Judge and Greg Daniels were involved. And I'm a huge fan of The Office. And so that was a big part of it for me as well. And, yeah, I mean, it's like a workplace comedy, similar to The Office. And so, I think, if you're a big fan of The Office, then I think you'll, you'll enjoy this one as well.
 
John Betancourt: And you two are amazing in it, and I do want to talk about your characters. Because they are so well fleshed out and feel so real. How did you as actors bring such depth to life?
 
Charlie Bushnell:  Um, yeah, I think, the main thing for me was just, uh, you know, doing some research. I mean, of course, like the writing is brilliant. And so that was there just to begin with, and so they made my job easy in that regard. But, you know, I think we all kind of know, someone like Chase in our lives a little bit, just sort of like a free spirit and just kind of like doing their own thing. And like, not worried about much just like, just carefree. And so, and I definitely know, like a few people like that from, you know, like, school or whatever. And so, I pulled a lot of inspiration from there. But also just, you know, watching movies with characters that are kind of similar to Chase was a big part of it for me as well.
 
Caitlin Reilly: I think doing voice work is so fascinating because it really releases your inhibitions. And I just, I tapped into a part of myself that I don't like. (Laughter) Which was Fabian, just sort of know it all stubborn, needing to be right. set in her ways. And yeah, I mean, I've said before, I think I think Fabian sort of represents the comments section of the internet. And I feel like that was a big inspiration for me.
 
John Betancourt: What are you most proud of when it comes to your work on this show, Caitlin?
 
Caitlin Reilly: Um, I'm just sort of proud of sort of the range that we got to play with these characters. It was such a collaborative process. And Brandon and Zach wrote these characters all so well. And there were so many highs and lows and I feel like I kind of went everywhere with Fabian. It was sort of nice not be afraid to get ugly in your performance. And by that I sort of mean, you know, tapping into a part of yourself that you're insecure about, you know? So, this is the first time I've done voiceover work and I'm just so proud to be part of this project. So, I'm proud of that.
 
John Betancourt: Charlie, if you had one word in mind to describe this show, what would it be?
 
Charlie Bushnell: Hilarious. So, you know, I'm gonna go with that.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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