Jackie Hoffman, 'Feud's' Break-out Star, Talks Mamacita

While the battle between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis continued this past Sunday on the penultimate episode of "Feud," one crucial relationship appears to have come to an end. That is the relationship between Crawford and her long-standing and ever-suffering companion, improbably given the Portuguese nickname Mamacita despite being a stone-faced Austrian with little maternal warmth. (For the real story of Mamacita, read this Daily Mail account.)

On an earlier episode, Mamacita told Joan that if she had something thrown at her again she would leave. On this one, Joan throws a vase of flowers in Mamacita's direction when she learns that "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte," the film meant to reunite the stars of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?," will go on as scheduled with Olivia DeHavilland replacing the indisposed Crawford, who had been feigning illness in a Los Angeles hospital in order to sabotage the film.

In that moment Mamacita turns and walks out the door with the line: "I told you the next time you throw something at my head, I leave. Now I leave." The hysterical Crawford follows her out into the hospital's hallway, admonishing Mamacita that she is leaving in the moment of her greatest need. "You can't leave me now after what they have done to me," Crawford shouts. "You've done this to yourself," Mamacita calmly replies while walking away.

Of all the performers on "Feud," which has considerable star power (Jessica Lange, Susan Sarandon, Catherine Zita-Jones, Kathy Bates, Alfred Molina and Stanley Tucci), the series' break-out star is Jackie Hoffman, who plays Mamacita with a Teutonic sang-froid that audiences are finding irresistible. When asked about how to measure the success of Hoffman's performance, Ryan Murphy, the force behind the hit FX show, recently told USA Today: "I always know I've done my job when people tell me that they're going to go as one of my characters for Halloween. I cannot tell you how many people have told me they're going to go as Mamacita this year."

The laconic Mamacita may seem to a stretch for the usually outspoken Hoffman, who has solidified her place as a Broadway comedy featured player in such musicals as "Hairspray" (2003 Theater World Award), "Xanadu," "The Addams Family" and the recent acclaimed revival of "On The Town." Off-Broadway she received rapturous reviews for starring opposite Lypsinka in a revival of "Once Upon a Mattress."

Fans of "Difficult People" would recognize her as Rachel Epstein, the kvetching wife of Fred Armisen on this hit series streaming on Hulu. EDGE spoke to Hoffman before a recent performance of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," the blockbuster Broadway musical, based on the Roald Dahl children's classic and the 1971 film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," that opens on Broadway later this month where she has a featured role.

Top secret

EDGE: How were you cast as Mamacita?

Jackie Hoffman: I think Ryan had me in mind, but I still had to audition on tape. According to one of the writers they knew it was me who would get the role, but they all say that. Who knows?

EDGE: What was that audition like?

Jackie Hoffman: I didn't know much particularly about the role because we were told that everything was top secret. They didn't even tell me who this character was or who the subjects of the show were when I auditioned. I think they said the name of the project, but couldn't give any hints about Bette or Joan. They couldn't talk about it. In fact in the audition there was no Miss Crawford, it was Miss Rexford, so I had no idea. It was like this top secret, military project.

EDGE: But did they ask you to speak with an Austrian accent?

Jackie Hoffman: I think they said that she was German, but they had another name for her and it wasn't Mamacita.

EDGE: What happened when they offered you the role?

Jackie Hoffman: By the time they were expressing interest, they told me that the name of my character was Mamacita. And because I had read Joan Crawford's 1971 book 'My Way of Life,' I was actually familiar with what they were talking about. At first, though, when I heard the name 'Mamacita,' I thought, 'Oh, Lord, help me. She's Spanish. What do they want with me?' Then I remembered having read 'My Way of Life' thirty years ago and I remember her talking about Mamacita. And I thought, 'That what it is. That what it is.'

Strong purpose

EDGE: How did you prepare for the role?

Jackie Hoffman: I went over what was in Joan's book and they sent over a couple of photos. But really all the research they sent me was already stuff that was in the book, so there wasn't much about her out there on the internet, so I pretty much had to go with my own instincts and what little I knew.

EDGE: What was it like working with Ryan Murphy?

Jackie Hoffman: On the first day he said to me, 'She's German and she does everything with a strong purpose.' That's the first thing he said to me.

EDGE: Was the accent difficult for you?

Jackie Hoffman: No. The accent came naturally to me, and there were dialogue coaches on set who were really working with Susan and Jessica all the time. And I said to them, 'Is anyone going to say anything to me about my accent?' And they said, 'you're doing great. Just do what you are doing.' I was low maintenance.

EDGE: I read where you tweeted Ryan Murphy that you were available to work on 'American Horror Story' when he was trying to convince Jessica Lange to return to the series. Do you want to work with Ryan again?

Jackie Hoffman: I would hope so. I don't know if I will be included in any more of the 'Feud' things, but I would love to work with Ryan again. One of the great things about Ryan is that he tends to work with the same people. I had worked with Ryan on a previous show 'The New Normal' in 2012-2013, so he didn't forget; hopefully he won't forget again.

EDGE: Are people reaching out to you because of Mamacita?

Jackie Hoffman: They have. Not outrageously. Some people came out of the woodworks and emailed me. And 13-year olds on Twitter, or who knows how old they are, are all over Mamacita. I think a Mamacita Fan Club would be a great thing.

EDGE: Do you on the show recreate the falling out Mamacita had with Crawford?

Jackie Hoffman: She's rather mercurial, as you can imagine. So Mamacita is like, 'The next time this happens, I'm leaving.' And then it happens again and she leaves. Maybe she comes back - we don't know. I filmed one of the 1978 Oscar interviews and according to that, she says that Joan didn't want her around for the very end. When Joan was close to death, she didn't want Mamacita around.

Lange: 'crazy expressive'

EDGE: What do you think of Joan Crawford as an actress?

Jackie Hoffman: Not as good as Jessica Lange, I'd say; but definitely a personality. I love the strength -- pure, savage strength she exudes, which was very unusual for a woman at the time, so I admire her.

EDGE: Did you enjoy working with Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon?

Jackie Hoffman: OMG. Yes. Very much. It is the stuff that dreams are made of. Jessica is like a super cool person. And that was really fun to discover. She was fun to hang out with. And of course to watch her work, because I got to watch her work so closely, was crazy expressive.

EDGE: The show looks amazing. What was it like working on a set that recreates Old Hollywood with such remarkable detail?

Jackie Hoffman: Lou Eyrich did amazing work with the costumes. She really wanted to work with the actors and did whatever we were comfortable with. And Ryan, of course, had his perfectionist, multi-tasking hand in everything, so he had a say in it. I told my friends back home, 'OMG. Every object in the show. Every hairpin. Every dish. Every jar. Every object. Everything is the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen.' I wandered around and touched everything. I so wanted to take everything, but I live in a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan so it couldn't be done.

EDGE: What's better for you, theater or film?

Jackie Hoffman: It is such an apples and oranges thing. Now I am really adjusting because I came from television where I sit in a director's chair with my name on it and people are bringing me lattes and now I am climbing up 19-flights of stairs in a 100-year old theater in a room that's 100-degrees. So it is different.

EDGE: How has 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' been so far?

Jackie Hoffman: We are deep in technical rehearsals and getting a lot of stuff worked out. In the show I play I play Mrs. Teavee, who is Mike Teavee's mom. Miraculously this time I am only one person, which is rare for me. One costume. One person. Just like Mamacita.

EDGE: What was the revival of 'On The Town' like?

Jackie Hoffman: I loved it. I loved everything about it. That was a great experience. It was underappreciated, but it was a glorious show.

EDGE: You are hilarious on 'Difficult People...'

Jackie Hoffman: Well, it's a hilarious show. Hopefully we have another season coming up. God I love that. It was literally written for angry, aging, bitter woman. What could be better for me?

EDGE: Is that how you see yourself?

Jackie Hoffman: That's just part of me. But those are just some of the first adjectives that come to mind when I talk about myself.

EDGE: And I read that you regretted not getting a nose job when you were young. Is that true?

Jackie Hoffman: Yes. When I was a teenager. At the time I turned it down, then later I thought, dammit. 'Why didn't I get when it was offered?' I always thought I was a bit Durante-like. If you don't know him - Jimmy Durante - look him up.

The final episode of "Feud" will be shown on Sunday, April 23 on FX at 10 p.m.