‘The Good Place’ D’Arcy Carden Once Shared Which of Her Castmates Was Hardest to Imitate for the ‘Janet(s)’ Episode
Though The Good Place delivered its final season at the top of 2020, the show is still capturing new audiences each day. Thanks to a dynamic cast, fantastic writing, and a stellar idea, The Good Place has found its way into the hearts of many. And while there are plenty of hilarious episodes for fans to fawn over, one that always stands out is the Janet(s) episode that comes in season 3. This is, of course, the episode when the four humans get transformed into Janets.
For the episode, D’Arcy Carden (who primarily plays Janet in The Good Place) gave a brilliant performance, somehow managing to pass as a believable Eleanor, Chidi, Jason, and Tahani in Janet’s body. Carden’s performance was filled with nuance and subtleties and she was somehow able to capture the essence of her fellow castmates. But how did the actor prepare for such a challenging episode? With a background in improv, Carden was accustomed to playing multiple characters. But in order to truly nail all the roles, she did quite a bit of studying and observation as well.
How D’Arcy Carden prepared to imitate the rest of ‘The Good Place’ cast
“I had plenty of time to creepily stalk my cast-mates and watch their every move and listen to their voices,” Carden revealed in an interview with Gold Derby about her process for shooting the iconic episode of The Good Place. “I also had the luxury of having many episodes of television to watch them on so I watched a lot of past episodes and honed in on the way they move and the way they talk and the way they sound when they get angry and the way they sound when they’re excited, all their little particularities and their peculiarities, two words that kind of sound the same. I just got a little bit obsessed with it and really felt like I had to totally dive in and get it right.”
The more Carden studied, the more she was able to see the intricacies of her castmates’ characters. But there was one person who was harder for the actor to emulate more than others. According to Carden, William Jackson Harper was particularly difficult to nail down.
Carden reveals which of her castmates was the most challenging to portray
“I would say Will, who plays Chidi, was hard, The Good Place star shared. “I think it was because he has a very specific way of talking, a cadence and a tone of his voice. I could really hear it in my head and then I would say the line and I would be like, ‘Mm, that wasn’t it.’ I wasn’t trying to get an exact impression but I was in my head the most for him, which, kind of fitting that Chidi would be the most in his head. I never quite felt comfortable or like I nailed it.”
While Carden might not agree that she nailed it, we’re sure fans of The Good Place would disagree. It’s impressive that Carden was able to play six different parts in a single episode. Not only did she play all four of her castmates, but she also played her main role and Neutral Janet, who was a new character at the time. With all the work she did on one single episode, it’s clear why the actor earned an Emmy nomination for her role on the show. We can’t wait to see what’s next for her and her career.
