Nothing says “Welcome to the neighborhood” quite like Margo Martindale spying on you from afar with her binoculars. Who needs the BeReal app when you have her character Maureen “Mo” observing your every move?
In Ryan Murphy’s newest limited series, The Watcher, Martindale plays the Brannock family’s nosy and over-the-top neighbor. After moving into their idyllic suburban home, the Brannocks begin receiving threatening letters from an anonymous sender known only as “the Watcher.” Along with her retired husband Mitch (Richard Kind), Mo enjoys her peace and quiet — which includes keeping a watchful eye over the neighborhood. She might bake you her famous rhubarb pie, but be careful about the secrets she holds. Could she be the Watcher? According to Martindale, that’s a possibility. The actor recently sat down with Tudum to discuss her memorable character, as well as her own nightmare neighbors from the past.
Mo is such a nosy, brash oddball, and you never know when she’s going to explode at you. What convinced you to take on this role and what was your favorite part about portraying her?
What convinced me was that Ryan Murphy called me and said, “I have a great part for you. You get to be very glamorous.” Well, I guess that went out the window when I put on the tracksuits. But I trust him.
I’m very interested in suspense and thrillers, and it’s really fun to do that. What I like about Maureen (Mo) is that I look for things that have mystery, even in regular things. I like to have a secret, and she definitely has a secret. I’m not sure I ever discovered what it was, but that almost makes it more fun to always try to hold in your head, “Am I telling the truth or am I lying?”
And I’m sure picking wild arugula was fun, too?
[Laughs] Picking wild arugula. Yes.
Speaking of tracksuits, she also wears a lot of bold patterns and accessories. How do you think Mo’s wardrobe and aesthetic informs her as a character?
Well, you had to keep that tracksuit with a little bit of glam to it. She wasn’t glamorous at all by the end of this, but there was a fashion statement she tried to make with her tracksuits and shoes. I don’t know what she was doing, honestly, except that that’s what she felt most comfortable in and what she thought was right for neighbors to wear.
You mentioned in a past interview that you’ve lived on the same block in New York City since the ’70s. Like Mo, how do you feel seeing your neighborhood changing over the decades?
Not very open. Don't change that restaurant. Don't change the front of that building — that makes me mad. Please, don’t take that building down behind our apartment and build a bigger, taller one. I fought tooth and nail about that, and lost. [laughs] I am one of those people that doesn’t like change in the neighborhood. I’ve been on the Upper West Side for 48 years, but I’ve lived in the same apartment for 44 years.
So you’re pretty similar to Mo then?
I like watching people, and I like watching how they respond. I’ve had so many fights with neighbors. A guy used to think I banged his car when I parked on the street. What he did was, he came when I was double-parking and he slit my tires.
And then he came and lifted my car up in the front and he said, “Don't ever screw around with my car again!” I said, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it.”
My husband says I’m too much of a busybody in my neighborhood. I'm like Mo. [laughs]
🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐
There’s also that really big plot twist when Mo and Mitch “come back from the dead” after their presumed murder-suicide. What was your reaction when you first read that in the script?
At first I thought I [actually] died [in Episode 2]. Now I know I’d signed on for all episodes, but I thought I died. I didn’t know that I was going to come back. I thought it was wonderful. I thought it was fun, and I love the way it played out.
Mo’s also very vocal about her distaste for the Brannocks’ interior design choices (such as their butcher-block countertop). What is the tackiest design trend you’ve seen?
I would say bright-colored walls really bother me.
Lastly, who do you think the Watcher is?
I haven’t a clue who it is! It might be Nora (Naomi Watts). I thought after a while it was Pearl (Mia Farrow). I thought for a while it was me. It could be Dean (Bobby Cannavale). It could be one of the kids. I have no clue. Anybody is a suspect.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
