As Rose revisited her younger self in Paris, so too did actress Marin Hinkle

Marin Hinkle describes trying to learn French for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” when she knew nothing about her character or what her lines would be.

By Yvonne VillarrealStaff Writer

May 8, 2019 11:31 AM PT

When it comes to “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” it’s easy to get wrapped up in the journey of self-discovery that Midge, the show’s titular heroine, finds herself navigating after her cookie-cutter life gets upended by her philandering husband. That is, until Season 2 set her mom, Rose Weissman, on her own journey.

It was a development that Marin Hinkle, who plays the show’s matriarch, said she was excited to explore when she recently visited the L.A. Times video studio.

The sophomore outing of the period dramedy hit Amazon last December and kicked off with Rose, feeling ignored and underappreciated by her husband and daughter, absconding to Paris in a quest to recapture her sense of self — quite a scandalous turn of events for a woman of the 1950s. Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) and her father Abe (Tony Shalhoub) eventually notice Rose’s absence and set off after her.

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“One line in particular that stuck out that is maybe a theme of that particular journey,” Hinkle said, “is when Midge says, ‘Mama, I’ve missed you.’ And Rose says, ‘I’ve missed me too’… as she’s smoking a cigarette and drinking wine and living in almost a brothel, but not quite.”

For Hinkle, who like her character spent a brief time in her youth in Paris, it was like she was living vicariously through her character.

“I was sort of simultaneously finding this more youthful part of my own journey,” she said. “I felt like Rose also got to be rejuvenated. She got to rediscover her own youth and perhaps a youth that hadn’t been fulfilled...I loved that [creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino] gave me that opportunity, and Rose too.”

Of course, there was the matter of learning French. The series filmed briefly in Paris and, with Rose settled into her new lifestyle, Hinkle would be expected to converse somewhat like a Parisian — in the trademark cadence of the Palladinos.

“I had heard a rumor that I was going to have to speak French,” Hinkle said. “And I had actually started speaking with a tutor. But we were only conjugating verbs because there was no script to work with … I only had about a week to learn it.”

With the show now in production on Season 3, Hinkle has some idea of what’s in store for her character — even if she can’t share it. But asked what she hopes to see explored, Hinkle had her ideas about the challenge Rose has in moving forward and being aware that she is a woman of a certain time.

“I’d love Amy and Dan to continue to have Rose grapple with that kind of confusion,” Hinkle said. “I would love for her to go to more classes at college. I would love for her to see her daughter perform, which she never has yet. I’d love her to hang out with [Midge’s gruff manager] Susie … to have her and Susie go to a fortune teller or get their nails done — not that Susie would ever get her nails done. But maybe get their hair cut together and maybe Rose gives [Susie] advice on her haircut. That would be fun.”

For the full conversation, check out the video below: