-Welcome back, everybody.
We're here with the one and only Michelle Pfeiffer!
Now -- [ Cheers and applause ]
In your new show, "The First Lady,"
you play former First Lady Betty Ford.
-Mm-hmm. -And I know you've played
actual people before.
Is it more pressure to play someone who exists or existed?
-It is. -Because why? The family?
-Well, I mean, to play, you know,
somebody who is historical
and one of our most popular First Ladies ever --
-Yeah. -She's more popular
than Gerald Ford. And, you know, she's --
There's family that are still living.
-Sure. -And no matter --
And you kind of know that no matter what you really do,
they're not gonna like it so much.
-Yeah. -You know? And you can't --
You can't be -- You want --
What you want to do more than anything is honor her.
-Of course. -And honor her legacy.
-Yeah. -And you can't be 100% accurate,
because nobody was there 100% of the time.
-Yeah, exactly. -And so --
But I was lucky in that there was a lot of footage of her.
There was -- you know, she did a lot of interviews.
Of course, she gave speeches.
-I don't really know much about her, really.
-Well, not many people do, and that's what was so exciting.
I mean, pretty much,
she's known for, you know, the Betty Ford Clinic.
And she came out and she was very vocal and very transparent
about her own drug abuse and her substance abuse and alcoholism.
And that's pretty much kind of what people know.
As if that weren't enough, because she saved
hundreds of thousands of lives with this clinic,
and continues to. But she was --
What I didn't know was how politically active she was.
She was incredibly vocal, always getting into trouble.
You know, she -- -Big trouble.
-She was up to shenanigans.
She set up a command center
in the White House to lobby
to get the Equal Rights Amendment ratified.
-Really? -Yeah.
-You were saying backstage, too, that, you know,
you realize how powerful a First Lady is, actually.
You know, what you can do with that position.
-Well, they're quietly -- they're quietly kind of working
their own agenda, of course, supporting their husband's
and supporting the presidency
because that's really what their job is.
You know, they're out always on the campaign trail.
They're always campaigning for them.
They're always --
Wherever the president can't go, they'll show up.
But they also -- you know, they have their own voice.
And as she did.
And they're sort of quietly working,
you know, behind the scenes.
And this is really about, you know,
looking at the White House through the lens of these women.
And, you know, it's about Michelle Obama,
played by Viola Davis. -Viola Davis, come on.
-And Gillian Anderson plays Eleanor Roosevelt.
-Another. Come on. -And you know, it's --
And they're incredible. -That's fantastic.
Three of you together -- This is just awesome.
I want to show a clip.
Here's Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford in "The First Lady."
Take a look at this. -If you think I want
what's being handed to me from this administration,
and I realize my ambitions have made life hard for you,
but you knew what you were getting into.
-No.
I did not know what I was getting into.
[ Clatters ]
But here I am.
And I will be here for you.
But I am going to be myself.
I am going to do and say things that I believe in.
I think I've earned that right.
-Yeah. That's how you do it.
[ Cheers and applause ]
That is how you do it.
Michelle Pfeiffer, everybody.
"The First Lady" premieres April 17th
at 9:00 p.m. on Showtime.