-Welcome back to "Late Night." We're here with Isla Fisher.
So, you mentioned saying to an agent,
"Can you get me a comedy audition?"
But I also heard your first agent you got
when you were 11 years old, just via the Yellow Pages.
-[ Laughs ] Exactly.
That's how you do it in Perth, Australia.
You go through the Yellow Pages, you find someone.
I took a bunch of photos holding, like, a potted plant
or whatever inanimate object I could get my hands on
and then proceeded to send them to her
and called her every day, going, "I want to be a clown!
Have you got me a job yet?"
No, I was very enthusiastic back then.
Yeah, and that's sort of how I started out as a kid actor.
-And you were on an Australian soap opera
that a lot of incredibly accomplished actors
got their start on, "Home and Away."
But you were not resting on your lo--
laurels, excuse me, as a young actor.
You wrote books at a very young age.
-Were you going to say, "You were not resting on your loins"?
[ Laughing ] I was like -- -I was gonna say "loins."
I -- Look, I have a bad back,
and my doctor said I have to rest on my loins more often.
-[ Laughs ]
Okay, I -- Yes, you're right.
I wrote romance novels with my mother -- two of them,
"Seduced by Fame" and "Bewitched" -- when I was 18,
which was actually very embarrassing
'cause I was a pretty inexperienced teenager.
Not surprising, given my penchant for clowns.
So, when she would -- we had to write these romance scenes,
which were quite -- well, let's just say they got hot and heavy.
I had no idea what Mum was pitching.
Some of the things she said, I was so --
I just didn't -- It was so awkward.
Anyway.
Now, of course, I've actually moved into
sort of short-form kids books,
and I've written four "Marge in Charge," a series,
and I'm just developing a show now with Nickelodeon.
So, I still -- I still love to write,
but thankfully not sex scenes, and not with my mum.
-So, you do have children now, and I'm wondering,
are they of the age where they read "Marge in Charge"?
And if so, do they like them?
-Does -- I, mean I feel like I started --
I started them, oh, gosh, at least six years ago now.
And so a lot of the voice of Marge came out of, you know --
You know how you do impressions for your kids at bedtime?
-Yes. -You know, Peppa Pig
or, like, their friends' parents or whatever to get a laugh.
Marge sort of began as a voice,
and then, yes, she turned into these books.
And so they were and they are a --
continue to be a hit in the house.
So, I'm very grateful.
But equally, they're very good critics,
and I get told when something isn't funny
or some character can't do something
when I read the stories before I hand them in.
They're the real editors.
[ Laughs ] Yeah.
-It's nice both that they have the comfort to tell you that,
and I think it's equally nice that you trust their opinion.
I think that speaks to a very strong
parent-child relationship.
-Aw, thanks, Seth.
-I'm also very -- I have a lot of respect for your family
because you have the same kind of dog that I grew up with.
You have a sheepdog.
Is it Maisy? Is that the name?
-Maisy, yes! Yeah!
[ Laughs ] Whoa, whoa, whoa.
-So, this is -- this picture put me in the best mood
because, you know, my parents
still do this with their sheepdog.
It is -- I think people are shocked
when they see exactly how little these dogs are
underneath all that hair.
-Right! They're just like "Who are you?"
Underneath the burly fur is a wafer-thin dog.
But truthfully, I feel like she'd be really insulted
if she knew that I shared that picture.
I feel like I have to run everything by her
before I post it on Instagram, because she --
You can see she just feels so self-conscious.
But we had to shave her, unfortunately,
because she got dreadlocks.
And anyway, you know what it's like with an English sheepdog.
It's grooming daily. -Yeah.
I feel like half of the time,
my mother was just straddling the dog,
like, just working out --
Like, my memories of my mom growing up were, like,
just her, like, just fighting this losing battle with --
-I know, that's what -- It's just brushing.
Like, I look in the mirror and I think,
"I haven't brushed my hair, but Maisy's fur is beautiful."
[ Both laugh ]
-Now, "Wolf Like Me." This is a --
Is it right that this was a friend of yours
who had this idea, someone you've known for a long time?
-Yeah, Bruna Papandrea. She's a fantastic producer.
She did "Big Little Lies" and "Nine Perfect Strangers."
And she came to me with this --
you know, with this idea that was --
it was very, you know, specific.
Again, I can't really give it away.
But I just connected to it.
And I really love the director's --
you know, his film and just his take on it.
And it just felt like --
you know, it just felt like the right step.
You know, I prefer, honestly, to work in comedy, but this was --
for a dramatic role, it was very complex,
and she's a great character, you know, to portray.
-You mentioned it early on when we were talking.
We did meet on the set of "Hot Rod," which is a film --
-Yeah, you are the greatest writer.
-Oh, that's very kind of you.
-You -- No, I'm just gonna say this now.
I had never had a creative experience
and haven't really since
like the one where I sat in a room with you
and you were just --
'cause at that point with the character Denise,
we didn't know if she was gonna be comedic
or whether she was gonna be more the straight man,
'cause Rod was, you know, a heightened character.
Anyway, and you were just like --
you could write a joke for any type of character,
for any scene.
You know, and they were character-based humor,
but there was also just, like, puns and just sight gags.
And I just feel like you are so brilliant.
Anyway. -That was not --
That was not what I was fishing for,
but it turned out great for me.
This is -- I'm just gonna say,
this is the best Raya date I've ever been on.
I should've dressed up for it.
But I will say, you know, I think we can both admit,
"Hot Rod" did not take the box office by storm.
It has really grown into a cult classic,
and I hope you hear as many nice things about it as I do.
-Continually. -Yeah.
-Yeah, more than anything I've ever done,
I get asked about "Hot Rod."
And people -- when Halloween comes around
and every time I go to a party,
there's Denise and Rod or just Rod.
I mean, I feel like it really got into the zeitgeist
and became -- Is it a classic?
I don't know if that's too strong a word,
but it's definitely --
Everybody seems to use it as their comfort comedy film
to cheer themselves up again and again.
-Well, it's very -- it's very special
to have had even a small part in something like that.
And it's really great to see you again, Isla.
Thank you so much for making time for us today.
-Thank you, Seth. Thank you so much.
Take care, mate. -Isla Fisher, everybody.
"Wolf Like Me" begins streaming on Peacock tomorrow.