Little Miss Sunshine

"I'm tripping
out because I never have interviews like this," says Mary
Lynn Rajskub about midway through our 20-minute afternoon phone
conversation. "I feel like I'm talking to a girlfriend
right now, and it's making me really happy." It should.
After all, the 37-year-old actress and comedian is just
chatting with Advocate.com, not saving Jack Bauer from yet
another life-or-death terrorist situation as code-cracking tech
analyst Chloe O'Brian on Fox's high-octane series
24

.

After lending her
acerbic wit and deadpan delivery to small yet memorable parts
in queer-friendly films such as
Mysterious Skin, Little Miss Sunshine,

and
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,

Rajskub costars in
Sunshine Cleaning

(in limited release March 13), out screenwriter Megan Holley's
indie dramedy starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters who
start a crime-scene cleanup business. We hacked into Rajskub's
complex role as an introverted lesbian before blowing the lid
off her real-life flings with girls and gay men.

Advocate.com: What attracted you to the character of Lynn in
Sunshine Cleaning

?Mary Lynn Rajskub:

People often stereotype gay characters as outgoing, sassy,
flamboyant, or extreme, but I love that Lynn keeps to herself.
She's really sweet and genuine. Lynn is more adult,
responsible, and ready for a relationship, but she's interested
in this weird girl: Emily Blunt's character, Norah, who's all
over the place. Norah's sort of this open wound looking for
someone to talk to.

Though nothing materializes, do you think Norah reciprocated
any of Lynn's romantic feelings?

I would say yes, but -- and this is going to sound really
actor-y -- it may have just been me in character thinking Norah
was really interested in Lynn. Early in filming there was a
scene that was cut where we had another date at her apartment,
and when we were shooting it I was like, "Wow, she's
really into me!" But I didn't really have that
conversation with Emily.

Do you think Lynn and Norah ever reconnect after the film's
end credits?

There was another scene that was cut where Norah comes into the
blood bank again after I've said, "Don't call
me." She's like, "Can't we just talk? I'm
just trying to make things right. I'm sorry. Let's be
friends." But Lynn's like, "Why do you continue
to engage me? If you're not into me sexually or intimately,
then what are you doing? I was really into you, and now I'm
humiliated." Lynn was pretty adamant about not putting
herself out there again for another screwed-up person. But
I'd love to see that relationship explored more, because I
think those two are an interesting combination.