Ten years ago, Veep stars Tony Hale and Julia Louis-Dreyfus delivered one of the most emotional performances of their Emmy-winning HBO comedy: The scene where Vice President Selina Meyer confides in her doting assistant, Gary Walsh, that she’s going to be president. Sequestered in a single-toilet bathroom, Louis-Dreyfus and Hale laugh, cry, and stopper a bloody nose together, as they rejoice over this long-held dream come true.
Two weeks ago, Hale and Louis-Dreyfus recreated that iconic scene over Zoom, as part of a live, virtual Veep fundraiser event hosted by Wisconsin Democrats for current Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Hale and Louis-Dreyfus were joined on Zoom by fellow Veep cast members Diedrich Bader, Nancy Lenehan, Gary Cole, Sam Richardson, Sufe Bradshaw, Timothy Simons, Reid Scott, Matt Walsh, and Anna Chlumsky, as well as a few special guests. In a recent interview with Decider Hale—who is on the junket circuit promoting his upcoming Netflix movie with Anna Kendrick, Woman of the Hour—took a moment to reflect on the recent Veep table read of Season 3, Episode 9, “Crate.” After all, it’s not every day a cable TV actor gets a chance to recreate one of their most memorable performances live.
“I was nervous because we were not in the same room, and there’s a delay,” Hale told Decider. “We have to laugh and cry and keep laughing. I was just like, ‘How is this going to go?'”
To make matters worse, Hale added, he was getting over a cold on the day of the reunion. “What’s weird is I remember when we were shooting originally, we were both sick. I was like, ‘Why are we always sick when we’re doing the scene?'”
But, Hale went on, he needn’t have worried. “When you’re with each other, she makes me laugh. I think I started coughing at one point, so maybe my cold was working for me. It was surreal, but you walk away from it, and you’re like, ‘What a joy.'”
When president Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, Veep fans were quick to draw the comparison between the real vice president and the fictional Selina Meyer, the latter of whom suddenly becomes president when the current POTUS abruptly steps down. Hale isn’t a big fan of that comparison, telling Rolling Stone, “I definitely don’t see it as a direct parallel. The thought of anyone comparing Kamala — there’s no comparison. It just seems like fodder for social media.”
That said, he has been enjoying the recent surge in Veep‘s popularity, and the resurfaced clips from the show bubbling up online. “I go back and watch the clip, and I’m like, ‘My gosh, this is really funny!’ I like remembering that stuff,” Hale told Decider. “Those were just such great times.”