Connie Britton Unpacks 'Revolutionary' Rooster Role, Working With Steve Carell, And Reuniting With Spin City Boss Bill Lawrence

The woman who broke Greg Russo's heart reenters his life in Episode 5 of "Rooster," and she's played by a familiar face from the Bill Lawrence Cinematic Universe. Connie Britton reunites with the "Spin City" co-creator on the HBO comedy, guest-starring as Elizabeth, Greg's ex-wife and a wildly accomplished Ludlow alum whose arrival pours salt in wounds that clearly haven't healed.

Greg told Dylan in Episode 1 that he felt lonely throughout their 25-year marriage — that everyone always said Elizabeth was too good for him, and he'd come to believe it himself. We learn they haven't been in the same room in years because Greg couldn't bring himself to see her, and once they're reunited, it's easy to see why: Intentional or not, Elizabeth makes him feel small. When she tells Dylan that Greg ever only had two friends, he snaps back, claiming that he only had one by the end of their marriage because she slept with the other.

He says he was just "razzing" her, but she knows where his anger stems from. "Things weren't great when I blew us up, and I take responsibility for that," she admits, "and I also feel terrible that you were so lonely. But I have a big life and a career, and it's not like I was just going to give that up so that we could stare into each other's eyes all day."

Greg needed a partner who was more emotionally available and offered more physical affection — something Elizabeth couldn't provide. And it's not as though she's unaware of what she was (and was not) able to give. As she later tells their daughter Katie, "I've kind of always done whatever the hell makes me happy. Which doesn't always work for me, but that's mostly because I'm pretty selfish."

Greg and Elizabeth ultimately make amends, and Greg even extends an invitation to Thanksgiving — but then Katie inadvertently reveals that Greg still keeps a picture he took of Elizabeth on a trip to Italy, hanging on his living room wall. Elizabeth then makes an excuse to leave, and Greg admits to their daughter that he's still struggling with their divorce, five years later.

But we know this isn't the last we'll see of Elizabeth. Britton has signed on to recur, and the seeds have already been planted for her to one day, just maybe, succeed Walt as college president. Below, Britton talks about reuniting with Lawrence, along with the gravity of Elizabeth's introduction.

TVLINE | You're back working with Bill Lawrence on "Rooster," 25 years after you last worked together on "Spin City." What was that reunion like — and did you find that creative shorthand with him still very much intact?
Not to overstate it, but it was incredible — 30 years after we worked together on our first-ever TV jobs, because it was the first one for me, and it was the first [show he co-created].

I can tell you, for me, I was literally learning how to act as in front of three cameras with one of the best comedy casts ever. They were all my teachers. I kind of went into it thinking, "Oh, it's just going to be like theater," because that was my background. "It'll be great because there's a live audience." I really was learning on the job. And Bill, it was also his first thing. At the time, I was like, "Who's this bro?" And all of his jokes were so dude-centric. But we also had [co-creator] Gary David Goldberg, who is the gold standard, and Michael J. Fox, also the gold standard. So I think he and I were both really getting our chops on that show.

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Coming back to do this with [Bill], and seeing what an incredible creator and showrunner he has become — I mean, truly — and the way that I experienced that is by the set that they create, and the environment that they are able to create. You could attribute it to, "Oh, it's great writing," but it's not just great writing. It's great writing, it's great casting, it's knowing exactly what the tone is, and the best way to establish that tone for everybody involved, for the cast and the crew alike.

The environment on this set is just so joyous and loving. Every single person there is thrilled to be there and feels a real sense of ownership and discovery. And so Bill and I, when we were on set together, we would joke — we both kind of were, like, he said to me, "Yeah, it turns out you got to be pretty good at this." And I'm like, "Yeah, so did you." It was wonderful to have that kind of bookend with him. You end up feeling very grateful to have been able to come so far, but ultimately grateful for your roots. And I think he feels the same. I take none of that for granted. I look back on that experience, and I know how much I learned, and I think he learned a lot, too. Gary David Goldberg was the best of the best. And Bill is now the best of the best. It's pretty exciting to see.

TVLINE | There's clearly a lot of love between Greg and Elizabeth, even with how things ended — but do you get the sense they were never quite the right fit for each other?
It's funny... Bill literally reached out to me the day before and was like, "Can you please come in and play this part? Remember me? I'm Bill Lawrence. I'm a big deal now. Can you come play this part tomorrow?" So I was coming in, like, "OK, I'm gonna learn this as we go."

I knew that we were exes... but at one point we have the scene when we're walking out on campus, and I had to ask somebody what Rooster is. At that point, the show wasn't even called "Rooster." I didn't have any sense of that background, because it wasn't in any of the material that I'd been given. Somebody had to explain to me, "Oh yeah, well, he's an author." So for me, the things that were clear were evidenced on the page. 

Obviously, I'm an ex, and I come in, and I'm very, very successful. But all of the nuance came from working [with Steve Carell]. And that's, for me as an actor, one of my favorite things — to be able to pair with another actor, and suddenly it comes to life. And you can kind of recognize the ways in which they still care for one another, and also the ways that it could never have worked. There are all the hints of that in the writing and in the circumstances, and then we just get to play around with that. 

It's always a discovery, especially coming in at the 11th hour. But again, going back to singing Bill's praises, it was an environment where I could walk in and say, "OK, who do I need to be in this to tell this story?" And the whole system is set up so that we can discover what that story is.

TVLINE | In that scene with Katie, Elizabeth talks about doing whatever makes her happy, which says so much about who she is. The fact that she says it out loud suggests a lot of self-awareness — and she's owned that she regrets how things went down with Greg. But does she regret the end of the marriage itself, or believe it needed to happen?
Don't we always carry those questions? I think that a little bit of ambiguity there is interesting, and I agree with you — I love that line, and I love that scene in particular because, for me, this is actually a pretty unusual character for me to play. I'm usually the go-to, like, "I'm going to give you the best motherly advice." And to hear a mom say out loud, "Listen, I'm selfish. And I think it's important to be selfish. It's important to do what makes you happy," is revolutionary.

And even though she acknowledges, "Sometimes it doesn't work for me," it felt profound to hear her say that out loud, and to say that out loud to her daughter. It adds a really interesting layer to the story, because there is probably a part of her that regrets the end of the marriage, but there's a bigger part of her that holds this value system that feels really important.

I could go back in her backstory for years and pinpoint why she lives that way and believes that way, and then I could go back in the backstory of women in the culture and do the same thing. You know what I mean? So, for me, that's why it's a really interesting character and a very interesting take.

TVLINE | When Elizabeth realizes Greg still has that photo of her from Italy hanging in his living room, she gets up and leaves. What do you think is going on for her in that moment? Is it discomfort that he's not over her, or something deeper?
I think there's a lot of pain. Even if she made the choice [to separate] and she believes it was the right choice, divorce is one of the hardest things you can ever do, no matter what.

There's always second guessing, there's always pain, and I think the idea that he always held her in [such high regard, as if she was too good for him] kept her at a distance, in a way. She probably wouldn't pull it apart and say that, but that's kind of what I imagine was going on.

TVLINE | There's a moment where Elizabeth talks about how great it would be to see a woman as president at Ludlow one day. How much should we read into that? Is Walt right to feel a little threatened?
I think, listen, of course, Elizabeth is going to say that. That's how she functions. And of course Walt is going to feel [threatened]. [John C. McGinley] makes me laugh so hard. Oh, my God. Every single thing he does is so funny. But as far as that goes, you'll just have to watch and see. That is definitely how she functions in the world.

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