'SNL' nearly squashed Natasha Rothwell. Then 'Insecure' helped her find her voice
About five years ago, before "Insecure" secured its place as one of HBO's most acclaimed comedies, the series' writers were in the midst of a ruthless Nerf war when series co-creator and star Issa Rae approached staff writer Natasha Rothwell with what she remembers as a suspicious proposition.
"We were in separate factions in the writers room," Rothwell says, describing the battle of foam projectile-firing toy weapons. "At any point during the week, you could get ambushed. Issa called me into her office saying something like, 'We need to talk to you.' I wasn't on her side [in the game] at that time, so I was thinking, 'They're going to kidnap me, this is part of the Nerf war.' I was ready to throw down."
She wound up throwing down tears.
Unarmed with puffy darts, Rae and Prentice Penny, the series' showrunner, had called in Rothwell to tell her she was best suited to play Kelli Prenny, the perennial we-don't-deserve-her supportive friend who brings her unforgettable sense of humor to any interaction of "Insecure's" posse of friends. Up to that point, Rothwell had unofficially brought life to the character in the writers' room and during readings of scripts — and performing as if she wasn't auditioning turned out to be the perfect audition.
"It was so unexpected," Rothwell, now 41, says during a recent video chat. "I was giving the kind of tears where it's the ugly cry that's just for yourself. I felt so seen as
