‘The Unicorn’s Rob Corddry & Michaela Watkins on Forrest & Delia’s Made-For-TV Marriage
Widower Wade (Walton Goggins) may be the ultimate catch, but it’s his loving, neurotic friends Forrest and Delia (Rob Corddry and Michaela Watkins) we can’t get enough of on CBS’s The Unicorn.
The couple — hilarious and relatable even when bickering and making blunders — are in fine form in the January 21 episode, when Forrest shows up accidentally high to dinner with Wade’s new love, Shannon (Natalie Zea), and on January 28, when Delia is desperate to make Shannon like her. “Let’s say the whole scene is about Michaela going crazy — I will find myself just watching her,” admits Corddry.
The friends, who met when they played spouses in the 2013 film In a World…, took time from their holiday hiatus (and Corddry’s family trip to the desert) to dish on their made-for-TV union.
What’s the secret to Forrest and Delia’s relationship?
Michaela Watkins: She dated some real clunkers, and when she found a good man, she just appreciated the hell out of him.
Rob Corddry: He’s the kind of man that really needs a strong woman.
Watkins: And to his credit, wants a strong woman.
Corddry: I freak out sometimes in the middle of the night and think, “What would my life be like if I hadn’t met my wife?” I’ve had the same thoughts about Michaela. It’s so easy and fun.
Watkins: Rob, that’s the nicest thing anybody’s ever said to me.
Corddry: It’s true. It’s dark-night-of-the-soul stuff.
Watkins: You need to go to the desert more.
Corddry: I’m still high, by the way. So high. [Both laugh.]
Viewers, especially these days, are envious of Wade’s close circle of friends (completed by Omar Miller and Maya Lynne Robinson as Ben and Michelle), who’ve helped him and his daughters since his wife died.
Watkins: It’s a mature thing too, especially in Season 2, because it’s not all hunky-dory. They have falling-outs, there are miscommunications, and misfires. They’re all still learning how to be in relationships with each other.
Corddry: Also, the [producers] haven’t abandoned the concept of the show — which so many series do — that ultimately we’re recovering from grief and loss.
Watkins: We can get away from it for a couple of episodes, and then you read a new [script] and the last scene has you in tears. It’s like, “Damn it. You guys got me again.”
Which actor is most likely to cry at a table read?
Corddry: Walton. He’s like nobody I’ve met in my life, someone who can express love so articulately and without fear. It’s pretty amazing.
Watkins: He’s really commanding and charismatic, loving, and kind.
Corddry: Michaela does an amazing Walton impression. You have to be there.
The Unicorn, Thursdays, 9:30/8:30c, CBS