For Lizzy Caplan, joining Netflix’s “Zero Day” was an easy decision to make, citing Robert De Niro’s involvement, as well as the “solid” credentials of co-creators Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim and Michael Schmidt.
“I love a political thriller. I really love being in New York,” she added. “So it was as close to a no brainer as you can get.”
Caplan portrays George Mullen’s (De Niro) daughter, Alexandra, who is a young New York congresswoman working hard to distance herself from her father’s political legacy and establish herself in her own right. When asked about playing De Niro’s TV daughter, Caplan said it was a “truly amazing” experience.
“I keep thinking that I would have been perfectly content and felt very lucky to have just been in the background of some of his scenes with some of the other actors in this,” she said. “So the fact that we got real things to do with each other, real conflict scenes, I still kind of don’t believe it. He was such a generous, kind scene partner. I’m a big fan, not only now of just his movies, but of the man himself.”
Though the show is intentionally vague about characters’ political parties, Caplan described her character as “very left-leaning” and “popular online.” She admitted that there are “minor shades” of one New York congresswoman known for also being left-leaning and popular online: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“But not completely, because obviously she comes from a very working class background, whereas Alex is the daughter of a former president. She grew up in the White House. So there’s also some shades of some of the more well known daughters of former presidents,” Caplan explained. “But I don’t really know of an actual person who would have fit the bill anyway for Alex. So just like little, tiny bits and pieces.”
Despite the show’s many parallels to the real world, Caplan said there’s one event that she does not feel had a substantial impact on the limited series or its relevancy and messages: the outcome of the 2024 election, which saw Donald Trump return to The White House for a second term.
“I think had the election gone in the other direction, the divisiveness in the country would be as stark as it is now, and that is really what the show is trying to examine,” she said. “It’s deliberately not even saying the words Democrat and Republican in this. This is more about the state of the country where we find ourselves now, and how much trouble staying in this state could get us in potentially in the future. So it’s a cautionary tale for everybody, not for one side or another.”
Caplan is well known for breaking out in 2004 playing Janis Ian in Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls.” The movie has since been turned into a Broadway musical, which opened in 2018 but was shuttered during the COVID pandemic in 2020. The musical was also adapted into its own film, which was released last year and is now streaming on Paramount+.
“It’s bizarre, it comes in waves it feels like,” Caplan said of the original film’s resurgence with new audiences. “I hope that the waves continue coming in, because I remain forever so proud to be a part of it. I’m actually buddies with both the Broadway and film remake Janises. We are all on a text chain together.”
Her other notable credits include “Bachelorette,” “Hot Tub Time Machine,” “Party Down,” “Fleishman Is in Trouble” and “Masters of Sex.” When asked about what’s next after “Zero Day,” she revealed she is “moving in the the direction of developing and creating my own stuff.”
“I’d like some of those things to come to fruition,” she said.
All episodes of “Zero Day“ are streaming now on Netflix
