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TCA press tour: Margo Martindale goes from murder to mirth on CBS

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Veteran character actress Margo Martindale in the last several years has played spies, murderers and folks who live on the dark side.

But in a varied career that includes a lot of theater work and film as well as several TV shows, her dream has always been to star in a comedy series.

“I always wanted to be on a sitcom,” Martindale said. “I just started killing people along the way.”

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The 62-year-old actress has finally gotten her wish. She stars in CBS’ “The Millers,” about a recently divorced local news reporter who is looking forward to living the single life again but is thrown a curve when his parents’ marital problems derail his plans for a freewheeling bachelorhood.

The mom (Martindale) moves in with him, while the father (Beau Bridges) moves in with the reporter’s sister.

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The show finally puts Martindale up front and center in a lead role. The veteran actress has been a mainstay on several FX dramas, including “The Riches” and “The Americans,” and she won an supporting actress for drama Emmy for “Justified,” where she played the leader of a outlaw Appalachian family.

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That role changed Martindale’s life. “I now get to turn down jobs. That didn’t happen before. “

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But she pointed out that she’s been a working actress since she was 16, when she started on the stage.

“I’ve been working all along,” she said with a smile. “You just haven’t noticed me.”

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