Mindy Kaling feels slightly less A-list among her Ocean’s Eight costars. The actress opened up about her experience filming the all-female spinoff of Ocean’s Eleven during an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Wednesday, December 14.
The Mindy Project star, 37, is currently filming the movie alongside Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson and comedian Awkwafina.
“With that group of women, I’ve never felt so unfamous in my life,” Kaling said. “Like, I thought I was pretty cool. I have my own show. People think I’m Sandra Bullock’s assistant and they’re like, ‘Get out of the way! We need to bring Sandra her matcha tea.’ I’m like, ‘I’m in a scene with her. I’m not her assistant.’ Then I’m like, ‘OK! Whatever. I’ll give her her matcha tea. Might as well.’”
She went on to recall a recent, hilarious interaction with the paparazzi. “It’s interesting because there’s so much paparazzi there for Rihanna. There’s movie/TV famous, and then there’s international pop star famous, which is at a whole other level,” she said. “We shot a scene, all eight of us together recently, and when we walked outside there was this huge [group of] paparazzi. I was talking to Anne Hathaway and Rihanna was kind of behind us, and there was a sea of paparazzi taking photos and everything like that. I was feeling kind of cool and famous. Then Rihanna took a left to her trailer, which was not in the same direction that me and Anne were going, and the paparazzi left so quickly.”
Kaling joked that the photographers had absolutely no interest in snapping a shot of her. “It was like a desert,” she continued. “Anne and I were talking and I was trying to have a sexy conversation with Anne Hathaway, and no one’s around or cares even.”
Meyers even dug up the photo in question, and Kaling pointed out the irony of it. “I’m wearing a gorgeous coat, outfit. I’m showing a lot of leg, expensive shoes. Anne’s wearing a leopard coat,” she said. “Rihanna’s wearing a full parka and baggy jeans. They shoved me out of the way to get to her. ‘Get out of the way, Sandra Bullock’s assistant. We want to talk to Rihanna.’”
