{"id":7776420,"date":"2025-06-10T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/?p=7776420"},"modified":"2025-06-10T13:47:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T20:47:53","slug":"jessica-williams-shrinking-harrison-ford-season-2-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/jessica-williams-shrinking-harrison-ford-season-2-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Shrinking’ Star Jessica Williams on Working with a Wayans and Watching Harrison ‘the GOAT’ Ford"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n


Apple TV+ may have a “Dope Thief<\/a>,” but its dope queen has been thriving for two seasons now. In “Shrinking,” Jessica Williams, who rose to fame with the podcast and eventual HBO comedy variety special “2 Dope Queens,” plays fan favorite Gaby Evans, a colleague of psychotherapists Paul (Harrison Ford) and Jimmy (Jason Segel). In Season 2, Gaby navigates romance with Derrick (a new guy played by Damon Wayans Jr.), family dysfunction and a whole lot of two-steps forward, one-step back Gaby-ness that viewers have come to love. TheWrap spoke with Williams about her process and deep care of comedic timing, and why Harrison Ford is the GOAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Damon Wayans Jr. and Jessica Williams in “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NAILING THE RHYTHM <\/strong>
\u201cIt\u2019s a combination of the writing and cast chemistry. The way that [showrunner] Bill Lawrence<\/a> has wanted the show to go is that anytime you mix and match one character with another, it is its own little comedy relationship duo. If each character is fully developed with the writing, then it really comes through and feels specific. Everybody on the show has a different acting style. I really care about comedic timing. So for me, I try to make sure that I\u2019m paying attention to [my castmates] so that we can stick to what the writers wrote while still honoring, like, Jason\u2019s uniqueness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\tRead Next<\/strong>
\n\t\t\t'Shrinking' Actor Damon Wayans Jr. Says Bill Lawrence Gave Him the 'Green Light' to 'Have Fun' in His Dildo Scene With Jessica Williams<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

WORKING WITH DAMON WAYANS JR. <\/strong>
\u201cBill Lawrence wanted someone who could really pop with me, could really go toe-to-toe, and I\u2019ve been such a huge fan of [Wayans<\/a> in] “Happy Endings,” a huge fan of “New Girl.” He had always been someone that I wanted to work with. Because he was born into such a comedy dynasty, he just knows what he\u2019s doing. It\u2019s a real pleasure and challenge to keep up with him. Whenever I shoot with him, we\u2019re just laughing and saying the craziest s–t, because we\u2019re trying to surprise each other and outdo each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Harrison Ford and Jason Segel in “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

HARRISON \u2019S SEASON 2 FINALE SPEECH<\/strong>
\u201cIt was some of the best acting I\u2019ve ever witnessed in my life. There are so many moments on this show where I\u2019m like, \u2018Hell yeah, that\u2019s Harrison f–ing Ford! That\u2019s the f–ing GOAT. He\u2019s the guy.\u2019 And that was one of those moments. When the acting is great, when the crew is wonderful and the actors are prepared, all I have to do is listen. And so when I was listening, I was letting it move me. All I was doing was responding to how f–ing amazing he was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story first ran in the Comedy issue of TheWrap\u2019s awards magazine. Read more from the issue<\/em> here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photographed for TheWrap by Arsenii Vaselenko<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Showrunners\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tRead Next<\/strong>
\n\t\t\tThe Showrunners and Creators of Emmy Season 2025<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TheWrap magazine: “All I was doing was responding to how f–king amazing he was,” Williams says of her scene with Ford <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10053,"featured_media":7776492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":504647,"post_id":7303180}}]},"_links_to":"","_links_to_type":0,"nb_breaking_email_type":"748ab317-e4f3-4ae0-9786-7a9d01f09fd9","nb_breaking_template":"single-story.html","nb_breaking_from_name":"TheWrap Awards","nb_breaking_subject":"","nb_breaking_preview":"","nb_breaking_list":[],"nb_breaking_header_img":7555415,"nb_breaking_should_send":false,"nb_breaking_content":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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