During the Dec. 9 episode of the CBS comedy, a home improvement project led to Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) merging with Hetty Woodstone (Rebecca Wisocky). Of course, the timing of this possession couldn’t have been worse, as Jay and Samantha (Rose McIver) were meeting with a renowned wedding planner to pitch their rundown estate as a dream venue.
Hilarity ensued, mainly thanks to Ambudkar’s take on Hetty inside Jay’s body. And, in an exclusive chat with E! News, Ambudkar made it clear that he was thrilled to take on both characters for the episode.
“It’s nice to sort of stretch the boundaries of the character,” he shared, “and see what other kind of high jinks Jay can get into. I think Sam and Jay often are there to facilitate these really amazing characters as they tell their stories, which is really fun and fulfilling, but to be able to get a chance to actually play a ghost was super fun. I was very excited.”
As Ambudkar also mentioned, this episode allowed him to do his own impression “of the incredible Wisocky.” It’s safe to say that Ambudkar’s impression of Wisocky’s character was spot on, as he nailed Hetty’s manner of speaking, the way she carried herself and more.
According to Ambudkar, this impeccable impression wouldn’t have been possible without two very important people: Wisocky and director Katie Locke O’Brien. “[Wisocky] has a really distinct character for Hetty,” he said. “So we chatted a little bit. I asked her to read a couple of lines of dialogue for me. And then, you know, with that corset…she creates such a strong character that I think that was really enough. And then the hands! With help from our director [O’Brien], the three of us were able to sort of make something really cool.”
“I think the fun thing about the American version of Ghosts,” he noted, “is that the character of Jay is way more interactive in Sam’s relationship with the ghosts, which has been super fun. The more stuff that I can do as an actor with the ensemble, the more fun it is, because these actors are just so fun to be around.”
