We’re over the moon for her. Tawny Newsome can podcast, play many instruments, and make us laugh our ass*s off watching Space Force. And when she’s not on screen, she’s behind it voicing Beckett Mariner in Star Trek: Lower Deck, which also happens to be out of this world.

Here, the Chicago turned LA local reveals how she connects with her character Angela, who the real class clown is on set, and why she’s thankful for us not asking if she learned to play the drums for her role. (We do our research here, ok?)

You have so many freakin’ podcasts! How did you get involved in that industry?
One of my first steady gigs was a TV show called Bajillion Dollar Propertie$. Scott Aukerman, one of the showrunners and creators, had a podcast called Comedy Bang! Bang! He asked me, and the cast to come on the pod and do some characters. After that, Scott or somebody else at Earwolf network would ask, “Hey, do you want to guest star on this other pod? It’s an improv show.” I had been improvising for so long already, it was kind of a natural step to move to that format. So I got to know the crowd at Earwolf and that eventually led to posting my own stuff.

In what ways are you different from your character Angela on Space Force?
Let me start by saying, I am not built of the cloth required to enter any sort of armed service [laughing]. So right off the bat, we’re very different in that she chose that for her life. A lot of people ask me, “Would you ever go to the moon?” or “Would you ever go to outer space?” And I’m like, “Hell no! I don’t even like airplanes.” So that’s another way she’s different and braver than me.

So in what ways are you similar then?
Not every soldier and not every astronaut is a super serious person, and I’m not very serious. I use humor a lot to deflect when I’m uncomfortable. So even though she’s tough, smart, and strong, she can’t be tough all the time. She’s got to be a little goofy. Season 2 was a bit of a challenge to bring some of that in, because of what she’s been through. But I bring a lot more lightheartedness to some of my scenes with Ben Schwartz and Jimmy O. Yang. But yeah, Angela and I are alike in that we’re both quick witted, sarcastic, and can dish it as well as we can take it. And that also speaks to my relationship with my castmates as well. It’s like a sparring back and forth that we have, which keeps that sibling feeling on set.

Speaking of your castmates, who would you say is the class clown?
What’s funny is that everyone is funny, but I think if we had a person that we’d all sit up straight and watch or listen to whatever nonsense they’re doing, it would have to be John Malkovich. He is so delightful, quirky, eccentric, and has the best stories.

So pretty much his character from the show?
Exactly. It’s easy to think of him as a very serious actor. But what people don’t know is that he’s this incredible softie. He’s a sweet guy, but he’s also wickedly sharp and all of his humor comes from such a place of truth because he’s lived so many different wild lives. Our stories will be about a vacation we went on that went sideways, and the next thing you know, he’s telling us about a fishing boat that dumped him in the middle of the ocean off of Portugal.

You were nominated in 2021 for a Critics Choice Award and a WIN Award for your work on Star Trek: Lower Decks! How is voice acting different from on-screen acting?
You get to wear your own shoes [laughing]. You can be as comfortable as you need to be. Our showrunner Mike McMahan and I have become such good friends, so now, I feel like he and the writers really write in my voice. It’s the easiest job in the world because literally everything feels like it was written exactly for me, and if it’s not quite what I would say, I have total freedom to make it that way. So the people and the material make it the perfect gig.

And how is your music going? You have an album out called Material Flats, right?
Yes! Thank you for asking about that and not asking me if I learned to play the drums for Space Force [laughing]. I’ve been playing music for a long time now and it’s been an outlet and just a chill thing to do compared to TV work.