Uzo Aduba, Randall Park talk about their latest series, 'The Residence'

Uzo Aduba, the actress who made a name for herself when she portrayed Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in "Orange Is the New Black," is now portraying Cordelia Cupp, a consulting detective for the Metropolitan Police Department in "The Residence."

In the series, the 44-year-old award-winning actress is a wry, funny, relentless, intensely focused, supremely confident, an astute observer of human behavior and a legendary birder most sought-after detective in the world.

Created by showrunner-executive producer-writer Paul William Davies ("Scandal," "For the People"), the whodunit in also executive produced by Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers.

It tells the story of a mysterious death at the White House during a disastrous State Dinner. There are 132 rooms and 157 suspects. The screwball mystery thriller is set upstairs, downstairs and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world's most famous mansion.

With Aduba is Randall Park who is best known for his role as Louis Huang in the sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat" (2015-2020) and in the comedy "Always Be My Maybe" (2019) with Ali Wong.

The 50-year-old Los Angeles native who graduated from UCLA portrays Special Agent, FBI, Edwin Park. He is assigned to work alongside Detective Cordelia Cupp on the night of the State Dinner. Park is skeptical of Cupp's eccentric investigative style.

When we interviewed Aduba and Park in person, they were excited to tell me they looked forward to going to the Philippines. Aduba said, "I want to try the Philippines' authentic dishes like chicken adobo and sinigang!" To which Park said, "No, you should try balut!"

We were impressed with Park that he knows about balut (fertilized duck egg)!

Asked whether they would make good detectives in real life, both said no.

Aduba explained, "First of all, they'd be on to me. If I was asking somebody, I wouldn't be able to hide my thoughts. And I would think everybody would do it for the worst reasons."

As for Park, he said, "It takes patience to be a good detective. It takes a lot of patience! And I don't think I'd have that patience."

As for being able to relate to their characters, Aduba said, "Cupp is clear for sure. And I think I can be clear. But I am not as intense as her with her clarity. But I can be clear."

Park on his character pointed out, "He has good intentions, and I think I can relate to that. He really wants to be of service and to be helpful, which is something that I can relate to. And he wants to discover the truth, which is something that I always feel is important for actors."

So does Aduba feel the pressure of carrying this series, she being the lead actress here, we asked.

"I don't know if I feel the pressure of that as much as I think we all, as artists want to make sure we're getting to, as Randall just talked about the truth, getting to the core of why we're telling this story," Aduba explained.

"And I think more than anything, I feel the responsibility of making sure I'm bringing all of Cordelia to life and fighting for why she is the way that she is. I think I feel that responsibility. I feel the responsibility as I think my castmates also feel, of making sure that I'm showing up and supporting them in the scenes and the work. Those are the things and the responsibility. We all feel we should make sure we are honoring the work of the story that Paul William Davies, our show creator, has made. Those are the things that are really alive in my mind when working on a project."

Park, who is working for the first time with Aduba, expressed his pleasure in working with the latter.

He exclaimed, "It was the best. She's the best. The one word I think of is joyful in terms of the experience of being on set with Uzo and in between shots to just singing and laughing and feeling really at home.

"I think that's what Uzo brings to everything. She really is able to disarm you with her charm and just her personality. It made everything very comfortable, which I think makes for a good work. When people are comfortable and having fun and that's Uzo."

Asked how it was working with Shonda Rhimes, founder of Shondaland production company, in this series, Aduba replied, "Working with Shondaland was just a dream come true.

"We've talked about this so much that what has been built there, the stories that they tell are just exceptional. What they have been able to bring into the world in terms of their versatility, size and invention is just incredible. It's an affirmation of sustained excellence.

"I was just saying that earlier. That's what that work reflects. And I'm so proud to be a part of that family. It's a real gift and a true joy."

Park agrees. "It's pure excellence. I think everything she puts out is top quality. And you can see the attention to detail. But also, there is a real sense of family, and Shonda and Betsy (Beers) and the whole team make you feel at home. There's a lot of love and care put into every one of their projects. And that certainly was the case for this."

—MGP, GMA Integrated News