Jamie Lee Curtis Insisted Margo Martindale Take the Lead Role in ‘The Sticky’ from Her

"The only person that reminds me of me is you," said Curtis, to which Martindale nearly responded, "In what world?"

When Jamie Lee Curtis rings you up with an offer to take a part she was supposed to play, it might be normal to wonder if it was a crank call. But when Margo Martindale had this happen to her, she did her best to hear her out. Speaking in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Martindale shared the story of how she came to land the lead role of Ruth Landry in Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming limited crime comedy series “The Sticky.”

“[Curtis] said, ‘I was going to do this, but I can’t, and I thought the only person that reminds me of me is you,’” said Martindale. “I wanted to say, ‘In what world?’”

Despite not knowing Curtis personally, Martindale was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and read the script, but Curtis wasn’t keen to wait for a response.

“She said, ‘No, I just want you to say yes,’” Martindale said. The beloved character actress still insisted on seeing the materials for the show, but ended up being all for it. “I thought it was just wonderful. I really did. Because it’s so wacky and fun.”

Curtis still serves as executive producer on “The Sticky,” which is based on the true story of a maple syrup heist that took place in Canada, and plays a small, but key role as well. Having to watch another actress perform a part she was supposed to take on didn’t seem to be a challenge for Curtis though, who loved witnessing what Martindale brought to the character.

“The truth is she’s way better at Ruth than I would’ve ever been,” said Curtis to the LA Times. “She has both the humor and the gravitas you need to be Ruth. The show has ‘Fargo’-like qualities, and at the same time, it has real depth, real emotion, real feelings.”

She added later, “When you allow someone to really shine, and really take the light, it’s beautiful to watch. And it happened here. We all just sat back and watched Margo Martindale drive that pickup truck, dragging that tree, and it just was fantastic.”

“The Sticky” begins streaming on Amazon Prime Video on December 6.