When Molly Clark was 15, she wore a hotdog costume to Whole Foods and entertained the staff and shoppers while filming the escapade. Since then, the actor, writer, comedian, podcaster and producer has been making a name for herself in the virtual world, on screen and on the page. A graduate of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, a student with the Upright Citizens Brigade and Second City, Clark’s sketches on TikTok and Instagram have earned her 200K+ followers and her podcast, “Please Don’t Tell Anyone” has received over half a million downloads since its inception. A hometown girl, she’s back in the area to film her short film “This Blows” in November. Side Note: I’m a partner in 3 Left-Handed Women, a local company helping to produce the film. Some responses from this conversation have been edited for length or clarity.
I believe that you grew up not far from Wayne where I grew up.
Yes, I grew up right near the Devon Horse Show. One of my core memories was the horse show in the spring. We never rode horses, or knew anyone that did, but it was such a cool community event. We could hear the announcers from our house! I lived in the same house my whole life but I switched schools quite a bit. My mother joked that I went everywhere except Valley Forge Military!
[Laughing] Were you getting kicked out of school?
No! No! I had learning disabilities and it was a matter of finding the best school to accommodate that. In middle school, I wanted to go to the public school with the kids in my neighborhood. At Conestoga, I was a little fish in a big pond, so I went back to Agnes Irwin. I’m glad I did because I did things like building the TV studio. It helped me find my footing in the film industry which in turn led me to NYU.
Are you an only child?
I have an older sister. We’re very different. She went to Irwin for 13 years and just graduated from Berkeley law school. She’s working on voting rights.
Well, that’s needed this year. Or hopefully not…
My whole family are attorneys and in law. I’m the black sheep of the family.
What’s a fun family memory?
The first thing that comes to mind is that when my dad would come home, he would do what he called, “Stair Bear and Swing Bear.” We’d jump off the stairs and he’d catch us and then we’d go outside to the swings. I looked forward to it every day. It was something so small, but had such a great impact. I also remember going to his office in Philly. He worked at One Liberty Place which at the time was the tallest building in the city. I thought it was just the coolest thing! I felt really special being in his office up so high. And I loved the holidays. My mother would go shopping and fill up her cart with gifts for all the people who worked at Starbucks and Wawa and other people that she would interact with all week. That’s just the kind of person she is. So one of my favorite memories is driving around with her playing Santa Claus.
What did people say to describe you as a kid?
An old soul, wise beyond her years, which as a kid was like, “Whatever.” I also heard, “tenacious.” My mom said I was like a pitbull in that if I wanted something, I would not relent until I found a way to make it happen. But she also called me a heart with legs, because I feel things so incredibly deeply. I remember getting hurt in school and my mother saying, “OK, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go shopping and buy you the thickest skin we can find.”
When did you get into the arts?
I went to a summer program at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute my freshman year of high school and loved it. Another summer, I went to Second City in Chicago and fell in love with doing comedy and improv.
[Laughs] Was your first big break the hotdog at Whole Foods skit?
[Laughs] Yes, I’ve named my production company, “Girl In The Hotdog Suit.” Yes, that was the first video I did. As you get older, sometimes you feel like you’re losing creativity or your spontaneity and at those times I try to get back to the girl who was carefree and a little weird who just put on a hotdog suit and started talking to and hugging people in Whole Foods and filming it. The funniest part is that some random guy there also had a hotdog costume which he put on and [then] joined me. It was so bizarre and nuts and carefree, like no fucks were given. I try to get back to that girl sometimes when we get caught up in the ins and outs of the business.
What were your goals at NYU and what projects did you work on?
I went there thinking I wanted to be a producer, and that’s a hat I wear to this day, but I think I was just safeguarding myself. It wasn’t until my late sophomore year when I went to LA to work on a show with Amber Rose. It was a sex talk show and so bizarre. It got canceled before it aired. But I had such a good time there. I was the youngest person on staff and they started inviting me to the writers room and on set to use me as the person to go to for questions about young people. When I left there, I was like, I need to be making my own stuff.
Then I interned at Jimmy Fallon. When you’re in the studio, you get to see what an incredible machine it is and I knew I wanted to work in that type of creative environment where content was constantly flowing. That spring, I interned at Jax Media. They did “Broad City” with Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson and “Inside Amy Shumer.” It was so cool. I got to watch them pitch to their development team and I was able to read the script coverage. I realized that what I wanted was to write and perform, I wanted to be those girls.
And so you are. Doing research, I realized I screened one of your films for The Women’s Film Festival. It was very funny.
Yes, I wanted to get something under my belt and you do what you can with what you have, so I took my smartphone and a tripod and undying passion and tenacity to make something. I went to Valley Forge and shot the whole thing myself. No one was with me. People watching probably thought I was insane. Dressed up like a revolutionary era woman and talking to the camera. Since then, I’ve learned that there’s a lot in the industry that I can’t control, like what happens to my features or pilots but there are areas where I can control things like doing the TikTok videos and now shooting this short film. I’m able to do the silly stuff I love.
When did you start the TikTok videos? I watched several and they were hilarious! Your Jennifer Coolidge impressions are the best and your “rich white lady” pieces should be shown in schools.
Thank you. I started those during COVID and it was really fun. I love playing characters. It’s really freeing, though I’ve switched to other things now, mostly screenwriting. I started doing a podcast called “Don’t Tell Anyone” in 2022. The premise was “unexpected stories from ordinary people.” My dad was going to do a podcast and bought all the equipment but it never happened, so I decided to use it. I was living in NY and probably very dangerously, put out a post saying, “Do you have an interesting story? Come be on my podcast.” and invited total strangers into my house! They were blind interviews so I never knew what they were going to say. I did about 50-something episodes. It was amazing and I would do it again, just with a better formula and some help. It allowed me to explore something outside of comedy. I always felt that if I wasn’t doing this, I’d be in the mental health space, working at a teen rehab or something. I was able to tap into an emotional side that I don’t access on TikTok.
Stories that stand out?
There was a girl who is pretty big on TikTok, Eva Benefield aka Eva the Diva. Her mom died and then nine months later, her dad was murdered by her stepmom. At the time, the investigation was still happening and the story was just going public. The stepmom was an ex-dancer and the papers dubbed it the “Black Swan” murders. She was just sentenced this summer. I was very lucky to interview her when I did because the court case hadn’t started. That interview was just raw.
The most meaningful one was the first podcast. I let this random guy into my apartment and he could have been a total creep or crazy person but luckily he was a sweet guy who had been diagnosed with cancer. We talked about what it was like to hear that kind of diagnosis with an unknown timeline. We remained friends and I met his wife and became part of the family. He would bake bread and bring it over. About two years after meeting him, he passed away. I was in charge of live-streaming his funeral. Going through the end of life with someone had a big impact on me.
Wow, so let’s get into the film you’re shooting in the Philly area in November. It’s called, “This Blows” and it’s loosely based on a true story.
Yeah, when I was in fifth grade, we went on a D.A.R.E. field trip to the Outback Steakhouse in the Gateway Plaza. Why there? I don’t know. If you remember, D.A.R.E. was the anti-drug and alcohol program and I was the speaker for our class so I’m sure you can guess how cool I was.
While I was debating between french fries and onion rings, I was interrupted by a proposition from one of my classmates. He said, “I’ll give you 20 bucks to give me a blowjob.” I figured it was an easy $20 but the only problem was that I didn’t know what a blowjob was. Being a wheeling and dealing sophisticate, I didn’t want to get ripped off, so I said, “Give me a second.” I asked my teacher what a blowjob was and if $20 was a fair price. Needless to say she wasn’t happy.
He got suspended and I never got an answer so that afternoon when my babysitter picked me up, I asked her. I took the thread from that story and flipped it on its head and sideways and created a story that was more about the universal story that most of us, girls especially, experience. Thinking that we know everything in our teens and then finding out something so jarring. No one finds out what a blowjob is and right off the bat says, “Oh, that sounds great!” I remember learning about intercourse and at least that made sense. There was a reason for it, but explaining a blowjob to an 11 year old girl…there’s really nothing positive you can come up with.
Having said that, this film is not about blowjobs. You never even hear what it is explicitly. It’s about growing up and the mentors we find along the way. And how the 20 something babysitter and the girl help each other deal with the world. It’s a very safe, loving dynamic that they have as they each navigate growing up. The script follows a different storyline but along the same premise.
Tell me a little about the cast and crew.
I’d say about 50% of the crew is queer and is pretty split between NY-based and Philly-based. We have an amazing director in Talia Smith. She’s a Student Academy Award-winning director who has already had a short film achieve Oscar eligibility. Of course we’re thrilled to have Diana Hull and 3 Left-Handed Women aboard as producers along with Emily Dalmas and Anne Hollister and a talented cast. This film is a homecoming, full-circle moment for me. I live in NY now, but we’ll be shooting all around the area where I grew up in Devon and surrounding areas. Part of it will be filmed at Arnold’s Family Fun Center in Oaks with about 50 kids. We’re also shooting at The Willows in Radnor. People can follow the progress of the film on a series we’re doing on Instagram called, “From Script to Screen.”
The Willows is where my prom was held!
Oh, really? Awesome! We’re shooting down by the duck pond.
I know it well. Speaking of queer folks, what were some early signs that you were gay?
Well, I went to sports camp in the summers and was on the boy’s baseball team until 6th grade. And I played softball. That of course doesn’t mean that you’re gay, but it’s a good hint! I also idolized my babysitters but looking back, it’s like, “Hmm, did I idolize them or did I have crushes on them?” And the friendships I had in freshman year of college weren’t normal. I cared SO much — too much — until I finally had to question my feelings about this person. I freaked out and jumped on the Amtrak and went home to my dad. He picked me up at the Wayne train station and I said, “Dad, I think I like a girl.” And he said, “I like girls too” and that was it. The most perfect reply.
How long have you been with your partner?
Five years. We matched on Hinge and Bumble and she’s the best. She’s in the health-care space and we’ve fostered 15 dogs and 40 cats in the four years we’ve lived together. She’s my rock and it’s nice to be with someone not in the industry. It lets me be able to turn it off and keep grounded. She puts me in my place, which is important.
Let’s do some rapid-fire questions. Any nicknames?
My theater teacher used to always call me Miss Malaprop because I would use the wrong word and then die on the hill with it. Like one time, I was interning in LA and the executive producer came up to me and said, “What’s it like outside?” and I said, “It’s defecatingly hot.” People tried to correct me and I was like, “Mmmm, no. It actually is defecatingly hot out there.” I think I was meaning to say suffocatingly hot, but when I go for it, I believe what I’m saying and I don’t back down.
Strangest date ever?
I went out with a guy in college who took out his Game Boy in the middle of a date and asked if I wanted to see it. To make it worse, when he took it out of his pocket, about 10 condoms fell out onto the floor. He started freaking out, “I’m sorry! I didn’t know what the night would bring!” It was so weird on so many levels. Another reason to be gay.
Something that irks you?
Spandex. I hate the sound, the touch of it. Sorry, I just can’t.
And last one. Favorite line?
“I did not have sex with that woman.”
For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation to “This Blows,” visit thisblowsfilm.com.