Fred Melamed has been a proficient actor over the years, playing in comedies, action movies, superhero series, and more. He studied at Hampshire College and the Yale School of Drama and has worked alongside a number of stars including Andy Samberg, Terry Crews, David Letterman, to name a few.

Some of his recent work includes Diary of a Spy, a drama-mystery where he plays the handler of a hit-woman at the tail end of her career. As Diary of a Spy has recently been released, Melamed joined us for an interview to discuss that, as well as his work on WandaVision, F is for Family, and how he’d love to work with Paul Thomas Anderson.

Fred Melamed in WandaVision

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Marvel

“I got a bunch of things from WandaVision,” said Melamed, referring to the things he seeks as an actor. This includes “getting to play characters that have some depth and complexity to them,” as well as “situations where I can reveal the frailties of a character, the unsureness of a character.”

Melamed plays Todd Davis in WandaVision. “There was a good combination, a good compelling common sense, things that made me jump at the chance to do it. I never thought that people would say, ‘You’re part of the MCU now,’ but now I’m part of the Marvel world. That was a complete surprise to me, but I was very glad that I was asked to do it.”

Oftentimes when actors reach the world of Marvel, it opens the gates to pursue any type of role they’d like with the increased notoriety that typically follows. Though Melamed noted, “I wouldn’t say everything that you want, but it certainly raises you to a level of consciousness and people that otherwise might now know who you and what your work is. Especially for younger people… so the opportunity to be introduced to a younger generation of people who watch TV or go to movies is always great.”

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Working on F is for Family

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Netflix

Speaking to his range, Melamed may play a role in a superhero series like WandaVision, but that doesn’t stop him from jumping into the world of comedies like F is for Family.

“That’s a situation where I had a couple of friends who are already on that show and appeared as characters. First of all, Bill Bur, to me, is very funny, and the writing of the show really made it fun. For me, it’s hard to separate work from my feelings for the people that I’m working with… so the people that you work with are a big part of the joy. F is for Family was a situation like that, where the people I knew beforehand, and to do it with them made it so much better.”

As for working alongside Burr specifically, Melamed commented that his role as Dr. Goldman was voiced during pandemic regulations. “I wasn’t working alongside him because we were all in the middle of COVID. So, we were all alone in the studios… I didn’t actually meet him, but his imprint is on the show and on the scripts, and so on. I think that character that we see is close to Bill, and that’s kind of the way he is, he’s very funny, and he tells it like it is from his perspective. He’s not concerned, he just says and does it.”

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Who Melamed Would Love to Work With Next

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HBO

At the end of our interview, we asked Melamed who he’d be interested in working with most, out of people he hasn’t had the opportunity to do so with yet.

“Well, there are a number of people that would fall into that category. There are a couple that I can’t because they’re no longer alive, but of the living people, I’d say the person whose work I absolutely love and have not yet worked with, I’d say probably Paul Thomas Anderson. I’m a huge fan. I think he’s fantastic. He’s certainly among my greatest directors of all time. I’ve tried to get in a couple of times, in a couple of his movies but have not been successful, but I love him. He’s a standout in my book. I love working with the Coen brothers. I’ve worked with them a bunch of times, and always relish the opportunity.”

Melamed’s new movie Diary of a Spy is available now, and he also has a few other projects like Cat Person, Deadly Drawl, and Reboot currently in post-production.