Luke Kirby on 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Finale and Lenny Bruce's Lack of Screen Time in Season 5

[Warning: Spoilers for the Series Finale] Luke Kibry, who won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of legendary comedian Lenny Bruce in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," talks about the final season and Lenny's brief appearances in the final episode.
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[@Horsefeathers30]

As much as we'd like to see more of Lenny, the show is called The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. It was done so well❤

[@chandrapeskin4070]

Luke really was the icing in the for the show. There was always a sense of excitement & magnetism that he imbued on the show. Yup, should have had more of him this season (I am greedy 😅)

[@Jemylooh]

Luke Kirby is perfect ! I really hope we get to see more shows from him

[@Historian212]

Thanks for featuring Luke Kirby, whose performance was absolutely key to the series. After I saw the finale, I decided to rewatch the series. I’d forgotten that Lenny appears in the first episode, and was part of how Midge and Joel first bonded. I’m glad he didn’t appear more often, because he was really Midge’s muse and magical mentor. His sudden appearances in her life, just at the right times, were cloaked in mystery. He was more like an angel or an elf than a human character. He and Midge shared a special zone into which others weren’t really welcome. And if the mundane intruded, it broke the spell: when Lenny wakes up sober (and safe) in the Weissman apartment, he’s almost blinded by the daylight, clumsy, like Superman around Kryptonite. He’s out of his element and can’t wait to get away. This sequence highlighted why Lenny and Midge couldn’t be a couple: their relationship required stardust, which is invisible during the daytime. And Midge wasn’t really suited to that liminal world. She was a very human person, not a sprite. In this story, Lenny had to stay elusive, magical; even at the end. I think it was genius to use him as they did, especially knowing that IRL, the poor guy was doomed. Speaking of real life, Joan Rivers, who knew the real Bruce in her Greenwich Village days, wouldn’t talk about him on a personal level until very late in her life. She was honest about having been very attracted to him, but I don’t think she ever answered the question of whether or not they ever got together. Which is probably for the best.

[@xtxpxhx]

Great analysis. This is what I was thinking earlier, he's her animus. He confronts her and opens up a whole new world of possibilities. He helps her through her rite of passage, in which she almost loses a toe in it. I love it, it's not a common theme for female characters, and it's delivered so beautifully.

[@lalitharavindran]

We should see more of Luke Kirby..he such a fantastic actor.

[@IsaDesOsiers]

Luke Kirby was another revelation on Mrs Maisel. Great actor! Loved the quirky detective series he just did called Panhandle. He plays a different kind of character as well, and is equally charismatic.

[@user-rl4fm4uu6o]

cant lie i got annoyed at how minimal his scenes were . Lenny deserved another midge scene together during his downfall

[@Therapistmind]

Agree!

[@eugeniogentili1048]

Incredible resemblance to Theodore Bundy

[@marjoriegarland2798]

Excellent, heartwarming interview! What a fabulous job Luke did in playing Lenny Bruce! Bravo ❤️

[@Therapistmind]

He was one of my favorite characters wanted more of him and Midge!

[@VictoryRRR]

He's so cute lol.

[@StreetTruckinTitan]

It was disappointing they didnt touch on Lennys death in the finale especially since Midge's close relationship with Lenny.

[@mmogburn]

It was a lite touch. The fortune cookie fortune was an ode to Lenny Bruce.

[@StreetTruckinTitan]

@@mmogburn yes I know but he had given the fortune cookie to her only six months prior. He passed away years later in 1966.

[@MikeRoberts1964]

I don't think they needed to touch on that; we saw him at the beginning of the downturn in his fortunes and we all know that he ends up dying. And, as StreetTruckinTitan pointed out, it's years later that he dies, so they would have had to extend the story artificially another few years to have that dealt with in the show. Either that or have a flash forward to a scene where Midge hears about his death and reacts. However, given the fact that the Midge/Lenny story was so much a part of seasons 1 to 5, it would have felt like a single scene would be 'short-changing' it. So, there really was no happy medium in any attempt to show it directly.

[@surlespasdondine]

I don't think that was needed. He was a side character and there was enough tribute to him in the show. Including his death would have pulled focus from Midge and added drama that wasn't needed in the finale.

[@RoDKW99]

He was great in the show. So handsome and charismatic

[@beckyhofheinz6245]

Just watched this gorgeous man in 2nd season of ""Dr. Death" absolutley breath-taking!

[@pamelarundle2834]

Lenny Bruce was a real person, with a real history....they couldn't have married.

[@MrBeachMadness]

This girl has no idea that Bruce was a real person that died tragically.

[@Jane-1509]

Right? Why wouldn’t she do a bit of research? I can’t take stupid women like her seriously.

[@anamerkury8881]

This is a fictionalization of Lenny. This has been happening to multiple historical figures both within and beyond Maisel, and the most famous case is Sharon Tate in the latest Tarantino film. Tarantino rewrote history and it was not a problem. It is a fictional piece of work, so as long as relatives of the historical figure don't mind, fictionalization can evolve beyond the prototype. Kitty Bruce didn't mind if Maisel!Lenny's arch was different as long as the essence of his character was captured

[@Jane-1509]

@@anamerkury8881 Obviously it’s a fictionalization of Lenny. The problem is that the interviewer talks as if she has no idea that he was a real person. Anyone with a brain can tell from the questions she asks. So good for you for stating the obvious 😂.

[@surlespasdondine]

@@Jane-1509 Well the obvious seemed to need stating since you don't understand that the interviewer can at the same time know he was a real person AND talk about the fictionalized version of him AS IF he didn't exist in real life.

[@Jane-1509]

@@surlespasdondine Nah, she’s stupid and it’s easy to tell. Unless of course you’re as dumb as she is, which is highly likely since you’re defending her 😂.

[@irishkcguy]

Lenny Bruce died of a drug overdose in 1966. Did anybody want to see that?

[@surlespasdondine]

no, it would have been out of place in the show.

[@neilm9400]

I really enjoyed Lenny Bruce when ever he appeared

[@IamCurrentlyAscending]

Honestly, I did not recognize him un-Lenny-fied. I'm thinking it's the hair.

[@staciecampbell5078]

Loved his version of Lenny but the show wasn’t about him.

[@mikeburkholder7458]

Yeah, she doesn't realize Lenny died in '66. Plus, he was reallyy messed up the last couple of years.

[@genericrobin6597]

Midge had multiple husbands? Did I miss that?

[@bpo4736]

Yes she did (although those husbands weren’t shown). Remember one of the episodes in the last season where Midge didn’t want to go through her wedding and wants Susie to tell the groom she don’t want to get married? (It was a flashback of the future at the beginning of an episode). They then mentioned I believe it was her 3rd or 5th wedding (don’t recall).