'Up Here' Interviews: Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes

Moviefone speaks with Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes about 'Up Here.' "I was truly terrified," Whitman said of singing and dancing in Hulu's musical series.

Premiering on Hulu March 24th is the new musical romantic comedy ‘Up Here,’ which was created by Tony Award winner Steven Levenson (‘Dear Evan Hansen’) and Oscar winners Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (‘Frozen’).

What is the plot of ‘Up Here?’

A musical romantic comedy set in New York City in the waning days of 1999, following the extraordinary story of one ordinary couple, Lindsay (Mae Whitman) and Miguel (Carlos Valdes), as they fall in love and discover that the single greatest obstacle to finding happiness together might just be themselves – and the treacherous world of memories, obsessions, fears and fantasies that lives inside their heads.

Who is in the Cast of ‘Up Here?’

‘Up Here’ stars Mae Whitman (‘Independence Day’), Carlos Valdes (‘The Flash’), Katie Finneran (‘Freaky’), John Hodgman (‘Pitch Perfect 2’), Andréa Burns (‘In the Heights’), Sophia Hammons (‘Under Wraps’), Emilia Suárez (‘A Good Person’) and Scott Porter (‘The To Do List’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes about their work on ‘Up Here,’ auditioning, being in a musical, and the voices in their characters' heads.

(L to R) Carlos Valdes and Mae Whitman attend the TCA Press Event for Hulu's 'Up Here' at the Langham Huntington in Pasadena, CA on January 14th, 2023.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Whitman, Valdes, Katie Finneran, and Andréa Burns, as well as executive producers Steven Levenson, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, Danielle Sanchez-Witzel, and Thomas Kail.

Moviefone: To begin with, Mae, what was your first reaction to reading the script and realizing that you would be singing and dancing in this series?

Mae Whitman: I was terrified, truly terrified, and shaking in my boots. Because I had lots of meetings with everyone and I loved them all. We spoke over Zoom. I was like, so not only is this script brilliantly funny, meaningful, deep, and special, but this character is so layered and incredible. The arc is amazing, but this music, the concept of doing something that terrifies me, even though I really am scared to do it, I feel like it's the only thing that gets me excited anymore. So being able to go there, I was so scared but I had so much support from my friends and family making me feel confident. My voice teacher, Doug Peck, who prepared me, I would never have done it without him. But the audition process was just wild because you have to stand there in front of a bunch of Broadway people and put your music down and be like, "Yeah, let's do this in the key of whatever." I was like, "I just don't have that confidence." So I was genuinely terrified. But I have to say, because you're working with these incredible professionals who are genuinely at the top of their game, they know how to make you feel comfortable and they want what you bring to it. I always felt so safe, so seen, so trusted and respected, and I think that was the vibe in every category on set, and I think it allowed for some really great work, hopefully.

Mae Whitman stars in Hulu's 'Up Here.' Photo: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.

MF: Carlos, what was the casting process like for you?

Carlos Valdes: Quite a handful, but eventually I got the part. It was a process I was pretty familiar with though. Coming in, singing a song, doing the scenes and stuff like that. That part I was pretty comfortable with, but I had never done the musical TV mixture before, so there was definitely an element of unknown in the process that made it a little scary. But it's like when Mae was saying, “I'm motivated by the scary parts.” I like doing stuff that is a little outside my comfort zone, and this was definitely that.

Carlos Valdes stars in Hulu's 'Up Here.' Photo: Sarah Shatz/Hulu.

MF: Lindsay and Miguel actually hear the voices of their friends and family complimenting and criticizing them in their head. Mae, what voices do you hear talking to you in your head?

MW: God, it's hard to say. You know what it is for me? I've always pictured because I think my defense mechanisms maybe came into place when I was little because I started working when I was so little, that to me, they look like fun monsters. One has a Medusa head that has all these different options and is about overthinking, and then there's one that's a big furry bear that's like, "You're a baby, let me hold you." But I'm like, "I'm a grownup." For me, it's like I have these imaginary friends. It's not really people, it's just different iterations of myself that show up in these cartoonishly childish ways and I have to be like, "Okay, you guys, I hear you. I see you. I appreciate you. I'm going to go ahead and drive the bus now, but y'all can go sit down and enjoy the ride if you want."

(L to R) Carlos Valdes and Andrea Burns in Hulu's 'Up Here.' Photo: Sarah Shatz/Hulu.

MF: Finally, Carlos, can you talk about the voices in Miguel’s head and his relationship with his mother?

CV: Andréa (Burns), she brought this amazing quality to that character that I definitely feel echoes my own upbringing with my own mom. You know what I mean? There was a sensibility that she really captured in that character that made it feel very real for me. I think to a certain extent, we all have our parents in our heads in some capacity, and I feel like sometimes I have that in my head. I mean, to be honest with you, all the voices in my head are really just one voice, and that guy's an a-hole.