‘Only Murders in the Building’ Star Michael Cyril Creighton on How Season 4 Is Reinventing the Series and the Secret They Keep on Set
[This story includes spoilers from Only Murders in the Building seasons three and four.]
Only Murders in the Building was originally set to include a lot less of Michael Cyril Creighton’s now-beloved character, Howard Morris.
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In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the season four premiere, the actor revealed he was initially cast to be in only a couple episodes of the Emmy-winning comedy. Now as the Hulu comedy is has begun its fourth season — and is now coming off a fresh season five renewal — Creighton says he’s the “luckiest guy in showbiz” to be a series regular on the show “everybody wants to be on.”
Since season one, the world of the Arconia has been expanding, and that includes the characters who live in the Upper West Side building in Manhattan like Howard. Creighton says he didn’t know much about his character when he was first introduced, except that he was an emotional man who loved his cat and was a gossip. Over the course of the show’s four seasons, however, he’s grown beyond that. He has dreams and aspirations, and while he may not be good at everything, he’s going to try anyway.
Season four sees Howard becoming more and more ingrained in the Only Murders in the Building trio of Charles Hayden-Savage, Mabel Mora and Oliver Punam — portrayed by Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short, respectively. Creighton is the only other actor listed as a regular in the opening credits, with Howard serving as an unofficial member of the trio, often helping them in their whodunnit mystery-solving.
The latest installment in the series follows the podcasters as they investigate the murder of Charles’ longtime friend and stunt double, Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), who was killed at the end of season three. Though Sazz is dead, the first two episodes of season four have shown that she will remain an integral part of this installment, already appearing quite a few times as Charles’ subconscious — and Creighton is thrilled about getting to know more about this beloved character.
“I think Jane Lynch is giving an incredible performance full of her signature humor, but also an incredible amount of heart,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s really touching to learn about Sazz and where Sazz came from, and her relationship with Charles is just a real gem.” Below, Creighton also opens up about how Only Murders in the Building season four compares to previous seasons, working with all the major A-listers guest starring in this batch of episodes and more.
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Howard’s role has been slowly expanding over the course of the last four seasons. What has it been like becoming an unofficial member of the trio?
It’s been a dream come true. It’s the best job in show business right now. This is the show that everybody wants to be on, and how lucky am I that I was only supposed to be in a couple episodes and now I’m a regular? It is not lost on me that I am the luckiest guy in showbiz. It’s fantastic. Getting to know more and more about this character that I love so much every single season has been so satisfying. All I knew about him in the first season was he loved his cat; he was a gossip; he was very emotional; and now it’s just grown and grown. I know he has a full, rich life outside of the Arconia. He has aspirations. He has dreams. He’s not great at everything, but he sure is going to try. So it’s been great. I feel really lucky to play him. And I love him. I love Howard.
Speaking of his cat, he now has owned like every pet under the sun.
Yeah, he’s got a menagerie. (Laughs)
What’s it like having all these pet co-stars?
They’re all very sweet. They’re all very gentle. They’re all very cute. I love each and every one of them. Some are more challenging than others. The kitten in the last few seasons was so sweet. This season, I work with a dog whose real name is Molly. She is just a real, strong old gal who is a real pro; always hits her mark, always prepared. I worked with a cat named Sunny this season, great guy. And also a pig named Sprinkle, who was probably the most challenging, but she was young, and she was learning, a little green. She screamed like a child. She screamed bloody murder. She urinated on me during a scene. She never hit her mark, but she had a loving family that was taking care of her, and she loved me because I always had peanuts in my pocket, and that was her favorite treat. But I would say that was one of the more challenging co-stars. You know, some of my cast gets to act with Meryl Streep — I got Sprinkle, the pig.
How would you say season four compares to past seasons?
What’s so exciting about the show is that it reinvents itself every season, but keeps this sort of core value of community and friendship. Loneliness is such a big part of the Arconia, and then finding a way out of that loneliness. So, that’s all still there. But this season, under the world of film, which is a completely different turn from where we were last season. I am constantly surprised that the writers just outdo themselves every single season. It gets better and better and better and more and more intricate, and the world just keeps growing and growing and growing. So, I think fans are going to be really excited by this season.
Going into the seasons before you start filming, do you all know who the murderer is?
I don’t know anything because I asked not to. I like to be surprised, and I like to find out episode by episode. I like to guess, and I’m always wrong. The first season, I was like, “I’m the killer, and I’m going to be killed.” I always think the whole world revolves around Howard, but I’m always wrong. But I know that the writers and the writers room and casting, and I assume the producers all know who the killer will be before the full season is even written because that’s how they get from A to B. But we keep it really secret on set. People don’t talk about it. People don’t know, and everybody spitballs their ideas.
What was one of the most out-there ideas you’ve heard of who the murderer might be?
I think in the Shirley MacLaine season [which was the second one], someone was like, “She did it!” And I was like, “There’s no way she did it. She’s rather frail, and it was sort of a violent murder. I don’t think it was going to be that particular woman.” But I love all the theories. I could listen to them for hours.
Me too. This season introduces a ton of new characters played by a lot of major actors. What was it like expanding the ensemble cast to work with all of them?
It was incredible. I mean, everywhere you looked. You couldn’t go get a snack without running into a giant, A-list celebrity, who was giving their all on this show. It’s so cool to be part of a show that people want to be part of. And I love that the world is expanding, and the world of the Arconia and the world of this trio is huge. There are so many people in it. So it’s exciting to know that we might not see people in certain seasons, but their lives are actively moving forward, and people can pop in and out whenever.
That’s the beauty of this show, is that people are never gone fully. Even if they’re dead, people can show up again. So that’s what’s pretty exciting. And this season, they really outdid themselves with Catherine Cohen and Siena Werber, who play the Brothers sisters, and Jin Ha, who plays the writer of the movie. And there’s a lot of great working actors and a lot of great, incredible celebrities all mixed together in one delicious sort of TV cake.
Who’s the one character you’re especially excited to get to know in season four?
Sazz Pataki. I think Jane Lynch is giving an incredible performance full of her signature humor but also an incredible amount of heart. And it’s really touching to learn about Sazz and where Sazz came from, and her relationship with Charles is just a real gem.
New episodes of Only Murders in the Building season four drop every Tuesday on Hulu, leading up to the finale on Oct. 29.
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