Texan and ‘Son of Zorn’ actress Artemis Pebdani is a real character

Every day on the set of Son of Zorn is an adventure for actress Artemis Pebdani.

Mostly because the show’s leading man is so doggone animated. Literally.

Zorn is a sword-wielding, loincloth-clad cartoon warrior — mighty defender of Zephyria — but he’s living among live-action types in Orange County, Calif., so he can reconnect with his human wife (played by Cheryl Hines) and his teenage son (Johnny Pemberton).

Pebdani, a proud Texan and Southern Methodist University alumna, plays Linda, Zorn’s boss in the exciting world of industrial soap sales. (Don’t tell Zorn, but he was her “diversity hire.”)

The anything-can-happen comedy, in its first season, airs at 7:30 p.m. Sunday on Fox.

We chatted with Pebdani, who’s perhaps best known for recurring roles on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Scandal, about what it’s like to work with such a macho man.

What was it about the show’s premise and about your character that made you want to be part of it?

Honestly, Zorn was just such an exciting concept. Even though the reference of Roger Rabbit was out there, when reading the script I just had no idea how to really picture acting on it or what shooting would look like — and that’s actually kind of cool.

Any time you get an atypical gig, it’s a super-fun part of the adventure of being an actor.

I totally got Linda the second I read her. She’s not humorless. She’s just realistic about knowing that most people, herself included, would rather be doing something other than selling soap-related products.

Also, Linda has some special pastimes and hobbies that you’ll get to learn about as the show goes on. I can’t reveal much, but she’s a pretty good time.

What is Zorn (who’s voiced by Jason Sudeikis) like when the camera isn’t going? Is he a total diva on the set? Is he super-demanding? Or is he a real sweetheart?

Oh, Zorn’s a real

pussycat. And don’t tell anyone, but he has makeup shade in his abs.

What are some of the challenges attached to acting opposite a warrior cartoon character? There’s the familiar story about actors performing opposite a tennis ball when there are special effects involved. Is the leading man in Son of Zorn just a tennis ball or some such prop?

Ha! People bring up the tennis ball a lot! I wonder how that became the industry standard for an animated stand-in. There were no tennis balls on set for us, though. I was actually hoping for a dude in one of those body suits with pingpong balls all over it, but we didn’t get that either.

Luckily, we have a real person stand in for Zorn. His name is Dan Lippert and he’s great. He’s also like 7 feet tall. Don’t quote me on that. Or actually, you can quote me. Just know that I’m probably wrong.

First, we do a pass at the scene with Dan, so the cameras know where to point and we know where to look. Then he steps out and you kind of remember where you were looking. If it’s a more complicated scene, like if Zorn moves around a lot, they put taped X’s around the place for various eye lines.

Then, as Dan is saying the lines off-camera, he’ll call out “getting up” or “turning around” in between the lines as Zorn is supposed to move. It’s a little weird. Actually, it’s a lot weird. But it sure keeps you on your toes.

Do you still have friends and family in Texas? Do you come back often? Or ever? And when you’re away, what do you miss most about the Lone Star State?

I do go back to Texas from time to time. Mainly, I go to Houston, where I still have family, but I have a lot of friends in Dallas and Austin, and I’m sure due for a visit.

Man, oh, man, do I miss good Tex-Mex and Whataburger! Also, when I first moved out to California, I was stunned at the lack of queso in restaurants. I mean, people didn’t even know what I was talking about when I asked for it.

In the last few years, it’s popped up in places that promise Tex-Mex. It never quite hits the spot, though. I feel like they try to do something too fancy or make it “gourmet” in some way.

So if I ever need to scratch that queso itch, I buy a block of Velveeta and a can of Rotel and make that mess right!

Is it true that you got your start as an actress doing song and dance numbers at the Western-themed theater at Six Flags Astroworld in Houston?

It’s true. It was the summer after my senior year of high school. I played Belle Starr in Miss Lillie’s Red Garter Revue. Five shows a day, six on the weekends.

We played in the Crystal Palace, which in the off-season was called the Cow Palace and hosted a show of gun-slinging animatronic farm animals, with whom we shared our backstage and dressing rooms.

We sang suggestive show tunes and can-canned in our bustiers and fishnets and hair pieces. And it did not once occur to me that we were in a brothel and I was the madam.

But guess what? We were in a brothel, and I was the madam.

What kind of presidential candidate do you suppose your Scandal character, Vice President Susan Ross, would make if she were running opposite Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton?

Yikes. I think if Susan Ross were running in this election, her head would explode. I don’t know if anything on Scandal or any other show could compete with the circus that this race is right now.

I feel like Susan’s main talking points would be centered around, “What the heck is happening here?!” and “Is this possibly for real?!”

This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Texan and ‘Son of Zorn’ actress Artemis Pebdani is a real character."