Missi Pyle Shares Best Memories from Her Most Notable Film Roles as She Stars in New Rom-Com “For Worse” (Exclusive)

Jack IrvinFri, March 6, 2026 at 3:45 PM UTC

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Missi Pyle in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'; Missi Pyle in October 2025; Missi Pyle in 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'Credit: Warner Brothers;Jon Kopaloff/Getty;20th Century Studios -

Missi Pyle stars in the new rom-com For Worse

The actress tells PEOPLE about her best memories from working on her most memorable film roles

Pyle has appeared in films including Galaxy Quest, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Ma and more

Missi Pyle is looking back on her storied career as she hits the big screen in her latest film, For Worse.

The actress, 53, has brought her unique comedic charm to countless film and TV roles since launching her career in the '90s, including Violet Beauregarde's uptight mom Scarlette in 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Russian athlete Fran Stalinovskovichdavidovitchsky in 2004's Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and so many more.

Now, Pyle stars in the new romantic comedy For Worse as Julie, the hilarious best friend of main character Lauren, played by the film's writer, director and lead actress Amy Landecker. The two performers are friends in real life, having met while working on a TV pilot a couple years back.

"We just had fun," Pyle tells PEOPLE of making the film, which follows recent divorcée Lauren as she embarks on a new chapter of her life and navigates a budding romance with a younger man.

Ahead of the movie's wide theatrical release on Friday, March 6, Pyle sat down with PEOPLE to share the best memories from her most notable film roles — from a night out clubbing with Just My Luck costar Lindsay Lohan to smoking hand-rolled cigarettes with Johnny Depp on the Charlie set.

Laliari, Galaxy Quest (1999)

Missi Pyle in 'Galaxy Quest'Credit: Murray Close/ Getty

MISSI PYLE: Every day we had lunch with Alan Rickman. He would just sit with the aliens. Tim Allen would go to his trailer, and Sigourney Weaver would go to hers. Everybody went to their trailers except for Alan, because he's British and amazing. We’d just all sit and talk together. He became one of my friends. We went to see a play together. When I went to London to do another movie, me and Mr. Teavee from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Adam Godley, hung out with Alan and his wife. We had one of the most beautiful days ever. He's just a delight. I mean, there's so many great memories. Sigourney Weaver, at the very end, told me to steal my costume.

PEOPLE: Did you?

PYLE: I did. But then I gave it away to my old high school for an auction. And then [another memory is] Tim Allen just always making a fart noise right after they'd say “rolling speed,” right before “action.” It was my first big movie to be a part of in that way. I was only supposed to be in it for a couple scenes, and then they realized they didn't have another woman other than Sigourney, so all of a sudden I was in this movie. I was in my twenties and just scared but excited.

PEOPLE: Was Tony Shalhoub a good kisser?

PYLE: Yeah, he's a good kisser. I mean, I think so.

Alexandra Cabot, Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

Missi Pyle and Paulo Costanzo in 'Josie and the Pussycats'Credit: Universal Pictures

PYLE: Hanging out with Parker Posey and Alan Cumming. We were shooting at the same time as a bunch of other movies in Vancouver, and we were all at the same hotel, the Sutton Place. There was this one bar [at the hotel]. We hung out with Jeff Goldblum one night — me, Parker and Alan. We're all hanging out with him, almost like he was like Julie Andrews telling us acting stories, and we were all like the Von Trapps. It was hilarious. I [also] remember Alan telling me, "You can be as big as you want to be, as long as it's real." I've taken with me everywhere because it's so true.

PEOPLE: Who's the last castmate you spoke to?

PYLE: I did another movie [A Tourist’s Guide to Love] with Rachael [Leigh Cook], and I love Rachael. She's just a delight. I saw her at the premiere, and then we'll text back and forth here and there. She's great.

Ashley, Bringing Down the House (2003)

Missi Pyle and Queen Latifah in 'Bringing Down the House'Credit: Sam Emerson/Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

PYLE: [The fight scene with Queen Latifah] was the most fun thing I think I've ever done. There were a couple great moments. [Director] Adam Shankman told me I had a perfect ass. And I was like, "Thank you,” because now, things change. There was another moment where Queen Latifah takes my head, dunks it in the toilet. I bang the toilet, come up, and I literally have a goose egg on my head. She's like, "Honey, you did that. You did that to yourself. I didn't do anything. I was just holding your head." They gave me an ice pack, and it went right back down. It was so cartoonish. And then I had a stunt double who broke through the door, and she hit the toilet with her leg and had to go to the hospital, get stitches, and then she came back and continued. So Adam Shankman put on the chalkboard, toilet: 2, actresses: 0. That's the first time I realized stunt people do get injured.

PEOPLE: Who's the last castmate you spoke to?

PYLE: Kimberly J. Brown, who played the kid. She and I have become friends. She came when I had a hip replacement and helped me put something on tape, and then sent me a new ice pack. She thought mine was subpar. We have the same birthday.

Fran Stalinovskovichdavidovitchsky, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Missi Pyle in 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'Credit: 20th Century Studios

PYLE: I went to a strip club with Vince Vaughn and Justin Long. I remember Vince buying me a lap dance, I just thought that was so funny. They were like, "Come on, you go." [Vaughn] has a personality that's intense. I remember saying something to him. He was like, "We going to be friends? We going to go out to lunch?" And I just remember being like, "Oh, okay." And then I see him at a party three and a half years ago or whenever, and he's like, "Missi, I'm so glad to see you. You're doing so well." And I just was like, "Oh, thanks." He was so nice, and we had this amazing conversation. He started giving me advice about my dating life. I talked to him for so long that I was like, “Well, that was great talking to you.” I was genuinely like, "I’ve got to take a break from Vince Vaughn because I'm having such a surreal moment."

PEOPLE: Do you get recognized from that movie since you don't look like yourself?

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PYLE: Not as much. But I'll have the pictures [of my roles at conventions], and people will be like, "Oh, I didn't know you were all of these people."

Scarlett Beauregarde, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Missi Pyle in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'Credit: Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett

PYLE: Oh my God, Tim Burton. He was so great. I loved Johnny Depp, and Tim was like, "You should get as close to Johnny as you can." And I was like, "Okay." So I was always standing next to him, and he's just funny and delightful. One day I was saying to him, "It's my sister's birthday, I don't mean to be that person, but can I get a picture or something?" And he's like, "Oh, yeah, come to my [tent]" — he had this Bedouin tent. I went, and I had this wig and my hair up in a thing, and I had this garish makeup. I remember being like, "You've got to make me look decent. I'm going to see John." So I took off all my stuff and did my hair. Did I have a glass of wine with him maybe? We were just talking. He was amazing. He had hand-rolled cigarettes. He's like, "Would you like one?" I hadn't smoked in a year, and I was like, "Sure. Of course." I was about to vomit, but it was so great. I said, "I know you live in France. My friend just bought a place out there." He's like, "Well, I go home every weekend. If you ever want to ride, you take my jet. We could go." I was too scared to, but I do regret that. I should have been like, "We going out to the south of France this weekend, JD?"

PEOPLE: Who’s the last castmate you spoke to?

PYLE: Mr. Teavee. Adam, he's a really good friend of mine.

PEOPLE: Do you ever reunite with AnnaSophia Robb?

PYLE: I haven't seen her, and I need to find her.

Peggy Braden, Just My Luck (2006)

Carlos Ponce, Missi Pyle and Lindsay Lohan on set of 'Just My Luck' in March 2005Credit: Arnaldo Magnani/Getty

PYLE: I had friends in town, and I [asked Lindsay Lohan], "Can we go out with you?" I literally asked a young person if we could go out with her. And she's like, "Of course.” We all go out in her Escalade to this club, and people are just like, I mean, making the way as if she's Jesus Christ. A bunch of girls are waiting, and they literally get down on their knees in front of her. She's like, "Oh my God, get up." We go to this club, and they open the doors for her. And then we go to leave and pile up in the Escalade, and I forget my sweater. So I'm like, "I'm going to go get my sweater. I'll see you wherever we’re going next. Don't worry about me." So I went back to the door of the club, and they literally were like, "What do you want?" I was like, "I was just here with Lindsay, and I left my sweater.” They barely let me in. It was just so funny to be in her posse.

Constance, The Artist (2011)

(from left) Thomas Langmann, Jean Dujardin, Michel Hazanavicius, James Cromwell, Berenice Bejo, Uggie the dog, Penelope Ann Miller and Missi Pyle at the 84th Annual Academy AwardsCredit: Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty

PYLE: God, that was incredible, just being a part of that movie. I was playing a different character when I got there. I auditioned for the wife, and I remember when I auditioned, I was [miming words], and they were like, "You can talk. We're just not recording the sound." I remember thinking, I'm in this silent movie, what is it? And then the director, Michel Hazanavicius was like, "Hey, Missi, in this next scene, we are going to have you doing a monologue. Could you just do the Juliet monologue from Shakespeare?" And I remember laughing because I was like, okay, I'm in a silent movie, and I now have to go learn a Shakespearean monologue.

We got into Cannes [Film Festival], and I flew myself and my best friend Christine out. There was a standing ovation for 10-15 minutes after the movie. They just never stopped clapping. It being this huge sensation was really cool. And then I'm going to the Oscars, bending down for Tom Cruise to kiss me on stage.

PEOPLE: Who's the last castmate you spoke to?

PYLE: James Cromwell. It's been a long time, but he introduced me to someone that I ended up dating for a little bit.

Ellen Abbott, Gone Girl (2014)

(from left) David Clennon, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck, David Fincher, Emily Ratajkowski and Missi Pyle in September 2014Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

PYLE: I remember [director David Fincher] being like, "We're walking to the house, and you're going to trip your ankle and then go knock on the door." And then Ben [Affleck] is going to open the door, and so we did it two or three times. And then Ben was like, "You know you're going to be doing this all day, at least another 20 times." Fincher just does stuff over and over. And then he is like, "All right, now you're making this huge deal out of the trip." I was like, "Well…" I just remember Ben Affleck, who just had just won an Oscar [for directing Argo] being directed by Fincher, who's just making us all do everything a billion times.

PEOPLE: Did you ever hear from Nancy Grace, who inspired your character?

PYLE: Yes. I love Nancy Grace, I think she's incredible. The reason that she started doing what she's doing was her [fiancé Keith Griffin] was murdered. I remember being like, “She’s a baller. She’s a badass.” They set me up to interview her for The Hollywood Reporter, and I was like, "Hey, I'm such a big fan." She was like, "Fan? You said I was a baller and a badass." And I was like, "Well, yeah." I really do think she's one of the coolest. I mean, I'm sure she's said some things that have gotten her into trouble, but…

Mercedes, Ma (2019)

Missi Pyle in 'Ma'Credit: Universal Pictures

PYLE: We all stayed at [director Tate Taylor’s] house. He took over this old plantation, and I was sitting with Octavia Spencer and Allison Janney. We were hanging out, and they both were about to leave to go. They were both nominated for Academy Awards and BAFTAs or something. I'm just sitting with them, and they're like talking about, "Oh, we got to get on the plane to go to whatever." And Octavia telling me about her dating life because she and I were really good buddies back in the day — we all did this movie [Pretty Ugly People, directed by Taylor]. And it was just fun to be back in there and to be with Juliette Lewis, who's just the coolest. She's like, "I can't remember anything. So let's just run these [lines]." She's just fun.

PEOPLE: Despite getting run over by a truck, do you think you could return for the sequel?

PYLE: One hundred percent.

Julie, For Worse (2025)

Missi Pyle, Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford and Nico Hiraga in March 2025Credit: Brynn Osborn/Deadline via Getty

PYLE: One of my favorite memories is watching it at South by Southwest with an audience. People were laughing throughout the whole thing, just guffawing, and I was crying. Every time I got to work with Amy [Landecker] was just easy and fun. She's such a great director, and it's this coming-of-middle-age story. I get to be closer to me. I was always afraid to be closer to me, and now that I'm older, it's fun. I would lose myself in a character, and then I could finally be myself as [Julie].

PEOPLE: Was it hard to act out a FaceTime call with Amy for a scene?

PYLE: Yeah, that was actually pretty hard. But we were doing a FaceTime call. It wasn't fake. This was a low budget movie, right? So she was in another room. I hope to God that people will go see this movie. It's a f---ing rom-com. It's funny, and it's so satisfying.

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