ENTERTAINMENTLinda Cardellini Admits It Was 'Weird' and 'Scary' Shooting Intimate Scene With Jason Bateman on 'DTF St. Louis'
On 'TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle,' Linda Cardellini said it was 'weird' and 'scary' filming an intimate scene with Jason Bateman for 'DTF St. Louis.'
March 19 2026, Published 4:48 p.m. ET
Linda Cardellini and Jason Bateman broke the ice in the bedroom while filming DTF St. Louis.
During the Thursday, March 19, episode of TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle, the actress, 50, admitted the first scene she shot of the new dark comedy miniseries required her to be “intimate” with her costar.
Guest co-host Darren Criss asked whether it was “weird” starting their time on set with such a physical moment.
Linda Cardellini guest-starred on 'TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle.'
“Oh, yes. It was weird. It was scary coming up to it because it’s something I’ve never really done. He and I talk about how we’ve never really done many totally intimate scenes in our career, even though we’ve been working forever,” she explained. “It’s kind of what they do, these two characters together. She lets him live out his dreams, and he has this one thing where she has to sit in a certain place. It was supposed to be toward the end of the schedule and it wound up being toward the beginning of the schedule…but once you do that, it’s real free after that.”
Cardellini went on to praise Bateman, 57, and the cast and crew of the series for their professionalism.
“He’s great, and everybody handled it so easily and scientifically,” she said.
Linda Cardellini Fibbed About 'DTF St. Louis' Around Her Father
Linda Cardellini filmed intimate scenes with Jason Bateman.
The star joked that she never told her dad what “DTF” stood for ahead of filming.
“I kept telling him it was untitled,” she admitted.
Criss, 39, was shocked and teased Cardellini: “For all the things that you’ve done, is he just watching Scooby-Doo and Freaks and Geeks? Is the sand right there? Wow, that’s actually sweet.”
“Well, he’s going to watch now!” host Sheinelle Jones chimed in.
What to Expect from 'DTF St. Louis'
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Linda Cardellini stars on 'DTF St. Louis.'
Cardellini further broke down DTF St. Louis earlier in their conversation, admitting it's “always weird” watching herself on screen, noting it “never gets normal.”
“I do watch the show…it’s amazing….” she gushed. “It’s written in this beautifully kind of hilarious and peculiar and interesting way, and it doesn’t really go from beginning to end, and it mixes everything. The guy who wrote it and directed it [Steve Conrad] is so brilliant…it’s been great.”
Linda Cardellini also worked alongside David Harbour for the show.
In a February 26 interview, Bateman also credited Conrad’s work.
“Steven Conrad did such a great job of creating something that can’t really be categorized in any particular genre,” he expressed. “It does subvert all the different genres it pretends to be, almost immediately. For me, as a viewer, that’s an exciting element to the show.”
Linda Cardellini called 'DTF St. Louis' 'amazing' and 'hilarious.'
The series — which premiered on March 1 — also stars David Harbour, who recently wrapped up the final season of Stranger Things.
“I love it. [My DTF character is] such a different guy. He’s so vulnerable and so sweet. And such a schlub in a certain way,” he explained in an interview. “He’s not capable like Hopper. He’s not like a big superhero at all. He’s battling middle age! [That’s] his biggest monster. I really love him and he has a sweetness. He really allowed me a vulnerability.”
