Why Sarah Silverman's serious side is deeply rooted

Actress and comedian Sarah Silverman says her starring role in I Smile Back was "no fun" — but also an unsettling and "exhilarating" experience.

She signed up before realizing how much the bleak drama would require of her. Having originally imagined joking between scenes, Silverman instead found herself unable to snap out of it.

"I had those emotions on my lap," she tells Shad, adding that she doesn't yet have her 10,000 hours as a dramatic actress. (But, hey, the critics don't seem to mind.) 

Silverman, best known for her irreverent comedy and boundary-pushing punch lines, plays a stay-at-home mother struggling with depression and substance abuse. She reveals the degree to which she tapped into her own dark side, how she really feels about her character, and why she says many comedians "become funny as a means of survival".

WEB EXTRA | Watch the trailer for I Smile Back below.