Glee’s Jane Lynch Interview

You  know her best now as Sue Sylvester on Glee, and she has a guest spot on The Cleveland Show as Ms. Eck, but she's been doing wonderful work for quite some time, and it's about time Jane Lynch became a name you recognize immediately. She's starting to get attention with the wild popularity of Glee, even earning a Golden Globe nomination for her role, and I had the chance to be part of an interview with her recently.

It was a great interview and I had a lot of fun being part of the chat.

Enjoy!

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Moderator                    The first question is from David Martindale with Hearst Newspaper, please go ahead.

D. Martindale              Hello, Jane.

J. Lynch                      Hello, David.

D. Martindale              Given how much you work and given the sheer output of products you put out, I'm surprised you found time for this call, so thanks for taking the time.

J. Lynch                      You bet.

D. Martindale              Regarding The Cleveland Show and your presence in it, what do you think of your animated counterpart, I mean besides the fact that she's a stone cold hottie?

J. Lynch                      Well yes she is, have you seen the rendering of her body?

D. Martindale              Yes.

J. Lynch                      Yes, she's quite something.  I think those guys are just so funny, that whole Seth MacFarlane empire over there on Wilshire Boulevard, and so I was thrilled to do it, and then when I read the script I was just blown away.  I love my character, she's very bitter, her glory days are behind her, and she's out to punish of course Roberta for being so pretty.

D. Martindale              I enjoy your character on Glee a lot.  You're really wonderful in it.  When you get to say and do things as Sue or as Ms. Eck, things that you probably would never even consider saying and doing as Jane, is it liberating, cathartic, therapeutic for you?

J. Lynch                      It is.  I always say when I put on that track suit I have a license to say anything I want.  I think it's probably very good therapy, because I'm a much nicer person at home because I get it all out at work, and that kind of contemptuousness and heinous behavior is just very shallowly below the surface for me so it's kind of nice.  I don't have to dig deep for it, but it's great I can do it there on the set and then I don't have to do it at home.

D. Martindale              Yes, well, you do it really well, and yet having said that I enjoy all that, I think my favorite moment for you was with the Down syndrome cheerleader.

J. Lynch                      Thank you, yes, that was the wheels episode, yes.

D. Martindale              Yes.

J. Lynch                      Sue Sylvester's sister, we find out has Down syndrome and is in a home, yes, so it's a more touching episode and we get to see a softer side of Sue.

D. Martindale              And then we'll see you get nasty again in a week, right?

J. Lynch                      Absolutely.  Yes, that was short lived.

D. Martindale              Yes.  Thanks so much, I'll let some other people ask questions.  It was a pleasure.

J. Lynch                      Thank you, Dave.

D. Martindale              Thanks.

Moderator                   Thank you.  Our next question is Jarrett Wieselman, New York Post.

J. Wieselman               Hello, Jane, how are you?

J. Lynch                      Good, how are you?

J. Weiselman               I'm excellent.  Thank you so much for doing the call.

J. Lynch                      My pleasure.

J. Weiselman               Obviously, Ms. Eck and Sue share some similar DNA, but I'm wondering if they were to sort of come face-to-face and throw down the gauntlet who would emerge victorious in a battle of the wits?

J. Lynch                      Sue Sylvester would rein supreme.  I think that Ms. Eck has a chink in her armor.  I think she's got a little more sensitivity and is prone to self doubt whereas Sue Sylvester has none of that.

J. Wieselman               It's funny because whether it's these characters or your character in 40-Year Old Virgin or things like that, a lot of them tend towards the acerbic, but then the summer in Julie & Julia we really got to see a different side of you.  Was it fun to sort of play the other side of the coin in that?

J. Lynch                      Yes, somebody who's kind of eccentric and joy is the first thing that erupts from her, it's her first instinct is to find out what's passionate and wonderful about the situation and I don't play a lot of those people.  Yes, it was very liberating to just be open and passionate and curious and kind spirited.

J. Wieselman               Definitely, and I know today is the Glee kids first day back on set, are you excited to sort of get together with everyone, because it has been quite awhile since you guys have been on those sound stages?

J. Lynch                      Yes, we wrapped in July, so it's been several months.  I started work yesterday.

J. Wieselman               Okay.

J. Lynch                      And I worked this morning too and all the kids were there, it was really great to see them and they of course were flush with victory from the People's Choice Awards last night which they won best show and all the kids went up to accept it, so they were all real happy.

J. Wieselman               Absolutely, thank you so much.

J. Lynch                      You bet.

Moderator                   Our next question, Beth Furtwangler with US Weekly.

B. Furtwangler            Hello, Jane.

J. Lynch                      Hello.

B. Furtwangler            I actually have two questions, my first one is if you had any input into how your animated counterpart would look like?

J. Lynch                      No, not at all.  The rendering was set when I showed up for the reading, and she's hilarious looking I think.

B. Furtwangler            Did they show it to you before you started taping?

J. Lynch                      Yes.  We did a table read, which is really an amazing thing to do, because Mike does all the characters, and to watch him sit there and have a scene with himself is something to watch, it's genius at work.  But yes, I did get to see the rendering before at the table read.  I haven't seen the show though, just the rendering of my character.

B. Furtwangler            Okay, great.  And I'm also wondering how you’re prepping for the Golden Globes?

J. Lynch                      How I'm prepping?

B. Furtwangler            Yes.

J. Lynch                      The hardest part so far has been the anxiety around the dress and I found a dress almost immediately.  I went to a designer and he had one on the mannequin that I ended up choosing, so right now it's just relaxing and knowing that I'm going to have a good time.

B. Furtwangler            You're not going to wear a track suit?

J. Lynch                      No, no track suit.

B. Furtwangler            Alright, great, thanks so much.

J. Lynch                      Thank you.

Moderator                   Next question, Hal Boedeker, Orlando Sentinel.

H. Boedeker                Hello, Jane, Congratulations on your big year.

J. Lynch                      Thank you.

H. Boedeker                What has it been like for you?  I presume you've got increased media attention, what's that been like?

J. Lynch                      It's lovely, I do a lot of these things where I'm doing conference calls, and it's promoting the show, and the whole Golden Globes thing has meant that I have kind of a second job at doing publicity and interviews, so it's been a lot, but it's just really great.

H. Boedeker                Do you have a speech ready?

J. Lynch                      No, not at all.

H. Boedeker                I'm telling you, you’d better be ready, congratulations.

J. Lynch                      Thank you so much.  I so appreciate that, I'm thrilled.

Moderator                   Our next question, Greg Hernandez, Fancast.com.

G. Hernandez              Hello, Jane.  I can't believe someone with as many credits as you have has never done animation, is that true?

J. Lynch                      It's not technically my debut, I have done a Holly Hobby series, a guest spot on cartoons. What was that one with the monkeys that go into space?  Space Monkeys, is that what it was called? Space Chimps, and I'm doing Shrek 4 right now too.

G. Hernandez              Okay, I wanted to make sure.  I do want to ask you about the whole award thing.  I've been writing for months that you're going to win the Golden Globe and I wanted to know how you're handling all of that.  I know you were nervous about the dress.  We've loved you for years, but this is a lot of attention coming your way.

J. Lynch                      It is.  One of the things that, when you're in it, it's almost like you can't feel it.  When I was home for Christmas, I was in Chicago, and my family is beside themselves in the light, thrilled that they have a family member on television, and when I see how excited they are, it kind of kicks in for me.  But when you're in it it's different, it's kind of overwhelming, like for me I just choose not to feel anything at all.

G. Hernandez              It's well deserved, you have the talent to back it up, thank you.

J. Lynch                      Thank you.

Moderator                   Our next question, Rachel Stein, TV Without Pity.

R. Stein                       Hello, Jane, how's it going?

J. Lynch                      Hello, I like TV Without Pity, that's cute.

R. Stein                       Thanks.  I wanted to ask, you've played characters who are both powerful and forward, but as an actress you've been able to avoid the sign cliché of strong female or bitch stereotypes, because you really bring a sense of charm and personality to your characters.

J. Lynch                      Thank you.

R. Stein                       Yes, of course, and now that's Glee's taken off, do you think we'll start seeing Sue Sylvester archetypes or other archetype of characters that you yourself have created with your great acting?

J. Lynch                      I don't know.  I have no idea.  I think there's always been kind of the strong, for me anyway, I'd go back to Eve Arden, the kind of strong acerbic, that kind of energy I think that's been around for awhile, so like people probably continue to write parts for that kind of archetype.

R. Stein                       You really bring something new to it.

J. Lynch                      Thank you so much, that's really nice.

R. Stein                       Alright, have a nice day.

J. Lynch                      You too.

Moderator                   Our next question, Jarrett Wieselman, New York Post.

J. Wieselman               Hello again, Jane.

J. Lynch                      Hello there again.

J. Wieselman               I'm curious, in previous interviews you have mentioned that Sue will actually be singing in an upcoming episode.  I'm wondering if you're excited for that challenge?

J. Lynch                      I am, I'm very excited about it.  I of course can't tell you, because it's top secret, but I've recorded already and I've had several dance rehearsals, it's going to be fun.

J. Wieselman               What is it like sort of stepping into the studio for the first time, putting the headset on, and really laying down a track?

J. Lynch                      Well that's a great question, because it's fantastic, and it's kind of a dream come true because I love to sing.  I got to record singing in A Mighty Wind and that was a dream come true as well, so I had done that before.  It's not as easy as one thinks, you have to be right on pitch-wise and you have to be right on time-wise, and I always thought I was very good at those things, but according to Adam, I am not.  He had to direct me several times.

J. Wieselman               I know obviously no spoilers, but can you say whether or not it's in the Madonna episode or not, because that's the one thing everyone's been wondering?

J. Lynch                      You know what, Ryan always tells me, top secret, Jane, top secret, so I can't say.

J. Wieselman               Alright perfect, well we're looking forward to it regardless.

J. Lynch                      Thank you so much.

J. Wieselman               Thank you.

Moderator                   You have a question from Beth Furtwangler, US Weekly, please go ahead.

B. Furtwangler            Hello again.  You mentioned that you're doing voice work for Shrek 4?

J. Lynch                      Yes.

B. Furtwangler            Can you talk a little more about that?

J. Lynch                      I'm playing a character called Gretchen and I'm an ogre and there are a lot of ogres in this particular Shrek.  It kind of goes back in the life of time, kind of like It's a Wonderful Life and I play one of the ogres and it's a lot of fun.

B. Furtwangler            Have you been able to meet other members of the Shrek cast at all?

J. Lynch                      No, all in isolation.

B. Furtwangler            Okay, alright, great, thanks so much.

Moderator                   Our next question is from Jenny Eden with TV & Satellite Week, please go ahead.

J. Eden                        Hello, Jane.  A lot of actresses talk about how once they get past a certain age it's difficult to find good parts and it's difficult to get work.  You seem to have broken that trend by getting busier and busier as you go along.  What do you put it down to, how do you think you're doing it?

J. Lynch                      I know that it is a reality that it's harder for women after 40, but I started working at 40, and I think it's just because I'm a character actress and my particular brand of it is more mature and it's not something I was able to be cast at when I was younger and fresh faced, so I had to wait until my age caught up which happens to be the tricks in my little arsenal.

J. Eden                        Was it hard hanging on until you got to that point with something like this?

J. Lynch                      Right.  I had a day here and there where I would get discouraged that I wasn't a big star, but I've kind of made a living ever since I was like 27, not a great living, but enough for me.  For me actually being able to pay my rent and eat and perform is enough and I did that for many years.  And then I had some good years in there too where I made pretty good money, but I'm at a different point in my career now where I get to kind of sit back and let some things come to me whereas I had to be a lot more aggressive when I was younger.  There were moments when I would get discouraged, but I don't know that I always thought that I would get to a point where I would work all the time, but I was okay about it as long as I got to perform I was happy.

J. Eden                        Okay, thank you.

Moderator                   Our next question, Marc Eastman, Areyouscreening.com.

M. Eastman                 Hello, congratulations.

J. Lynch                      Thanks, Marc.

M. Eastman                 I actually just wanted to ask you, there are a lot of things that I see on Glee especially with you of course that really kind of feel a little Best in Show or A Mighty Wind to me.  I was wondering if you could just talk about how working on those pretty unique movies helped you perfect the character or maybe even other things that you've done in the past have really helped you with the comedy timing and the character?

J. Lynch                      I'm not sure what the question is.  How doing Best in Show and A Mighty Wind affect doing Glee?

M. Eastman                 Yes.  Do you think that those kind of gave you a leg up on really putting the character together?

J. Lynch                      Yes, actually.  I think so, because when we do Best in Show and A Mighty Wind and Christopher Guest movies, we have to create the characters and improvise and when you improvise you really have to know who your character is.  You have to be very thorough in creating a character, whereas when you do a television show you can kind of float by on what they give you, but we kind of have a whole cloth to create with Best in Show.  It kind of makes me more aggressive and demand more from myself when I do a script at show, I see it as being creative, my character process I think is probably a little more creative than if I hadn't done that kind of work where I had to create something out of whole cloth, that's why I think I can push things maybe to the nth degree, because I'm used to doing that from having to make it up on my own.

M. Eastman                 Right, great.  And actually just one more thing, we saw kind of a hint of a nicer side earlier in the season, is that the last we're seeing of that, is that all over?

J. Lynch                      I think that will always come back.  I think there's a decency to Sue, she just really enjoys being an awful person.  She really gets great glee if you will out of being a terrible person, but there were three or four different moments I think in the last 12 episodes where you saw kind of a decency, kind of a rationality that wasn't there before.  I think she just really enjoys shocking people.

M. Eastman                 Great, that's all I have, thanks.

J. Lynch                      Great, thanks.

Moderator                   Our next question, Bernard Abellada, TV Fodder.

B. Abellada                 Hello, Jane.  I was wondering do you consider yourself on the verge of joining the ranks of like Bill Macy and James ... as great character actors that are finally kind of come into their own and becoming a household name ... anything in your future?

J. Lynch                      I don't think of myself that way.  I think if I focus on putting myself in a category or striving to be in a particular place, I can't get my arms around that, I don't think in those ways.  I leave that to you to draw those conclusions.

B. Abellada                 You're most assuredly that way in my eyes.

J. Lynch                      Thank you.

B. Abellada                 Is there a possibility that you might be directing an episode of Glee in the future?

J. Lynch                      That's a great question, because I think I'd like to, and I will say here, yes, I want to do that.  I haven't spoken to anybody about it, but I love directing and I love calling the shots.  I think it would be a great place to do it and because the directors we get and the writers we have are just so amazing and our DP is great, because you have to have a great DP if you want to be a great director.  I think I'm learning at the feet of many masters.

B. Abellada                 Thanks a lot, Jane.

J. Lynch                      Thanks.

Moderator                   Our next question, Hal Boedeker, Orlando Sentinel.

H. Boedeker                Jane, I wanted to ask you what this last year has meant to you and have you heard from any famous fans?

J. Lynch                      Famous fans?  Every once in awhile I'll run into somebody who I recognize from something and they'll say something very nice.  Yes, it's been great in that life and really gratifying.  I feel like there's nothing better than being satisfied with your work and feeling really good about your work and everybody else kind of chiming in on that.  In a way I've had a peak experience in the last year and I'm really grateful for it and it's one of those things where you say, "Well, I can die now if I had to."

H. Boedeker                Don't do that.

J. Lynch                      I won't, I won't, I have no intention of that.

H. Boedeker                Have there been any rough spots though with this heightened attention?

J. Lynch                      No, not at all, no.  It's all very nice and it's respectful and what's wrong with an interaction that starts with I love you.

H. Boedeker                You do feel the love, it is a love in today, right?

J. Lynch                      I do feel the love, yes indeed.

H. Boedeker                Okay, thank you very much.

J. Lynch                      Thanks.

Moderator                   Our next question from April MacIntyre with Monsters and Critics.

A. MacIntyre              Hello, Jane.  Thanks so much for your time.

J. Lynch                      Hello, April.

A. MacIntyre              I'm late on the call so if this question has been asked I apologize.  I was just wondering since the call is about the animation, The Cleveland Show, I was wondering when you were growing up, when you were coming up, what animation Saturday morning cartoons or series struck you as very funny and odd and subversive as a kid?

J. Lynch                      Subversive, I wasn't a subversive kid.  I watched Bam Bam and Pebbles and the Jackson Five, I remember that, and I liked the Flintstones.  There was nothing really subversive.

A. MacIntyre              Okay.

J. Lynch                      I don't think there was anything then, I watched Speed Racer and all that stuff.

A. MacIntyre              Chumley and the Time Machine.

J. Lynch                      Yes, yes ...

A. MacIntyre              ...

J. Lynch                      Yes, those are a little older...

A. MacIntyre              Yes.  Today, what female actress, who’s comedic chops, do you really enjoy or enjoy working with?

J. Lynch                      A long list.

A. MacIntyre              I know that you work with so many great actresses, but if you could give me like a short list of people you really admire, I'm interested.

J. Lynch                      Sure.  Jennifer Saunders, amazing, Ilene Brennan I think is just amazing, and I really like Eve Arden, I'm a big fan of Eve Arden, of course she's no longer with us.  Let's see who's out there…

A. MacIntyre              Jennifer Coolidge, you do a lot of work with, I was just wondering if she's one?

J. Lynch                      Yes, she's one, I can barely keep a straight face, yes.  She's a tough one to work with because she's just so nuanced and weird and you never know what's going to come out of her mouth and it's usually brilliant.

A. MacIntyre              What do you think of Alexandra Wentworth on Head Case?  I know you have ...

J. Lynch                      She's wonderful.  Yes, I think she's great and she's in that new movie too, It's Complicated.  She's not used well enough as far as I'm concerned, but yes, I think she's a wonderful actress.

A. MacIntyre              Do you have a favorite line in The Cleveland Show coming up as your character that stuck in your brain?

J. Lynch                      Yes, I laugh almost every day about “look at this fupa,” which I don't know if you know what it means, but it's a hilarious reference to the fat right about the groin area.

A. MacIntyre              Thank you very much.

J. Lynch                      You bet.

A. MacIntyre              Looking forward to your segment there.

J. Lynch                      Thank you.

Moderator                   Very good, that last question will come from Jim Halterman, Jimhalterman.com.

J. Halterman                Hello, Jane, thanks for your time today.

J. Lynch                      Sure, Jim.

J. Halterman                I wanted to ask you when we do see these little glimmers of a more dramatic side of Sue or any character you play in any project, is that something you'd like to do more of, would you like to do a straight on dramatic role?

J. Lynch                      I think there's humor to any role and I think that if you look at all the great actors in this world, they can also do comedy.  So like a straight on drama role, like someone very heavy, I don't have much sympathy for very heavy characters, there's got to be something funny about them to make them tolerable.  So yes, I certainly wouldn't mind that at all.  It would also feel good to exercise some with those muscles and to challenge myself in kind of a different venue.

J. Halterman                Okay.  With all the attention that you're getting now and it's definitely going to open a lot of doors for you career wise, do you feel like you have to make that next step very carefully, whatever the next project will be on your hiatus or anything else coming up?

J. Lynch                      You know what, I never make decisions carefully.  I don't think I'm going to start now.

J. Halterman                Alright, thanks so much, Jane, continued success.

J. Lynch                      Thank you so much.

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