Smallscreen Features

Jane Lynch interview, The Cleveland Show and more

By April MacIntyre Jan 9, 2010, 2:27 GMT

Party Down, Glee and now Cleveland Show guestie Jane Lynch -our favorite © Chris Hatcher / PR Photos

Seth MacFarlane and Company snagged one of the most well-respected comedic actresses around to guest on the new "Family Guy" animation spin-off, "The Cleveland Show."

Jane Lynch has never been hotter as an actress, in demand and nailing great performances in FOX's "Glee" for which she grabbed a nominated for a Golden Globe for her smart-ass righteous character Sue Sylvester, who refers to the Glee-sters as "crusty little cross-eyed nerdletts."

Lynch also appears as Constance in M&C's favorite comedy from last year, Starz channel's superb effort, "Party Down."  

The Cleveland Show airs this Sunday, January 10th at 9:30 p.m. as Jane plays Roberta's new teacher, Ms. Eck. 

Lynch is popping up in voice-over animation work on TV as well as film, and she has appeared in several Christopher Guest-directed films, including "Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind," and "For Your Consideration."

Jane took time out of her busy schedule to talk to Monsters and Critics along with some other online journalists in a phone conference and dish on her guest spot for "The Cleveland Show," and other fun tidbits.

Were you given 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.

What do you think of your animated self?

J. Lynch Well 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. 

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 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. 

Ms. Eck and Sue - who would win in a verbal sparring?

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.

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.

Sue Sylvester says the most outrageous things, do you have fun with her?

J. Lynch: 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.

Is there a serious side to Sue, or is it all snarky fun?

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.

What is going through your mind regarding the impending award ceremony fo rthe Golden Globes?

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.

What other animation have you done?

J. Lynch: 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.

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.

I would love to do more and I continue to, I even auditioned for stuff too.  I did voiceover for several years, radio and television voice over in the mid 90s and I really enjoy that work, nothing better than voicing a character, so it's great work and it's fun, and yes, I love doing it.

What can we expect from Sue in the upcoming Glee episodes, perhaps some singing?

J. Lynch: 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.  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.

What's it like recording for you in the studio for voice over work?

J. Lynch: You don't have to worry about what you're wearing, you've got the script in front of you, and it doesn't involve your body, it's all about your voice, and it's really fast work. 

It's also very lonely work, because you're by yourself, very rarely do you do it in a group.  You act with yourself and somebody else kind of mumbles the lines back at you, if at all. 

So seeing your work in something animated, you realize how little you have to do with all of it.  It's always a surprise and it's always exciting to see, because you never really know, you're kind of isolated in that booth all by yourself.

What is the hardest thing for you creatively to accomplish?

J. Lynch: Gosh, dancing, that's it, just dancing.  Everything else I just kind of flow into and it's fun. Dancing is the thing that I have to work ten times harder than everybody else.

Has age held you back, as a woman in Hollywood over 40?

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.

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.

Is directing an episode of Glee in your future?

J. Lynch: 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.

When you were growing 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.  I don't think there was anything then, I watched Speed Racer and all that stuff.

Chumley and Phineas J Whoopee and the Time Machine?

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

What female actress with comedic chops do you really enjoy or enjoy working with?

J. Lynch A long list.  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…

Jennifer Coolidge, who 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.

What do you think of Alexandra Wentworth on Head Case? 

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.