Jane Lynch’s characters are often hard-edged, overbearing and even a little scary, but Lynch herself is known for showing up early, working hard and being nice to everybody—not exactly the reputation you would expect from Glee’s Sue Sylvester or Steve Carell’s icky boss in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
This year, SF Sketchfest honors Lynch, who has spent four decades in the entertainment industry, with a special tribute. Joining her are Glee creator Ian Brennan, writer Michael Hitchcock and actor John Michael Higgins to discuss her illustrious career.
TIME OUT: You tend to play characters who are kind of unhinged. How much of your own personality plays into these characters?
JANE LYNCH: It’s only unhinged when you’re not aware of it. And I have full awareness of those aspects of myself. The thing with Sue Sylvester is, if you go a little deeper, the warrior shield is actually protecting a tender heart. I will have outbursts now and again that are Sue Sylvester–like, but they’re almost immediately followed by gales of laughter.
TO: Your most recent project, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, deals with a 1950s housewife who tries to break into comedy. Do you relate to her perspective as a woman trying to make a name for herself in a man’s world?
JL: I don’t walk around feeling like a woman or a man or whatever. I just did whatever I had to do to get a job and be relevant. I had several roles that were originally written for men.
TO: How did you get those roles?
JL: I’ve got great agents. They would call and ask, “This doctor…you’re looking to cast as a man.… Would you consider a woman?” And they always said yes. I wouldn’t get them all, but I got some of them.
TO: Were you ever in the closet as an actress?
JL: No, but it wasn’t conscious or unconscious. I just never hid who I was. I grew up in theater, so there were some gay people, and then I started doing television, and there are a lot of gay people on television, too.
TO: Would you say you have a butch persona?
JL: Yeah, that absolutely had a lot to do with it. I have a natural authority to me that’s not male or female. I speak with authority even when I don’t know what I’m talking about.
TO: What are you working on next? We’ve heard rumors about a daytime talk show.…
JL: Right now it’s about selling it to stations and media groups. I was like, “Well, don’t they already have, like, Ellen [DeGeneres]? Two blond lesbians doing daytime TV—is that too much?”
◊ SF Sketchfest pays tribute to Jane Lynch Jan 28 at Marines’ Memorial Theatre (sfsketchfest.com). $30.