Kemper’s really just that upbeat
NEW YORK — After supporting roles in “The Office” and “Bridesmaids,” Ellie Kemper has broken out on her own as the title character in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” a relentlessly upbeat young woman rebuilding her life after 15 years in a bunker.
Created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, the antic comedy returns to Netflix for a third season Friday and finds Kimmy enrolling in college and divorcing the Rev. Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (Jon Hamm), the cult leader who held her captive.
Raised in a family of four kids from St. Louis, Kemper is modest and cheerful, Midwestern to the core. During a recent conversation at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the 37-year-old Emmy nominee talked about her breakout role and her childhood. Last season Kimmy went to therapy and reconciled with her mother. What challenges await this season?
Kimmy’s a real fixerupper. She really believes that she can change people. Her challenge in life going forward is that there are circumstances that are beyond her control. She wants to escape her past, but it’s always going to be with her, and she has to grapple with it. Something like that can’t be buried. Kimmy has this innate optimism and brightness, but she also has this tenacity and strength that enabled her to survive in the bunker. There’s a lot more to her than her sunny exterior. The show is so funny, but it has a powerful message that seems to resonate with people.
There have been many people who mentioned that it helped them get through some horrible news, a sickness, breakup, death of a family member, really difficult things. It makes me proud of our show. It is this combination of a bright, funny, very sharply written comedy, but the whole premise is so dark and traumatic. At the core is this survival story. Your sister, Carrie Kemper, is a comedy writer. Were you both into pop culture growing up?
No, it’s alarming. My husband (writer Michael Koman), who was a comedy nerd growing up and has seen and heard everything, is constantly just amazed at the things I haven’t seen. It’s weird because I feel a similarity to Kimmy in that way. I had a very privileged, nice, warm childhood. She did not. But the pop culture from that time did not seep into my veins. I always tell my husband it’s because I had friends. I wasn’t holed up in my room watching TV. I don’t know where my sister and I were while things were happening. Maybe it’s because we were putting on plays. You went to Princeton. Where are you on the preppy spectrum?
Not on it. I feel like when I first moved out of the Midwest, that’s when I became aware of how Midwestern I was. It was really at college that I was struck by the fact that not everyone says “hi” to each other or smile at each other, and I thought that people were so rude. I was homesick the first year. May 21 birthdays: Comedian-turned-U.S. Sen. Al Franken is 66. Actor Mr. T is 65. Actor Judge Reinhold is 60. Actor-director Nick Cassavetes is 58. Actor Brent Briscoe is 56. Actress Ashlie Brillault is 30. Actor Scott Leavenworth is 27.