USA TODAY International Edition
Louie Anderson has strong maternal instincts
Standup comic has been training all his life for ‘ richest role’ — endorsed by Emmy
PASADENA, CALIF. Many people do loving imitations of their mother. Few walk away with an award for their efforts.
But that was the case for longtime standup comic Louie Anderson, whose sweet, open and very funny portrayal of family matriarch Christine Baskets on the FX comedy Baskets ( Season 2 premiere, Thursday, 10 ET/ PT), earned him a supporting- actor Emmy last fall.
When the gender- switching casting of Christine, a loving, plain- speaking Bakersfield, Calif., mom, was proposed by star Zach Galifianakis and executive producer Louis C. K., it didn’t faze Anderson. The Minnesota native has long incorporated the memory of his mother, Ora Zella Anderson, into his standup act.
“I’ve been in training to play ( Chip Baskets’) mother,” Anderson, 63, tells USA TODAY.
Anderson is grateful for “the richest part I ever could have gotten,” which comes after 38 years in standup comedy, including a Tonight Show debut in 1984; a hosting gig on Family Feud; and an autobiographical animated series, Life With Louie, which won two daytime Emmys.
Anderson’s mom, who died in 1990, and Christine — mom to twins Chip and Dale ( both played by Galifianakis) and younger twins Cody and Logan ( Garry and Jason Clemmons, respectively) — aren’t the same, but there are similarities.
“Christine can be a little more mean,” Anderson says. However, his mother and five sisters — he’s the 10th child of 11 — inspired “all the nuances, all the little tics, all those facial things, that disapproving look.”
Although Anderson barely changes his voice to play Christine, physical elements help the transformation. “First, you put a dress on. … That changes you a little. Then, you put the makeup on ( and) that wig on. Then, they finish with lipstick. Whenever anyone puts lipstick on you, automatically you go, ‘ Mmm, I look pretty good as a woman.’ ” Anderson tries to keep the transformation from being a distraction. “My goal is that when you watch me, you might say, ‘ That’s Louie Anderson,’ but within a few minutes I completely disappear and Christine completely emerges,” he says. The disguise worked during a location shoot at a bank. “I said, ‘ Where are the bathrooms?’ and a ( bank) guy pointed me toward them. I went in the men’s bathroom and he goes, ‘ Hey, that’s the men’s bathroom!’ I go, ‘ I know, I’m a man.’ And he goes, ‘ Oh. … Oh! … Ohhh!’ I heard three Ohs.”
In the first season of Baskets, described as a “slapstick drama,” Christine encountered plenty of challenges, including dealing with Chip’s frustrations as an aspiring clown and her diabetes diagnosis. Season 2 continues that story and looks at Christine’s identity beyond her role as a mother.
Executive producer Jonathan Krisel acknowledges that casting Anderson as a woman was a noisy “elephant in the room” and that producers didn’t realize how Anderson’s acting could help mold such a strong character. Sometimes, when writers are stuck on a line, Anderson “will say, ‘ Give me a second. Let me think about what my mom would say.’ Usually, that’s what we go with.”
Baskets has inspired Anderson, now doing a standup tour ( schedule at louieanderson. com), to think about other opportunities.
“I’m invigorated. I’d really love to do a dramatic part,” he says. “Maybe I’ll get a chance to play a man someday.”
“Whenever anyone puts lipstick on you, automatically you go, ‘ Mmm, I look pretty good as a woman.’ ” Actor Louie Anderson