Is Ellie Kemper like ‘Kimmy Schmidt’ in real life?
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 returned 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 childhood, her years in the showbiz trenches and life in the limelight. Kemper got a big professional break as an intern on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” where she also met her future husband, writer Michael Koman.
Q: Last season Kimmy went to therapy and reconciled with her mother. What challenges await this season?
A: Kimmy’s a real fixer upper. 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 which enabled her to survive in the bunker. There’s a lot more to her than her sunny exterior.
Q: The show is so funny, but it also has a powerful message that seems to resonate with people.
A: 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.
Q: Tell me about learning improv from Jon Hamm.
A: Jon Hamm went to the same high school as I did, and he came back and taught the improv portion of my ninth-grade acting class for a year. He was the first person to introduce this notion of “yes, and.” Now I sound like an improv dork, but it’s like the very crux of improv. You take what your scene partner gives you and you never deny or negate it. It’s a simple but profound concept because it’s how you navigate life. It’s such a handy tool.
Q: Did you and your former boss, Conan O’Brien, bond as redheads?
A: I always feel a bond with redheads. It’s not even red. It’s orange. It’s like polite of everyone to say it’s red, but it’s orange. Conan’s always made jokes about how pale he is, but we have the palest son on the planet and so far he has red hair. We’re like, Conan lives on in our son! (Pause) But Michael is the father, just to be clear.
Q: You also wrote a piece for the New York Times about bombing on your first visit to “The Tonight Show” and crying in the darkness while musical guest Jakob Dylan performed.
A: Yes. It went so horribly wrong. I was so amped up for it and worried and all these different emotions and I felt like I had embarrassed myself and I didn’t know if (lead guest) Garry Shandling was making fun of me. It was just an awful experience. I don’t know if you’ve heard the song (“Nothing But the Whole Wide World”), but it’s really sad. Being on a live television show can be a nerve-racking experience when you’re the guest. I remember going home and telling everyone “Don’t watch.”