It seems as though we’re seeing Jane Lynch everywhere, so it’s no surprise that she’s often referred to as the “ultimate guest star.”
“It’s great because it keeps me on my game,” she said.
But Lynch’s role in “For Your Consideration” is a far cry from other roles she’s performed in director Christopher Guest’s films.
“For Your Consideration,” Guest’s recent brainchild, is about three actors who learn from Web-generated buzz that they may be up for Oscars for their roles in “Home for Purim,” a drama set around a Jewish family coming together for Purim. What entails after that is a recipe Guest has employed in his other films: An extensive list of actors who jump into his or her roles with full force.
Lynch stars as Cindy Martin, an E! Entertainment-type television reporter who, with her co-star Chuck Porter (Fred Willard) keep the Oscar buzz going in brief snippets on their show.
Lynch had nothing but praise for Guest and the cast of “For Your Consideration,” but acknowledged it could be a bit daunting to perform.
“It’s liberating and intimidating, [Guest] gives you so much leeway and you don’t want to let him down,” she said. Yet Lynch is quick to point out some other actors who impressed her.
“I love John Michael Higgins in ‘For Your Consideration.’ Everybody [in the film] is good and everybody surprises me, but Higgins just really stood out for me. He’s somebody I’ve been a fan of forever.”
And working with Willard was a challenge, but one she said she enjoyed.
“Fred [Willard] is a force of nature, and you sort of have to figure out how you’re going to negotiate that force,” she said.
Lynch is no stranger to Christopher Guest’s film creations. She’s starred in “Best in Show” and “A Mighty Wind.”
“I loved playing Laurie in ‘A Mighty Wind.’ I got to sing, I found out I could sing soprano — which I’ve never been able to do — and the character was free with her body and very comfortable with her own skin and had no shame. It was a very liberating role.”
Lynch added that she’s always appreciative of being asked to star in any film of Guest’s and, in particular, “For Your Consideration.”
“It’s a real gift that I fell into this group of characters,” she said.
Lynch filmography
» “Talledega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby” (2006)
» “The 40 Year Old Virgin” (2005)
» “A Mighty Wind” (2003)
» “Collateral Damage” (2002)
» “Best in Show” (2000)
