CONTENDER Q&A
Kristin Chenoweth pushing for an Emmy?
Susan King
Contender Q&A
June 17, 2008
Kristin Chenoweth, 39, is a Tony Award-winning musical comedy star, best known for originating the role of Glinda in the Broadway blockbuster "Wicked." The diminutive actress also has made her mark in movies -- she plays Reese Witherspoon's sister in the upcoming holiday film "Four Christmases" -- as well as on TV, most notably on "The West Wing."
FOR THE RECORD: in an earlier version of this article, Kristin Chenoweth's name was misspelled.
She's also received acclaim for her performance in "Pushing Daisies," the award-winning ABC series that had a truncated debut season due to the Writers Guild strike. Described as a "forensic fairy tale," the show revolves around Ned (Lee Pace) a pie maker who has the gift to bring dead things back to life by touching them. However, if Ned revives something for more than one minute, another person or living creature in the nearby vicinity will perish. When he's not making pies in his shop, Ned is helping a rather low-rent private investigator (Chi McBride) on murder cases. Chenoweth plays the pie shop's waitress Olive Snook, who has a horrible crush on Ned. He, however, only has eyes for Chuck (Anna Friel), his childhood sweetheart whom he brought back to life after she was murdered on an ocean cruise.
Chenoweth recently chatted about life on "Pushing Daisies."
Have you started filming the new season?
We start in a week. We didn't come back after the strike.
It's almost like you are coming back as a new show because "Pushing Daisies" only aired nine episodes before the strike.
It does feel that way, but we had a little bit of a cliffhanger at the end of last season so we are going with it. But we have to remember we will be getting some new audiences [in the fall], so we kind of have to retell who we are again so people can be reminded.
The pilot episode was widely acclaimed, and critics were saying that this was going to be the big ratings hit of the season. And though it developed a loyal following, it wasn't a major hit. Were you surprised?
I kind of wasn't because it is different and it is [an] acquired taste. I think that once people really start to watch it -- people have to pay attention and listen with our show, and I think once people do that they get involved.
I have always been that kind of performer too. I always pick things that are a little different, a little offbeat. I still think there is a mass quality to love about [the show].
I think the relationships and the character development is what is so interesting. The cases that we solve every week are cool, but I really think it's about the relationships. And [creator/executive producer} Bryan Fuller's writing and the writers on our show are so special. I kind of love it is a growing thing. ... I want people to invest themselves and get to know it a little bit better and watch it that way.
Almost everyone in the cast has a strong theater background.
It is so fun to work with people who have similar processes as you. We are having the best time. We kind of keep pinching ourselves waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it hasn't. It's a lot of hard work, sweat and tears and reward of doing good work.
Was it hard to find the right acting tone because it is a surreal fairy tale?
It wasn't hard. If you put yourself in that phantasmagorial world and say those words and you are in the moment, you kind of can't go wrong because the words are fantastic. It's like music. Every show has its own sense of music if you will. 'The West Wing' was very musical and I view 'Pushing Daisies' in the same manner. It is rooted in reality but set in this kind of offbeat world, and I think that's why people are connecting to it.
My favorite scene was in the second episode when you sang "Hopelessly Devoted To You" while you are dancing with the dog, Digby. That was so wonderful.
Thank you so much. I am so happy he's my scene partner most of the time. We practiced and we practiced me and that dog. He's so well-trained. I thought it was the sweetest thing too.
I was nervous when Bryan said we want you to sing, we want you to do it right out of the gate. I said as long as it makes sense. And it is to his credit the way he wrote it. He interspersed [the singing] with little bits of dialogue and he included the dog. If you think about, who hasn't talked to their dog?
It gave me an opportunity to act through singing. I just thought it was a little gem of a moment that Bryan took such care to make it work.
Olive is so hopelessly in love with Ned.
And it's not returned in her favor. ... I love Olive so much. In the pilot episode, Olive is only in three scenes, and when Bryan and [executive producer/director] Barry Sonnenfeld came to me and said we want you to do this role, I said this is a fantastic script -- what are your plans for Olive?
Then they explained to me how the part would unfold. They said we want this character to become integral in this kind of love triangle. They have done that and they are doing that more. I am mostly thrilled that there is this character wanting something so bad and not getting it because everybody can relate to that -- certainly women.