Kristin Chenoweth

Chenoweth spoke with TCC's Kimberly Helk about acting, singing, and her favorite roles.

KH: Which did you start first, acting or singing?

KC: Definitely singing. I was in church in the Children's Choir, and I got a big solo. I was probably 7 years old the first time I sang alone in front of people, and I just remember, like, people standing up after I got done and me thinking, hey, I like this feeling. So it started for me in church.

KH: Do you still sing in church today?

KC: Well, you know, it's funny. When I go back home I do and in the past couple of years I've had to sing at both my grandparents' funerals, which obviously isn't very fun, but I do enjoy singing at home and at church because it's my roots, it's how it all began. I do have a faith in God so it's nice to sort of get back to that part of it.

KH: And what got you started on acting?

KC: You know it's interesting, I sort of view singing and acting very similarly because I believe it's an extension of us. You know, we sing because we can't speak anymore. And acting comes with that, acting a song is just as important as how you sing it, to me. So when I started acting, it wasn't really acting until middle school when I did plays. But I have always felt in my heart like an actress as well, because, to me, getting across the song is just as important as hitting the right notes.

KH: So what do you like better, being on camera or being on stage, because you've done a lot of both?

KC: Well, I like them both for different reasons. But if I had to pick, I would definitely pick stage work because I love a live audience. I love the relationship between the artist and the audience because the audience will tell you what's funny, what's sad, where they're at, what their process is while they're watching. They are part of the show, and that's why every night a show could be different. I always feel like I was born to be on stage. So if I HAD to pick, it would be that.

KH: So what actually made you do the transition from stage to camera? Was there a particular role that someone approached you with?

KC: Yeah, it was the movie musical of Annie. Rob Marshall had asked me to be in that with Kathy Bates and Alan Cumming as Lily St. Regis, and I thought, oh, it's a movie musical for ABC, I can do that, you know? And then I got a sitcom, after I won the Tony, I got a sitcom from NBC, and it kind of grew from there. It wasn't anything that I set out to do, it just sort of happened that way.

KH: What was your favorite role that you've done, either on stage or on camera so far?

KC: I did, with the New York Philharmonic, as well as PBS's Great Performances, the lead in the opera, Candide, by Leonard Bernstein. So I love the role because you really have to be able to sing, it's a vocal gymnastics type of area, but you also have to be funny. So, it kind of incorporates all the things that I do, what I was trained for, I love it, I just loved it. It was a great experience.

KH: Now how do you choose what roles you go for?

KC: I always choose roles that are either, well, first of all I love creating new roles, there's no rules, you can just, you know, you make it up. But I also like to choose roles that I am going to learn and grow from. I don't like to play the same type of role twice. So I look for roles that are going to challenge me and make me a better artist.

KH: Is there a particular genre that you enjoy more?

KC: I will say that I feel that I was born in the wrong time. I love the '30s and '40s. I love the classics, I love Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Bernstein and Gershwin, and Cole Porter and Kurt Vile, Rogers and Hammerstein, Rogers and Hart, that's probably my favorite type of music to sing, so I love being in period pieces.

KH: Now are there any of your performances that have ended but you wish had gone on that you would still be doing?

KC: Oh, Pushing Daisies no doubt! It's a TV show that was on ABC and it got canceled just in December and it was heartbreaking because it was such a unique and special piece of work, and nothing like it has ever been on television before, just as far as how it looked and our writing was very special and unique, it had its own unique voice. So I could have probably done that for ten more years and been still happy.

KH: Well, I read on the Web today that they are thinking about bringing Pushing Daisies back this year?

KC: Well, what they are going to do, we didn't finish, they didn't finish airing the last three episodes, so they are going to start at the end of May and they are going to finally air the last three episodes. So that people can sort of see the end, which I think is great because everybody needs closure, including the actors, you know?

KH: I see that you've done Space Chimps and Tinkerbell, some animated movies. How do you feel when you watch the animated character talk with your voice?

KC: Well, it feels a little weird at first because you're like, wait that's me, wait, that's not me, that doesn't look like me! But I love it because finally the drawing that I was looking at has come to life, and it comes to life with your voice, so it's a really special, cool feeling to see that something that you've helped create, you know? Even though it's just your voice.

KH: How was it when you were told you were up for an Emmy Award?

KC: Well, I was actually doing the Emmy announcements that day with Neil Patrick Harris and they asked us to make the announcements, so they didn't do that supporting actress nominations on camera. I was shocked! I was so excited and mainly just shocked because Pushing Daisies was relatively new and we'd only been in our second season and an actor or writer strike, so it was a high honor for me and one I am really proud of.

KH: To wrap up, you've done numerous Sesame Street shows and performances, so who is your favorite Sesame Street character?

KC: Oh, I do love me some Elmo! I know everybody says it, but he's the best because he kind of is the ring leader and he is also the heart of the show. And I love that he's always trying to help, he's a helper! And I love his voice and I love his silly little "Elmo-isms" and so you know, I work with him on a regular basis, so I'm a big fan of Elmo myself.