As loyal fans know, Nancy is Bart’s talented vocal alter ego. For eighteen seasons, she’s personified lovable hellion Bart, son of Homer and Marge, brother to Lisa and Maggie who make-up America’s first family of animated comedy.
With The Simpsons Movie mania in full swing this summer, and it surely coming on top of the box office heap, Nancy granted me a wonderful chat. I hope it’s as cool for you to read as it was for me to get.
When did it feel you had “made it”? What was the turning point?
Probably when I got my agent, Rita Vennari at Sutton, Barth & Vennari. I had already been cast as Gloria on Richie Rich and decided I should probably get an agent because “that is just what an actor should do.” So I met with her and she had me meet several agents there and do some “cold readings” (no rehearsal) of some commercial copy. They signed me immediately and I went out on auditions officially.
Talk about your most fun or unexpected fan encounter.
Last year in Aukland, New Zealand, I met a fan that made an extraordinary Bart ventriloquist puppet. It was such an amazing piece of art and he insisted I take it. I was blown away by such a sweet and generous gift. He refused anything in return.
It must be incredibly hard to pick, but who was your favorite guest star in a Simpsons episode?
We’ve had over 350 to date, so you’re right, it’s nearly impossible. A few standouts are Meryl Streep, who proved once again she’s a consummate professional. She did so many takes that I’m sure producers had a hard time deciding which one to use. Also, it was a kick working with Elizabeth Taylor. She only had one word (“Daddy” – the first word of Maggie) but it was such a production having her there that you’d think she was voicing the entire show! She’s really quite a “dame” and her flair for the tongue-in-cheek was hilarious.
Remember the “pilot spin-off ” episode where Chief Wiggum got a show alaMagnum P.I.?Could you see a popular recurring character legitimately spun-off into their own series?
Nah. I don’t think it will happen. The show truly is successful because the family is surrounded by such interesting, intriguing and slightly insane characters. I believe this is one of the successful actions.
Who would win in a fight – Bart or Eric Cartman fromSouth Park?
Cartman and Bartman both have their “posses”…
Was the film – because of length – more liberating in terms of time, preparation or just getting into a theatrical mindset of the performance? Or was it business as usual?
It actually was a bit more liberating. We had a little more leeway because we ended up doing upwards of 30 takes per line at times. No kidding. I found that kind of exciting, not that I would want to do that on a weekly basis. In fact, for the TV show it isn’t necessary. The quality of the feature is a bit more demanding. The look is more specific and the sound is grandiose. They have to be “bigger and fuller” because of the nature of the movies. As far as character “create” goes, to me it was no different.
Do you ever pitch show ideas? Or contribute by suggestion?
Sure. I have ideas but the truth is unless I’m hired as a writer, I couldn’t possibly deliver what our writers do on a weekly basis. They have chosen the toughest profession there is and to consistently, without exception, and continually write these amazing scripts that provide so much entertainment, not to mention awards, on a yearly basis, I would be presumptuous to think I could offer a suggestion. I just let them do their jobs. And they let me do mine! :O)
If Bart weren’t a Simpson and instead he were a fan of this show that depicted an unusual family, similar to his own, he would no doubt LOVE the movie!! Are you kidding me! This kid, like every other 10-year-old boy on the planet, lives to see what he can get away with. And Bart would be rolling in the aisle of the theater during the skateboard scene! Ha! He woulda LOVED that!
The Simpsons Movieanimation. Is it far superior to the show?
The quality of the movie far exceeds the quality of television for several reasons: 1) The film has a HUGE FLIPPIN’ BUDGET!! 2) The look and sound of the movie is better than television because in the theater, you’ll be watching on a screen about 50 times bigger than yours at home. This means the animation will have to please the viewers more with a higher quality of art. In other words, in order to really fill the screen, colors have to be brighter, animation full of more details, the sound quality most excellent since theaters are huge spaces and finally 3) In order to do a sequel, this first feature really had to set the trend for Gracie and Fox. I believe they totally succeeded. After 5 weeks and over a 1/2 BILLION in boxoffice worldwide, I’m sure we’ll be doing many more movies!
Aside from your on Simpsons co-stars , who for you are the strongest voice actors working today?
There are actually quite a few amazing talents out there. I work on a Disney show called The Replacements and the cast is exceptional! Grey DeLisle, Jeff Bennett, Kath Souci, Daran Norris and Candi Milo. We have SO MUCH FUN ON THAT SHOW – OMG! I get a laughter headache from how much everyone cracks me up. No kidding! There are a few others who I love to work with, including; Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Cory Burton, Jim Meskemen, Frank Welker and the inimitable Tom Kenny of Spongebob.
Talk about Famous Fone Friends. It sounds so worthy and such fun.
Famous Fone Friends is a non-profit who contacts seriously injured or ill children in the hospital via telephone. I love this organization because telephone is a perfect medium for a voice actor – just using voice. The kids are always taken aback to hear from Bart or Ralph or Chuckie (“Rugrats”) or Rufus (“Kim Possible”) or other characters who call. I chat a little bit in character, then speak to the kids as myself. They are over-the-moon excited and I send them an 8X10 of Bart (or other character I have voiced) and they have it to show friends to “prove” we spoke. Very fun and rewarding.
The same goes for Make-A-Wish. The only difference is these are wishes that come from kids and don’t happen all that often. The Make-A-Wish kids are terminal so you know when they call it’s for a kid who is not going to be around much longer. The idea is to get this last wish, or in my case, two wishes. One time I got a call about a kid who wanted to fly into LA, tour Universal Studios and have lunch with Bart. Unfortunately, a couple days before the event, he took a turn for the worse and the doctor wouldn’t let him fly.
No problem, I asked if they would fly me to visit him. They said yes so it was all set. I showed up and met this sweet kid, did a bunch of voices and told stories about working on The Simpsons and anecdotes about working with other celebrities and really had fun sharing this stuff. The kid was so excited, although he couldn’t talk, but he smiled a super-big smile. He was so happy. A couple hours later, he was tired and had to go, so I hugged him goodbye and headed back to LA. A few weeks later, I got a call from the LA MAW office and it turned out the boy actually got a little bit better after my visit. In fact, he got so much better they flew him to LA after all and he took the tour of Universal Studios with his family and they treated him to a great dinner at a fancy hotel and that night he laid down in bed and with a big smile on his face, kissed him mom and dad and little sister good night and closed his eyes. And you know what? He did it. He got both his wishes. Sweet.
Another area I focus a lot of energy on is my own community of Northridge, CA. I have been the Honorary Mayor there for nearly 4 years now. I’m also on the Board of Directors for the Police Activities League Supporters (PALS). Their current project is building a youth center in our area, so I took this on as my pet project too. Thus far, we have earned a total of about $2.3 million dollars. Last year I hosted and sponsored a Texas Hold ’em style poker tournament at my house. We garnered a lot of money and shortly after the Mayor of LA, Mayor Villaraigosa granted a check from the city for one million dollars! On Sept. 29th I’m hosting our 2nd Annual tournament. Prizes and support are bigger and better than ever. You can go to www.devonshire-pals.org to find out details. There’s an on-line auction with information you need to come play for the kids.
Life sounds very fulfilling for you right now.
I really dig this time in my life. My kids, Jack (16) and Lucy (nearly 18) are independent and very responsible. They have great friends and are totally trustworthy and have helped tremendously in supporting me in all our charitable activities. They deserve some kind of award, no kidding! I love I’m in a position to actually DO SOMETHING. There’s so much pain and stress and distress and hardship around us, but there are plenty of cool people who really like to help and I feel very fortunate to have found a terrific group that’s aligned with the same purpose. I may be the one in lights, but my staff and all the great volunteers of PALS and volunteers within my own group are incredibly generous. I truly couldn’t do it by myself. I thank them sincerely.
