When asked what “the burger of the day should be,” Kristen Schaal responds with a giggle, “I didn’t get my puns ready for this interview! Maybe a bottom out burger?”Being that it’s close to lunchtime, the actress, who voices the character Louise on the hit show, “Bob’s Burgers,” which celebrates its 100th episode this Sunday, is admittedly hungry, and confessed plans to grab a falafel sandwich, not a burger, afterward. Before she chows down, we chatted with Schaal about where she finds inspiration for Louise, the show’s continued success and what’s next. Let’s go way back. Tell us about when you first got the gig to play Louise. It must be so surreal. Are you a big fan of the show yourself? Where do you pull inspiration for Louise’s character? Anything in particular you can relate to with her?
Loren Bouchard was making a pilot presentation for Fox and he’d been workshopping it over the years and wanted to work with people he knew. He knew John Roberts, Jon Benjamin and Eugene Mirman. And then he had other people that were recommended who ran through the same circles— like me. It was a slow process. Workshopping it with my friends — we didn’t know it would become a comedy show. I never thought I’d be talking to you right now about our 100th episode. (laughs)
I am so proud of it. I have three shows saved up on my DVR. I feel like it’s one of those shows where people say, “Oh I love ‘Bob’s Burgers’” and I say, “Me too!” I’m incredibly proud. It sets a marker of what a show should be.
Louise has developed as a piece of my personality. It’s fun to not have a filter and say whatever comes into your head.My childhood self comes out a little and I put a hipness on top of that. She’s a hip, smart kid, so it’s a fun combination to play with. She’s definitely a version of me.