01.16.2019

Actress & Author Ellie Kemper on her New Memoir

Michel Martin sits down with Ellie Kemper, star of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” to discuss her new memoir, “My Squirrel Days.”

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Next up two time Emmy nominee and contagiously cheerful Ellie Kemper, star of comedies like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Bridesmaids and The Office.

Ellie's now put her wit to pen and paper in a new memoir called 'My Squirrel Days.' She joined our Michel Martin as Kimmy Schmidt, Netflix's happiest character is ending her run.

Ellie Kemper thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me and congratulations on everything.

Thank you.

But I wanted to talk about your latest offering, your book, 'My Squirrel Days.' And of course as one would expect you make fun of yourself for writing it.

You suggest that it's sort of that you were required to somehow that perhaps it's in the Constitution, that an actress at your level is supposed to write a book.

But why did you really want to write a book?

I wanted to write the book.

I have been writing for a while.

I wrote for The Onion, the satirical newspaper The Onion, McSweeney's which is a humor magazine and I really wanted to write a more full book I guess a collection of essays and I wanted to give myself a deadline because the problem it's always nice in theory to be able to write a book, but getting it down on the pages one is a different story altogether so actually when I found out I was pregnant I thought OK, I'm going to be giving birth in July, no idea how my life is going to change after that.

I know that I have like six months before I'll have a baby so I was gonna try to write as much as possible, so I put together as much of a proposal as I could, we signed on to write the book in June and then I had the baby in July and then it took like two more years to write the book.

Did you always dream of writing a book.

Did you always want to write a book or something about a book that feels important or special?

Yes there is something satisfying about having actual you know bound copy of a book of things that I wrote.

It's also terrifying because you can't go back and change it but I also sort of wanted to demonstrate to myself that I could do something other than act.

I wanted to, I did set it up I think as a challenge for myself but I also just wanted to I wanted it to be entertaining.

And you also talk about the fact that you know it's such a cliche but it's in your case it's like one door closes and another opens.

Yeah there was a job that you had desperately, if you don't mind my saying, desperately wanted just didn't get right, do you mind telling us?

The parks and recreation.

So I this where it all started, I audition for Saturday Night Live, I did not get a part on Saturday Night Live, but the silver lining was that you know I guess to use a disgusting term, heat, I feel like when I auditioned for the show my name was out there.

So OK so suddenly I started having meetings with like important agents and signing on with them and one of these agents set me up for a meeting with Greg Daniels and Mike Schur who adapted the British version of the office to American television.

So I felt the meeting went well it was so great and then a few months later I got called back for an audition and I didn't know at the time that it was for Parks and Recreation I just knew it was for that new show they were working on and so I had an audition.

I thought it went fine and then my manager called me a week later to tell me I had not gotten the part and I felt like so crushed because I thought this was my big opportunity and nothing came of it, but you know oh well what can you do.

You can like lick your wounds for a day but then get on with it and a few months after that there was a storyline in the office where Pam who was the receptionist was going to work at the Michael Scott Paper Company for a few episodes so they called me in to audition to be the temporary replacement and I got the part and then that part ended up being extended and stayed on for the rest of the series.

'Oh for God's sake.

Planking is one of those things where you either got it or you don't and I don't, but I am so excited to be a part of it.'

I don't know what the lesson is there.

I think it's to take any opportunity you have and hope that timing and luck is on your side because so much of it is just good luck.

I just think that that's true in life for a lot of people, but in your field it's so particularly true.

Your character, for example, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is kind of like a really super hyped version of you.

I mean she's super optimistic.

Totally yes, super positive, super hype.

Yes.I would like a fraction of her optimism correct.

I mean let's be honest that.

It's true it's sort of an amped up version of myself and there is only so much you can do with most things in life, I guess.

You try to have control but what control you really have.

I don't know.

'Life beats you up.

You can either curl up in a ball in die or you can stand up and say 'We're different and you can't break us.' Hey red, you're making me wish I was those jeans.

Well, I wish I was your yellow hat.

Look out New York, nothing can stop us now.'

Why are you on your last season of Kimmy Schmidt, do you feel that you've said all you have to say about her?

I mean I think a lot of us were still interested in her adventurers above the bunker.

Oh my gosh why I love these characters.

I love this story.

I love their world.

There is talk.

I don't I don't have confirmation on this.

There is talk that there might be a movie for Netflix.

I hope that that happens because it would be so wonderful to revisit these characters but I do feel like the creators and the studio and Netflix felt like in this day and age, in like streaming time, you know we had over 50 episodes.

It's like a you know a long time in this day and age and I feel like, you know, we were so lucky to be with these characters it sounds like they're all dead, they're not dead but we were so lucky to be with these characters as long as we were.

I personally and selfishly hope we can do a movie just so we can revisit them, but yeah I think it was a wonderfully nice run with them.

It was interesting to me that you, again this may just be your personality, you have an attitude of gratitude, that you give credit to people who gave you specific advice along the way, like I noticed you make a point of highlighting particularly women who gave you good advice or stood up for you or helped you with opportunities, like there was just one scene you remember of writing about the fact that for a minute on The Office you dyed her hair darker.

Yes.

So that because they wanted you to look different from another character and she also had red hair and so you did and then Mindy Kaling who was also on the show said, 'You're a good sport.

I wouldn't dye my hair.'

Well first of all I adore Mindy Kaling.

I think her voice is singular.

I think that what she does is incredible and there really is no one like her.

I think she's incredibly smart and she had been you know she was writing on the show from the beginning so when I joined as a newwe cast member I did certainly feel like on my second day of shooting at their house, you know, this is not my house I'm a guest at their house.

I'll dye my hair brown.

I'll do whatever you say.

This is my big break.

I'll do whatever.

I thought there was such wisdom in her response, which was, 'Oh I wouldn't dye my hair if they asked me to, ' and I thought oh that's an option.

I didn't have to say yes, like I thought that was very empowering in a way because you don't have to.

You can say you know what you would prefer.

So what was it like working on Bridesmaids.

That was the thrill of a lifetime.

Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wigg wrote the screenplay and I auditioned actually audition for Melissa McCarthy's part, whose character's name I'm suddenly forgetting, but I was cast as Becca who is probably closer to me in real life, sadly.

'Sorry, is this your husband.

No no no no no.

I don't know him.

Do you want to go for a walk later.

Oh I can't.

I'm not with anybody.

I'm not with anybody.

I'm here solo.

Let's get start it again.

I'm Becca, this is my husband.

You don't have a husband.

Sorry.'. But that was crazy because when we were making the movie I don't think anyone set out to you know change the world with like you this is going to be all women we're going to make a empowering movie for women.

That was never brought up.

Instead it was oh is a story we wanted to tell that Kristen and Annie wanted to tell about being having being a bridesmaid, being a bride having friends get married and how it changes lives and then all of the hilarious moments that ensued and all of the emotion and comedy that surrounds that was brought into the story.

And but I think what was so funny was after the movie came out when they were promoting the movie I specifically remember one review saying hey it's a chick flick that doesn't suck and I thought OK first of all, like where do I begin.

I know.

The best thing that came out of Bridesmaids is that I always knew women were funny, you always knew women were funny like everyone in the movie understood women were funny.

That's why we were in the movie.

I think that it demonstrated to box studios that, a comedy a huge comedy with an all female cast can also make money.

That was the best thing because then studios think oh well we'll keep making movies with all women in that case.

What is it about improv that seems to give life to so many people.

Can you describe it to those of us who have like zero talent.

Yeah untalented you.

I asked.

But tell me about it.

I've never done it.

What's it like?

So I love it.

So I started doing improv in college and I actually took a class in high school but I really I joined the improv troupe called Quipfire, improv troops in college always have a hilarious name like Quipfire, firing quips and I love it because it's the opposite of standup.

You are never on your own.

The jokes do not begin and end with you.

It's truly about the ensemble and the best, now I'll get a little artsy fartsy but the best improv sets are those that serve the whole.

So it's never about the individual, it's about the entire piece and the central tenet of improv is yes and so you take the reality that your scene partner is given you and you accept that reality and then you add something to heighten it.

So it's sort of this lovely way of interacting with people and might I say the world would be a nicer place if we all obey the rules of improv but it's just it's not nerve wracking because you have your teammates there to help, not only to help you but to define the piece, so I just I love it.

When I auditioned for my troupe in college I did feel like it was something that I was good at and I don't feel that way about most things.

One of the things I really liked about the book is that you are really honest about a lot of things, even though you're making fun of yourself through the whole way but I'm appreciating the fact that you acknowledged that your parents paid your way a lot, that they created a foundation that allowed you to kind of get your start.

You mentioned several times that you're really grateful to your parents.

Can you just talk about why it was so important for you to say that.

Yes well first and foremost because I am so grateful to my parents.

I have two of the greatest parents, or the two greatest parents on the planet.

They are supportive, they're caring, they are loving.

But I also thought it was a point of mention in my book because I didn't want to misrepresent what was going on.

Like I I knew that when I moved to New York my parents were supportive of the idea of me pursuing a career in comedy or acting or you know however it might play out but also that I was able to take the time to write my own shows, to take classes while working, I mean I needed, it was important to earn money to pay the rent.

I knew that if something went horribly wrong I would be able to ask my parents for help, so I just thought it was mentioned because I didn't, I wanted to be fair and realize that not everyone has that advantage.

One of the things I noticed about it it's kind of like a gift to a younger self.

I mean it's like a roadmap for people who might want to do the things that you have done and I think it's very honest I was wondering if when you wrote it were you thinking it would have been nice to have a book like this when I was when I was starting my career.

Yes.

Well thank you for noticing that because I have to I have to confess that the parts about you know doing improv improvisation in New York and trying to get an agent and doing commercial stuff to me I thought is this going to be boring, is someone going to want to read this?

And I thought of the very people reading it who might be looking for advice or not advice necessarily but just do this advice.

Why wouldn't they look for advice.

I mean wouldn't you have liked to have had advice when you were starting out.

I remember, I mean I think 'm not comparing my book to Tina Fey's.

I remember reading Bossypants and being like oh this is she's worked at the Y and this is how she started and of course it's just you know it's it's priceless information, so I hope that the stories that I told about starting out because you know any career as an artist is uncertain and there isn't a set path, so that's that's the version mine took and I hope it's interesting.

Well what do you want to do next.

I mean gosh you've been the star of a breakout hit, you've got a beautiful family, you got your book.

Yeah.

I am trying to figure that out because this is the first time in my career where I will be making a shift trying to find a new job while being a mother because when Kimmy started I didn't have my son James yet and so now James is too and I feel like striking that balance which is impossible for any working parent.

I have no idea how anyone balances any of it is something that I'm I'm going to try to work out.

Ellie Kemper, your latest book your first book, 'My Squirrel Days, ' thank you so much for talking to us.

Thank you for talking with me.

That was a pleasure.

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