Image Credit: Disney
After four seasons as Sue Sylvester on Glee, Jane Lynch has gone from sitcom guest-star extraordinaire and comic dynamite in films like Best in Show and The 40-Year-Old Virgin to one of television’s most recognizable and celebrated actors, hosting the Emmys and Saturday Night Live. But way back when, she paid the bills with her clipped Midwestern voice, in numerous commercials and animated cartoons. “I made my living doing voiceovers, and getting an animated film was always the brass ring of being a celebrity,” says Lynch. “So now I’m just really grateful that I’m a celebrity and I get to do it. I’ve always loved it.”
In Wreck-it Ralph, the Disney animated blockbuster that mashes together worlds of familiar-looking arcade classics, Lynch voices Sergeant Calhoun, the voluptuous battlefield leader from the Halo-type game, Hero’s Duty. Sue Sylvester would be proud — judging by her gruff demeanor, Calhoun might just be related to R. Lee Ermey’s sergeant from Full Metal Jacket — but she’s not dressed in anything from Sylvester’s wardrobe. Calhoun’s leather and armor outfit shields a body that makes Lara Croft look like Peter Pan.
It’s no wonder that goody-two-shoes Fix-it Felix (Jack McBrayer) falls for her. When big-lug Ralph (John C. Reilly) grows weary of his villainous role in his video-game and sneaks into Hero’s Duty to earn a medal, he threatens to unplug both games forever. Calhoun and Felix team up to bring Ralph back home before their worlds are officially Game Over.
With Wreck-it Ralph already available as a digital download and due on Blu-ray and DVD on March 5, Lynch spoke to EW about her resemblance to Calhoun, her hopes to reunite with Christopher Guest, and how much she was paid to act opposite Harrison Ford 20 years ago. Then view an exclusive behind-the-scenes extra that explains the inspiration for Calhoun’s terrifying alien world.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Congratulations on the Best Animated Film Oscar nomination for Wreck-it Ralph. Do voice actors get to attend the Oscar ceremony?
JANE LYNCH: They do not, sadly.
That doesn’t seem fair. I was really looking forward to seeing you walk the red carpet dressed as Sgt. Calhoun.
I did that on Ellen. You’ll have to check that out. I went as Sgt. Calhoun for Halloween and I wore it on Ellen. READ FULL STORY »
