Who does the voice of Louise on Fox’s Bob’s Burgers, and can you tell me a little bit about her?
—Nancy Steinberg, Portland, Maine
That would be Kristen Schaal, 33, who is best known for her role as stalker-fan Mel in the HBO series Flight of the Conchords and as a contributor on The Daily Show.
The Colorado-born and raised comedienne has done a lot of voice work, including Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Shrek Forever After, Scared Shrekless and the role of Trixie in Toy Story 3.
“Those films are going to be classics. They’re timeless. They’re perfect. And they’re something I know in 40 years, I’ll be watching with kids, or whenever I have kids.”
Schaal says she was “discovered” working in a comedy room on the lower East Side of New York City several years ago by Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard, a friend of a friend. He came in and saw her and then wrote a character for her. But even though the role was written especially for her, she says that she and Louise are very different.
“I am a little more afraid of authority than Louise,” admits Schaal, who won the 2006 HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen for Best Alternative Comedian. “I’ve always sort of stayed out of trouble. I’m really overly sensitive about people’s feelings—almost to a fault. So I don’t have that devious side of Louise. But I’m constantly imagining doing it and fantasizing about it.”