If you don’t recognize Kristen Schaal, you’ll almost certainly know what she sounds like.
Since 2011, the comedian — who was born and raised in Longmont — has voiced the character of Louise Belcher across 14 seasons of the beloved animated series Bob’s Burgers. She’s also lent her unmistakable voice to BoJack Horseman, Gravity Falls, Big Mouth and the Toy Story franchise.
In front of the camera, her comedic performances have included Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the Shadows, The Last Man on Earth, 30 Rock and The Daily Show.
Now Schaal can be seen in My Spy: The Eternal City, reprising her character of Bobbi, tech specialist to CIA agent J.J. (Dave Bautista). The sequel takes the action spy comedy to Italy, where J.J. and Sophie (Chloe Coleman), the teenager who in the predecessor blackmailed J.J. into training her to be a spy, find themselves embroiled in a terrorist plot.
“The movie does a great job of tackling the dynamic between parents and kids at that age,” Schaal, 46, says. “Sophie is transitioning from a child to adult, and it’s really hard for a parent to accept that. The whole movie is really this push and pull between them. I don’t see that a lot in movies. I think it’s really fun.”
Finding a voice
Schaal first became interested in performing through her church. “If ever someone was needed to be on stage or sing in the choir, I did it,” she says. “I remember there was a performance of Godspell at a talent show. We did a fashion show that I hosted. Then in high school I would do plays, as well as speech and debate.”
It was at Skyline High School that Schaal met Dee Covington, the education director at the Denver-based Curious Theater Company, who cast her in plays that were “structured around issues affecting the community.” Soon they were touring to other schools as far away as Arizona to put on performances.
At the same time, Schaal was also working at the since-shuttered Showtime Video on Main Street. This meant she was able to take home and learn from as many videos as she wanted.
“I can remember pulling the likes of Eddie Murphy and Roseanne off the shelves. They were all such huge inspirations,” she says. “I knew I wanted to perform, but I still didn’t quite know what I was doing.”
The fateful moment arrived when she was reading poetry in class. “I remember everyone started laughing at me. But I was being very serious,” she says. “From that moment on, I knew that I should just do comedy.”
After one year at CU Boulder, Schaal transferred and eventually graduated from Northwestern University in Illinois before moving to New York in 2000 at the age of 22 to pursue her comedy career.
“When I got out of college, I was waiting tables for like seven or eight years and doing a whole lot of other jobs,” she recalls. “My goal was to one day have my paycheck be from acting.”
Looking back at this period, Schaal can’t help but wax nostalgic about her dream of becoming a professional comedian and actor.
“That’s what’s sort of fun about the arts. I remember always wanting to have immediate success. But by working towards it, I was able to find my voice and value it even more,” she says. “It’s really tough. It was miserable. Scary. Frustrating. There were so many times where I wished I hadn’t chosen the arts. But at the end of the day, it’s so rewarding.”
‘I had to leave’
Slowly but surely, Schaal began to make an impression. Especially after she was named one of the “Ten Funniest New Yorkers You’ve Never Heard Of” by New York Magazine in September 2005. It was her role as stalker Mel in Flight of the Conchords that really boosted her popularity, and she has consistently appeared in films and TV shows ever since.
Schaal has come a long way from her Front Range beginnings. Reflecting on how her Colorado upbringing shaped her career, she says she had to go elsewhere to make it as a performer.
“Every time I’m home, I look outside at the nature and mountains and giant skies and I can understand why so many people are into hiking and outdoor sports there,” she says. “It’s so wonderful. But it’s the opposite of the performing arts. I feel like it’s changed a lot since I was growing up. But when I was a kid, at least in my surroundings, I had to leave to find people with my interests.”
Still, 24 years after moving to New York, she can’t help but get a little sentimental about her roots.
“I do miss it. I’m always looking at houses in Colorado on Redfin for fun,” she says. “It’s such a lovely place.”
ON SCREEN: My Spy: The Eternal City is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video
Kristen Schaal isn't Longmont's only famous face. Read more about the city's notable history