Originally Published: 2007-07-01

The daughter of an Italian-American Exxon executive, actor and stand-up comedienne Janeane Garofalo has not had a happy career. After working as a writer on The Ben Stiller Show and The Larry Sanders Show, where she earned Grammy awards, she found herself out of a job when the programmes got cancelled. Her deprecating and pessimistic nature, as well as her politics, got her fired from Saturday Night Live and, more recently, as radio host on Air America. She turned down the part of Monica in Friends, and lost the lead role in Jerry Maguire to Rene Zellweger even after she shed the weight they asked of her.
Still, the 42-year-old New Jersey native keeps popping up on small and large screens. She’s currently voicing Colette in Brad Bird’s animated feature Ratatouille. As the chef in a top Parisian restaurant, Colette befriends Linguini (Lou Romano) whose cooking masterpieces are the inventions of his pet mouse, Remy (Patton Oswalt).
Tandem talked to Janeane Garofalo about Ratatouille.

Why did you do this film?
“I’m flattered when anybody offers me any job. That in itself is enough for me, because usually I have to audition for things and then I don’t get them. So to be offered something outright I’m flattered beyond belief. But I’d seen The Incredibles and I liked it very much so I wanted to work with Brad. I had done other series and books on tape. I like to show up at the studio and you can wear your pyjamas if you want to. You don’t have to wash your hair, you know, you don’t even have to take a shower. And it’s easy just to exist in that world for me. It’s less comfortable for me to go through the machinations of hair, makeup, wardrobe, direction — I have an authority problem that I’m not proud of, but I hate to be directed. And I don’t like to say other people’s dialogue all the time. But I don’t mind it as much if I’m in my little cubicle.”

Do you have an authority problem?
“Yes. I think because my dad, maybe growing up was a very authoritarian type of conservative religious guy. And there was a lot of ‘Why’? ‘Because I said so.’ That’s very common in parents but especially if they’re conservative religious types. I don’t like that. I don’t like the ‘Because I said so’ and I don’t like the ‘Why ask why?’ ”

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