A Quickie with Actor Neil Flynn

He was your favorite acerbic Janitor and now he is your favorite blue collar patriarch, but did you know this about Neil Flynn?

When did the acting bug really sink its teeth into you and how did your parents react?

I was always involved in the plays at school. I decided in college that I'd give it a try as a profession. There was no Plan B. My parents have always been very supportive. They took us to plays regularly when we were kids, and that fed my interest.

What moment solidified that the risk to pursue acting was the right move?

I guess it's clear now that I made a good choice, but I never doubted my decision to pursue acting. I never planned on making much money, I just hoped to pay my bills.

I'll remind you that I had no options that were at all interesting to me in other professions. 

You first became a household name with your role in Scrubs. Is there anything you miss about that character?

I'm pretty sure I'm not a household name, but thanks for pretending I am. Playing The Janitor was a great experience, and I had 8 years of fun. There's nothing I miss, but I really enjoyed the freedom I was given to improvise dialogue.

I think it's a rare situation where an actor is told, "If you think of something funnier, just say that too. Or instead. Do as many different versions of your line as you like. We'll sort it out in editing". Whatever the opposite of a "thankless role" is, that's what The Janitor was.

Speaking of janitors, The Janitor made an appearance in A Very Muppet Christmas Movie. Many of us grew up watching The Muppet Show. Was this a boyhood fantasy come true?

I watched the Muppets as a kid, and never dreamed I'd "meet" them. That's how it felt, like you were meeting someone you'd known your whole life. The puppeteers seemed invisible. Everyone spoke directly to the Muppets, as if they were real. I have a framed picture of the cast gathered around Kermit and Miss Piggy. I also have a picture of me with Dick Van Dyke, who did an episode of the show. Now that was a boyhood fantasy come true.

As Lindsey Lohan’s dad in Mean Girls, should we blame your parenting skills for what has happened to her since?

Put all the blame on me. I'll try to do better with my current pretend children.

Congrats on The Middle being renewed through next season! It is such a hilarious and incredibly accurate portrayal of family life. Why do you think this show resonates with such a large audience?

A show that centers on a family, if done well, presents an audience with relatable characters and situations. The writers do a great job of making the Heck family seem like people you know, or even people you are. The show is popular in other countries, too, and I think it's because the family unit is recognizable to everyone.

Where did you draw from to create the character Mike Heck?

I haven't consciously been influenced by anyone in playing Mike Heck. My own dad probably influenced me some. There have been plenty of solid TV dads through the years, though I can't think of many that were as blue-collar. John Goodman on "Roseanne" comes to mind.

The actors who play your children on The Middle are extremely talented. How do you keep a straight face?

The young actors on the show are a huge factor in the show's success. I'm happy to say that in addition to being good actors, they are all smart, good-hearted, down-to-earth people as well. There's no trouble of any kind from any of them, ever. Maybe I can give myself credit for that, as one of their fake parents. More likely the credit goes to their actual parents.

If these were your actual children, which one would be the apple that didn’t fall far from the tree?

None of the kids' characters remind me much of me, but maybe you could pick a quality from each that I shared at a young age. Like Brick, I got good grades. Like Sue, I hoped to find a group or activity that I could identify with, or that would identify me (I ran for class office in 7th grade even though I had no chance of winning. I just wanted to be something). And like Axl, I was sometimes an idiot.

Our blogger T Daddy, who has a bit of a crush on Patricia Heaton, asks, “How has your chemistry and relationship developed over the course of the show?”

I love working with Patty, both when we're doing scenes together and when we're hanging around between shots. I think we have a nice chemistry on-camera, and maybe it's getting better as we continue to be friends in real life.

What has been your favorite episode thus far?

I have a hard time remembering past episodes because we're always working on a new one. They kind of all blend together in my mind. I liked "Hecks on a Plane". I like the one we're shooting now, "The Prom".

I like individual scenes where the family is all together, like in the car, or around the table. Even though those take the longest to shoot.

Can you give us any hints of what to expect from the Hecks in the near future?

What's to come? More hilarity, that's what! Let's see...Mother's Day drama, prom-date drama, dealing with a phobia drama. Only not drama, comedy. Hilarity, even!