The Middle is about 31st on the list of shows I watch each week, which means that I only get around to watching it occasionally. It’s a genial, good-natured, often amusing, and sweet sitcom, if you can get over the fact that Patricia Heaton is a terrible f***ing person in real life. The highlight of the show, however, is Sue Heck, who Josh gushed about a few weeks ago on our television podcast as a character that really embodies goodness and optimism, someone whose failures are always overmatched by her determination. She’s good people, that Sue Heck.
I have to admit, however, that I’ve never given the actress who plays Sue Heck, Eden Sher, much thought. To me, she’s just Sue Heck, and because I’d never remembered seeing Eden Sher in anything else, I’ve never bothered to separate actress from character. She’s like Arrested Development’s Ann: She’s been in things that I’ve seen, like Party Down and Weeds, but my memory of her presence in those shows has completely vanished. Who? Egg?
But I’ll remember her now.
I stumbled across a lengthy interview with on bullz-eye.com, and not only did I learn that she’s a very endearing interview, but the 21 year old is also cute in a very Anna Kendrick kind of way. In the interview, she talks about what it takes to transform herself from the picture of her you see on the right to Sue Heck.
Well, first of all, I appreciate you noting that there is actually a transformation required! But it’s actually helped me to retain my anonymity a lot, because either people aren’t expecting it, or…I usually get, “You know, you look a lot like that girl on that show? Have you seen it?” It’s not actually that extensive of a process, because it’s mostly a case of coming in with dirty hair…oh, but I’m revealing too much. [Laughs.] Seriously, though, what happens is that I usually don’t wash my hair, because they have to flatten it out and make it a little stringy-ish. Or stringier than it usually is, anyway. And then they don’t put any makeup on me. They kind of fill in my eyebrows to make ‘em a little bushier. And then they just put the braces in, and that’s pretty much it.
It’s a lengthy interview, and the whole thing is great — she effuses about The Janitor, and Whoopi Goldberg, among other things, but she also reads very Sue Heckian. You should definitely check it out. In the meantime, here’s an adorable video of Sue’s greatest hits.
