Jane Lynch on Being One of Christopher Guest's Mascots: 'It’s My Favorite Thing to Do'

Courtesy of Netflix.

Few cultural events are more anticipated than a Christopher Guest movie. No one is better than the director of Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show at holding up a mirror to the delusions behind the fame-driven American dream. Enter this month's Mascots, his riotous Netflix original film, which follows the contestants of an international competition for fuzzy, super-strange sports icons, from a giant fist to a dancing pencil sharpener. It's the cross between Guffman and Show that fans have been praying for, and its highlight is Guest regular Jane Lynch, who plays officious judge Gabby Monkhouse, a real estate agent, former moose mascot, and born-again Christian. Her improvised moments (including the title of her best seller, A-Moose-ingGrace:AnEx-Mascot'sGuidetoGodandSuccessinRealEstate) are expectedly priceless, even if the role was a bit of a stretch for her.

"I hated Halloween as a kid," Lynch says. "My mother would make me a cute costume every year, but I'd never wear it to school, and it pissed her off." Still, the opportunity to rejoin Guest and Co. excited her as much as the rest of us. "We're always waiting for the call -- it's been 10 years coming," she says. (Guest's last flick was 2006's For Your Consideration.) "I do more preparation for these movies than anything else. It's my favorite thing to do, and the most fear-inspiring." Case in point: a scene involving Lynch, Ed Begley Jr., and a micropenis -- a home run that proves Guest's return was well worth the wait.

Mascots will be available to stream on Netflix on October13.

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