Amy Poehler has been on some of comedy's biggest stages, and she delivered some really memorable lines, such as her praise for director Kathryn Bigelow at the 2013 Golden Globes: "I really follow the controversy over 'Zero Dark Thirty' But when it comes to harassment, I trust the woman who spent three years married to James Cameron."
But at first, of course, she was just a kid, the child of two public school teachers in Burlington, Massachusetts, who couldn't put their finger on her but knew she liked something about making people laugh. Is.
Correspondent Luke Burbank asked Poehler, "How big of a thing was funny to you when you were a kid? Was that part of your personality?"
"That's a deep question, Luke," he sighed. "Yeah. I love knowing I can make people laugh, or it would work if I tried to be funny. Sometimes I didn't try, and I laughed, and that was sad. Those sad days Were."
Mostly though, the laughs that Poehler got were intentional, especially as she honed her comedic chops, first in Boston, where she attended college...
"Not Harvard," she said. "People should know this."
"You know it was Harvard when people didn't clarify," Burbank said. "If people say, 'I went to school in Boston,' it's probably Harvard."
"But it wasn't Harvard. It was Harvard Plus. It was the more hardcore Harvard!"
... and then to Chicago, where she joined the famous Second City improv troupe, and later co-founded the liberal civilian brigade. It was in Chicago where Poehler met a young Tina Fey, whom she immediately reconnected with—and then reunited a few years later on "Saturday Night Live":
Poehler said, "I loved people most importantly. But I also loved the skills I learned in terms of letting things go. It's like an emergency room. You feel really excited. are that you survived it, and you might even die if 'there's too long!
Not wanting to die, Poehler left "SNL" after eight seasons, to land the role that might very well define his career: Leslie Knope in "Parks and Recreation."
Nope could have been just another two-dimensional sitcom character. But Poehler and the show's writer managed to do something remarkable with Leslie Knope: They created a holistic approach to life.
"It's a whole point that a lot of people, especially women, look at their world and their existence as a way of seeing them," Burbank said.
Poehler said, "Yeah. I think what he represented was this guy in the job who felt like it had a low ceiling, but he had huge hopes and dreams." "And she was trying to figure out how to make the system work or how to make the system work for her, without losing her joy, feeling, without crushing her."
While Hollywood can be a crushing influence on many people, especially women, Poehler has found a way to thrive and grow into an influencer producer in her own right.
Inside his production office he showed Burbank some of the mementos he has accumulated over the years. "You ever watch nature documentaries, and catch shiny things to make magpie nests? That's what I did here," she said. "It was the sacred seal that was on set and behind Leslie's desk, and I stole it. And now I put it behind my desk."
"And that's your real desk where you actually design things for your production company, Paper Kite?" asked Burbank. "Do you ever, ever, like to look back at Pawnee Seal and think, 'Try to channel that optimism or energy or whatever Leslie has in me?
"It's good to have it behind me, 'cause I've worked with it behind me for so many years."
"I think it's interesting, too, that this is your day planner..."
Poehler turned her away: "You're not allowed to see it."
Along with producing a variety of projects, Poehler also directs, including most recently "Lucy & Desi," a documentary about the famous couple.
"Lucy firmly believed that she shouldn't be called a genius because she works really hard, and works really hard at her craft," Poehler said. "I guess not enough women are called geniuses. I think the term gets thrown around a lot, but it's not given to women as often. So, I like to call Lucy a genius, Although I know she will hate it."
"Do you feel like there are some parallels between your career and his career?" Burbank asked.
"I feel very attuned to what she was feeling or going through — how do I balance work and family? How do I take advantage of my posture and my opportunity? How do I amplify my voice? How can I take up space in this room? All the sort of things that Lucy had to deal with 50 years before I did or women like me."
Poehler's media profiles often focus on her role as a woman in the comedy world. And as our interview ended, Burbank had just one more question to answer:
Burbank said, "They told me not to ask about it, but I can't let it go..."
"So you're fine, but just stopping... So, they told you not to ask...?"
"Yeah, and I'm leaving anyway."
"That's interesting. It's telling me more about you, Luke!"
"Are men funny?"
She laughed. "Yeah, they're getting there. And I'm proud of them. This is what I want to say to all the men right now: I'm really proud of you. Good job, dude!"