Interview: Lisa Ann Walter Talks ‘Abbott Elementary’ Character Discoveries And Her Sicilian Roots

Abbott Elementary‘s Lisa Ann Walter is much more than her character Melissa Schmenti, the Italian-American, tell-it-how-it-is, fast-talking, Philadelphia-sports-loving “broad” who may or may not have some mob family ties. 

Walter has a background in theater, graduating from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and spent years in stand-up comedy. To millennials, she’s everyone’s favorite maternal figure, as nanny, Chessy in the 1998 classic remake The Parent Trap. To viewers of Jeopardy, she’s a trivia nerd who won Celebrity Jeopardy! She’s also a television producer, and everyone’s favorite movie side-kick.

When it comes to Abbott Elementary, she brings a multi-dimensional portrayal to Melissa that otherwise might feel cliche. The second-grade teacher feels like a relative or a good friend, and even though Melissa has some of the most ruthless one-liners, she also has a huge heart. As one of the resident “old school” teachers, Melissa is the first to give her opinion and advice to the younger crop of teachers. 

The actress does infuse some of her background into portraying Melissa, and because of that, she knows who that character is to the core. “It’s the stuff that’s more than writing or the physical. It’s the inner life. In a character that can be very tough and who has a real hard shell, the warmth that’s inside of Lisa is inside of Melissa, and it comes through even if I’m not acting it.”

Rarely can a half-hour sitcom in its third season still capture audiences like Abbott does. Lisa Ann Walter speaks to the unique nature of network television:

“With half hour television, people have to want to invite you into their home during dinner time with their family, and they have to love you, and that’s a part of it.” 

The show still feels fresh, the ratings are strong, the writing is better than ever, new and unexpected friendships are forming among the teachers, and nothing is slowing down its success. It all speaks to the magic of the writing and the acting. 

Lisa Ann Walter spoke with Awards Radar over the phone about Abbott Elementary, her recent Celebrity Jeopardy! win, and her Italian-American roots. 

Niki Cruz: It’s such an exciting time in your life. You’ve been on this wildly successful show, AND you just won Celebrity Jeopardy!? What was that experience like? 

Lisa Ann Walter: It was terrifying because I didn’t want to embarrass the memory of my dead mother. I mean, this woman was such a trivia queen, so I loved trivia because she would never miss an opportunity to teach. She was a teacher in the D.C. schools. I just learned a lot listening to her and also from reading. I read voraciously my entire childhood and as a young adult. 

So I just wanted to comport myself well. I just wanted to show that off because I’ve been known in my career to play a lot of street-smart characters. When you have a big bosom, and you’re brassy, it equals dumb for some reason. Whenever they wanted me to play something on a procedural, it was a variation of a character that would hang their head out of a trailer door holding a cigarette. 

NC: I have to mention Abbott Elementary. Your character, Melissa, reminds me so much of my Italian-American family in Brooklyn. She doesn’t take anyone’s garbage.

LAW: Thank you. That’s the best compliment, and that’s the culture. The culture is that these are people who are more recent immigrants. They are very proud of the successes that they’ve made. The fact that the second generation usually went to college because they were hard working, and then you have the food and how that’s wrapped up in the culture. I mean, they’re all about it.  

NC: And because she feels like a real person the comedy just kills. Of course, it’s also a testament to the writing, but—

LAW: Thank you. I appreciate that. Whenever I go to Philly, the people from there come up to me and say, “We didn’t want to like you, but you’re one of us now.” They knew I wasn’t from Philly but I did the accent well. They told me that I gave them respect by studying it. Quinta [Brunson] told me, “The people from South Philly that come up to me specifically they always want to talk about Melissa.” 

My dad’s side is from Brooklyn and the Bronx, so it would be very easy to slip into a New York accent, but I just really studied it. I watched Bradley Cooper because he does the Philly accent on a number of talk shows. 

NC: I was talking to Sheryl Lee Ralph last year and she said that the writers do infuse the actors into their roles, whether it’s mannerisms or things that are said. It seems like there’s some Melissa in you. 

LAW: Like you said, the writing is fantastic, but one of the things that I bring to Melissa is Sicilian slang. I know it because it’s the stuff I grew up hearing, and every once in a while, I’ll pepper a word here or there. Of course, I always ask, but I got “strunz” by them on the first episode [Laughs]

NC: No way! [Laughs]

LAW: I couldn’t believe it! [Laughs] I wasn’t trying to get away with it. I also say “ya big gavone!” One of our executive producers, Justin Halpern’s mother is Sicilian. So I asked, “Oh, can I just say ‘Oh, ya big strunz,’ and he said, “Yeah!” and everybody loved it. And then, come to find out in further episodes, they were like, “Okay, well, what does this one mean?” Oh my god, I died! I have to be careful, so now I say, “Chooch.” 

NC: You can say “Chooch.” I also like “Shangad.”

LAW: “Shangad” is a good one. We can say that, too. I mean, it’s all of that. No one is telling me the pronunciation of the different words. I’m bringing that to the party. The hand gestures, too, like a move under the chin.

NC: Switching gears, but you had a really big Super Bowl episode with Bradley Cooper as a guest star. How was that experience with him?  

LAW: First of all, can that man be any prettier? Because those eyes! From the beginning, I told him that I was very nervous working with him. He said, “Oh, why?” And I said, “Do you have a mirror? What’s wrong with you?” He’s also delightful and really fun. He would giggle at Melissa’s lines, and he thought they were cute. In between takes, we started talking about Leonard Bernstein because I grew up with classical music. We were talking about who he studied to learn how to conduct. He’s just a very smart man.

NC: He looked like he was so down to play with you guys.

LAW: He totally was and he did a great job. I just heard he just submitted himself for an Emmy for a Guest Role and I fully support him winning. 

NC: I also love the fashion and how specific it is for each character. I have to say, Melissa in the leather jackets, particularly the burgundy one. It’s a look.

LAW: I love her style. First of all, it’s easy to wear. I literally don’t have to have more than maybe four or five pairs of pants, and it’s true to the character. I won’t wear anything that you couldn’t buy at Target or at Marshalls or T.J. Maxx. Nothing cost more than $16 or $18. 

NC: I really do love the one-liners too. She has some really good ones. There’s a tie between my favorites for season 3. One of them is, “Clogs are back, so anything’s possible.” — 

LAW: Oh my God, I love that line. I also loved, “I’d rather die than change my mind; it’s the American way.” I see a line that I absolutely love. I see it, and I know it’s absolutely gonna kill. It’s a line like that where Melissa doesn’t know she’s making a joke. The clogs line, she’s being a smart ass, and it’s not like you’re waiting for a round of applause. So to do it and not push that line, especially because we’ve heard it 20 times by the time we’re shooting, no one’s going to laugh at it anymore. So the challenge is to not push that line because you’re not getting laughs in that room. I’m not killing anyone with that line, BUT it’s a killer line. So you just have to have a controlled delivery. 

NC: Given that, are there moments for discovery reading lines over and over, whether it’s changing up tone or timing? 

LAW: 100%, and one of the great things about working with this fantastic ensemble cast is many of us have a theater background. People who are comics tend to stick with a delivery, including myself, but when you’re acting, and you’re lucky enough to get a rehearsal, whether it’s on stage or it’s in a T.V. show, you’ll find a different way. It should be changed by how your scene partner is playing, too. It could change based on how we’re all amping it up this time, or we found it funnier doing it this way, or a beat changes. With Tyler [James Williams] and I, that happens quite frequently.  

NC: I must mention Melissa and Barbara’s friendship because it’s such a cherished part of the show. I love it when they have scenes and the little hijinks they get into. This season, it was tricking Jacob with A.I., but last year, that scene at the teacher’s conference, emerging from the elevator hungover from the night before, was a moment. 

LAW: That was so much fun, and people love it. They love the work wives of it. They love us sitting by the pool, cocktailing it up. I love the dynamic. I love that Quinta put two women of a certain age together and being best friends. It doesn’t always happen. They have a similar frame of reference, and that’s why they’re best friends. They depend on each other, and that’s life. I also feel that way about Sheryl in real life. 

NC: It’s true. Seeing these two older women bringing up the new generation of teachers creates space for heartwarming moments.

LAW: Yeah, I love that too. And I love that they have grown with each other and all the characters grow. She sees that these new teachers are sticking around, and her opinion changes. That’s what I love about this season, is that you don’t know what’s going to happen. Gary proposes to Melissa, and in any other show, the answer would be yes, and the whole season, we would be prepping for this wedding, but she says no. The writers design the season differently from what we see on a regular sitcom. 

NC: There are also new discoveries in season 3. You have Melissa and Jacob’s friendship which was completely unexpected. 

LAW: I loved it. I was also very happy playing again with a stage actor in those rehearsals, having that discovery of point of innocence, and then realizing, “Oh, you’re somebody I can actually hang out with.” It was delicious. I loved playing the scene in the back at school when Melissa was ready to fight. Saying, “Come on, come at me. Give me your worst. I got dukes up!” We don’t care. I loved playing that up. It was really ridiculous. 

NC: What do you hope for Melissa for season 4 of Abbott Elementary? 

LAW: You know, I have something way down the line for season 7. I’ve got some thoughts about Melissa. It took a while for Barbara to convince her to even go out with Gary. There’s a lot of alpha women, and I would like to see Melissa and Ava do something. I would love to see Melissa and Barbara fall out and let it be devastating. But down the line? I do have an idea, but I can’t tell you. If it actually happens? I’ll tell you and say, “THAT was the thing.”

NC: Well, I can’t wait. 

You can now stream Abbott Elementary on Hulu. 

[This conversation was edited for length and clarity.]