Archer Cast Reveals Their Favorite Guest Stars - Exclusive
Season 11 of Archer has seen some high-profile guest stars pass through and by the spy agency, a trend-slash-tradition that started long ago on the adult animated sitcom. One episode's guests include legendary scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis and The Good Place actress D'Arcy Carden, and there are two new recurring characters voiced by Simon Pegg and Stephen Tobolowsky. Of course, the series has seen plenty of big-name talent come aboard as guest stars over the years, ranging from the late René Auberjonois of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine notoriety to former Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman.
In an exclusive interview, Looper spoke with four Archer cast members and asked each of them about their favorite guests stars.
For his part, Chris Parnell, who voices Cyril Figgis on the series, acknowledged an issue with regular cast members picking out favorite guest stars. He explained that "in the voiceover world, unless you're recording in an ensemble," you're probably not even going to meet anyone but the regulars. That said, Parnell did highlight a couple of favorites, first saying that "it was cool that Kenny Loggins came and played himself — or a version of himself." He then shared that Burt Reynolds was "pretty awesome" as well.
Guest stars in the danger zone
H. Jon Benjamin, who voices the titular agent Sterling Archer, also listed Kenny Loggins and Burt Reynolds as his favorite guest stars. Both played versions of themselves: Reynolds lent his voice to the season 3 "The Man from Jupiter," in which a dramatized version of himself sparked a romance with Archer's mother Malory (Jessica Walter), and Loggins appeared on season 5's "Archer Vice: Baby Shower," which found him on the run with a mysterious briefcase.
Benjamin shared that he also struck up a friendship with the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter: "[Loggins] was really nice, and we've talked back and forth ever since he did his role on Archer." This led to Loggins appearing on Benjamin's album The Soundtrack Collection (released under the name Jon Benjamin), the opening track of which is Loggins objecting to Benjamin's performance of his hit 1986 single "Danger Zone." Given that Archer tied the phrase "danger zone" to Benjamin, it was only natural to include it — and according to Benjamin, K-Logg is "always game to do something."
Additionally, Benjamin gave a shout-out to "the John Roberts, [who] was iconic as Linda" on "Fugue and Riffs," the Bob's Burgers crossover episode that opened Archer season 4. He added that the episode "was really well done" and is "probably one of [his] favorite episodes."
Lucky Yates is 'over the moon' about his favorite guest stars
Lucky Yates, the voice behind Dr. Krieger, could barely contain his excitement when asked about his favorite Archer guest stars. He liked Timothy Olyphant, who played Archer's old friend Lucas Troy on "The Wind Cries Mary" from season 4. He also "was super pumped about" Peter Serafinowicz, who appeared on the show multiple times. Yates specifically highlighted Serafinowicz's spot on the episode "Once Bitten," during which he voiced a low-budget James Mason guiding a half-dead Archer in a parody of Heaven Can Wait.
For Yates, though, there was one guest star who beat them all: "Jamie Lee Curtis, I am over the moon about." Curtis played Agent Bruchstein on the Archer season 11 premiere "The Orpheus Gambit." Her involvement with the series was personal for Yates.
"I've been a fan of her for most of my life," he said. "When I found out that she was an Archer fan ... I was like, 'Oh my God. I'm a huge Jamie Lee Curtis fan, but potentially, she's a fan of mine!' And that makes me really, crazy excited."
Amber Nash calls Christian Slater 'the best'
Amber Nash, the voice of Archer's Pam Poovey, noted the same issue Parnell did: "[Since] people are recording in different places, I don't get to meet everybody." But, as it turns out, that's what makes her favorite guest star even more special. "My number one has got to be Christian Slater," said Nash, adding that she actually got to meet him.
On Archer, Slater plays ... Slater, a character bearing his name and physical likeness who acts as the CIA liaison to the spy agency for three seasons. Nash called him the "surprisingly nicest man you've ever met," sharing that he "was so gracious, and so happy to be a part of the show." What made it even better for Nash, who isn't quite as big an Archer name as Benjamin or Parnell, is that he knew who she was: "He knew my name, and I was just like, 'Oh my God, Christian Slater, you're the best.'"
Catch the next episode of Archer this Wednesday, October 7 at 10 PM ET on FXX. Stay tuned to Looper for more exclusive Archer coverage.