I Am Amber Nash, best known as the voice of Pam Poovey on FX's Archer ask me anything!

Amber, you and the cast/crew of Archer made my girlfriend a video get-well message after she was sexually assualted. It meant the absolute world to us, and I just wanted to thank you. She went back to work this week and updated S.A.D.P. with some new content! Thanks for being so supportive of your fans. You have no idea how much that made her smile.

Ah, awesome. I am so glad to hear that. We love S.A.D.P.

Do any of the voice actors have similar characteristics to their characters in the show? Also I love the show.

Sure, Aisha is a beautiful and confident woman but I think she is more fun than Lana and Jon is just as much if not more of a smart ass than Archer.

Are you as depraved as Pam?

Not quite but I'm seriously working on it.

How many bear claws have you consumed for the sake of getting the right sound?

I actually ate biscuits and it had to have been at least 3.

Thanks for doing this, I'm a really big fan of the show. My question is who's idea was it to do Archer live and what has the experience been like so far?

The company that produces Archer Live is Mills Entertainment, I think it was their idea. It's been so fun. The best part is getting to hang out with the rest of the cast.

Hi! I'm an Archer fan from Malaysia. I just want to tell you that Pam is my favourite character on the show. Since I do not live in the US, I just want to know will the Archer live show be available in the form of DVD?

I'm not sure if they have any plans to put Archer Live's on DVD. But I bet you could find some stuff online.

Ms. Nash, I have been surrounded by people all my life who look like celebrities or "famous" cartoon characters, but being a plus-sized blonde with a feisty attitude I've just never seemed to find a character who fit me. Then I saw Archer and I just absolutely fell in love with Pam. She has so much heart and spunk, she's actually attractive, and it makes me happy to know that there is a character out there I can relate to like this. (also as an Atlanta native it makes me happy to know you do stand-up here so often!)

I don't even really have a question, I just wanted to thank you for portraying a plus-sized woman in an awesome, positive manner. I adore Pam, and you for giving her such vitality.

Hooray!

You play one of my by far favorite characters on the show, if not the most. I keep reading EVERYTHING you post here in her voice, and it's made me very entertained. What part of Atlanta are you from, if you don't mind me asking? I'm from Henry County, myself, and my best friend knows one of the animators from the show.

I grew up in Gwinnett but now I live in Little Five Points.

for portraying a plus-sized woman in an awesome, positive manner

I dont think any of the characters on that show are displayed in a positive manner. Awesome? Yes! Positive? Not so sure...

Agreed. Pam is a lot of things. Entertaining, hilarious, disgusting, a fierce sexual beast--who isn't on that show--but a role model she is not.

But she's still portrayed positively. Everything you just listed is positive, and even her negative traits are similar to the other negative traits in the show in that they're a means to badassery/hilarity.

I suppose that is relative to what you consider to be positive traits. Almost every person on Archer is a self indulgent representation of a human archetype. The mother, the former lover, the secretary, the scientist all represented as selfish individuals whose allegiances are based on what they can get from each other.

Look at Archer, would you say that he portrays tall dark and handsome in a positive way? I'd say he's a womanizing, substance abusing, self entitled, jackass, and he is so entertaining because his jackassery is constantly putting him in crazy situations.

That's not to say that the characters don't have any redeeming value. They all have positive attitudes about themselves, which is a good quality.

We all have selfish tendencies, which make the Archer characters easy to relate to. But I respectfully disagree that anyone on that show is portrayed in a positive manner.

Would you like to be my attorney?

Thanks Amber for doing this! Have you ever had ants... and if so, what was the cause?

I have had ants and it was horrible. When I was a kid I played fast-pitch softball and one year we were all dressed up in our uniforms for picture day on the field. I think I was 12 and chubby and had giant perm hair, it was terrible. So, I'm standing, posing and waiting for my picture to be taken and my leg is on fire and I look down and I'm standing in the middle of a giant fire ant hill. I wish I had a copy of that.

Do you get recognized for your voice often? What's the most awkward/notable situation this has happened, if so?

Sometimes people recognize me but not a ton, it's usually at the theatre. The best thing that happened was a fan made me a stuffed bear claw and gave it to me at Dragon Con. Here is a picture of it...http://instagram.com/p/ZlEgshuDLi/

I tried so hard to find you at D*C last year to get an autograph for my mom to surprise her but every time I went into the autograph hall you were gone! Pam is my mom's favorite. She changed her Facebook icon and cover photo to pictures of Pam, lol.

Oh no, maybe this year!

What are your favourite moments from Archer, Pam related, and not Pam related?

I love when Pam gets to be a total bad ass. I love that she is a fighter, drift car racer and street artist. I think one of my favorite episodes was The Honeymooners this season, everyone had hilarious storylines and it all looked really good.

Oh god, the voice you did in that episode - "Get in my big ol' vagina! I'm Lana!" - makes me crack up every time I think about it.

We laughed so hard that day, I was basically just doing Fat Albert.

Does the increased badass-ness come from your influence on the character? Pam now is so different when compared to the first season.

I'd sure like to think so. I have a bugout bag in real life in case the world comes to an end.

Do you have memories of a favorite day at work?

Also, favorite food?

My favorite day at work was the day we recorded the episode that Pam is humping the gyro. Matt Thompson our exec. producer was outside of the booth doing all the humping while I followed him with humping sounds, it was hilarious. My favorite food is vegetable samosas!

I just watched that scene this week. My wife and I were dying laughing.

http://i.imgur.com/HMHVtRE.gif

We actually did that scene for Archer Live, but we'd get a Pam "stunt double" from the audience and dress them up like Pam and they would come in specifically for the humping part. It was great. We used a buritto in Milwaukee and the audience member destroyed it.

Thanks for turning me on to heavy, sassy women.

Rawr!

I was surprised to find out that the actors record dialogue separately since you guys seem to have so much chemistry together when the show is aired. What do you think accounts for that?

I think that Adam writes and hears us all in his head as he does it, I think that helps and also we have amazing editors.

Hey Amber! Thanks for doing an AMA.

My question is, which one of the voice actors is most like their character? Is Judy as nuts as Cheryl? Does Aisha have large hands? Is Chris a push-over? How about Lucky? Is he creepy yet loveable?

Love the show, can't wait for the new season!

Judy is not nuts but she is super fun and bubbly, I don't believe Aisha has large hands but she's tall so I mean they have to be kinda big right? Chris is not a push-over but he is a very genuinely nice guy. Lucky is indeed creepy and I guess he's kinda loveable.

Do you prefer performing improv or scripted material?

I actually really love both. Improv is probably my favorite because it's where I started and it's so immediate and I get to screw around and try stuff and fail or succeed. Scripted work is much more challenging and I like it for that reason and the rehearsal process can be really rewarding as well.

Aisha Taylor is hosting the new whose line is it anyway. Is she gonna hook you up?

Hopefully :) I actually performed with Colin Mochrie this weekend too! He is the jams.

Is the majority of Pam's character based off your own personality or is it completely different?

I'd say about 50/50, I'm not nearly as awesome as Pam. I'm a little too self-conscious. Pam just don't give a shit which is why she's so great. I do have a horribly dirty mouth though.

That's what I love about Pam. Her attitude is so amazing.

I also love her puppets.

This is on my bookshelf too! This is a prototype but they are gonna start making them for the FX shop. http://instagram.com/p/ZlF038ODNB/#

...I am going to buy that puppet so hard that my money is going to fly into an alternate dimension.

They are only making a small batch of the blue ones, the rest will be gray. Also you can move the tongue.

Have you ever been able to drown a toddler in your panties?

Oh God how I've tried. Sadly not yet.

Please, for the love of Pete, tell us the origin of the phrase "shit snacks".

I think Adam just wrote it and it stuck but Jessica always calls them "shit cakes" and I think that's pretty hilarious too.

My boyfriend and I have found many of the jokes on Archer are very obscure and intelligent, and once we look into the reference, we realize it's hilarious. Are there any jokes that you find are commonly misunderstood, or deserve some spotlight? LOVE THE SHOW!!

Half the time I read the scripts I have no idea what half the jokes mean, it's like comedy archaeology. Also it's funny to listen to stories of Jessica asking Adam what horrible things in the script mean.

Any chance we'll ever see more "Frisky Dingo" or even "The Xtacles"?

I dunno, nothing is in the works but you never know. I would love it. The good thing is that some of the great parts of those shows have shown up in Archer. Like Mr. Ford and there is an Xtacles suit hanging in Kreigar's lab.

Xtacles, more than you bargained for!

There was a character on Xtacles named after me...AMBR but when I read for it the network said that my voice didn't work for the character. Heh

What is Lucky Yates like in real life?

He's great. I've known the guy for over a decade. He loves his dog and drives a jeep and loves the ladies.

I recognized Lucky's voice immediately as one of the extras from Alton Brown's Good Eats. I think that guy is really underrated.

Don't let Lucky hear that he is already an egomaniac.

I have a question for Pam. What do you think of Amber Nash?

She's alright, a little soft though.

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He is a real pain in the ass. But that's what is so great about him.

Marry Fuck Kill:

Krieger, Archer, Cyril

Hmmm, Marry Cyril, Fuck Archer, Kill Kriegar? Right? I mean that is pretty standard.

Hey, huge fan of Archer, I'd just like to know a but more information about how it is written. Is it really just one guy? Cause that would be "AH-Maaaaazing!"

Yeah it's pretty much just Adam Reed and he is an amazing, hilarious genius that locks himself away until scripts are done. Every once in a while there are other writers but it's rare.

Hi Amber! How was the character of Pam described to you at the audition? :-)

Actually, I went in to record some DVD extras for Frisky Dingo and Adam was like "hey I want you to see something" and they pulled up Pam's head on a monitor and there was my voice as Val coming out of Pam's head and they were like what do you think? Do you want to do this? And I was like uh for sure!

What is the most ridiculous thing that has happened in the studio?

I ate a bowl full of cheese balls in the booth and it was disgusting.

Have you found that pieces of Pam's life and/or behaviour have made their way into yours? Is it a good thing?

Sometimes when I'm being real sassy I start to talk in Pam's voice. Not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Do you have any plans to act in any future endeavors?

Ohh always, I'm always looking for new and exciting projects. I'd love to do more on-camera work but I haven't quite broken in to that arena yet. And I'm always on stage. In fact, Lucky and I just started rehearsals for a new stage show called Dementia Juice that we will do in Atlanta.

Do you see Pam's grossness as kind of empowered and awesome? I do.

Oh God yes.

How much do you get to interact with Adam about plotlines or character development? Have you had a hand in any of Pam's major characteristics?

If you could create an ideal plotline for Pam in the show, what would it be?

I think Pam has developed over time a bit from Adam knowing me better and realizing that somehow Pam is able to get away with a lot of shit. The main thing that I get to do is write Pam's twitter feed @pamsgossiptrain and that is super fun, to contribute to that world. She is in a jug band now and works as a bouncer at a strip club named Crammers.

Do you ever regret joining twitter, or any other social network?

Not really, I'm not great at it cause I'm lazy but I think it's important in this business.

Did you enjoy voicing Pam during her soy allergy?

That was when I had to eat the bowl of cheese balls. The mic was covered in orange spit and my script was all greasy.

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I hope Pam is gonna do some more field work. We will for sure be at Comic Con this year.

So, what was your favorite episode to do? Also, Pam has some pretty hellacious quotes. Is there anything written that you wouldn't say?

Nah, I'll pretty much say anything. The only one that made me cringe was "masturbate til my fingers bleed".

Hello Amber!

How close to your "real voice" is Pam's voice? Did it take you a while to find Pam's voice? Are other characters - Archer, Lana, Gillette - exact vocal replicas of their actors or are there some vocal gymnastics?

Most everyone's voice is there true voice, not Gillette. Mine is a bit ramped up a little higher and more mid-western. It came from the voice I do when I'm saying something as my Mom. Like "Amber are you really wearing that?"

How much fun do you guys have recording the show?

Half of the stuff Pam says is freakin' nuts!

So much fun. We don't get to record together which would make it even more fun. I'm usually there with Adam Reed, Casey Willis and Lucky and we have a great time.

What is your favorite project to have worked on?

Archer for sure because it's so much fun. But I was also in a show at Dad's Garage called Invasion:Christmas Carol. It's Christmas Carol but every night about 10 minutes into the show, someone shows up that doesn't belong, like the A-Team or Paula Deen and the cast has to incorporate the radom element and try to keep telling the story of Christmas Carol. It's a blast. I was Ebenezer Scrooge the first year we did it at Dad's Garage and that was probably one of my favorite times on stage.

First off, I absolutely love what they've done with Pam's character, and you do an awesome job at bringing her to life!

• Could you elaborate on what "giving one side hell" means? I get the gist of it from the context, but I've never heard it used anywhere else before.

• My folks are Dominican and I was just wondering if you knew what's the story on Adam's jokes (which I love, btw) and the DR? Like, Archer burying some Dominican guy's rooster, drinking two gallons of mamajuana while playing dominoes with a Dominican bike gang (or was it mahjong?), Troy and Sterling's training mission...

I'd never heard it before either and all I can imagine is a horribly crooked penis.

What line gave you the hardest time getting just right? (Also, not gonna lie... you're on my laminated list, or at least you would be if I had a girlfriend and a laminating machine).

The episode when Pam is dressed up all Jamaican. They had me record all the lines in a Jamaican accent and it was so horrifyingly bad I rerecorded them all normally.

How much of the dialogue is improvised?

I just find the show to be extremely well written so as actors is there even any room for improvisation?

You're right. The scripts come to us so great we really don't need to improvise but we do sometimes. Adam is totally cool with it. Mostly, we will riff on a line and Adam will come up with new ideas on the fly.

Are you as good in the sack as Pam?

I would hope so.

Hi Amber! Any advice for young women in improvised comedy who are interested in comedy in film/tv/voice? How did you get started? Thanks!

Just get on stage as much as you possibly can and take tons of classes from lots of different teachers. Performing in front of a crowd is a great teacher. It can be a boys club but who cares, if you are funny you are funny. I got started by taking classes and just kept going. Also, it takes a lot of years to become a good improviser and a lot of work. People expect to be good after a couple of years and that just usually isn't the case.

As an avid fan of Frisky Dingo for the 2 season it was out, I see a lot of references to the late show in Archer (ants, boosh, Archer/Xander). I think Archer is a better and more popular show mainly because of the plot but I still love the similarities. Do you mind speaking to the decisions process to canceling Frisky Dingo and starting Archer (obviously a great choice)? Also what kind of similarities do you see behind the scene?

Thanks, your characters are all like... ka-KOW

I'm actually not sure what happened with Frisky Dingo in the end there but I'll tell you it was a much different operation when we were making that show. In fact, they used to make the show out of an old house in East Atlanta. Mr. Ford was their neighbor who mowed the lawn and to record they would lock you in a closet, it was terrifying.

What are some other television comedies you've enjoyed? Do you ever take inspiration from them when bringing Pam to life? Holy shit snacks thanks!

I gotta say I think one of my favorite all time comedies on TV is The Golden Girls and it still totally holds up. I also loved 30 Rock and East Bound and Down... there are so many good ones.

Have you ever actually had sex with Archer? Not H Jon Benjamin but actually Archer as a disembodied voice

No but Jon and I are in talks about making our own sex tape.

Amber Nash AMA? Sploosh. Or whatever the male equivalent of Sploosh is. Which I guess is just sploosh. Only with semen.

As for a question, is there a "hardest part" when it comes to voicing Pam? Any particular challenge in her mindset or delivery of lines?

Splirt?