Oh, that sounds so academic, and it kind of is.

The Hollywood Reporter has put together a little “Emmy Roundtable” series where they assemble potential Emmy contenders (we think – the idea behind the roundtable is not entirely explained anywhere on their site) and have a little chat with all of them.  Jane Lynch, along with Patricia Heaton, Courtney Cox, Sofia Vergara (who is so, so, so great in Modern Family), Felicity Huffman, and Wanda Sykes, are featured in a series called, “The Comediennes”  (sidenote 1: the all-male counterpart of this series is entitled “The Comics” – why not “The Comedians” we wonder?) (sidenote 2: why even create the artificial dichotomy?  As far as we can tell, the comics were not asked any gender-specific questions) (sidenote 3: Joan Rivers was not included in these roundtable discussions, as a comedienne or a comic, but should have been.  See Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, now).  The questions were a tad too open-ended, we think, but some of the results are interesting.  Here’s the one that we think is the best, on how to be funny (“It’s about having confidence in your lack of confidence”).  The other videos be found here and here.

Relatedly, there is an interview with just our Jane, on how her fans react to her, and how she reacts to them.  This interview brings out one of the most insightful things we’ve heard anyone say in a very long time:

“What I’m finding out is when people come up to you in the street, it’s not about you, as much as my ego would love to think it’s about me.  It’s about them having an opportunity to express how this has moved them, and it’s my job to allow them to tell me, to take it in.”

Whoa, you don’t get that type of self-awareness everyday.  If only.