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In her late 20s, she couldve taken a lesson from herOnly Murderscharacter, Sazz Pataki.
Not so much for Jane Lynch.
[It] ate me alive, she tells Bustle.
Offstage, Lynch was going through a personal transformation.
For most of her life, shed struggled to find romance as a not-out lesbian.
I was going to gay bars.
But around 1988, that started to change.
I started to open up in a new-agey, magical way.
That said, shes not counting out a return from the dead.
[Sazz has] been a ghost already, she points out.
You had your first film role inVice Versain 1988.
What do you remember about that movie and being on a film set for the first time?
I wasnt touring anymore by the timeVice Versacame out.
I only toured for about a year, although it felt like the longest year of my life.
I remember the audition, because I overacted.
I should have been yanked, but [the producers] were so delighted.
Nobodys said that to me lately.
It was a really big deal.
In fact, [Savage] directedParty Down, so I had a nice little reunion with him.
What pop culture were you consuming at the time?
It was the days of cassettes.
I didnt listen to the radio.
It was VH1 and MTV.
I would go to bars and watch music videos.
I remember the Eurythmics videos were always crazy and fun.
That was my night out, drinking Long Island iced teas and watching videos.
Did you have a signature look?
First of all, it wasthe 80s, which I think is an ugly era.
I was a J.Crew person.
You were at the beginning of your film career.
Did you feel pressure when you were choosing roles, then or later on?
I never looked at it that way.
I never had a plan or goal.
I had something in me.
My grandmother, who came from Ireland, called it gumption.
You got to just get up and do it.
Its like, Feel the fear, but do it anyway.
That was something that was naturally wired in me, for which I am immensely grateful.
There has to be a discernment, and I had a healthy discernment.
Now, I was never asked to do porno.
You know, I hadnt planned on asking about that.
Im glad the agent wasnt like, Hey.
I was about 25 and just wanted a job.
I didnt know what the hell I was doing.
But something did stop me and say, Youre not going to get this.
Looking forward a bit, was there ever a moment when you felt like youd made it?
That was a big change.
I jumped in terms of my career.
I got more work.
I didnt have to audition.
I was cast because they said, Get her, Jane Lynch.
It wasnt a joke.
In my memoir,Happy Accidents, I had almost a whole chapter about him and John Travolta.
When I came out to my mom, she said, What about Ron Howard?
Of course, it was a lovely reunion back on the set.
We had a lot of great talks.
How was reuniting with yourJulie & Juliasister,Meryl Streep, onOnly Murders?
That was a big moment for me, being in that movie and showing up on set.
I came in the day before I started work and watched Meryl do her thing.
Thats how I had worked on the character of her sister.
I knew that these characters were really big and effusive.
And one last question: What advice would you give your 28-year-old self today?
Everything is not a problem.
The fact that you are worried about money and your next job, its not a problem.
The worrying itself is not a problem.
Its OK. Because I dont think I could talk her out of worrying.
I would just say, Worry is OK. How youre living your life is absolutely perfect.
That sounds like the kind of advice Sazz gives Charles.
You dont have to change a thing.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
