As the season 8 premiere of Family Guy looms, voice of Lois Griffin Alex Borstein, who rose to fame on Madtv, most noticeably with the character of Ms. Swan, has spoken to us about what elements of her career she’s most and least proud of, her favorite dirty words, what she’d like to do before she kicks the bucket, what she thinks of Lois Griffin and more. A big thanks to Alex for doing the interview with us. Read on for the full thing.

Please note that the interview herein contains some explicit language and may not be suitable for minors.

I thought we’d start with an easy one, but decided against it. What inspires you?
Alex: That is a lame question. Here’s why. The inspiration for something usually goes unnoticed. It’s like trying to figure out where you caught your cold.

If you could do only one of the following for the rest of your life, writing or acting, which would it be, and why?
Alex: Am I living in a police state? Shit, how did it come to this? Well, if I had to choose, I guess it’d be writing because I’d know I could act it all out in my head. And perhaps I could use my powers to write to the powers that be and ask if we could all go back to being hyphenates.

Which part of your career can you honestly say you are most proud of? And, on the flip side, least proud of?
Alex: I am most proud of my ability to do email interviews. Least proud of “Dawg.” You can rent it. Awful.

Have you any plans on releasing a follow up to your 2006 “Drop Dead Gorgeous” stand up DVD? Or can you manage to fit in stand up comedy at all when you’re a writer, actress and a mother?
Alex: Nope. That was a one time thing. It was kind of a sampler platter of material that I had gathered over a few years and my husband and I thought it would be fun to tour with the show for a bit and then shoot it and release it. So we did.

You’ve worked on shows as blatantly diverse as Gilmore Girls and, of course, Family Guy. Are there any areas you’d still love to explore?
Alex: I’d love to play a really dark, comedic character on a dark show. Or in a dark flick.

Tell us one thing you want to do before you kick the bucket.
Alex: Shit in the bucket. Is that allowed?

We’ve heard you like dirty words. Can you tell us a few?
Alex:
Classic Favorite: Cunt
New Favorite: Shitbox

How similar would you say you are to the character of Lois Griffin? We know you’re Jewish, and we’ve heard that the upcoming episode “Family Goy” will also reveal that Lois is of the same faith. But is there anything beyond this?
Alex: Lois is really her own person, but there may be some small things we have in common. For instance, we’re both mothers with some fun, dark underbellies to our lives. We are essentially good people, who occasionally do some shitty things. What else, oh, neither of us can cook for shit, but only I am aware of this fact.

How do you feel about how the character of Lois has developed? In earlier seasons, she seemed a more loving wife and mother, whereas these days, she just seems to nag Peter a lot. Her libido, on the other hand, hasn’t changed much. Is this just the natural progression of a housewife?
Alex: Lois is in the unfortunate position of being the voice of reason on Family Guy. This means that she finds herself being a nag at some point during most shows in order to move the story forward. Somebody’s gotta be the straight-man.

You’ve spent time as both a writer and producer for Family Guy as well as doing your voice over work. Can you tell us some of your favorite lines you’ve written for the show?
Alex: Nah. I think that would make me sound like a douchebag. And most of my favorite lines that were written for the show were and are written by other people. The writing staff is fucking phenomenal on FG. They are rarely given their due. The smartest and funniest group of people I’ve ever worked with.

Predictable, I know, but we had to ask: which would be your favorite episode of the show? Failing that, favorite scene(s)?
Alex: One of my favorite scenes is Lois and Peter getting in their S&M gear while talking about the kids. Another is the puking Ipecac scene.

If you had to move in with one member of the Griffin family, who do you think you’d choose?
Alex: Lois. She’d do all the laundry, shopping, bullshit house stuff.

Pizza or fries?
Alex: Depends on the source, but probably fries.

By air or by sea?
Alex: Air.

Sleep or sex?
Alex: Both

Ms. Swan or Lois Griffin?
Alex: Oh, now that’s unfair. That’s like “Sophie’s Choice.”

Lastly, give us one reason why we should tune into the new season of Family Guy this Fall.
Alex: If you tune in we get good ratings. If we get good ratings, the advertisers pay more to place their ads during our show. If they pay more, then Seth gets richer. Please help Seth get richer.

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