'KING OF THE HILL' Najimy enjoys giving voice to Peggy

The actress learned that Mike Judge's creativity goes beyond 'Beavis.'
By DAVE MASON
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
Kathy Najimy had doubts when she found out that the creator of "Beavis and Butt-head" had a possible role for her on his next cartoon, "King of the Hill."
After all, "Beavis," an MTV cartoon about teenage morons, won't go down as fine literature. "That's not my cup of tea," Najimy said.
But her voice-over agent told her that Mike Judge's next cartoon, "King of the Hill," would be completely different.
Najimy took the job, and proved her agent was right. As the Emmy-winning animated series that spoofs Texan neighbors begins its 10th season (7:30 p.m. EDT/PDT Sunday, Fox), Najimy said she has enjoyed giving voice to Peggy Hill, a substitute teacher who's very different from Najimy.
Greater talent
And Najimy quickly learned that Judge's creativity went beyond "Beavis."
"When you do something well in Hollywood, they think that's all you can play," she said. But she said it's no more fair to think that Judge can create only cartoons like "Beavis" than that she can only play a nun because of the "Sister Act" movies. (She was Sister Mary Patrick in the comedies starring Whoopi Goldberg.) "He's [Judge] a talented guy," Najimy said.
In addition to producing "King," Judge is the voice of Hank Hill, Peggy's husband and a propane salesman who means well despite his red-neck ways. Judge and Greg Daniels co-created "King."
If "Beavis" was too blunt for some viewers like Najimy, "King" takes a slower, more subtle approach, with characters who can draw out a line with the ease of a Texan drawl.
"King of the Hill" delivers its absurdity in teaspoons -- just enough to be funny -- and make viewers smile at characters who might remind them of someone they know.
Varied work
That's a more difficult route for comedy, said Najimy, 48, a San Diego native who built her career in cartoon voice-overs and live-action comedies. Her work has varied from the "Stuart Little" TV series to "The Wedding Planner."
More recently, she played a gypsy fortune teller in the movie "Bam Bam and Celeste."
On "King," she plays one of her more down-to-earth characters.
"What is challenging is to be organically funny without being disrespectful" (of the characters), Najimy said.
Najimy notes the irony of giving voice to a repressed character such as Peggy when she has campaigned for the rights of women in general and lesbians in particular.
But she quickly discovered that's where the comic potential lay.
In one episode, Peggy was assigned to teach sex education. Uncomfortable with the subject, Peggy got herself to say the difficult words, eventually by being very loud.
"I got to scream 'vagina' at the top of my lungs," Najimy said, laughing.
But Najimy said it's not always easy to depict Peggy doing or saying things that Najimy wouldn't say or do in real life. Najimy is opposed to spanking kids; one episode showed that Peggy believes in spanking as punishment.
"I had a really difficult time," Najimy said. "It goes against every fiber of my body to hit someone who can't hit you back."
But it's not all about the differences between her and Peggy. "In a way, we have a lot in common. We both have husbands we love. We both have one child," said Najimy, who has been married to musician Dan Finnerty (The Dan Band) since 1995.