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Bob's Burgers Star Dan Mintz on Show's Success, Comedy Special & More

Bob's Burgers star Dan Mintz spoke with Bleeding Cool about his run on the beloved animated series and upcoming animated comedy special.

Doesn't seem like fame has changed actor and comedian Dan Mintz much, becoming part of an ensemble force of Bob's Burgers, part of that Fox Animation Domination block for the better part of 15 years since the Loren Bouchard and Jim Dauterive-created animated series in 2011. The series, which focuses on the Belcher's family-run restaurant led by Bob (voice of H. Jon Benjamin), wife Linda (voice of John Roberts), and their children Tina (voice of Mintz), Gene (voice of Eugene Mirman), and Louise (voice of Kristen Schaal), joined by their bumbling, but reliable handyman Teddy (voice of Larry Murphy), wrapped its 16th season in May and doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon. Mintz spoke to Bleeding Cool about how he's sustained playing the awkward and eldest Belcher child, maintaining that creative relationship with showrunners Bouchard, Dauterive, Nora Smith, and Holly Schlesinger, how far he goes back with Benjamin, Mirman his thoughts on Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane putting Bob's Burgers on his Mt. Rushmore of animated series, and his upcoming animated comedy special Dan Mintz: Well Rounded Entertainer.

Bob's Burgers Star Dan Mintz on Reflecting on 15 Years of Success, Comedy Special & More

BC: You're about to close on 16 seasons on 'Bob's Burgers,' how does it feel to become such a part of an institution that has sustained for so long?

Mintz: I mean, it's not what anyone expected; it's pretty amazing, and with voiceover, it takes a lot fewer hours a week than like, writing, so you almost just like, forget about it, and then you're like, "Oh right, I'm part of that thing that's been on the air for 16 years."

What's been your secret to keeping Tina fresh for so long, and how's it been working with Loren, Jim, Nora, and Holly to keep things creatively?

They're the ones that have the secret as writers for keeping it fresh for so long. I don't know how they do it, and I'm not jealous of having so many episodes already out that come up with new stories. I remember early on being like, "I guess they've probably done every Tina dating episode; however, be able to do and then like they've done like 50 more since then, somehow always find a new date.

If it's not too personal, how's Eugene doing since his accident?

He's doing well. He was at the last record. I don't know all the details, but everything seems to be tracking.

What do you think has been the key to keeping the dynamic together with this, and do you collaborate with your co-stars frequently on other projects?

Not really. I mean Jon Benjamin, I met him on another project, and that's actually how I got the job for 'Bob's Burgers.' We were both writing on Demetri Martin's show, 'Important Things with Demetri Martin' back in like 2008; I've worked on a few things with him since then. I worked on Jon Benjamin's band. They're all so fun to work with. They do so many funny ad-libs during all the records that are not quite appropriate enough to make it in the show, but it's always really so funny.

This is a two-parter: What's your favorite Tina moment? What do you think is her most underappreciated moment?

Oh, wow, under-appreciated…I mean, I don't even know which moments are more appreciated or less appreciated. It's hard for me to say what's under-appreciated. I'm always impressed by how she's the one who must keep her siblings out of trouble. That's not a fun thing to have to be doing, if that makes sense.

I stumbled upon an interview with Seth MacFarlane, and he was talking about what he put on his Mount Rushmore of animated shows up there, and he put 'Bob's Burgers' up there, and I was wondering if you had any thoughts on that.

Yeah, I mean, that's pretty amazing to be in that position. I grew up watching 'The Simpsons,' my favorite show, and then 'Family Guy' came on, and I love that show. Just to be considered in the same breath as those shows is amazing. The credit really goes to the writers for this, and I just say the words. Yeah, there's always new animations being made, and to be able to make such a cultural impression is amazing.

What's been your personal biggest comedic inspiration?

I guess that's the stand-up of Mitch Hedberg. He's my favorite comic, and I aspire to do what he does. It's all sorts of one-liners.

I grew up loving Steven Wright, Bill Hicks, and others. Those also come to mind for me. With your comedy special, was it always the intention to make it animated, or was it something you were playing around with that worked out? Following up, will we see a live-action release for your show to complement the animated incarnation?

Well, I wasn't sure if I was going to do it animated. I just knew I wanted to do a comedy special, and, at first, I made like a three-minute version of it, and I didn't even know how it was going to look. I loved the way it looked, and that's what I want to do. I feel like when I was trying to think about what the look of the special would be, what camera angles and the kind of stage I'd have. It just seemed like it would look more fun and better to have it animated. Once it's known it's an animated character, and it fits with that, I was like, "Okay, what can I do to take advantage of this that I couldn't do in a regular special?" And that was the really fun part.

All 16 seasons of Bob's Burgers are available on Disney+ and Hulu, with season 17 on the way on Fox. Dan Mintz: Well-Rounded Entertainer is available on YouTube.

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