'The Simpsons' Milhouse star Pamela Hayden on leaving: 'It was a tough decision, but the right one'
Everything’s still coming up Milhouse for Pamela Hayden.
Everything’s still coming up Milhouse for Pamela Hayden. The actress, who has voiced Bart’s best friend on “The Simpsons” for 35 years, is retiring after Sunday night’s episode, “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes.” But Hayden said she has no regrets in parting ways with the long-running show.
“How many actors can say they’ve worked on a show for 35 years straight?” Hayden told Variety. “That alone is amazing. But it was time for me to devote my time to other creative endeavors that I have, like filmmaking. It was a tough decision, but I feel like it was the right one.”
Given the long lead time that animation takes from concept to air, Hayden’s exit has been in the works for a while. Hayden, whose voices also included school bully Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, Chief Wiggum’s wife Sarah and Lisa’s friend Janey Powell, said “The Simpsons” has been accommodating in preparing for her retirement, and the producers even offered to give her a going-away party.
“It’s just not like anything I’ve ever worked on,” said Hayden, who has also voiced characters on “Hey Arnold,” “Pinky and the Brain,” “The New Batman Adventures” and “Recess.” “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime job on a once-in-a-lifetime show. But being an actor, I think you’re kind of used to taking risks. That’s the kind of person I am. I’m not about playing things safe. And there were other things I wanted to do. I think you throw it against the wall and see what sticks.”
That includes Hayden’s documentary “Jailhouse to Milhouse,” which documents her tough upbringing. The film has hit the festival circuit and she said she hoped it would “inspire people who have fallen through the cracks to still have hope. It’s about my life, and there were a few really hanky years there when I was younger. When I speak to at-risk girls, I say, ‘if I can do it, you can do it.’ Because that’s true. I’m no different than them.”
Rating: 5