Eden Sher is entering her sixth season of playing Sue Heck on ABC’s hit comedy The Middle. She’ll also be seen on the big screen starring opposite Victoria Justice and Ashley Rickards in next summer’s The Outcasts

Al Norton: When you auditioned for the role of Sue – at this point five and a half, maybe six years ago – did you have any concept of the idea of 5+ seasons, 120+ episodes, syndication, and what all of that would mean to your life.

Eden Sher: None. Absolutely no idea.

Al Norton: Give me a couple of ways in which your life is now forever changed.

Eden Sher: That’s almost an unanswerable question and something I think about every single day. Every decision I make, little or big, everything that happens…my life would not be this way without the show. I wouldn’t be standing on the floor that I am. Ok, I’ll share some personal information; I bought a house…

Al Norton: Congratulations!

Eden Sher: Thank you. I am standing on the floor of a home that I purchased and I’m getting furniture for my place, and none of those things would have happened without the show. I did a movie this summer and everything was predicated on them knowing who I was. There’s this whole element of my life that’s gone now; it’s not that I don’t have to prove things to people but there’s this huge chunk of proof that’s just set there now, and that is invaluable. All of that is thanks to the boot camp that is the show. Every day, whether I want to or not, I’ve had to…Wow, I almost just swore, and I stopped myself before, too…I curse a lot! (laughing)…Almost e very day, for 12 hours a day, for the last five years, I’ve had to be on my feet, ready to go whether I want to or not. Maybe a one hour drama is even crazier since they do like nine day weeks but this job is so fast paced you have to learn how to get yourself together so quickly, it’s kind of the best acting school one could go to.

From the simply being employed point of view, to the getting further employment point of view, to the building of my skill set, the show has forever changed my life.

Al Norton: It must be fun to get to play Sue’s more recent romantic entanglements, the kind of stuff you didn’t get to do when the show started.

Eden Sher: Yes, I think that’s been a solid development that I have liked. I like that storyline.

Al Norton: You had more kissing scenes last season that you did in the first four combined. And there was that one episode with the kid who lives down the street.

Eden Sher: I know (laughing). That was so adorable. That kid is such a sweet kid. He’s so young. It’s funny because I play a teenager so a lot of people that they cast are real life teenagers. I felt so bad, the kid was 17 or 18, I was 22, and he was shaking every take, every time we had to kiss. I was like, “Dude, it’s ok. Don’t worry.” He kept apologizing after every take.

Al Norton: You know he went home to his friends and said, “Dudes, I kissed a 22 year old at work today.”

Eden Sher: Probably (laughing).

Al Norton: Because you are such a role model of positivity, if that’s a word, do you feel any pressure or responsibility that goes with that.

Eden Sher: No, I don’t. If it were false…That phrase you just used is wonderful, and while it’s never a title I would give to myself, I love it. If it were fake I suppose I might feel pressure but the truth is I’m just being me (laughing). Do I feel pressure to continue being exactly the same person I am? Nope, and it’s pretty awesome that who I am is so accepted this way that I want to do it forever and ever.

Al Norton: What TV characters were an influence on you growing up?

Eden Sher: Lucille Ball, or rather Lucy Ricardo. She was probably the main, main one. I did watch some Carol Burnett but I feel like a poser because I haven’t seen a ton of her stuff. When I was a kid I was watching I Love Lucy and also The Simpsons; those two shows were huge to me in terms of influencing my passions. As I got older it became all about Tina Fey and Amy Poheler.

Al Norton: What advice would you give to a 15 year old actress who was getting started in their TV show role about how to adjust to this new reality?

Eden Sher: I’d say make as few adjustments as possible. Don’t actively change anything and just let them come, let them happen organically. Because it’s a change in your life doesn’t mean you should change yourself in any way to meet the standard of this new thing. Let it exist as a part of yourself but don’t let it define yourself. You have to be ok if it all went away tomorrow.

Al Norton: Last time we talked you had just finished binge watching The League; what are you watching these days?

Eden Sher: I just watched a bunch of Nathan For You episodes, which kills me. And at this point I’ve seen every single episode of Bob’s Burgers five times. Oh my god, I went to Soul Cycle – I don’t know if you know what Soul Cycle is – and I saw Kristen Schaal in my class and I freaked out.

Al Norton: It’s good to know someone who stars on a TV Show can still get freaked out by the people they admire.

Eden Sher: I know. You know who else I got freaked out by? And I don’t do the star struck thing – people are people are people are people – but I met Jason Mantzoukas who plays Rafi on The League and I kind of freaked out. He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met…You know what, I’ve been trying to speak less hyperbolically, so I shouldn’t say he’s the nicest person I’ve EVER met, he’s just a very nice human being.

Al Norton: Tell me about Star vs The Forces of Evil (Sher’s upcoming Disney Channel animated series).

Eden Sher: It’s so cool. It’s about an alien princess, Princess Star Butterfly, that’s me. That’s actually the opening line of the pilot; that’s me, Princess Star Butterfly. It’s about her and how her parents don’t think she’s fit for the crown just yet but she’s about to turn 14 and that means she gets her magic wand. She’s kind of a crazy person, so it’s really a stretch for me to play (laughing).

Al Norton: Had you done voice work before?

Eden Sher: No, and it’s a totally different skill set. In general I am a very animated person, I’m not super stoic, so I figured I’d have no problems being able to communicated emotions through my voice, which was not the case at all. It’s kind of like taking away a sense. You’re not even allowed to move your body. When I was filming the pilot I was trying to get myself excited so I was jumping up and down when I was doing the line and then they stopped and said, “none of those are useable, we can hear you bouncing on the floor.”

Al Norton: Is every funny women under the age of 23 in The Outskirts or is that just me?

Eden Sher: No, I’d like to think that that’s true. We have an amazing cast of crazy funny women under, 25, I’d say.

Al Norton: How did you end up in Veronica Mars?

Eden Sher: There’s this thing I saw on BuzzFeed saying, “every single person in Veronica Mars was also in Party Down”, which is sort of true. Rob Thomas and all those people are so loyal and I had done the pilot for Party Down and I didn’t ruin their pilot so he offered me this job. It was a little role but it was pretty cool. That’s what so great about these crazy people; they write these fun roles for, say, a 20 something girl whose relatively funny and knows how to work, and then they decide to only look at people they’ve worked with before since they know they like them. I don’t even think they offered it to anyone else.

Al Norton: What can you tell me about the season premiere of The Middle?

Eden Sher: There’s some really cool stuff that happens with Sue and it involves her Dad.

Don’t miss the season premiere of The Middle, Wednesday at 8pm on ABC