Pam Poovey

I also enjoy how we constantly get to see new sides of the characters. In Season Five, Pam developed a pretty crazy drug problem and just consumed unholy amounts of cocaine in various different forms.

Yep!

And she got pretty creative. Out of all of them, what do you think was her favourite cocaine snack? The cupcakes? The mints?

I think it was the flurry she made. [Laughing] That’s probably it. Just because it was the most inventive one!

Speaking of inventing, Pam has to quit The Figgis Agency and she moves to Silicon Valley to run a startup. What does her startup do?

Oh boy! Good question. Oh, my god. Um, it would probably be something gross. Like a new social media site but just for sharing close up pictures of weird body parts. [Laughing]

[Laughing] That seems fitting.

[Laughing] Yep.

I was at an Archer panel at a convention a number of years ago and I remember a lady in Pam cosplay who stood up and basically just exclaimed how thankful the was for the character of Pam—this strong but vulnerable, confident, chubby lady who is totally proud of who she is…

Yes! I remember that exact woman!

It was really moving. Because as much of a mess that Pam can be, she may also be one of the strongest characters on the show—one of the most empowering. In your own words, what makes Pam so special? And what’s it like to speak the voice of such a peculiar but powerful role model for women?

We’ve talked about that woman on other panels since then. A lot. She said: “I no longer have to be ‘Fat Leia’ or ‘Fat Cinderella’—I can just be Pam.” It was so cool! I didn’t realize that Pam was going to take off in the way that she did, becoming this sex symbol. There are so many terrible things about her. She shouldn’t be a role model!

But she is!

It’s crazy! [Laughing] And I think the body-positive part of her is what’s really amazing. People say to me, it’s because she doesn’t care—that’s what makes her sexy. She’s just like: This is who I am. And it’s been really amazing. Honestly, whenever I go to a convention and people are in Pam cosplay, they are always so confident and so beautiful. It’s really mind-blowing. I don’t think I’ve taken it all in. I mean, Pam was in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition! I’m so proud of the character.

And I also love that, aside from the body-positive thing, she reminds women that they don’t have to be perfect. And I don’t mean physically. I mean in the way she acts: she’s dirty and she’s crass and she can fight and drive drift cars. She’s very capable and she shows that you can still be a woman while being a total badass. That’s the other side of her personality that is just so awesome.

She never worries about trying to be a better version of herself. She seems 100% happy about who she is.

Yeah! She does! It’s awesome.

And over the years, she’s evolved from this metaphorical punching bag to a literal bare-knuckle boxer. Where do you think that strength came from? Did she have it all along?

Actually, when I was going back and doing research, I re-read the pilot episode for the first time in a long time. The first time Pam gets introduced it says: “Pam the mousey HR Director.” But now, nobody would ever use the word "mousey" to describe Pam.

I think Adam needed a character that could be this wild card and I think he just tried it with Pam and it worked. That and the fact that he also got to know me better over time and realized: Oh, this is something Amber is capable of doing. He’s done that with a lot of the characters and the actors that play them—they’ve become more like the actors because he realized: This person can pull this off and this person can do this really well. But for Pam, I think the real turning point was the episode where she gets kidnapped instead of Cheryl. That’s what a lot of people point to as the moment where we really see what Pam is made of and where her character is going.

We definitely see a whole other side of her in that episode.

Totally.

Is there anyone that Pam couldn’t beat in a bare-knuckle boxing fight? Maybe Barry?

[Laughing] Oh wow. Yeah, maybe Barry. Or…honestly? Probably Lana. Lana is a badass too. She’s kind of scary. I don’t think we really know what Lana is capable of.

There’s this line that I love in the second episode of the latest season. It was a throwaway dig at Cyril but I think it speaks to both the evolution of the show and the characters themselves. Malory says: “If you can reinvent yourself—if you can be anyone—why go on being you?”

[Laughing.]

We know that Pam really likes herself. So why is she still hanging out with all these terrible people dragging her through all these terrible messes?

I don’t know. I think, at the end of the day, they all really love each other. But they would never tell each other that. I think that’s also why the show works so well and why our ensemble works so well. I don’t think any of the characters would be able to exist without the whole group. They are both bad and good because of the people around them. They need each other but won’t admit it. It’s sad but beautiful.

Has playing this strong, assertive character affected your day-to-day life? Do you take less shit from people?

I wish! I wish that I was more like Pam. I tell people that all the time. There’s things about me, things that have always been there, that are part of Pam now. But no—I’m such a wimp when it comes to stuff. I always think: Man if I was just like Pam, I’d be able to get through this so much more easily. I wish I didn’t give a shit the way Pam doesn’t give a shit. It would make life so much easier!