Entertainment
ByJoey Keogh/Updated: Jan. 10, 2020 3:42 pm EST
Sue from The Middle, the sunniest member of the Heck family,made for one helluva role for actress Eden Sher. Although it wasn't easy to snag. The actress admitted to Gold Derby in a 2016 interview, "It is a miracle I was cast; it was not an easy process." She noted that every time she had a callback "there would just be more and more girls — it was a total Sue moment." Still, it's abundantly clear the role was meant for her.
The Middle wrapped just a couple years after her interview, following about a decade on the air and a whopping 215 episodes. We wouldn't be surprised if, by the end of her time on the show, Sher wasn't sure where Sue ended and she began. Although, obviously, insanely grateful for the career boost, the actress has sought new opportunities to show off what she can do.
Whatever happened to Sue from The Middle? She grew up and got super busy.
Sue from The Middle almost got her own spin-off
In the almost immediate aftermath of The Middle ending, a spin-off starring everyone's favorite put-upon middle child was enthusiastically shopped around. Eden Sher told TVLine in July 2018, "We are shooting a pilot. I hope it gets picked up. I think it's going to be great." A concept was never fully ironed out, but reports suggested the story would pick up with Sue from The Middle not yet happily settled down with dreamy neighbor Sean,as the finale episode flash-forward had suggested she eventually would end up with him.
"The [flash-forward] was like a 'happily ever after,'" Sher clarified to TVLine, with the actress suggesting the new show would simply follow "Sue being Sue as a young adult." Deadline revealed the show was set to be called Sue Sue in the City and would take place in Chicago. They confirmed ABC had opted not to pick it up to series in November 2018. The Middle creators and exec-producers Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline were handling the project, which had been ordered to pilot the previous August. There were rumors Sue Sue in the City might be shopped by Warner Bros., but, as of this writing, nothing has materialized.
Eden Sher wrote a book very much as Sue from The Middle would have
Although The Middle took up most of her young adult years, Eden Sher also found time to write a book of which her most famous character would undoubtedly be proud. Released in 2016 and entitled The Emotionary: A Dictionary of Words That Don't Exist for Feelings That Do, it was a self-help tome of sorts infused with the actress' indomitable wit and sunny outlook on life.
She gushed in an interview with Vulture, "There's nothing better than when people turn to a page and say, 'I know exactly what that is!' And if it's paired with some kind of chuckle, my heart just swells and it feels like I'm not alone." The actress behind Sue from The Middle joked, "The book was so self-serving, it was so just that I could get validation from anyone and everyone."
Of her inspiration for putting it all down on paper, Sher told Talk Nerdy with Us, "I decided to capitalize on my emotional self-indulgence, and I didn't know it was going to be a book. I just had to get it out. Then I thought it was funny because I would just hit it with puns and funny things. Honestly, I think it spawned from all the feelings. Then I just thought of a title and said, 'it's a book!' [laughs]."
The actress behind Sue from The Middle played a really cool Disney princess
Eden Sher's next big role following the inimitable Sue from The Middle was altogether quite different, and yet, played on the same basic female empowerment logic. In Disney's animated show Star vs. the Forces of Evil, she voices the titular character, "the most kick-a** Disney princess that has ever existed," according to the lady herself, who proudly told Yahoo! TVthat Star is "like [her] without a filter."
Gushing about a character who manages to be both girly and strong, Sher explained, "She's pretty unapologetic about who she is, what she does, and she just loves to kick a**." She added, "There's this whole 'if you're gonna be boys' club or whatever, it's kind of like, 'No no no no no, I'm gonna make my own club, because I'm gonna be totally, totally unapologetic for everything I do, but I'm also gonna be super-girly.'"
As The Middle alum succinctly put it, "She's not a tomboy, she's not one of the boys, she's a girl-a** girl."
Eden Sher had to learn a whole new method of acting after playing Sue from The Middle
Star vs. the Forces of Evillasted four seasons before being canceled in 2019, but the experience allowed Eden Sher to flex muscles she didn't even realize she had. The actress admitted to Yahoo! TV, "It was really enlightening, actually, recording the pilot. Daron [Nefcy, series creator] tells this story about how she knew I was meant to play Star when we were recording the pilot. I had no idea what the hell I was doing and I started jumping while recording." The actress behind Sue from The Middle went on, "They were like, 'You can't jump, the mic picks up the sound.' ... I definitely learned a lot about what voice acting is as a concept."
As Sher explained to HuffPost, she didn't even think the role was hers, revealing, "When I went in and auditioned for Star, it kind of killed me that, by the end of that week, they still hadn't called. Because from the very first second that I got the breakdown for this character, I just loved Star. I so wanted to be the voice of this character." Once she was actually in the booth, she had to stand still, "which is tougher than you might think because Star Butterfly is such an active and awesome character."
The star who played Sue from The Middle made a political statement on behalf of the Heck family
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The Middle was an outlier not just because it ran for nine successful seasons without incident and left the airwaves just as beloved as always, but also thanks to its setting smack bang in the, well, middle of America. Eden Sher expressed a desire for the show to have dealt more directly with politics in conversation with Vulture, arguing, "I think it would've been good, at least in a subtle way, to hint at some kind of political change. A way to make some kind of statement of, 'We don't think this. We don't think that.'"
A New Yorker article suggested the Hecks might have voted for Trump, and Sher took the opportunity to shoot that idea down once and for all. "I can guarantee you, I'm saying out loud, Sue and the Hecks would not have voted for Trump, no question," she stated emphatically. The actress behind Sue from The Middle clarified that not including politics in the show wasn't a judgment on the writers, but pointed to "a really missed opportunity." She continued, "All it could've done was make something a little more positive," adding, "I'll say that if it were my show, I would've hinted towards some political opinion. Or at least start a discussion."
The actress known for playing Sue from The Middle appeared on a couple other high-profile shows
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Following a career-defining turn like Sue from The Middle, most actors would want to explore other mediums, but Eden Sher has remained a TV stalwart, popping up in high-profile shows likeJane the Virgin.In January 2019,Deadlinenoted the comedic actress would "be involved in the telenovela world of Rogelio and River" on the CW show. She'd also appear onSuperstore, just one of many underrated shows of the last 15 years, asDeadlineconfirmed she'd play a potential employee for Cloud 9 whose "enthusiastic" personality wasn't too far removed from Sue.
Speaking to Vulture, Sher acknowledged that she should perhaps be expressing an interest in branching out into movies, but she noted, "In my gut, I want to do another series. I would love to play a role that's not Sue and I would love to play a role that isn't a teenager. ... It doesn't have to be a network show for me, though. It could be edgier!"
Eden Sher (a.k.a. Sue from The Middle) spoke out against the lack of female creators in Hollywood
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Earning her feminist credentials while simultaneously striking out from Sue from The Middle in a big way, Eden Sher took aim at Hollywood for neglecting to hire more female creators in an impassioned piece for Jezebel. "Why aren't more women in positions of power in the film and television industries?" she wrote. "I know lots of smart, capable women with hopes of working as actresses, but almost none who want to be directors. In fact, when I ask these smart, capable women actress friends if they've ever considered directing, the response is invariably along the lines of, 'Directing? I don't think I could handle that.'"
Sher despaired, "Over and over I found that they all have the desire to be creative and get involved in some way behind the camera ... but are eager to forfeit the position of The Boss." In an interview with Teen Vogue, she advised, "I never want to sound preachy about youth and feminism, but I feel like there aren't enough young people coming out about their concerns and opinions. I feel very strongly that young women have regressed a little bit."
The actress behind Sue from The Middle got engaged to her longtime boyfriend
In March 2019, Eden Sher took to Instagram to excitedly announceher engagement to long-time boyfriend and comedian Nick Cron-DeVico. Sharing a slideshow of sweet shots from throughout their relationship, the actress known for playing Sue from The Middle cleverly broke down their romance by the numbers, writing, "It's been more than 4 years, we've been to 4 countries, lived in 2 houses, have 2 dogs, been REAL BORED in 12 airports, gotten fancy 100+ times, taken 58 photo booths, have collectively 1 Emmy, and now @nickcrondevico and I get to spend THE REST OF ETERNITY DOING MORE OF ALL OF IT. V EXCITING NEWS GUYS."
Her man, a screenwriter who's worked on the long-running and super-popular Adult Swim series Robot Chicken, also took to Instagram to share the happy news. "A few nights ago I got engaged to the coolest person I know. Can't wait to spend the rest of our lives growing up together. It's been an amazing 4 years. Here's to another 4!" wrote Cron-DeVico, alongside a shot of the couple with their dog.
The woman behind Sue from The Middle is all for advocacy
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Take even a cursory glance at Eden Sher's Twitter feed and it's evident she's a vocal and proud campaigner for human rights, speaking out for things likebetter conditions for public school teachers (including her mother).Sher argued, in conversation with Teen Vogue, that she has to be outspoken because "in the '50s and '70s, feminism was a way more accepted worldview to have than it is now." She continued, "Young women aren't identifying as feminists as much. If more young girls were like, 'Yeah I'm a feminist!,' others would follow."
The Middle alum is proud of her character's feminist moments, too, recalling to Vulture, "There's an episode where Sue gets really heated about everything and it sort of ends with her breaking down, being overwhelmed by the number of causes there are in the world, and being distraught over not being able to save everyone and everything." The actress behind Sue from The Middle shared,"I like that she was being aggressive and at the end it wasn't her realizing that she was wrong and being annoying and that she needs to chill out. I like that it was her being overwhelmed and 'I don't know what I can do right now.' It hit very close to home."
Eden Sher wishes Sue from The Middle could be her only source of income
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The role of Sue from The Middle made Eden Sher's career, plucking her out of relative obscurity. She had a few prior, minor roles in the likes of The O.C., Weeds, and Party Down, but nothing too substantial. WhileThe Middlewas still on the air, she and co-star Charlie McDermott, who played Sue's brother Axl, expressed self-assurance in branching out once the show wrapped. Speaking to Daily Actor, Sher said, "I'm pretty confident in that we're pretty talented human beings who will be able to convince others that we can play other people."
As much as the comedic actress wishes to distance herself from her most famous character, particularly as she gets older, she'd gladly rely on Sue for the rest of her career. She joked, "I'm more really excited for the future when I am only — when people just call me Sue Heck on the street and I'm getting paid to make birthday party appearances as Sue and that's my only source of income."
Eden Sher has been searching for another sitcom to replace The Middle
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Now that she isn't constrained by the demands of a network show, Eden Sher is looking to, well, recreate the amazing experience she had playing Sue fromThe Middle. The actress enthused to Vulture, "I would love to do another comedy. I love television." She shrugged, "I feel there's a hierarchy of the prestige of different mediums within Hollywood, and I know sitcoms aren't high on the totem pole, but I f***ing love them. I'd love to do another."
Aside from wanting to play someone less like herself (and Sue), Sher is looking to get more involved in the process. "I could be more creatively involved! Maybe I could write! I'm working on stuff on my own, too," she shared. The Middle alum later told the site she was working on something alongside Nick Cron-DeVico, noting, "The dream is for the next project to be something that either I write with someone or at least have a bit of creative control and collaboration with."
Whatever the star behind Sue from The Middle is working on is the "best thing ever"
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Regardless of where she ends up, or what she's doing, Eden Sher is a ball of unreserved positive energy. Or, she exists in a near-constant state of hyperbole, as HuffPost described the actress when they interviewed her about Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Rather than being rendered cynical by Hollywood after, essentially, growing up in front of the cameras, Sher is bursting with more enthusiasm than ever before. And it makes her insanely lovable.
"That's why I always have to try and keep myself in check," the star who's best known for playing Sue from The Middle admitted of her tendency to get over-excited. "Otherwise — whenever anyone asks me what I'm working on now — my automatic response is that it's 'THE BEST THING EVER!'" It's far from a hindrance, however, as Sher's ability to see every possible job as the opportunity to do something wonderful clearly sets her apart from other starlets.
