What’s next for the residents of Springfield?
Well for Nancy Cartwright, who has voiced Bart Simpson since the show’s premiere on Fox in 1989, she hopes to see “The Simspons” continue for another 36 seasons.
“I think I would just like to actually make that target that we’ve done 40,” she exclusively told The Post at Vulture Festival in Los Angeles on Saturday. “That would be incredible. And that we’re all still alive. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”
Having been on the air for 35 years, the voice actress has seen the show reach a new generation in 2024.
“I’m constantly amazed,” Cartwright gushed. “We’ve got this new energy that’s behind ‘The Simpsons’ right now and we’ve got these eight year olds and they marathon watch. 10 year olds marathon watched it when they were seven, eight, nine years old. So we’ve got a huge new public. So, that’s exciting.”
And when she isn’t playing the part of the beloved eldest child of Homer and Marge, Cartwright is a fan like everyone else.
“To just watch it and be a fan of the show,” she quipped, “What a thrill that is.”
One thing Cartwright can confirm? The loyal fandom is being heard.
“I think any writer is kind of looking for stuff like that,” she confessed about fan ideas online. “A writer is somebody that observes life. They see what’s out there and again, with the internet there are so many ideas that are available. Somebody will hook onto something and next thing you know, they hook it into a show!’
Throughout the years, the public has seen how the animated sitcom’s writers have been able to serve up hundreds of thousands of jokes while eerily predicting the future. How that’s done? Well, Cartwright has an answer.
“I think those predictions are a numbers game,” she confessed. “This is just my opinion. I think it’s a numbers game. You have twenty plus writers, and they just think of these ideas that you go, ‘That would never happen.’ It’s like blackjack or it’s like poker. It’s just a numbers game.”
Cartwright quipped, “Who knew Trump would be President, again! It’s like, wow!”
Having a long-standing career in Hollywood and working alongside Julie Kavner (Marge), Dan Castellaneta (Homer) and Yeardley Smith (Lisa) for decades, the Emmy winner has some advice for those looking to follow in her footsteps.
“It’s very different now then when I started,” admitted Cartwright before advising, “Stay up with what’s going on. Be aware of who you keep in your company.”
Addressing those in the industry directly, she shared, “Actors. You have to have such a passion for what you’re doing and if you don’t have a burning passion and if you’re doing it because it’s kind of fun, there is so much competition. I think the ones who survive and the ones that will be able to do that competition — they have this burning passions. So that’s No. 1. Do what you really love.”
As for something Cartwright would tell her younger self?
“Do what you love,” she told the Post. “Surround yourself with good people who believe in you. Keep your integrity. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Make mistakes while you’re learning.”
