Dan Castellaneta is at once the most famous and least-recognizable NIU alum, but rest assured, his voice is unmistakable. Doh!

Castellaneta is Homer Simpson. Now entering its 15th season, “The Simpsons” has become the “Citizen Kane,” an iconic staple of television comedy in terms of quality and long-ranging cultural impact – and Castellaneta is at its forefront.

In an e-mail interview conducted by the Weekender, Castellaneta talks about his favorite and least-favorite episodes, “The Simpsons” perceived decline in quality in later seasons and his advice for NIU students. He survived James Lipton. Can he survive The Weekender?

Weekender: You graduated NIU in 1979. How did you succeed in spite of that fact?

Dan Castellaneta: Actually, a lot of my experiences at NIU were very helpful, as I think any university education would be. It’s really up to the individual to decide how much they really want to learn. Of course, a college degree is no guarantee of success, but it is a good time to learn what you truly want to do before you go into it.

W: I’m sure many an NIU beer bonger would be disappointed to learn you don’t drink. Why did you make that life choice?

DC: To tell you the truth, I didn’t consider myself a great student; meaning it didn’t come easily to me. I wasn’t great at being self-disciplined. It was like pulling teeth to get myself to complete assignments and study. So I decided, why give myself a further disadvantage by becoming too wasted to do something that was already hard for me? It’s no moral decision and I knew plenty of guys who could tie one on and still get A’s, but I didn’t think I had the capacity to do that. To tell you the truth, I never developed the taste for beer or other liquor – except an occasional glass of wine with a meal, and even then I can’t finish it because it will make me too groggy.

W: Do you get sick and tired of people coming up to you and saying, “Do the voice!” Would you beat them to death if you had immunity?

DC: Most times people are polite and tell me they are fans of the show. And if they ask me nicely, I will do the voice. Since I am very rarely recognized, it doesn’t happen too often. If you’re an actor in L.A., it’s not a good idea to beat anyone to death because the odds are high that they may be a producer or a director.

W: You appeared on “The Actor’s Studio” with James Lipton. Is he as scary in person as he is on television?

DC: He is as professorial in person as he is on television. But he’s a little guy and I think I can take him.

W: What’s the closest to airing that you have recorded or rerecorded dialogue? Are late additions common?

DC: I think it was one week before we aired that I put new dialogue into a show. Sometimes it’s because we made a reference to some famous person who just died or the show wants to capitalize on something that just happened in the news. It doesn’t happen too often.

W: What’s your favorite episode? Least favorite episode?

DC: That’s a hard one. I have many favorites. The one that springs to mind now is the episode where Homer buys Lisa a pony to win back her love. My least favorite episode would have to be, ironically, one other show about Homer getting a horse. He and Bart turn a carnival diving horse into a racehorse. Even the Comic Book Guy could be heard over the final credits saying, “Worst episode ever.”

W: A lot of people have said the show has suffered a decline in quality the past few years. What’s your response? If I were you, I would blame the writers.

DC: As with any juggernaut like “The Simpsons,” it’s hard to maintain the quality year in and year out. It’s tricky. You want to stay fresh and not keep repeating the same things over and over; otherwise, people stop watching. That means you’ve got to keep trying different things while still maintaining the integrity of the show. That’s a tough thing to do.

I would say seasons two through four were the best because every show was a gem. But I wouldn’t say that the most recent seasons were the worst either. There are some people who think the seasons I didn’t like were the best and vice versa. Some are better than others. Some have a lot of good shows and some real gems whereas some seasons had more clunkers. The only place I can lay any blame on the show not always living up to the extremely high standards it set for itself is the fact that it’s become so incredibly successful. Therefore, it will always be subject to constant scrutiny.

But I still think the writers come up with many good shows and three or four gems a season. Even the clunkers have at least five or six good laughs, which is more than you could say for a lot of television shows.

W: You have written one episode of the series, and it’s the one where Barney gives up beer. That’s a massive coincidence, right?

DC: Actually, I’ve written three episodes with Deb Lacusta, and the massive coincidence is she happens to be my wife. Doing a Barney episode was her idea. He happens to be her favorite character. Naturally, we thought it would be a good dramatic episode if Barney gave up drinking and how it affected his friendship with Homer.

W: Do you think you will write more episodes in the future? More importantly, if you do, could you name a character Greg Feltes?

DC: We have written another episode coming up next season where Arty Ziff – Marge’s old prom date – comes back to Springfield after losing all his money. Sorry, Greg. We tried pitching your name in the writer’s room, but it didn’t get one laugh.

W: If you had one piece of advice for NIU students, what would it be?

D.C.: Hey, if there’s something you want to do in your life, take a chance and do it now – while you’re young. You might not get exactly where you want to go, but you won’t regret getting there.