Five minutes into our interview Janeane Garofalo excuses herself to light a cigarette. She's speaking by phone from her apartment in New York. I wonder whether there are still places left in the big apple for smokers. She assures me there are.

"Yeah, it's still OK to smoke in New York and it's still OK to smoke in my apartment," she says unapologetically. “I had to give up drinking but I can't give up cigarettes – you can't take everything away from me."

Garofalo is one of the big-ticket acts at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival and she comes with a weighty CV to justify the ticket price. Since bursting onto the comedy scene in 1992 the sharp talking comedian has enjoyed a stellar rise to fame and notoriety. Much of that can be attributed to a series of high profile roles in film – The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Reality Bites and The Cable Guy (directed by Ben Stiller) are but a few. Her friendship with Stiller led to a co-authored book (Feel This Book) and appearances on the Emmy Award-winner Ben Stiller Show. The broader suit of TV appearances also includes The Larry Sanders Show, Saturday Night Live, Mad About You and The West Wing. In the later she played Democratic campaign strategist Louise Thornton, a role that is perhaps closest to her own politics. Garofalo is an unashamed activist.

When questioned on the pros and cons of being so outspoken the actor/comedian responds passionately. "It's not about being outspoken, it's civil rights, you know what I mean? For me it's not controversial, it's not something weird to speak in defence of civil rights and animal rights and environmental rights. To me it's just common sense. Obviously anyone who does it gets criticised for it - that's the nature of the beast, that's just the way it is."

Unsurprisingly, Garofalo's activism also encompasses GLBTI rights and this has in turn prompted discussion around her own sexuality. In your dreams – the tattooed, tough talking Garofalo is straight, although she did play Sandra Bernhard's lesbian lover in an episode of The Sopranos.

Our phone conversation turns gay politics in America and the legacy of Harvey Milk as illustrated beautifully in Gus Van Sans recent film Milk. For the record, Garofalo is in accordance with the wide acclaim of Sean Penn's Oscar-winning performance.

"Isn't he wonderful, he's such a good actor," she says, pausing for an audible drag on the cigarette. "But it's unfortunate that these battles have to keep being re-fought. Gay rights are human rights, women's rights are human rights, it's social justice and it's a shame that certain aspects of society, not just American society but society where right wing elements are in the mix and that's everywhere obviously – it’s a shame that right wing parts of culture and society force the majority to keep re-fighting these social justice battles."

Can Melbourne expect such strident activism in Garofalo's Comedy Festival shows? "I don't know what I'm doing yet," says Garofalo. "Because some stuff, when you talk about out of context, sounds horribly unfunny – but also because it's ever changing. There's whatever's going on in current events and around me. Obviously there's some stuff I repeat, some material is sort of like an anchor, but it's always every changing."

Janeane Garofalo at Melbourne Town Hall, April 2-12. Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 and at the door. www.comedfestival.com.au

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