Recently in Interviews Category

I featured Christian Slater in my LA Daily News column today so thought I'd share it with those who don't get the paper delivered or go to DailyNews.com very often.

Christian Slater isn't tired of being a movie star or anything. But he jumped at the chance to star in the new television series "My Own Worst Enemy" this fall because it offered double the usual challenges.

"I'm playing essentially two very distinct characters: Henry Spivey and Edward Albright," Christian explained. "Edward knows about Henry. Henry doesn't know about Edward. They both share the same body. They are the same people, but Henry is much more of an Everyman; Edward is an operative. It gives me an opportunity to do an infinite amount of things."

Christian, 38, was among the many stars at this week's "NBC All Star Party" that was part of the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. His previous TV work had included various guest spots, highlighted by a three-episode arc on "The West Wing."

Mostly, he's been on the big screen since he debuted in "The Legend of Billie Jean" in 1985, then went on to such hits as "Heathers," "True Romance," "Interview With the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "Broken Arrow."

"Whether it was TV, film, stage, it really didn't matter," he said of the new series. "It's a great opportunity to really challenge myself."

Christian, whose various run-ins with the law seem to now be a thing of the past, had just completed filming his first episode of the show when we spoke. Production had wrapped at 4 a.m., but he said he's raring to go on the next one.

"I think it's a great foundation for an interesting future," he said. "There's really interesting characters so I'm very, very excited."

Minnie Driver called to chat last week about her emotional new movie, "The Take," out on Friday.

But first I mention to her that at the Television Critics Association Press Tour earlier that day, I heard FX brass say they were not sure if a third season of her acclaimed series "The Riches" would be happening.

Since she is due to give birth to her first child late next month, I asked if she was disappointed that the show might not return.

I struck a nerve.

"Hell yeah!" Minnie said. "I can't understand how something as critically acclaimed as our show, nominated for an Emmy, I don't understand why they didn't pick up the (second half) of our season, why we aren't getting the chance to do the show. I really think `The Riches' is one of the best pieces of TV out there. I'm pissed."

On "The Riches," Minnie stars alongside Eddie Izzard. They are con artists and thieves traveling with their their three children and are involved in a car accident that kills a very wealthy couple, the Riches. They adopt their identity in an affluent gated community in Baton Rouge.

Minnie, 38, was nominated for an Emmy last year and a Golden Globe Award this year for her performance on "The Riches." It was the first television work she had done since a series of hilarious guest spots on "Will & Grace" as the nemesis of Karen Walker, played by Megan Mullally.

If her show does not return, Minnie said she will just keep making movies. And she's made some good ones including the star-making performance in "A Circle of Friends," an Oscar-nominated role in "Good Will Hunting," and parts in other films including "Grosse Point Blank," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Ella Enchanted," "Seven" and "The Governess."

She's very high on her latest, "The Take," about the mother of a crime victim who years later comes to terms with the perpetrator.

"It was an amazing role," she said. "For actresses, they are few and far between - the great dramatic roles for women. You find them in unlikely places. It was such an amazing acting challenge. The idea of restorative justice is something that will become more prevalent in our society. I think it's good."
She knows it's tough to get bodies into the theater for a smaller film like hers when movies like "The Dark Knight" are setting box office records. But she thinks there is room for all kinds of films and tastes.

"I think anyone who is interested in going on an emotional journey as opposed to having an emotional journey thrust upon them and looking at moral questions like, `How do you forgive someone who has done something heinous to your family?"'

Besides acting, singing is what has sustained Minnie creatively.

Her first two albums, "Everything I've Got in My Pocket" and "Seastories," were well-received and she plans to do more.

"I think it's getting easy for me because I've put two records out that were critically well-received," she said. "It is difficult for actors to put music out, but mostly because actors put out crap records. I feel like I've proven myself with every record. I'll keep doing the records and keep touring. It's the very real me, an absolute labor of love. I love it."

We all know Gale Harold as sexy and slutty Brian Kinney from the much-beloved "Queer as Folk" series. Of that amazing cast, he has found the most work on television including the lead in the short-lived Fox series "Vanished," a role on HBO's "Deadwood," and a stunning two-part guest spot on "Grey's Anatomy" as a paramedic who is a closet white supremicist. Now he has landed a role as a regular on "Desperate Housewives" which begins its fifth season this fall with the show jumping ahead five years.
Here is part of our conversation last night at the ABC party which was the culmination of the network's day on the Television Critics Association Press Tour.

Q. That is a very dramatic opening scene you had on the season finale of "Desperate Housewives." It was such a shock because Susan (Teri Hatcher) came home to you and not to Mike (James Denton). How have things been going so far?
A. I've worked about four days and it's been very nice, a very easy transition to go from being a complete stranger to all these people to just going to work and doing the work. (Teri) has a very ready grasp of what she needs to bring to the scene, she's a very fluid actress and it's been great to work with her."
Q. Do you feel like you've finally left Brian behind?
A. Brian behind? Is that a joke?
Q. it was such a great role. And you're doing such different stuff now and I'm starting to look at you in a different way.
A. I'm glad that you say that. That's kind of a baseline obstacle for an actor who comes from a place of obsurity then gets a big job and then they get associated with whatever that big job is. And when the job is really somewhat extreme then you worry. Everyone decides to get freaked out about typecasting at some point in their lives. But I really wasn't.... If I was never anything other than what I did on that show then maybe I would be typecast but I think I have the ability to consider the world at large and approach it.""

At this point, some other "journalist" crashes our little chat and remarks that Brian Kinney "could have been straight or gay." I love Gale's response: "No, I think he could never have been straight. I mean, the guy was absolutely homosexual. It was part of what was interesting about playing him. He was what he was. He was, essentially, an absolutely-realized gay man living with no boundaries."

This same "journalist" who doesn'rt even let people finish their answers then asks Gale about his "Desperate Housewives" character which he has already covered. So, he jokes: "He's a self-possessed gay man, out and proud."

I wrestle control of the interview back and ask him about his fellow "Queer as Folk" castmates. Are they in touch?

"By the way, congratulations to Sharon Gless who was nominated for an Emmy today. That should be the lead, don't bury it, please. I had lunch with Scott Lowell (last) Saturday and I emailed Peter Paige this afternoon. Randy (Harrison) was in Paris and we talked a day after he got back about three weeks ago."

I wrap up my part of the interview when the other "journalist" starts asking questions like "Are you a nightlife guy?" "Are you an outdoors guy?"

I didn't stick around long enough to hear the answers to those STELLAR questions...

Kevin Spacey already has two Oscars and a Tony Award. Now, he might be adding an Emmy to his collection.

The star of stage and screen recieved his first-ever Emmy nomination on Thursday for his performance in HBO's "Recount," an acclaimed film about the 2000 presidential election controversy in Florida.

He was in London when he called to talk about it.
"It's just fantastic," he said. "I've never been nominated for an Emmy."

Not only did Kevin get his own Emmy nod for his performance as Ron Clain, but his Trigger Street Productions got a total of 21 nods for "Recount" and another HBO film, "Bernard and Doris."

"Oddly, 21 continues to be a very lucky number," Kevin said, referring to his feature film, "21," a surprise box office hit earlier this year.

I wondered what Kevin was going to do to celebrate all this Emmy recognition. He said that after a series of meetings, he would be raising a glass of champagne to the late Sidney Pollack who was originally set to direct "Recount" before being diagnosed with cancer. Sidney remained involved with the film as a producer.

"For me, 'Recount' started with a phone call from Sydney Pollack over a year ago," Kevin said. "He had been a friend of mine for many years and we never had the chance to work togehter. I was so excited about the prospect of working with him as a director. When he had to pull out, it was a devastating blow. But he said, 'You've got to stay with it.'"

"Recount," which received 11 Emmy nods overall, reunited Kevin with Denis Leary, his co-star from the cult classic "The Ref."

"I couldn't be happier that he took my phone call and that he said yes and that he got
nominated for supporting actor," he said. "We had a fantastic time doing 'The Ref' together and there was something about Dennis that was perfect for the ("Recount") role."

Kevin still takes on film roles that appeal to him but he is living in London full-time now
where he has been the artistic director at the Old Vic Theatre for the past five years. He
oversees 4-5 productions each year and stars in some of them.

"In many ways, everything I did in my life was leaning toward running a theater," he said.
"It's the most challenging and satisfying role I've ever taken on.

Talked to Katey Sagal at the Television Critics Association Press Tour yesterday and wanted to share that with you. On her new show, she plays Charlie Hunnam;s mom! Will post through the day with TCA-related items and general items whenever I get the chance.

Katey Sagal knows she can get laughs, but that's not what she'll be looking for in her latest TV gig.

The star of the sitcoms "Married With Children and "8 Simple Rules" has stepped into the role of the fierce matriarch of a notorious outlaw motorcycle gang on the new FX series "Sons of Anarchy."

"She's lived in this motorcycle world for 30 years and was married to the guy who started the original club," Katey said if her character, Gemma. "I've been wanting to do a drama, I've been wanting to do something different. This is really something I was looking for and I'm really happy to be here."

Gemma could not be further from Peg Bundy and that was the appeal for the actress who started in showbiz as a background singer for Bette Midler.

"I feel like I've been in the sitcom comedy world so much - which I'm so grateful for - and I sort of feel like there wasn't a lot more to explore," she added. "I feel like I really did a good job in that world."

The show, which will air on Wednesday nights beginning Sept. 3, has Katey working with her husband, Kurt Sutter, who created the show and is one of the writers and executive producers.

They had previously worked together on a few episodes of "The Shield" and so far, things have been pretty smooth.

"He's in the writer's room and producing and I'm actually on the set so during the day we don't seem to run into each other quite as much but we're all on the same lot so we can sneak off for lunch," she said.

"We never have done this and it's working out great. I have enormous respect for my husband as an artist. It's great to leave the husband and wife cap at home and I have no problem with him being the boss which I think is his favorite part (laughs)."

Would her character ever ride a motorcyle? Katey said no but quickly added: "She might ride on the back."

After spending 13 years behind the bar on "Cheers" and six seasons as a grumpy doc on "Becker," Ted Danson has one of the most successful sitcom records of anyone in television.

So what is he doing for an encore?

The 60-year-old star is playing corrupt billionaire/family man Arthur Frobisher - who may or may not be dead - on the FX drama "Damages."

"I bring baggage with me, it's Ted, it's good old Ted who makes us laugh and smile," he said Tuesday. "So the balance of doing that while you're in the backseat of an Escalade with a hooker snorting cocaine and having somebody killed is kind of an interesting dynamic. You really want to hate this guy but part of you doesn't abandon your memories of 'Cheers.' My baggage makes it complex."

Ted joined fellow "Damages" cast members for a brief panel at the Television Critics Association tour in Beverly Hills and joked that he only seems to play bad guys when he works with Glenn Close, the series' star. They had previously played a married couple in 1983's "Something About Amelia" and Danson's character was molesting their daughter.

"When you're in your 30s, it's easier to be the easy-going womanizing bartender. When you're in your 60s, this is way more fun."

He was apparently killed off at the end of last season. But since he returns on a recurring basis, it's not known if he survived the hit put on him or if it is in flashbacks or a as a ghost.

"I always thought it would be interesting to bring in new fresh meat for (Glenn's) character to devour so I didn't expect to be coming back," he said. "But I'm thrilled to be working with fun, talented, creative people is just a ball - really lovely."

The Emmy winner is also doing a recurring role as himself on Larry David's HBO sitcom "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

"It's Larry's world so he just assumes that when he picks up the phone, we will come. And we do. The phone rings and for some sad reason, I'm available and I'm off to do 'Curbed' or 'Damages.'"

James Roday is gonna go ahead and admit it: he just woke up.

The star of USA Network's "Psych" called from Vancouver Friday morning to talk about the premiere of the show's third season on Friday night and he's kinda punchy.

I ask how he is doing.

"Pretty damned good," he said, quickly collecting himself. "Feeling alive."

On "Psych," James plays Shawn Spencer, a man with a gift for noticing the tiniest of details who pretends to be a psychic and helps police solve crimes along with the help of his childhood friend and bantering partner Gus (Dulé Hill). He may be pretending, but he's so good at solving cases that police keep calling on him.

James. 32, said fans of the show can look forward to the best season yet.

"The first two years were fun and two guys running around and acting silly and living out their dreams," he explained. "We are just maturing as a television series. It's probably fair to say once you get into a third seaspn on any series, you aren't as nervous (about staying on the air) and can actually start thinking about longevity. What is the trajectory here? What are we going to do with these characters and learn about them? That's how we are starting to evolve."

"It's been very invigorating," he added. "We definitely bumped it up a notch, scripts have been far more ambitious. We are also swinging for the fences in terms of worlds we go into, cases we take on. We are a very ambitious group, we are swinging really hard."

He and co-star Hill came into the show from very different places. Hill had spent several years on "The West Wing" while James had a far less distinguised television record: an unaired pilot and two failed series, including NBC's "Miss Matched" which he starred Alicia Silverstone.

"I was starting to wonder if I was the kiss of death while he only knew quality and quanity," James said. "I was like, 'Dude, you don't know how this works!'"
But television wasn't even originally part of the plan for James whose background was in the theater and studied at New York University's Experimental Theatre Wing.

"I came out with a New York actor mindset and a large chip on one shoulder," he said. "You sort of see yourself doing theater for no money by day and bartending by night and being part of a fraterntiy of artists who throw commerce out the window. That was me for about five-and-a-half years until I got my first paying gig and that sent me to LA."

He is currently in a relationship with "Psych" co-star Maggie Lawson and said the mixing of the personal and the professional has, in this case, "been a gift."

"For anyone in our industry, one of the toughest things about having a relationship is how much time you get to see each other. The fact that we see each other every day no matter what has really worked out nicely for us. She's such a great girl. She makes what I do so much easier and so much more enjoyable."

The solid relationship has made it easier to navigate his elevation as a television sex symbol. James was named one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People of 2007 and has been trying to live it down since.

"The photo shoot was in some really expensive house in the hills. I felt so uncomfortable that day! At the same time, I was flattered and everybody was really nice. But I don't know if I will ever live that one down with my closest friends. Anyone who knows me at all knows I have no style."

I don't know about you, but I think Val Kilmer is the sexiest Batman of all time. When he had on the Batman mask, those lips had me transfixed! I was already smitten with him from the days of "Top Gun" and always find his performances interesting. I've met Val at a few premieres but had never interviewed him until this week. He is the subject of my Sunday column in the LA Daily News and I am giving you all an advance look:

Val Kilmer is quick to note the irony that his latest film, the gritty prison drama "Felon," is being released on Friday - the same day as the latest Batman movie "The Dark Knight."

Christian Bale plays the caped crusader for the second time, a role Val played in 1995's "Batman Forever." He succeeded Michael Keaton in the original set of films and preceded George Clooney.

"I really liked it, the last one," he said of 2006's "Batman Begins." "I wanted it to be me and Clooney and Michael Keaton to be in the next Batman movie together. We can be the bad guys."

There were couple of misconceptions that Val, 48, wanted to clear up when we talked last week: he has no plans to play David Lee Roth in a film ("Why? Why? Why would do that?") and he gained all that weight that resulted in a run of tabloid photos for "Felon."
"I'm determined to stalk the paparazzi in Malibu and show my torso," he joked. "I got a lot of (overweight) pictures out there. You can't chase after these guys and say: 'It's for a movie!'"

In "Felon," Val plays a prison legend at Corcoran State Prison named John Smith who basically has nothing left to lose and acts accordingly.With the extra weight, a heavy mustache and countless tattoos, the handsome actor is barely recognizable.

"The old-time lifers have the big heavy mustache and one of the reasons they have it is because (inmates) read lips," he explained.

Val is "really pleased and satisfied" with the film and its authentic recreation of prison life. But he almost wasn't in the movie at all.

"I actually turned the studio down because I wanted to be in a nice, light-hearted comedy. But the research (by director Ric Roman Waugh) was so compelling. It feels like you must imagine it's like in prison. I think it's easy to say you don't want to go to prison."
Val made his splash in the mid-80s with the films "Real Genius" and "Top Gun," was a sensation as rock star Jim Morrison in "The Doors" and starred in "Willow," "True Romance" and "Tombstone" before he was tapped to play Batman.

The movie was a huge box office hit but Val walked away from the franchise to star in an eclectic mix of films including "The Saint," "Heat," "The Ghost and the Darkness," "The Island of Dr. Moreau," "Red Planet," "The Salton Sea," and "Alexander."

Despite his leading man looks, he has always considered himself a character actor.

"I think of Jim Morrison as a character role - he was an extreme character. Even my first movies, I'm nothing like those guys. So I don't really feel like I'm becoming a character actor, it's really just acting. But it is more fun for me now because I know how to do it better."

Proof that was Val has never been better came in the criminally overlooked "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" which he starred in with Robert Downey Jr.
\
"I wish we had gotten better distribution," he lamented.

\But he is glad there are still good roles like that out there and plenty of directors he'd like to work with.

"When I was younger, I was pretty interested in challenging myself tom explore acting so I did whatever I was interested in - that's why I think I have such an eclectic group of movies," he said. "Now, I think more about the director. It's a director's medium and I understand now that I'm older that you don't turn down great directors."

The first time Margot Kidder saw a movie being made, she was just 16 and happened upon a cast and crew on a location shoot in her native Canada.

She stood and watched for a really long time and thought about what it would be like to be a part of that process. She found out in a big way when she was cast as Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in the original series of "Superman" films.

"I've always had a wonderful time making movies," Margot said recently. "I love the process, yacking with the crew around the Crafts (Services) table. I love working and don't think in terms of the end result as you can tell if you look at some of my movies!"

Although Margot appeared in all four of the "Superman" films of the late 70s and 80s, she didn't have a whole lot of success on the big screen other than the original "The Amityville Horror," the Richard Pryor drama "Some Kind of Hero" and "The Great Waldo Pepper" starring Robert Redford.

But she always found work on television. There had the juicy lead role in the 1987 miniseries "Shell Game" and followed that with starring roles in "Body of Evidence," "To Catch a Killer," "White Room" and "Mob Story."

"I love working but I was a dreadful planner as you can tell by my career," she said. "I didn't have any sense of (career path) at all which I sort of regret now at my age. I tend to grab things depending on the character. I'm almost 60 and in the position where if I get an offer, it's thrilling. They all go to Meryl Streep and Jessica Lange and Sally Field for the most part."

A car accident in 1992 left her in severe neck pain and in debt and she also has battled bipolar disorder which she has had under control since a widely-publicized breakdown in the mid-90s.

Margot, who turns 60 in October, and has a take me as I am feeling toward acting.

"There aren't a lot (of parts) when you get to be my age if you refuse to have facelifts," she said. "They'd run me out of Montana! You don't need a facelift in Montana."

Even without a facelift, Margot has kept working in television. she returned to her "Superman" roots with two guest spots on "Smallville" and more recently appeared as Sally Field's best friend on "Brothers and Sisters."

"I had a wonderful time but I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't remember my lines. I wasn't up to snuff. I was just very nervous when I did it. Maybe I can be a running acharacter though. I love that show. What's nice about it is they portray women our age as being our age, the way we really are."

Her latest movie is the crime mystery "On the Other Hand, Death" opposite Chad Allen. Margot plays a lesbian high school guidance counselor who is being run out of town by unknown forces.

"I just loved the script, it was very witty and a great mystery," Margot said of the film which begins airing on Here! TV on July 25.

This is a time when the experience of making the film was positive and resulted in a finished product that she is awfully proud of.

That is not always the case.

"The experience of making a movie or TV show involves a lot of things from the script to who the crew is," she said. "Sometimes you can have a great time on a really bad movie or a miserable time on a movie that ends up being good."

ONLINE BONUS:
On playing a lesbian: "Have I ever played a lesbian before?," she wondered. "Gosh, I don't remember. Maybe I have somewhere. I have sort of a butch-like presence anyway. I asked, 'Am I butch enough?' They said, 'Oh yeah, you are."

On working with Chad Allen: "Oh my God, he's Mr. divine. He's so wonderful and he's so present. When you work with him, he's right there in the moment in a way that's rare and makes work very easy. He's a real star that kid."

I first took note of Stephen Dorff when he did a TV movie back in 1990 called "Always Remember I Love You" with Patty Duke. I'll never forget it, mostly because at the end of it, I bawled my eyes out. Then four years later, he really blew me away with his performance as Stuart Sutcliff in "Backbeat," one of my favorite movies of all time. So I was really excited to talk to him today for an interview that appears in my newspaper column tomorrow.

Here it is, a day early for the readers of Out In Hollywood:

To prepare for an interview I did with Stephen Dorff on Tuesday, I watched his latest film "Felon" and felt like I was in the middle of a nightmare.

It's a raw and riveting movie that has the 34-year-old star of such films as "Backbeat," "Blade," and "World Trade Center" playing a good guy who gets sent to prison for killing an intruder who was robbing his house.

"What comes through in the film is how in one moment, it all changes," Stephen said. "He didn't know to stay inside the house after a guy comes out of nowhere and is in his kid's room. You want to know who was in your house. He hits him (after chasing him outside) but doesn't want to kill him."

Once he gets to prison, he has to navigate brutal inmates and deadly guards in a movie based on actual events and the atrocities that had taken place at California's Corcoran State Prison.

"It was a great script when I read it and I wanted to do it. A lot of people wanted to do this part, it was a pretty hot script around town. (Writer-director Ric Roman Waugh) said he wanted me."

Stephen was impressed with the level of painstaking research Ric had done to ensure authenticity in "Felon" which hits theaters July 18.

"Rick wanted the vibe real and that's how he approached the whole movie," he said. "A lot of the (extras) were parolees who had done time in Corcoran. Some of them were still on parole. It was the real deal."

Val Kilmer plays a prison "lifer" who forms an unlikely bond with Stephen's character.

"Val was great," he said. "I didn't know where he was going with the character. He showed up in the goatee, the tatoos. He was this hulking presence yet this sensitive poet meditative guru. He had so much (expletive) going on. I was blown away by his performance."

At 34, Stephen feels like he is doing some of the best work of a career that dates back to 1985 when as a child actor, he appeared in various television movies and in such sitcoms as "Roseanne" and "Different Strokes."

"In the last few years, there's all these movies coming out and working with so many of these greart directors. In the beginning, I did all these great movies then did a few I shouldn't have done. The 'Fear.com' and other genre movies that were big pay days but not at the same level of quality."

In addition to "Felon," he also recently completed the period epic "Public Enemies" opposite Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Channing Tatum and directed by Michael Mann.

"I don't know how it works. There's been times when I've wondered, 'Why the (expletive) am I not getting that movie? There's so much to this game like who's hot and all that. If you stay true and work with great directors, that's all I can hope for. Right now, I feel the most solid and my work is the best it's ever been. I feel fortunate."

With the presidential elections coming up in the fall, comedienne Paula Poundstone expects to be in her element.

She worked as a political correspondent for "The Tonight Show" during the 1992 presidential campaign and four years later for "The Rosie O'Donnell Show."

"You can't help talking about politics when you are 48 because I try to be a responsible voter," she said during our recent chat. "I try to have some idea of what goes on in the world without falling into decline over my lack of effect on it. I talk about politics here and there, current events as I know it. I also talk about a houseful of animals and raising three kids and homework and public school."
Paula currently appears as a panelist on National Public Radio's current events quiz show "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" and will bring her topical humor to the Wadsworth Theatre in Westwood on Saturday.

Her favorite part of every show is when she wanders into the audience and starts asking them questions.

"The richest, most exciting part of the night is just talking to the audience," Paula said. "It's a group that has never been assembled before and never will be again, so it's quite magical."

The show and book signing at the Wadsworth is to help raise funds for the local Friends of the Library group.

"I had always been under the notion that all funding came from tax money, but it did not," she said. "It comes in large degree from this group that does fundraising and awareness."

Paula is the national spokeswoman for Friends of Libraries U.S.A., a citizens support group with more than 3,500 chapters across the country that help raise funds for children's summer reading programs and special events.

"Since I've had children, we use the Santa Monica library a lot," she said. "Don't tell Friends of the Library, but I have the worst time getting the books back on time. I do pay my fines."

Paula adopted her son Thomas in 1993, and four years later adopted daughters Toshia and Allison. She had also been a foster mother to several other children until 2001, when she was convicted of child endangerment for driving under the influence with children.

She was sentenced to five years' probation and 180 days in an alcohol rehabilitation program and regained full custody of her three children after completing the program.

"It was 2001. It's been a long time," she said. "I'd screwed up badly ... I got up every single day and the first thing I said to myself was, `What can I do today to make my children's lives better?"'

What I didn't know about Paula is that she is good friends with fellow Emmy winner Mary Tyler Moore, who wrote the forward to her book "There Is Nothing In This Book That I Meant To Say" - a part memoir, part monologue that intertwines historical biographies with anecdotes from Paula's own life.

She said of Mary: "We've been friends for a long time and it took me nine years to write that damned book. When I finished, I sent it to her and even before I got the words out, she said that she'd love to write the forward."

Bad times behind her, Paula is enjoying her home life and career.

"Things are good," she said. "I'm sitting on a rocking chair on this rug that is map of the United States. All the states are a different color. Other than there being a stain on Utah, things are good."

I gabbed with Jimmy Smits Thursday afternoon and am really happy to be featuring him in my newspaper column on Sunday. It was just one of those really good interviews with good energy. So, I am sharing it with Out In Hollywood readers a few days early.
On "The West Wing," Jimmy Smits' character of Congressman Matthew Santos was elected president of the U.S. but the show ended its run before we got to see Santos move into The White House.

On July 4, Smits returns to the scene of that fictional storyline to host "A Capitol Fourth," a televised party in Washington D.C. televised live on PBS.

"It's very moving to watch those fireworks with all the national monuments as a backdrop," Jimmy said a few days ago. "It fortifies you in a strange kind of way about what it means to be an American - especially for me, being second-generation in this country. It just gives me goosebumps."

Jimmy called to chat after a long day of shooting an episode of the popular Showtime drama "Dexter." He has joined the show in its third season as Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney in Florida who forms a bond with the title character, a forensic expert-serial killer portrayed by Michael C. Hall.

"(Hall's) work is just really, really special," Jimmy said. "He can do more with an eyebrow than most people do with pages of dialogue."

Without question, Jimmy has had one of the most successful careers of anyone who has ever worked in television. He's also had a movie career that includes roles in the last two "Star Wars" films, "My Family/Mi Familia," "Lackawanna Blues," "Old Gringo" and "Switch."

He won an Emmy for his portrayal of attorney Victor Sufuentes, who he played for five seasons on "L.A. Law." Then he earned an Emmy nomination during each of his five seasons on "NYPD Blue" as Det. Bobby Simone.

Jimmy really re-invigorated "The West Wing" during its final two seasons as Democratic nominee Santos who engaged in a thrilling presidential campaign against Alan Alda's Republican Sen. Arnold Vinick.

"I had a blast," he said of "West Wing." "We did a live debate episode show that we did twice - once for each coast - and that will always stay in my mind as one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career on a lot of levels."

While "The West Wing" was a terrific high, his experience with the short-lived CBS series "Cane" turned out to be a professional low.

The drama about the lives and internal power struggles of a powerful and wealthy Cuban-American family in Florida running a rum and sugar cane business had its chances to succeed doomed by the writer's strike that crippled Hollywood earlier this year.

"The experience on 'Cane' was wonderful for me but it's just very bittersweet because of the way the year went down," he said. "It's basically collateral damage of the strike. I had a great time working on it, learned a whole lot and forged a lot of wonderful friendships."
He's happy to fit in the July 4 hosting duties with work on "Dexter" and said he's looking forward to hearing the musical acts which include Huey Lewis and the News and Taylor Hicks.

But mostly, he looks forward to those fireworks on the Washington mall and the feelings they evoke.

Said Jimmy: "When you start thinking of the framers (of the Declaration of Independence) and the chances they took when they put their name down, it makes you reflect on how deep those words were and how far this country has some. It also helps you acknowledge how far we have to go."

Ace Young, a season five "American Idol" finalist, called recently from the road. He's touring with his band and visiting radio stations to drum up interest to a fever pitch for his self-titled debut CD out July 15.

Ace only finished seventh but he points out that the same season,top-selling rocker Chris Daughtry finished fourth. For the record,Taylor Hicks won that year. But Ace's good looks and long flowing hair made him a hearthrob and his dedication to his craft could make him a rock star.

Even without a record out, he has managed to stay in the limelight as most other top 10 finalists from seasons past fade from sight. He has toured with his band and was nominated for a Grammy for co-writing the triple platinum hit single "It's Not Over" on
Daughtry's album. The 27-year-old LA resident has also done some acting, including a guest spot on the FOX series "Bones."

Still, why the heck has it taken him three years to finish his record?

"I didn't want the time crunch of forcing something out," he said. "I put together my own team and we are literally doing everything grassroots. I wrote the majority of the album and was able to write with Desmond Child and Diane Warren. I had a blast making the album that I wanted to make."

One of the reasons his album took so long to complete was because he traveled to different places to work with certain producersincluding Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Miami and - get this - Sweden.

He wanted a Rock/R&B/Funk collaboration record where each song would stand alone. The quality of the music, he said, is key because "I want to tour for the next 30 years, not just be out for a minute and then be gone."

While the album won't hit stores for a few more weeks, its first single "Addicted to Love" is already out. Although he is eager to establish his identity as an artist, he hasn't run from his "Idol" roots. He was in the audience for some of the tapings this year and performed with his band at several post-show parties, including a bash after the May finale.

"It was fun, I had a blast," he said of his experience on the show. "I made life-long friends. At the same point, I got to be seen across the world singing songs that I enjoyed."

I can count on one hand the times I have felt physically star-struck. It just sort of hits you in unexpected ways and for me, it seems to happen when I meet stars who I watched in my childhood including two of "Charlie's Angels:" Jaclyn Smith and Cherly Ladd. It happened again the other day with Susan Lucci. Here is a column I wrote on Miss Lucci that will appear in today's LA Daily News:

During all the years that Susan Lucci was nominated for - and famously lost - the Daytime Emmy Award for her performance as Erica Kane on "All My Children," she handled the result each time with extraordinary grace.

So when she finally won her Emmy in 1999 - on her 19th try - there was something akin to a palpable sense of nationwide relief even if it meant she wouldn't be able to spoof her losing streak on "Saturday Night Live" and in commercials.

"When I did win, I got the key to the city of New York and New York City firemen would stop on their trucks and give me a big thumbs up, and beggars would sing (laughs)," Susan said when we spoke at a pre-Emmy party last week. "It was wonderful. It's much better to win but it's great to be nominated."

Here is video from the night of her 1999 Emmy win:

The night of her win, Susan vowed that she would return to the set of "Children" the next day and play Erica "for all she's worth." She kept her word and is now in her 38th year on the show playing the most famous character in soap opera history.

"I love the part of Erica Kane," she said. "I walk into the studio in the morning and I'm smiling, I'm happy. I work with great actors and I've got one of the best parts ever written for a woman as far as I'm concerned."

Remarkably youthful at 61, Susan has managed to juggle her role as the larger-than-life Erica with many other ventures including a series of well-received television movies ("Mafia Princess," "Between Love and Hate" and "Ebbie").

"I love that the fans and the public has really responded to (Erica) so much that I also have had the chance to go on Broadway in 'Annie Get Your Gun' and have a line of jewelry and lingerie and all of that on HSN," she said. "I enjoy it all. But it's all because of Erica Kane."

Erica has been married seven times, legally, and there were another five unions that were either ceremonial or later found to be invalid.

"No, I don't forget," she said when I asked if she remembered everyone her character had been married to.

Nothing in Erica's life is ever simple. She has a lesbian daughter who battled anorexia, a daughter from a traumatic teenage rape, and a son who she thought she had aborted but who was used by the doctor in an experimental fetal transplant.

Working woman Erica started as a model then edited a magazine, wrote several books, ran a cosmetic empire and now works as a talk show host. She is currently involved in a political storyline with Mario Van Peebles.

"I had talked about Erica being involved with a politician and the political world a couple of years ago," Susan said. "But the time is right now. I'm so glad that we're doing it right now because I'm loving it."

Tuc Watkins and I gabbed a bit at the Daytime Emmys over the weekend and, of course, I wanted to know if he would be returning to ABC's "Desperate Housewives" next fall as one half of the gay couple on Wisteria Lane.

"We should find out in the next couple of weeks," he said. "The show fast-forwarded five years and Bob and Lee got married in the last episode and we'll see if we're still living between Gabrielle and Susan."

There was talk that Tuc's character would be split from his husband and in the five years since, be living with Andrew Van de Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom), the show's young gay guy who is growing up to be cute as a button. But Tuc, 41, did not seem thrilled about his character sharing his life with someone 20 years younger.

"I don't like that rumor," he said. "I didn;t like that story and I'm glad that it's just a rumor."
Since Bob and Lee did get hitched on the season finale of "Housewives," I wondered what Tuc's thoughts were on gay marriage becoming legal in California: "I think the Supreme Court decision is fantastic," he said. "I think it's the way things are going to move in the future. I'm anxious to see what's going to happen in November and I think Bob and Lee proved their commitment on the last episode prior to this legislation happening. so, once again, Marc Cherry's ideas are a little bit ahead of the curve."

Meanwhile, there's his day job. I told Tuc that I was "outraged" he has never been nominated for his truly unique role of scam artist David Vickers on "One Life to Live."

"It's ridiculous!" he joked. "If soap opera is meat and potatoes, I provide the broccoli robb," Tuc said. "It's so much fun to play David Vickers. He's the world's stupidest smart guy."

Tuc first appeared as David in 1996 and in the last 12 years, has taken leave from the show to do such things as "The Mummy" film, the terrific Showtime series "Beggars and Choosers" and the classic gay indie film "I Think I Do..."

But he has always been able to return to David: "He's the kind of guy who can kind of come and go because you never know where he's gonna be. It's wherever the next scam is. There aren't a lot of scams you can run in Pennsyvania (where the soap is set). He can go back there to kind of fill the coffers but you've got to go out into the world and experience other things in order to bring something new and different back."

Here are some terrific clips of Tuc in his role as David Vickers. They show why the soap has allowed him to return again and again and again. It doesn't hurt that in the first two clips, he's shirtless!

Here is a fun spoof that catches you up on the David Vickers story...

When Evan Handler was in his 20s, he wasn't sure he'd even make it to his 40s. But the actor and author managed to beat the leukemia that threatened his life and is now enjoying the most successful stretch of his career.

Evan, 47, is on the big screen right now in the movie "Sex and the City," reprising his role as Charlotte's husband Harry Goldenblatt and is currently filming the second season of Showtime's new hit show "Californication" in which he plays David Duchovny's literary agent, Charlie Runkel.

On top of that, Evan is out promoting his new book, "It's Only Temporary...The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive" which is a follow-up to "Time On Fire: My Comedy of Terrors" in which he told the story of his unlikely recovery from the leukemia.

Evan and I had a nice chat last week that I want to share with you:

Q. This is quite time for you with a hit series, the "Sex and the City" movie out and your new book. Tell me about the book first.
A. It's been great. Whenever you put something like that out and people come to you and go out of their way to tell you that it meant a lot to them and that they really recognized a lot of stuff in it and found it very funny and true about relationships and about life, that's all great. It makes a lot of the effort paid off."

Q. Your first book was published 12 years ago. What made you decide to do another one now?
A. I had been looking for something to write about for a long time and I realized their was an equally incredible story as the story of survival years ago - to tell about my life since being declared cured of that supposedly incurable illness. The act of living my life backwards, if being reduced to a dying old man in my 20s and then set free around 30 to try and catch up. It had a lot of lessons and interesting stuff. the irony of taking a really long time to find consistent enjoyment in a life even as I knew I was lucky just to be living it and what that did to relationships and how it really did complicate finding successful love and being able to invest in a future - which is what you need to do with someone - instead of just living for the moment because there really wasn't trust of a future. Those themes were true for people who hadn't been through what I'd been through. They are the same things that everybody wrestles with but maybe not in such a concentrated way."

Q. Because of what you went through with your health, how has it been to handle your current professional success, to be famous? Do you take it a little but more in stride?
A. The recognition factor that's happened to me in the last few years was really sudden and happened relatively late so it doesn't have so much to do with my life experiences as the stage in my life that it happened. For me it's been a really enjoyable novelty that I would have taken a lot more seriously if it had come to me much younger. I think I would have felt I had earned my due then as opposed to really finding it as random an occurance as it's been for me. It doesn't feel like such a complicated thing.
It also happened at the moment I met the woman who became my wife. That was kind of confusing. To meet a woman who I thought I could make a go of it with as, fdor the first time, women are calling out to me: 'We love you! We love you!' It was a little confusing. At the same time, I think it kept a lot of things in perspective that might not have been otherwise."

Q. We feel like we know you because "Sex and the City" is on again and again on television and then there's the movie now.
A. They feel like they know those characters. I'm not that character but there's a warmth.

Q. You don't walk around without any clothes on and sit on the furniture?
A. I did that but that doesn't mean that I'm that character. I didn't see that the big deal was about that. I have a very understanding wife.

Q. OK, let';s talk about Californication. It's hard to find a really good role in a hit TV series once and here you are twice. How has it been sinking your teeth into this guy?
A. I feel very lucky. This show is so easygoing, it's just been a pleasure. I'm getting more and more stuff to do. Charlie's storyline is actually much bigger and more central as we go on to the second season so it's been a dream, it's been a dream job. It will be interesting to see how popular it becomes. 'Sex and the City' I came into it when it was already a huge, huge success so it's great that this one is succeeding the way that it is. I'm really waiting to see if it becomes as huge as 'Sex and the City' was.

Q. The chemistry between you and David Duchovny is key I think. Was that a natural kind of chemistry or are you guys just really good actors?
A. I think we kind of hit it off and we come at things from a similar place. We like to work in similar ways, we like to keep it loose. When I discovered early on that David likes to keep it very loose and adlib and that stuff that I really enjoy and feel pretty accomplished at, he's really masterful at it. So it becomes really fun to bounce stuff off each other back and forth. It's just been really great.

Evan has a lot to compare it to. The native New Yorker was a busy actor on Broadway early on and has been a regular or a recurring character on the short-lived shows "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "It's Like, You Know..." and "Hot Properties."

"Californication" has something going for it that none of those shows did: a second season!

David Duchovny is stepping back into his role as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in this summer's feature film "The X-Files: I Want to Believe." Since the series on which the movie is based ended in 2002, David has taken on a series of different roles ranging from comedy ("Connie and Carla") to heavy drama ("Things We Lost in the Fire") and even starred and directed in his own film "House of D."

But the role that has really transformed perceptions of him is that of Hank Moody, a brilliant but troubled novelist in Showtime's terrific series "Californication." David, 47, is a revelation in the role which earned him a Golden Globe Award in January and should be a shoo-in for an Emmy nod.

"I enjoy playing him mostly because in the comic tradition this is a guy who says what he thinks and does what he wants to do," David told me Monday at a party in Hancock Park celebrating the DVD release of the first season. "A lot of comedy is based on somebody breaking social norms, somebody who doesn't abide by the rules that we all have to. That's like the energy and the fun of comedy. We all wish that we didn't have to abide by the rules and yet we all do for the most part. It's either tragedy or comedy. Tragedy is when you don't abide by the rules and you hurt somebody, in comedy nobody really gets hurt."

Hank is quite a handful his drinking, promiscuity and complicated life involving his ex-girlfriend(Natascha McElhone) and their daughter (Madeleine Martin) and the real complications from his sleeping - unknowingly - with his ex's new step-daughter (Madeline Zima) who also turns out to be a minor.

It's a far cry from "The X-Files."

"There was always a lot of discussion directed at me when I was doing 'The X-Files' about typecasting and that kind of stuff and it never really was a concern for me," David said. "It's just really nice to be able to stretch in another direction and I hope there's more."

But he was more than happy to reprise his "X-Files" role in the new movie out July 25: "I was very excited to do it and I'm very excited now that I've seen the finished product. I think Chris Carter made just a great thriller. A really smart, scary 'X-Files' back in the tradition of the first couple of years of the show. I am just really proud of him and of us - that we pulled it off."

In a business where so many stars come and go, I wondered how the lovely Lesley Ann Warren has managed to keep working in quality projects more than four decades.

"Follow your bliss," she said simply.

"I'm incredibly driven by material and the times that I have over-ridden that instinct and done a job for money or because someone else thought it was a good idea, things have not worked out for me."

But a lot has worked out including the lead in the memorable 1965 television production of "Cinderella" which launched her as a star. Lesley Ann, now 61, had already made her Broadway debut a few years earlier in the musical "110 in the Shade."
She went on to star in such feature films as "Choose Me" and "Clue" and earned an Academy Award nomination for 1982's "Victor/Victoria." Here is a clip from that movie:

There was also an Emmy nod for "Family of Spies," and a Golden Globe Award win for the miniseries "79 Park Avenue."
More recently, audiences have gotten to know Lesley Ann through her recurring roles on "Desperate Housewives" as Teri Hatcher's mom and on "Will & Grace" as the mistress of Will's father.
"It's just amazing to me," she said as she reflected on her body of work. "Sometimes, it's real important when I feel down or discouraged to take stock of these opportunities that I've had and the roles that have stayed in people's minds."

But there are still new roles ahead and one of them is in the new USA drama "In Plain Sight," Lesley Ann's first regular series role since she replaced Barbara Bain on "Mission Impossible" in the late 60s.

"We finished shooting our 13 episodes and it was absolutely great," she said. "You just never know when you are entering a new experience. The writing is so smart and sophisticated and edgy and funny and ironic. The characters are rich and complicated and I think it's a terrific show."

The actress plays the mother of Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack), a United States deputy marshal attached to the federal witness protection program.
"She initially appears to be a rudderless mom who drinks too much and likes the men too much," Lesley Ann said of her character. "She doesn't have a career and is living with daughter because the last man left. But you get to know why she's this way. She's had dreams shattered and heartbreak. She becomes more of a deep and moving character but still funny, still tons of comedy."

"Sight" is off to a quick start ratings-wise and seems to have been a good choice for Lesley Ann's first TV series in more than 40 years.
"The only other series I had ever done was 'Mission Impossible.' That was a very specific kind of show about plot and how the mission team figured into that. "By the fourth episode (of 'Sight'), you are learning who these people are and what in fact drives them."
Since director-producer-actor Sidney Pollack had recently died, I wanted to hear Lesley Ann's thoughts on him since she had so memorably played his mistress on several episodes of "Will & Grace."

"He was as passionate as an actor as he was as a director or a producer - deeply invested in the scenes and his character and his character's relationships. It was, inspirational."

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Online bonus: I asked Lesley Ann which of her movies she would select for a time capsule. She picked "Cinderella," "Victor/Victoria," "Choose Me," "Family of Spies" and "79 Park Avenue." I'd like to add one more to that list: "A Night of Heaven" which starred Lesley Ann opposite Christopher Atkins who played a male stripper!

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And changing gears, here is a clip from 43 years ago of Lesley Ann doing a musical,number from "Cinderella"