Recently in Interviews Category

I got two phone calls early this morning. The first one was from my mother and the second was from Bernadette Peters. Love ya mom but I was a little more eager to speak with Bernadette, a Broadway legend and gay icon who is a longtime fave.

Her Broadway resume is beyond compare: "Sunday in the Park With George," "Annie Get Your Gun" (Tony win), "Gypsy," "Song and Dance" (Tony win), "Into the Woods" and "Mack & Mabel" among others.

Towards the end of our chat, I asked Bernadette why the gays have loved her for so much for so long.

"I always say they have great taste," she joked. "They just recognize when something is going on, they recognize truth. Growing up feeling like an outsider, their souls and emotions are more developed. They have an ultra-sensitivity and that's why they love show business."

Miss Peters called to talk about her new movie, "Living Proof," which debuts on Lifetime on Saturday. She plays a breast cancer patient involved in a breakthrough clinical trial. I've seen it and she is terrific in it as are Harry Connick Jr., Regina King,. Swoosie Kurtz, Jennifer Coolidge, Amanda Bynes, Amy Madigan, Tammy Blanchard and Angie Harmon.

She plays Barbara Bradfield, the first woman whose life was saved by the drug Herceptin .developed by UCLA's Dr. Dennis Slamon. Bernadette got to meet Bradfield at the film's premiere.

"She's been 15 years cancer-free," the actress said. "She's a lovely woman, very creative and pretty. What's not in the movie is that she also had 24 tumors in her lung and was ready to be written off. She didn't want to do chemotherapy because she said, 'I'm gonna die anyway and I'm not gonna die bald.'"

Slamon faced years of obsticles in getting it approved: "It's a true story about what someone is up against, what the doctor is up against as he is trying to get something developed and approved. It's very, very interesting to know what goes on in that situation and how it did evolve. It is saving so many lives."

Just like in the film, the doctor really did call her a 6 o'clock in the morning the day she was to leave for Mexico.

"He said, 'Look, I really think this can save your life' and they decided to cancel their trip," Peters said. "First the tumors shrunk, then disappeared and then she was cancer-free. It's wonderful to play a character who survives and gets hers. It's amazing. I didn't know anything about this drug, I didn't know it existed.

"Living Proof" is her second meaty television role in recent months with her guest spot on "Grey's Anatomy" garnering Emmy buzz. Since she alternates between stage, televisiion and film ("The Jerk," "Pennies From Heaven," "It Runs In the Family"), I wondered how decides what she will do next.

"I just see what's presented to me and I think, 'This would be fun to do.'" she said. "I've been lucky because I did this and 'Grey's Anatomy.' Both had wonderful writing."

Before we hung up, Bernadette joked that she knows she sounds like Bob Barker (he would tell "Price is Right" viewers to spay and neuter their animals before signing off), but the animal activist had to offer this thought "Make (pet) adoption your first option."

With close friend Mary Tyler Moore, she co-founded "Broadway Barks", an annual animal adopt-a-thon held in New York City. Their goals are to promote adopting animals from shelters and to make New York City a no-kill city. To support this cause, Peters has written a children's book titled Broadway Barks (Blue Apple Books, April 2008) and a lullaby titled "Kramer's Song" to go with it, included on a CD in the book.

This is a woman who can do anything!

Phylicia Rashad did not win the Emmy last Sunday (she was robbed!) for her wonderful performance in the television movie "A Raisin in the Sun." But she can be consoled by the fact that she did win the Tony Award for the stage version of "Raisin" and got to work with co-stars Sean Combs, Audra MacDonald and Sanaa Lathan again.

"We had such a good time," she said when we chatted at a pre-Emmy party last week.. "It was a lovefest. It was the absolute best. When you're making these films for television, you don't really have a lot of time to make them. But because we had performed together - the four main characters - on Broadway, we knew the story very well , we knew who we were and we knew each other. So it just deepened the entire experience."

The actress further left her television persona of Claire Huxtable of "The Cosby Show" behind with "Raisin" then a lead role in the Broadway production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

"I'm really enjoying this time, I must say," she said. "And before 'Cat on a Hit Tin Roof' I had my first professional Shakespeare at Lincoln Center and that was wonderful."

What I love most about talking to Diane Keaton is her absolute inability to give a cookie-cutter answer.

We had a chat earlier this week about her new movie, "Smother," which opened today. Since her most recent film, "Mad Money" was widely panned by critics, I wondered if she is still bothered by bad reviews after more than 35 years in movies.

"Of course. Everybody is. You can't not," she said. "I don't understand the stamina of how people like Hillary Clinton. Who could take that life day after day on the road being judged, hanging in, looking forward, being on a plane every five minutes. It's impossible to comprehend for a person like me. I would be crushed. You really have to just carry on. These politicians, I admire their stamina."

You just gotta roll with her and keep up!

Miss Keaton, who won an Oscar for "Annie Hall" and starred on such films as "Reds," "Something's Gotta Give," "First Wives Club," and all three "Godfather" movies, has been making mostly comedies in recent years.

In "Smother" she plays the overbearing mother of a 29-year-old man who arrives at her sons house with her five dogs in need of a place to stay.

Miss Keaton describes her this way: "She's almost a freak. She's borderline. She's on the edge of insantity. She needs heavy doses of medication."

Here is the trailer just to give you and idea:

The best part was filming "Smother" in Los Angeles so the actress was still able to take her daughter, Dexter, and son, Duke, to school each morning.

"It's not good to be away," she said. "It's not really a healthy situation. The nice thing about these movies is they are brief. 'Smother' we shot here and for no money. You can make movies and try things out. and experiment with acting and working with new and interesting people."

Parenthood has changed everything for this single mom who famously had romances with Woody Allen, Warren Beatty and Al Pacino.

"It's the miracle of my life of course," she said. "Being a parent is the most extraordinary journey you are ever going to go on."

At 62, she added to her roles of mother and movie star by being a model for Loreal Cosmetics.

"It's a lifelong dream that came at a time in my life when it could have never been expected. And yet, when I was a teenager, I'd leaf through pages of Bazaar and Vogue with awe and I was a fan of people like Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy. I was obsessed with fashion. So it's so bizarre that I've lived my life and this would happen that I'd be a spokesperson for Loreal. We want women of my generation to feel great about being a woman."

Who knew that being James Lipton could be so much fun?

The creator and host of Bravo's "Inside the Actors Studio" is now just about as famous as most of the household names he has interviewed over the last 14 years and he's loving every minute of it.

"Amazing, amazing, amazing," he said during our red carpet chat at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys. "Hell, I came from another red carpet this morning at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. I'm in 'Igor.' In November, I'll be on the red carpet for 'Bolt" where I'm appearing. It's an amazing time."

What makes this 82-year-old former acting school dean's quiet intensity and obsequious interviewing style have made him ripe for parody on such shows as "Chappelle's Show," "Mystery Science Theater 3000," "The Howard Stern Show" and "The Simpsons." Most famous is Will Farrell's exaggerated impersonation of Lipton in sketches on "Saturday Night Live."

Does he get the joke?

"Well, of course. Of course," he said. "I love it."

And being so obsequious means that few people say no to appearing on the program. It's not like they are sitting across from the ladies on "The View."

"I've had over 200 guests and not one complaint," Lipton said. "I've never double-crossed anybody, I've never trapped anybody, no gotchas."

His favorite guest? "How would you distinguish among them? Spielberg. Scorsese. Streisand. Robin Williams. Where do you begin and where do you end? The list goes on and on and on."

And who would his dream guest be?

"The night that one of my graduated students has achieved so much that he or she comes out and sits down in that chair next to me, it'll be the best show I ever had."
I love Lipton's very long answer, filled with facts, when I ask him if the longevity of the show has come as a surprise to him.

"If you had put a gun to my head in 1994 and said, 'I will pull the trigger unless you predict that within three years this will be the largest graduate school in America, that the time will come when you'll be in 89 million homes on the Bravo network in America, in 125 countries and you'll have 14 consecutive Emmy nominations. Predict it or die.' I would have said, 'Pull the trigger.'"

Anyone who complains that broadcast television isn't creative enough these days probably hasn't seen a single episode of "Eli Stone."

Set in a top San Francisco law firm, the title character of this comedy-drama-musical has a series of visions - including one of George Michael singing "Faith" - that affect his practice, his relationships and his reputation.

Sam Jeager plays an attorney in the firm and is a critical member of an all-star ensemble that includes Jonny Lee Miller as Eli, Victor Garber, Loretta Devine and Natasha Henstridge.

"He's a wonderful character because just when you're about to root for him, he goes and does something really nasty," Sam said of his TV alter-ego, Matt Dowd. "I think we all know somebody in our lives who's like that - whom every once in awhile they redeem themselves."

Because it is such a unique show that requires many of its cast members to break into song, there was a question of whether it would catch on with audiences when it premiered last spring.

But it did and will be returning for a second season on ABC.

"There was kind of a buzz and the buzz was pretty accurate," said Sam. "It was a good script that turned into a good show.

At 31, the young actor has been steadily making a name for himself in television and films. In addition to many guest spots on high-profile shows, he has also had significant roles in such films as "Catch and Release," "Within," "Lucky Slevin," and "Hart's War."

He badly wanted the role on "Eli" but didn't like his chances going in.

"I knew that when I went into the audition that they had been seeing people for this role for several months," he remembered. "It didn't really put pressure on me because I just thought, 'Well, I don't have a chance in hell.' Thankfully, they saw that I was the character."

Sam (pictured above with Victor Garber) and I chatted at last month's Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour where his co-star Jonny Miller was being hounded by personal questions about his former wife, Angelina Jolie.

He seemed relieved that interest in his personal life has been on a far smaller scale.
"I have a pretty simple life," he said. "I've got a wonderful wife and a great kid. I'm grateful that I can jump into the (showbiz) world and jump out. I've seen enough to know that it's not the kind of life that's easily taken on."

Selma Blair has become quite the movie star since her attention-getting performance in the 1999 film "Cruel Intentions."

She's starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in "Legally Blonde" and its sequel, was a riot in "The Sweetest Thing" with Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate and also co-starred in "Hellboy" and this hit summer's sequel.

So what is the one-time star of the old WB comedy "Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane" doing for an encore? She's returning to television!

Selma stars with Molly Shannon in the new NBC comedy "Kath and Kim" set to premiere next month. The show, about a dysfunctional mother and daughter relationship, is based on a popular Australian program.

"My character happens to be very self-absorbed and very superficial and tabloid-obsessed and deems herself to be a trophy wife even though her husband works at the Best Buy," said Selma, who plays Kim. "It's kind of funny, but I have met many girls like this. She thinks she's 13 still and acts like she's 13 even though she's clearly not."
Shannon, an alumnus of "Saturday Night Live" who also did classic guest spots on "Will & Grace" and "Seinfeld."

"Molly is amazing," Selma said. "She's a wonderful, wonderful woman and it's just great to be around someone who's had so much experience with comedy and TV and can really show me the ropes of that."

I asked what made Selma decide to take on a TV series. It's not like she's not still getting plenty of movie offers.

"I was in Budapest away shooting and my life felt kind of fragmented and I wanted to stay put, work on relationships with my friends and stay closer to my house for awhile and be in one spot," she explained. "Then this script came and it was wonderful writing. It was a great part and I was thrilled to be able to be a part of it."

Selma recently completed a role in the upcoming feature film "Driving Lessons" as a teacher who finds herself in a lesbian affair with a student.

"It's my third time, I did in "Cruel Intentions" then with "Feast of Love" and now again I find myself kissing a beautiful, young woman on film."

Is Selma, divorced from Ahmet Zappa in 2006, worried about being typecast as a lesbian?

"I could care less," she said. "I'm just always pleased when anyone remembers me in anything."

It's so great to talk to somebody who clearly loves his job.

Seth Meyers is one of those people. When we chatted recently, his appreciation and enthusiasm for his coveted gig as a cast member and head writer for "Saturday Night Live" was clear, as was his respect for the show's 34-year history.

"I still get goosebumps when I walk down the hall and see the pictures of everyone who's worked there," he said. "It's been seven years, and it still hasn't sunk in."

Seth's role has grown steadily over the years and will be bigger than ever when the show's new season kicks off Sept. 13. As co-anchor of the show's popular "Weekend Update" segment, he will be highly visible during the months leading to the November presidential election.

The show will extend its season to 22 episodes, and three live prime-time specials, anchored by "Weekend Update," will air on consecutive Thursday nights beginning on Oct. 9.

Then on the eve of Election Day, the "Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash 2008" will air.

"It's a dream job, and I love doing it, and we have amazing joke writers, so every week it's fun," Seth said. "I think that the day you get hired is the happiest day of your life, because the next day you start worrying about getting fired. It's like anything that's at the top of its field: It's a lot harder than you thought it would be, and it's supercompetitive. But right now we have a good chemistry with the group. We sort of pick each other up from week to week. It's incredible."

Seth, 34, impersonated former Democratic candidate John Kerry leading up to the last election and said that, for the most part, politicians have been good sports about it all - especially those who have actually guested on the show. This year, Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton all appeared as themselves.

"I have to say, with the politicians we had this year: (Rudy) Giuliani, (Mike) Huckabee, McCain, Hillary, Obama - they were all really easy to work with and deferred to our better judgment on things. I mean, obviously when a politician's coming in, you don't want to show them a script that you think would insult them. So we try to find something that we think straddles the line of both respectful and also funny."

Working with so many of the candidates last season gave Seth some insight into pressures they face on the campaign trail.

"You see people in the middle of a campaign and what they're going through, and you sort of realize how easy it must be to make the sort of slip-ups that get magnified in the press," he said. "It's amazing the lens these guys are under, and it's incredible they can get away without insulting everybody. But we do need them to do that. We're superhappy when they do that."

Hard as it is to believe, Seth has other things going in his career besides "SNL." He had a part in the recent sci-fi fantasy flick "Journey to the Center of the Earth." ("You know it's a small part when you're one of the characters that doesn't go to the center of the Earth," he cracked.) And he's one of the creators and stars of the upcoming comedy Web series "The Line," on Crackle.com, which he also directs.

But don't ask him about trying to follow in the feature-film footsteps of such "SNL" alums as Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler just yet.

"I'm enjoying the present so much right now that I'm trying not to focus too much on the future."

Wilson Cruz is an actor who I've written about many times on this blog and in my newspaper column who I greatly admire and who is a really special guy. I've seen him several times in the past month or so at events so this interview that we did at the GLAAD Awards in late April is just a little dated but still worth posting.

Here is our little chat:

Q. Hey you! What's new with you?
A. I'm recurring on a new series for Steven Bochco called 'Raising the Bar." I just completed the first episode of what I hope will be many. At least two ], probably more. It's got Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Jane Kaczmarek. I play Rafael de la Cruz, this very flamoyant character that becomes a love interest for one of the main characters - Jonathan Scarfe.

Q. Great! Too bad you can't be Mark-Paul's love interest too! Okay, what else you got going on?
A. We're doing the second season of "Rick and Steve (The Happiest Gay Couple In the World)" at the moment and "He's Just Not That Into You" coming out in October.

Q. Here we are at the GLAAD Awards. I'll bet you;ve been to a lot of these.
A. It gets bigger and better every year. This year was especially special for me because of the award (in Miami) I got a couple of weeks ago. It was an overwhelming night. I felt completely honored and cried halfway through my speech.

Q. How did it feel to get that kind of recognition? You've been out since you were 19 (in 1994) and you didn't get a lot of attention in the same way as TR Knight or Neil Patrick Harris. How did it feel to know that people really do know what you went through?
A. It's overwhelming. I feel incrediboly supported by this industry. I've been allowed to be who I am and live my life and do great work. I'm incredibly proud. I continue to be amazed by the opportunities that continue to come my way. I knock on wood that they keep coming."

This is another one of my "lost interviews" that is seeing the light of day during my vacation week. At the GLAAD Awards in late April, I chatted with Calperina Addams and Andrea James of "Transamerica Love Story." It was only the day before that I had interviewed Lee Pace who played Calpernia in the superb HBO film "Soldier's Girl."

As for Andrea, I had met her just a few weeks earlier when my blogger pal Kenneth Walsh (Kennethinthe212) invited some friends to meet at The Abbey when he was in LA. I confessed to Andrea at the GLAAD Awards that the entire night - and we talked at length - I did not know she was a transgender woman.

Anyway, both women hoped that their dating show, "Transamerica Love Story" helped to shatter some stereotypes: "We often get portrayed as so tragic and serious," said Andrea. "This was just a chance to have some fun."

Added Calpernia: The amazing thing that Logo did with this was they showed trans people dating as being so normal, like it really is. I think it's going to open it up for trans women to feel worthy of love and for guys to not be afraid to date us...I got to meet a lot of nice guys. You can never give love away as a prize but you can give the opportunity away."

I asked Andrea and Calpernia for their thoughts on Thomas Beatie, the trans man who famously gave birth recently to a daughter.

"That's outside my world and I'm focusing on what I know how to do: entertainment and trans women issues," Calpernia said, not wanting to be drawn into any controversy. "It's such a huge decision and it's outside anything I've had to think about that I'm just leaving it to him. I Wish them all the happiness in the world, that;s all I can say."

Andrea also weighed in on the topic: "I feel like it;s part of our whole situation, people always trying to control what we do with our bodies and in the end, I think it's a matter of personal rights."

I think these are two really sensational ladies!

I officially started "vacation" on Friday so this week, I will be blogging when I can but there will be plenty of fresh content each day because I have many interviews that I did with all kinds of interesting people that I never got around to writing up. The first of which is with Bryan Batt, the openly gay actor of stage and screen who plays Salvatore Romano on AMC's acclaimed series "Mad Men" which had its second season premiere last night.

Bryan, 45, is known mostly for his theater work including leading roles in "Sunset Boulevard," "La Cage aux Folles" and the stage adaptation of "Saturday Night Fever." His best-known movie role was in the movie version of "Jeffrey."

Bryan and I talked last February at the Screen Actors Guild Awards! Here is out chat, at last:

Q. You're a stage star so how is it to be here amid all this hubbub for a television show?
A. "Listen, I'm a tired old Broadway troll. This is fantastic." (laughs). "More people saw me in one episode of this TV series than in my entire Broadway career. It's mind-blowing."

Q. Are you happy with how your character has been written?
A. "Every week we never know where they're going to take us. and every week (the writers) top themselves. At the table reads, we are astounded. So, wherever they want to go, I will follow."

Q. Is your character gay?
A. "We don't knpow yet but I have a feeling it's crossed his mind before. You have to keep in mind that it's 1960 in our show so he has a lot of issues. ... He's very, very tight and pent-up. He's an artistic director, however, it's a very sublte role to play and it's heaven."

Q. You have one season under your belt. What has it been like?
A. "It's amazing. It's such a thrilling experience. We knew when we filmed the pilot we had something special. The cast is amazing. Jon Hamm is such a strong actor and also a nice guy. It's such an incredible cast. It's the first series for AMC, that they have produced, and it's gotten such great notice. We could not be happier."

Rick Springfield has a new album coming out Tuesday, the same day he will perform his single "Victoria's Secret" on an episode of "General Hospital."
No, it isn't 1982, when he was playing Dr. Noah Drake on the ABC soap at the same time that he had a thriving career as a Grammy winning pop star with 17 top-40 hits, including "Jessie's Girl," "I've Done Everything For You" and "Don't Talk to Strangers."

Fast-forward more than 25 years and Rick, who still drops by to play Noah on occasion, will appear on the soap this week as rocker Eli Love.

"The good thing is they brought in a different character and he gets to do my new single, which I'm really happy about," Rick said last week. "Any time you can get on TV with a new song is great."

So why didn't he ever sing on the show during the height of his fame?

"I never thought that was plausible," he said. "He's a doctor. Of course, they wanted me to do it in the '80s. I said no. There was radio play and you didn't need to. Plus I was fighting everyone thinking I was a soap star who wandered into the recording studio. Now I've been around long enough where it makes sense."

The truth is, by the time Rick got really famous on "General Hospital," he had already released six albums with his first hit single, "Speak to the Sky," which made the charts way back in 1972.

At the peak of his fame, Rick's hit albums included "Working Class Dog," "Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet," "Living in Oz" and "Hard to Hold," which was also the title of his motion picture debut.

"I loved it. It was great," he said of those heady days of '80s stardom. "There was a tough side to it as well, but I love to work."

Even when his recording and acting careers have been on the wane, Rick has never really stopped recording and touring.

Now he is especially excited about his first studio album in four years, "Venus In Overdrive," which is being favorably compared to his classic "Working Class Dog" album from the early '80s.

"There's a really good buzz on this one which you can't manufacture," he said. "There's been some stuff falling into place so it has a special feel to it. Where it goes from there, I have no idea. This feels very, very different to me. It doesn't feel like I'm pushing against the door."

I mention to Rick that I saw him in concert at the Orange County Fair about 10 years ago. Even though we didn't meet, he did walk across some chairs near me when he made his way into the audience.

He laughed.

"I love playing live," he said. "It's the way I connect with people. I'm a pretty quiet person in my family life. The party guy only comes out when I play live. He's anxious to come out."

He turns 59 next month but remains remarkably youthful and energetic.

"I'm very much into health," he said. "I like to eat well; I have always worked out. But it's mainly being passionate about what you do. The energy of the audience is really what keeps me playing. It's as much of a high as it ever was. The fans have hung in there."

Here is a clip of Rick in concert from late last year:

What's really interesting about Matthew Montgomery's film career so far is that while his most significant leading roles have been gay men, they have been in various genres ranging from romantic comedy to drama to sci-fi. We talked about some of his best films in part two of our interview. Click HERE to read part one. But first, Matthew tells me about his inspiration for gay roles: Not long after "Gone But Not Forgotten was released, he started getting fan mail: "I got this letter from this kid one that that said that he really liked the movie and that it made him confident and gave him the courage to come out to his family and accept who he was. Man, are like you kidding? To have that kind of effect on somebody, It was when I got that first email - and subsequently I've gotten many, I have a purpose now. It's more than about me and how many movies I can do what character I can play. It's also about having a voice and standing up for something important and being a part of helping us move forward and integrating us into society... The younger gay generation looks us to up with respect and see that they can be open about who they are and that they can have aspirations and dreams and not have to mask who they are in order to succeed in the world."

Long-Term Relationship: "I loved it and thought it was very funny, the characters very rich. I felt very strongly about the script." The film also marked Matthew's debut as a producer with Guest House Films: "I don't claim to be an expert in the industry but as an actor, when you're on enough sets, you pick up on things and you do know how to run the show and you do know how to put the pieces together. It's all up there in your head. You just have to access it and that's what happened. ... It aso helps me to be very realistic about how it happens. I don't have any illusion of the glamour, I get my hands dirty getting in it and making it work, making it happen. It's a lot of hard work but it's well worth it."

"Gone, But Not Forgotten" "It's about this guy with amnesia who is found in the woods sort of wandering around when he's rescued by a ranger in the area. He has no recollection of his past. The movie is about him trying to recapture whatever his history is. At the start of the movie he doesn't even know what his name is. It's about him rediscovering who he is, where he came from and what that means. And in the meantime he stays with this ranger and, of course they fall in love. For as low budget and low production values as it is, it's surprisingly stayed as one of the top 10 gay movies of all time which is shocking to me."

"Back Soon" "Both characters are supposedly straight and I took it with that approach anyway, I thought it was more interesting. They had never had wanted to have that kind of experience before with another guy. In the end, it's because you realize - and this is a spoiler - it's because my character is being possessed, so to speak, by the character of his dead wife."

Socket: I jumped in head first. I love sci-fi so the idea to combine the two genres of science fiction and gay was, I thought, a great opportunity. The thing I liked about "Socket" is I don't feel that it tries to be more than it really is. You can look at it and sort of interpret it as sort of these underlying elements of drug addiction in the gay world or addiction with relationships. But really on the surface it's just a really cool, creepy, cringe-worthy science fiction movie with gay elements that's a lot of fun. I really loved that we are sort of moving past the typical gay story of coming out. There's still definitely a place for that and I hope those stories continue to be told but it was nice to be a part of something different that was part of a very specific genre.

Pornography: A Thriller: (The film is in post-production and will most likely be released in the first quarter next year.) "This one's really trippy on a psychological basis. It's very non-linear. It;s based on this fictional legend of this former gay porn star who supposedly died in a snuff film. The character that I play is a writer who reviews gay pornography and he comes across footage that could potentially be the actual snuff film that this guy died in. It's really sort of (expletive) with your mind and makes you question what's real and what isn't and who's real and who isn't. I don't think there's anything out there that's ever been done like this. "

On nude scenes: "I'm still not comfortable with it. I'm very sefl conscious about my body so it's very strange to me. the thing thast I;ve been lucky with ius where every movie that I've done where they've asked me to be nude and I've agreed to it, the direvtor and actors i;ve wolrked with have been so considerate and sensitive., always checking my pulse to make sure that I'm ok. there;s been a lkot of talking and pre-planning before we get onto the set so that we do know what we're duty. It's not as sexy as people think. It's very robotic and mechanical. Move here, turn your butt cheek there. It's the very opppsite of romantic or hot - for us anyway. I've done so much nudity is my moveis that when I don't, sometimes I get letters from people who say, 'Why didn't you take your clothes off. I'm like, Are you kidding me? I just don't even respond to those kinds of emails. I didn't really think much about the nudity at the beginning.l If it was there, it was there. Now I think about it a lot more."

The future: Matthew has written his first screenplay about "Stick Figures" about a self-absorbed gay man who is battling through alcoholism who gioes back to his hometown and fins out he has inherited a little girl - his daughter. It's about someone learning how to be a parent."

To learn even more about Matthew, click HERE to get to his web site.

Alfre Woodard is set to play a very different kind of character - for her - on the new NBC series "My Own Worst Enemy" set to debut in October.

She plays the handler of a man played by Christian Slater who has two personalities: a mild-mannered family man and a cold blooded secret agent. The twist is that the family man doesn't know the other personality exists.

This is how Alfre described it as she slipped into character at last week's Television Critics Associaton Summer Press Tour sesson: "What we actually do is we manifest a divergent identity dormant in a sealed-off portion of the medial temporal lobe."

Fortunately, when we spoke earlier, the conversation was a lot easier to follow!

"It's said of me that I'm the lady decides who lives and dies," she said of her character, Mavis Heller. "I've obviously been an agent in the field before and I got promoted to this position and I am Christian's boss."

The last time Alfre appeared as a regular on a television series, she was the mysterious new neighbor on "Desperate Housewives." But Betty Applewhite had too many secrets to really connect with the other women of Wisteria Lane and Alfre left after one season and an Emmy nomination.

She didn't hesitate to try series TV again.

"I'm not picky, I just make decisions," she explained. "If this had come as a stage play or a miniseries or a movie I would have done it. It happened to be a series. I follow the material."

And there has been some mighty good material over the years including her Oscar-nominated role in "Cross Creek" and the features "Passion Fish" and "Down in the Delta."

She's also earned an astounding 15 Emmy nominations - including four wins - for such films as "Mrs. Evers Boys," "The Piano Lesson," "Gulliver's Travels" and "The Water is Wide." She was nominated again earlier this month for her performance in "Pictures of Hollis Woods."

With such a stellar resume, I wondered if the 55-year-old Alfre is constantly flooded with scripts after all these years.

"I sort of got into this intending to go the long haul So I've always made my decisions based on not only what interests me, but with an eye out for longevity," she said. "So I've never been flooded but I've always consistently had offers."
So what makes her say "yes" to a project?

"I've always said I wouldn't do anything that I wouldn't go to see so that kind of knocks out a lot," she said. "Work is hard and you leave your family for it sometimes. So when I look something and I feel like it's something I can do and I thought of something that probably no one's going to think of to bring to that, then I'll go to work."

Alfre can disappear into a role but she also cuts a very glamorous figure on red carpets. But as someone who still considers herself more of a working actress than a star, she doesn't take that part very seriously.

"Any time you're not at work, it's sort of make-believe," she said. "Work is real, even though you're pretending to be a person. All the rest is frivolity and frivolity is always fun but at the end of the day, I don't feel that anything I do outside of my set is going to make a difference in the world. So I take it like fun. When it's not fun, you go home."

Matthew Montgomery kept unexpectedly coming back into my life long before I even met him.

More than a year ago, I watched a screener of the drama "Back Soon" as part of my Outfest preparation. Then a few months back, I rented a bunch of movies one night and two of them - coincidentally - happened to star Matthew: "Long-Term Relationship" and "Socket."

So when the opportunity arose recently to interview Matthew, I jumped at the chance. We met at Insomnia Cafe in LA for a morning chat. At 30, he is one of the more thoughtful, articulate and prolific gay actors in the movie business - and one of the most talented. Our conversation was so rich that I am presenting this profile in two parts with the second part to run Sunday.

Matthew looked awfully cute as he ate a giant chocolate muffin during the first part of our intervew. As he licked the chocolate off his fingers, I wondered if this had always been his plan to focus on gay roles in film.

"It was totally by accident," he said. "I came to Los Angeles wanting to be the next big thing, hit some big Hoillywood movie. But I wasn't working. There's a lot of actors here and it's tough to get work in this town, The first film I was cast in was a gay independent film called "Gone But Not Forgotten." It was a gay character so obviously there was something about that that was very personal to me and meant something to me on a deeper level. So I took it. Then, what I found out was I could build a career in this smaller industry and sort of get my footing there, And now, here I am. I've just sort of been working one movie after the other."

Matthew has completed a trio films that are in the post-production stage: "Pornography: A Thriller," "The Dark Side of Love" and "Redwoods."

He knows that by playing mostly gay parts, he is taking a road less traveled than most actors.

"A lot of actors come into this industry and they do a gay film here or there and either they themselves or through the advice of other people, decide that they don't want to continue playing other gay characters because they're afraid of being typecast. I felt the complete opposite," he said. "I felt a huge sense of loyalty to these filmmakers and to the viewers watching these movies. If I spent the rest of my life only doing movies in the independent film industry, at least it's part of something that's progressive and part of something that's at the frontier of movement and change."

"It was never my plan to stay in or leave the gay independent film industry," he added. "It was just omething that kind of happened. But I kept working and what started to happen is it started to open other doors for me in general."

Born in Houston and raised Corpus Christi, Matthew thought his television was filled with tiny people and he wpndered how he could get into the set. It was then that his artist father explained to him what acting was.

"I never wanted to do anything else," he said. "I've always known I would move either here or to New York and pursue that. I auditioned for Julliard when I was 18 and didn't get in so I moved here.'
After high school where had one of the leads in "Annie Get Your Gun." he went to study theatre at USC and landed roles in many mainstage productions. He left after a few years "to find myself" then went on to study on a scholarship at Point Park Conservatory in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and was cast in his first short film.

He then returned to Los Angeles, this time, to pursue acting full time - but not necessarily as an out actor.

"I have to confess, in the very beginning, I had no intention of being an out actor, no intention of being open about that," he said. "I figured I'd spend my whole life not talking about it or keeping it hidden."

I interject and remark: "You were going to be like Raymond Burr weren't you?" (Burr was the famously closeted star of TV's "Perry Mason" franchise).

Matthew chuckled then asked, "Who?"

We laugh. I feel old and ask him to continue.

"That was my intention. That was sort of what was expected. If you came out of the closet you didn't have a career. But things have changed and things have moved forward and we've progressed. We're growing as a society and we're integrating. and I think that's a very important. The only way that that's happened us because people have the coiurage to say who they are and to stand up for what they believe in. I decided early on that I wanted to be one of those people that was at the forefront of this change. I wanted to be one of those people that stood up for that."

Coming In part 2 on Sunday: Matthew talks about his films, about producing and about doing nude scenes.
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Here are some highlights of Matthew's work:

To learn even more about Matthew, click HERE to get to his web site.

The last time I saw Cristian de la Fuente was on "Dancing With the Stars" which he continued to compete in - and reached the finals - after injuring a tendon in his left arm while performing the samba.

Earlier this week, Cristian looked good as new when we chatted at a garden party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
"My arm is almost back to normal and I start physical therapy next week," he said.
But the extremely fit 34-year-old actor, who currently has a role on the new USA Network drama "In Plain Sight", is still recovering from the grueling training that was required to do well on the show.

"It was crazy from the work point of view," he said. "I've never worked that much in my life not having one day off for three months."

Even though he did not win, he found out how much the show did for his profile after returning to the U.S. after trips to Chile and to Mexico.

"When I was coming through immigration, officers were nicer," he said. "They didn't ask me what it was that I did for a living. They said, 'Oh, I saw you on 'Dancing With the Stars' so, you know, that's priceless for me. I go in and out of this country many times a year - probably 15 or 20 times - and to be treated by immigration officers nicely, you see that 'Dancing With the Stars' is a powerful show."

Christian told me on Sunday that "Sight" had been renewed for a second season earlier that day and he was hopeful that his character of Raphael Ramirez would also return.
"There's a lot more story to develop," he said. "It's a great show and it's doing really well. People are liking the show. I'm very happy for that because we put a lot of work and effort into doing the show and we have a lot of fun."

Cristian, married to actress Angelica Castro and father of a young daughter, acts in television shows and movies in both English and Spanish.

His previous U.S. series was far different from "Sight." He played a gay man on the CBS comedy "The Class."

"It was fun, it was a great experience for me," he said. "The show was so funny, it was so well-written and I love to do comedy. If you see 'In Plain Sight,' there's a lot of comedy in that drama. Life itself is a drama, but there's always comedy."

Since he and Sean Maguire made such a cute couple, I wanted to know why he disappear from "The Class" mid-season?

"I went to do a pilot for ABC." he said. "What also they did was after that, they narrowed it down with less stories. At the beginning there were many, many stories and then they started cutting a little bit."

I'll say. They kept cutting until finally they just cancelled the whole damned show!

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."