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June 16, 2008
Hello Fancast users, it’s me, Lara, doing something I’ve never done before: Blogging. I’m laughing about this because I’m terrible with computers, the Blackberry, and even cell phones. Nevertheless, I’m going to be blogging all week about Twin Peaks and The Practice, two of the most wonderful projects of my career. Both shows have stayed remarkably fresh over time because of the writing, the ensemble acting, and all the other special ingredients needed for shows to be great, which makes me delighted to help you revisit favorites or discover them for the first time.
First, since we’re getting kind of intimate, let me welcome you to my life. Today, I’m in Texas, just hanging out at home. I got up at about 5:30, took my dogs out, and then went to the grocery store. I bought some nice flowers on sale. We’re going to have a BBQ party tonight, so I’m getting ready for that.
I have on a pair of sweats that I bought at Costco yesterday for $7 and a men’s T-shirt that I slept in last night. I haven’t done the bath yet. After the grocery store, I came home and watched, as is my routine, Will & Grace, on Lifetime. That’s what I do in the morning. It lets me start the day in a great mood. [watch this funny clip]
I like to garden and be with my dogs. I like to stay in my pajamas or sweats for as many hours of the day as I can. As much as I love making movies and TV, being on the set and everything the process entails, I throw myself into a very opposite and simple life when I’m not working. To stick my hands in the dirt and work the garden. I like to stay simple. It’s a good combination for me.
Fancast has an extensive listing of clips, trailers and full episodes from throughout my career, and though I’m not one to talk about my work, here's a quick Top 5 list of my own projects I’d recommend. First, I think any episode of The Practice and the same thing goes for Huff. I’m very proud of both. Then Twin Peaks, of course, is a brand new energy every time time you watch it.
What else? I love the movie Red Rock West, and I love the movie Threesome.
I’ve been really fortunate with the work I’ve done. I don’t strategize my career. I never try to put things together. I look for good scenes and good scene partners. That’s it. That’s my rule. Knock on wood, that’s all I base everything on, and I can go from a Wayne’s World to a Huff and say that’s why I did the part. I don’t care if it’s comedy or tragedy, I don’t care of any of that. I just want good scenes with good scene partners.
There’s nothing I wouldn’t do on screen; I can’t think of a thing. I’ve done most everything, and I’ve enjoyed all of it. I don’t spend any of my time thinking about what is it going to look like to others. I’m an only child. I’m very selfish. And I just think about myself -- would that be fun, would I enjoy that scene and would I enjoy getting up at four in the morning, and would it feel rewarding to me. It sounds terrible, but it’s true.
As far as Twin Peaks, it’s a wonderful phenomenon. that show. When I think back on it, I tell myself, “Ignorance is bliss.” I had no idea what a beautiful land I was ushered into. Seriously no idea. Nothing about it seemed weird to me. You do a pilot, you do an episode and then you’re on the cover of Rolling Stone. I didn’t know, I didn’t realize, it was special. I did not know working with the writers and a creator like David Lynch was special, not normal, not something that happened to everyone on TV.
A lot of kids went to college and they talk about their college years as so great. I never went to college; for me, college was Twin Peaks. I was able to have David Lynch direct me beautifully and slowly into a scene. That was my kegger.
Twin Peaks came on the air in 1990, nine episodes, and it was a completely different take on the genre, on programming in general – exactly what one would expect from David Lynch. Of course it was David’s artistry, along with that of writer Mark Frost, that gave the show its unique sensibility, and with that, like any great piece of art, it’s longevity. As I said earlier, Twin Peaks has a brand new energy every time you watch it, and that I think is what’s responsible for its lasting appeal.
It’s different – and it was so different from any show that preceded it. I think it’s so pure and honest. It doesn’t manipulate you. It tells a story with purity, a purity that’s so extremely it’s kind of awkward. It’s so pure that it’s quirky, it turns out to be uncomfortable, and it turns out to be heart-wrenching. As an audience member, I gravitate toward that. As an actor, it was – well, different. There were scenes I shot inTwin Peaks that I didn’t know would make people laugh or feel uncomfortable. It was because we played everything directly and honestly. We did everything completely, 100 percent true – and that’s not the real world. It’s weird - -and that’s David.
What was going on with me at the time of the show? Let’s go back to before I was cast. I had just graduated high school, the Chicago Academy for the Arts, and I moved to California the next day. Then about two weeks later…
Well, I’ll go into that and more Twin Peaks in my blog tomorrow. Right now, I have to get back to BBQ preparations. Remember, if you have an questions about Twin Peaks orThe Practice or any of my other projects, send them in and I’ll get to them. Have a great day.
Lara
June 17th, 2008
The BBQ was delicious, the flowers are still beautiful this morning, and Will & Gracecracked me up again. Now you’re caught up on the latest with me. As for yesterday, we left off with me flying to Los Angeles after my high school graduation in Chicago. I’d promised my mother that I’d get my high school diploma before leaving for Hollywood, and that’s exactly what I did. I got my diploma and then I moved to California the next day. I didn’t know anyone. I got an apartment, got my driver’s license, rented a car, and drove around to auditions.
Then about two weeks later I went on an audition for a new TV project. I met with a man named David Lynch and his partner, Mark Frost. They were nice men; I don’t remember much otherwise. They asked me to read two things. Before I did, David explained the story of the first episode of his new show called Twin Peaks. He said it was about a dead girl, and then he went into exquisite detail about the story, the characters, and their world, painting a picture and creating a mood in the room as only David Lynch can do.
I said, “So you want me to be the dead girl? So I don’t do anything? I’m just dead?” He laughed, said, no, and explained it again. Then, after saying I understood as much as possible, I read for him, and I got the part.
I called my mom, who was about to move to LA from Chicago, and said “You can still come out but I won’t be here.” I told her that I was cast in a show and we were going to shoot the pilot for a few weeks in a town outside of Seattle. She asked about the show. I said I didn’t know who the man behind it was other than he did a movie called “Blue Velvet.” I asked her to rent it.
Understand, both my mom and I are very meat and potatoes type people. We didn’t know about David. Then the morning before I left she called me. She’d watched the movie. She said, “Oh gosh, Lara, it’s a little strange.” And that’s how it all started.
Really, it was all that quick. I then went up north and had the time of my life. Looking back, I was able to have countless numbers of those moments daily on Twin Peaks. For so many reasons. It made waking up at 4 o’clock in the morning easy – in fact, something I looked forward to. I couldn’t wait to get to work.
Although I don’t remember specifically how I met each person on the cast, I have a sense that it happened organically. David didn’t have a cast dinner or rehearsal where everyone got together. We were in this great environment, working on this new and different and great show, and he let things come together on their own. It was very much like, 'hey, let’s go to work.'
It made sense. David knew what he wanted. It was all in his head. He saw the whole thing, something great directors and creators seem to share. They go through their own process, and that can be painful or very rewarding for an actor. Twin Peaks was the latter.
It was enhanced further when I met Kyle MacLachlan. He was my first love. We spent over two years together, and he was a wonderful person. The first episode was Traces to Nowhere. I haven’t seen it in years. To be quite frank, at home, I probably have three episodes out of the hundred or so episodes of The Practice, no episodes of Twin Peaks, and none from Huff. I really don’t have much of any of my work – of the work I was lucky to be a part of. I don’t go back and watch myself. I do the work and move on. As they say, you’re only as good as the day’s work.
That’s kind of funny. I’m a quitter at everything. I was a Brownie dropout. But the thing that keeps me going with acting is the challenge of trying to be good and even better each time. Every day you work, you’d better be good. You better know your lines. You better show up prepared. If you’re not committed to the work, if you’re not nervous and scared and excited, you shouldn’t do it.
People like to ask what David was like, what was he like to work with, if I can share any insight into him. There’s a scene that comes to mind. It was during the pilot. I was doing a scene with James Marshall. We were in the woods. It was like 10 degrees out. We reshot that scene like 64 times because there was a hairline fracture in the camera’s lens. We kept re-shooting; it was a crazy number of takes. In the scene, I kissed James Marshall, then I pulled away, and there were cops coming. At one point, David came up to me and whispered, “Now when you say, `I hear sirens,’ think of it as like deer in the woods.” Even after all these years, I can still hear his voice. “It’s like deer in the woods.”
Of course I was like what the fuck does that mean? I couldn’t figure it out. But I went into what he said to me and I said my line – “I hear sirens” -- as if it were a beautiful thing to me. Months later, when I went to the screening of the pilot, [see how the mood is set in the classic opening sequence] the entire audience laughed hysterically at that line. My feelings were hurt. I didn’t yet realize the magic of David Lynch.
Anyway, other than not understanding why people laughed at certain things, the show started off wonderfully for me. People can go to school forever to study acting, but there’s nothing like learning as you do it for a master like David. And what it taught me was to stay out of the process. Don’t over-think, don’t over-analyze; just bring yourself and take direction.
That’s what I did on Twin Peaks. Our hours were brutal, the longest I’ve experienced in TV. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was Twin Peaks. But I didn’t know any better. About anything. It was like I got a show, I did the pilot, it became a hit, and the next thing Sheryl Lee, Sherilynn and I were posing for the cover of Rolling Stone. Didn’t that happen to everyone?
Tomorrow, I’ll pick up at the photo shoot...
June 18th, 2008
First, I saw the comment Randy sent in yesterday. He asked, “Have you seen my damn keys? I don’t think you’ve been to my house, but I’ve got to start somewhere.” You’re right, Randy, I’ve never been to your house and I don’t know where you left your keys, but I suggest you look in the usual places. When was the last time you used them? If you can't find them, it might be a sign you need to open new doors."
Good luck.
Yesterday, I brought up the Rolling Stone cover Sherilyn Fenn, Madchen Amick and I did that first season of Twin Peaks. My mom, who is my partner in crime, has a copy framed on the wall of her office. It was a sign we'd arrived. People were talking about the show - and us. All I remember about that photo shoot with the great Matthew Rolston was my mom trying to make my boobs bigger. Of the three of us in the picture, I had the smallest chest and so my mom did whatever she could think of to try to help that situation look better for the camera.
As for the shoot itself, it wasn’t as cool as it looked. We just wanted to know where to stand, what to do. I don't want to speak for the three of us, but I'm going to. So much was going and happening so fast that everything we did felt like a dreamscape. However, now when I see that photo on my mom’s office wall, I go, wow, I was on the cover of Rolling Stone. It’s much cooler now than it was then.
The photo reminds me of how well us girls got along Plus, I never knew anyone could look as sexy in saddle shoes as Sherilyn Fenn. With an ensemble cast, though, you don’t necessarily work with the same people very day. You do your thing. You have to memorize lines. Then you go home, wash off your war paint, and get ready to do everything all over again a few hours later. I never found there was enough time to be catty, and thank God all of the women I worked with felt the same way.
Actually, as I think about, the women were something special and new at that – young, beautiful, very intelligent, mysterious, unknowable. Perfectly glamorous and perfectly smart. I think that was captivating. Certain it was different. Television hadn’t seen anything like it. That’s part of what the Rolling Stone story was about – and all to David Lynch’s credit. We were his vision.
I was lucky in that the women I worked with on The Practice were people I also adored. I was in the birthing rooms for two different labors, Kelli Williams and Camryn Manheim. Talk about amazing experiences. But that was The Practice in general. An amazing experience. I worked with the most committed actors, the most brilliant writing, the most respectful, driven, talented crew. But I guess I’m getting ahead of myself.
I got The Practice because I lost out on Ally McBeal. It was between me and Calista Flockhart. She got the job, and I didn’t. I was heartbroken. It was a terrific project. But that’s what you have to get used to in this business. Afterward, David Kelley called probably three times before I finally answered. Thank God he was a patient man. He said he had this other show called The Practice, and he wanted to write me a part. Of course I didn’t believe him. I said, um, okay.
I’d had my heart broken. What was I supposed to say? He was like, “No, I’m serious, Lara. I’d like to send you the script. I want you to come to work this week.” I said, “You’re fucking with me.” He said, “No, I mean it.” And he did. And that’s how The Practice happened.
The part of Helen Gamble was created for me. Someone once asked if I modeled her after anyone. No, the truth is, I was in a bad mood one day and I took it from there. I’d also seen both Helen Mirren, who is my idol, and Glenn Close play lawyers, and I loved their performances. I tried to stay strong and never blink.
It’s funny. Helen’s often called a pit bull. I’d always ask David if he thought I was that bitchy. In real life, I swear to you, I’m not. I’m afraid of my own shadow.
We had to get The Practice off the ground. It didn’t have the kind of overnight buzz that Twin Peaks enjoyed. But some shows are like that. Although the cast came together from day one, it took a while for the show to find its voice and for the audience to connect with it. Interestingly, the cast was committed like none I’d ever worked with.
The level of commitment to good work among the cast and crew was incredible. We had 12 to 18 pages of dialogue a day. None of us slept. Everyone wanted to be word perfect. We made bets during courtroom scenes about how many takes we’d need, if people would hit their marks. Everyone wanted to be perfect. All of us were entrusted with the security code to the stage, and I don’t remember a day during those seven years when one of the actors wasn’t staying late into the night or showing up hours early to rehearse their scenes and doing their blocking in the courtroom.
David Kelley’s an actor’s dream. The whole series is so poignant and powerful, just breathtaking in the scope of issues we took on and the kind of characters he created for us. I remember Hillary Clinton came to the set one day. She had lunch with everyone. She was just a fan of the show. I find it still resonates today. I still get stopped and asked legal questions.
Tomorrow, I’ll answer some of your questions. Till then…
June 19, 2008
I've enjoyed blogging this week and getting your questions and responses. I'm moved and delighted by your enjoyment of the work I've been part of. I'm going to do my best to answer most of your questions. For that reason, I'm going to spend the weekend going through them and respond more fully next week. However, let me answer a few right here.
First, Randy, I'm wondering if you found your keys.
Mischa, you wanted to know if I had any behind-the-scenes photos from the set of Twin Peaks, if there's any chance wof seeing those?, and also what was it like filming the pilot up in Washington? No, I don't have a collection of photographs, and they would be personal if I did. I mentioned this earlier in the week that I don’t really have souvenirs or much of anything from my project. I think I have three episodes of The Practice, none from Twin Peaks, none from Huff – and that's about it. As I said in an earlier post, I do the work and move on. You’re only as good as the day’s work. Then it’s back to the proving ground. The pilot was a wonderful experience. David knew what he wanted. He had a vision. All of us came together in that little town outside of Seattle. Then we watched the pilot together when it aired. It was a special time.
Pwankers asked if it was really Sheryl Lee and James Marshall singing "Just You and I"? Regardless, and if so, "how'd you keep a straight face during playback, having to hear the ridiculous falsetto vocals and mind-numbing lyrics over and over again? ("We go strolling together"? Come on!)" The singing was real. I always say that working with David was like a vacation, but there were moments that frightened me and having to sing was one of them! Oh my gosh. I don’t even like thinking back on that. The song went on the soundtrack, too, if I remember. It was frightening. But so much happened on the show where I didn’t know if my character was coming or going. I did what my boss told me to do – even when it included singing.
A few people asked if I still see the others from the show. The three of us – Sherilyn, Sheryl and myself did a photo shoot a few years ago, and it was lovely to see them. Other than that, I never see them. The same is true with the wonderful people on The Practice. I see Dylan, who I regard as my long lost borther, but otherwise, no, I don’t see anyone. That’s the strange part of this business. You get very close to people, then you move on. But you never lose that feeling of closeness.
More answers to your questions next week. Have a great weekend!
June 22, 2008
From DK (and many others who sent in the same question): Why weren't you in Fire Walk With Me? That's what everyone here really wants to know.
Me: I was extremely busy at the time, and found it difficult to talk backwards with little people.
From Peg: Can you tell me what Sherilyn Fenn and Sheryl Lee were like? I'd also like to know what it was like working with the great and beautiful Peggy Lipton.
Sherilyn is as delightful as she is beautiful, Peggy Lipton has a smile that puts you at ease, and Sheryl Lee is always a joy to be around. The women I have worked with - Twin Peaks, The Practice, and others - continue to be a source of strength and inspiration. I have been very fortunate.
From Phil: How hard were the courtroom scenes in "The Practice"? Lots of legal talk and lots ot tension & sparks! My favorite episode was when Helen Gamble freaked out on the jury after they found the defendant innocent of murder and she was thrown into a jail cell along with Bobby for Contempt of Court. Can you tell me about that episode?
Me: The courtroom scenes were incredibly challenging. All of us looked forward to them. We worked out butts off to get them right. We had bets about who would forget a word or miss their mark. Since no one wanted to lose, we rehearsed all the time. I said it in one of my posts, I can't remember a night when someone wasn't staying late on the set to practice and work out their scene. Those seven years were extraordinary. As for that specific episode, it was one of my favorites. I remember everyone was very excited to finally get to it. It ended up looking pretty good, huh?
From Clambone: How does David Lynch choose actors? It seems like there's a combination of looks (they tend to be either extremely good-looking or unusual-looking) and stylized line readings that he looks for, and he obviously returns to certain actors repeatedly, but I can't quite put my finger on what's so unusual about it.
The reason you can’t put your finger on it is why he is David Lynch. Though it be madness, there is method in it.
From MK @ Popbytes.com: What projects do you have coming up? Movies? TV shows? I hope to god you aren't retired or semi-retired.
Retire? Semi-Retire? NEVER! I am presently doing publicity for my newly released feature "Have Dreams With Travel," which I co-produced, and I have a lot of projects in the works. Though I love sitting at home with my doggies, I have no intent on retiring any time soon.
From P: I would like [you] to talk about the 'Twin Peaks' movie 'Fire Walk with Me' when Madchen Amick played Donna - what did you think about that? Did she want to be a part of it? Anything on that topic would be awesome -
Me: I am reminded of a line from Twin Peaks “The next time you see me, it will not be me.” Its from one of the great backwards dialogue dream sequences, and it fits perfectly with my feelings on FWWM. Everything goes in the world of Twin Peaks, and everyone was great, especially Madchen.
Unfortunately, I don't have time to answer any more of the many questions you guys sent in. I'm kind of surprising at how many there were. This blogging is new to me. Please know that I've read most of your questions -- i.e. Gary, yours is the latest, and I'm glad you enjoy Red Rock West; yeah, it's one of my favorites, too. And oh gosh, someone else asked why I didn't keep much of my work. The short answer is that it's all about the next challenge and trying to be better...always trying to be better... Anyway I'm glad so many people have enjoyed the projects I've been privileged to be part of and the work I've done. Thank you.
Keep watching on Fancast and maybe we'll do this again. You never know...
