Showing posts with label Kellie Martin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kellie Martin. Show all posts
Interview: Kellie Martin Explores New Territory
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| Kellie Martin as Capt. Nicole Galassin (Photo courtesy Lifetime Television/ Army Wives) |
Celebrity Extra: Your role on “Army Wives” is definitely one your fans haven’t seen you play yet. How did the whole thing come about?
Kellie Martin: A friend of mine, a writer friend from “ER,” called me up and said: “Would you be open to playing a lesbian military intelligence officer? We’re going to explore the world after Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And I thought: “Yeah! That sounds really interesting.” I have never played anyone in the military; I’ve never played a lesbian. That’s rare for me to say, since I’ve been doing this 30 years — I’ve played everything. But that is something I’ve never played.
I didn’t know that it was going to be as much of a story line as it turned out to be. I did eight episodes. I really feel like they hit the highlights of this woman’s life and how fast this couple’s world changed after the repeal. The way all of a sudden they were able to have more friends, they got married, they got a baby — it really hit all the high points.
CE: You sound like you really enjoyed playing this character.
KM: Oh yes, I was honored to play this woman. I thought she was so brave and so smart, yet in her personal life, she had to hide. It was really fun to play someone who comes out. And then to have Patti LuPone play my mom again was awesome. That’s the third time Patti’s played my mom on television. And it was just an honor.
I have so many people who tweet at me or who just come up to me and say, “You don’t know how this story line has changed my life.” Or, “This is me. This is exactly me. And I’ve been in the closet for years, and I’m in the Navy.” It’s nice to make people feel like they are not alone in this often-challenging world. I feel like Capt. Galassin is the girl next door. Everybody knows someone like her. I’m just very proud of “Army Wives” and Lifetime for following through with the story line like they did.
CE: Like with “ER,” you came onto an established show with established actors in place; did it make you a little nervous? How is the “Army Wives” cast to work with?
KM: It’s funny, because they’re both pretty big ensembles. I found on “ER” and on “Army Wives,” if you weren’t a part of someone else’s story line, you never saw them. The cast was very welcoming, and I was super nervous the first day. I had a ton of things to say. I had to put that uniform on for the first time, and I just fell into the character the second I put it on. So, that was a really big help to me. But the cast is lovely. I had a really, really good time. It wasn’t easy for me to be away on location so much. I was flying way more than I care to mention, because I don’t like to fly, but it was a really good experience.
CE: Do you think Nicole will be back for the seventh season?
KM: I don’t know if Nicole’s back. She was on a plane to Afghanistan at the end of the season, and there was a lot of turbulence …
CE: Yes, but turbulence can go away, and planes can go back the other way, too …
KM: Absolutely! I had a great time, and I never, ever know where my career’s going to head, so it’s always interesting for me to see what happens.
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| Kellie as Jordan (Photo: Copyright 2011 Crown Media Holdings, Inc./ Photographer: Alexx Henry) |
KM: I’ve been working with them since 2003 or 2004, and I’ve really just gotten to love the people over there. I knew the CEO when he wasn’t the CEO, and all the publicity people who’ve been there since I started working with them. It’s really the people who keep me coming back. They just are very good to me, and they let me have a bit of input into the work we do, which I really appreciate.
I really have liked doing romantic comedies — the past two movies that I’ve done for them have been really fun, upbeat and, best of all, I don’t have to cry. I love that, because I’ve spent so much time doing drama that this is a really nice way to lighten things up for me.
CE: What was it about this particular movie, especially the character of Jordan, that caught your attention?
KM: I love the arc she goes through. Jordan starts out as a very tightly wound real estate agent about to get married to a very tightly wound attorney. She has to face who she really is beyond being type A and totally under control. She unravels a bit, and it was really fun to play a character who was unraveling.
CE: How are you and Jordan alike?
KM: Well, unlike Jordan I like to drink. Jordan doesn’t drink. I’m Irish, and I do enjoy a good drink. I did marry an attorney, but unlike Peter (in the movie), my husband is a recovering attorney. Eight months after our daughter was born, he said: “You know what? I don’t think I want to do this anymore. I don’t really like this.” I do like to be in control. I like to know what’s going on. I like routines, especially having a child. I love the ritual, routine nature of a day, because my daughter has a very strict schedule. We have a very rigid schedule, and that’s very much like Jordan.
CE: You had great chemistry with your co-stars, but I especially loved your scenes with Adrienne Frantz. Her character is hilarious, and she did such a great job!
KM: Can you tell we had fun? She’s so much fun.
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| L to R: Daphnee Duplaix, Adrienne Frantz and Kellie Martin (Photo: Copyright 2011 Crown Media Holdings, Inc./Photographer: Alexx Henry) |
KM: I frequently didn’t. There’s one scene I could see how they had to cut around our giggling. When we’re eating pizza, and Adrianne and I are hysterically laughing, and they had to find the little moments where we weren’t laughing because we were total goofballs. But it’s so nice to work with someone like her because she is a pro. She’s so much a pro that she can let loose, and you can allow for those little surprises to happen. It’s just lovely to be in a scene with someone who’s so good at what they do that we know we are going to say our lines and hit our marks, but we’re going to have fun and allow surprises to happen. And that’s what we did. I would love to do a series with that girl. We would have so much fun.
CE: What do you hope viewers take away from the movie after watching it?
KM: I really think it’s good to shake up your life every once in a while. I’m not saying to marry someone who’s not your fiance, but I think it’s good to step back every once in a while and get perspective on your life. Maybe step back and say: “You know what? Let’s do something crazy. Let’s go to Paris next summer,” or “Let’s take off school today and go to the park.
Just shake up your life every once in a while and realize you only live once.
Q and A: Week of Oct. 8
Q: I am so happy to hear that “Army Wives” has been renewed for another season. Will all the stars be back for the new season? — Fiona W., via e-mail A: Lifetime has indeed ordered 13 more episodes of the hit military drama for a 2013 seventh season. However, not all the details of who will be returning have been worked out. Catherine Bell appears to be a yes, while Kim Delany is most likely a no. Kelli Wilson, who plays Jackie Clark, seems a likely candidate to slip into a more prominent role. And don’t count out newcomer Kellie Martin, who plays Capt. Nicole Galassini. She told me recently that she’d be up for another tour of duty with “Wives.”
“I was honored to play this woman,” Kellie said. “I thought she was so brave and so smart, yet in her personal life she had to hide, and it was really fun to play someone who comes out. I feel like Capt. Galassin is the girl next door. Everybody knows someone like her. I’m just very proud of “Army Wives” and Lifetime for following through with the storyline that they did.
“Last we saw Nicole, she was on a plane to Afghanistan at the season end, and there was a lot of turbulence … but I had a great time and I never ever know where my career’s going to head, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
In the meantime, you can catch Kellie in the Hallmark Channel original movie “I Married Who?” airing Saturday, Oct. 20, at 9/8c. Check back here for my full interview with Kellie next week.
Q: What has happened to “CSI: Miami”? Has it been canceled? — Bill V., via e-mail
A: CBS opted back in May not to renew the David Caruso-starring crime drama after 10 seasons and 232 episodes. However, you can still whet your “CSI” appetite with the original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” on Wednesday nights with Ted Danson and Elisabeth Shue, and “CSI: NY” with Gary Sinise and Sela Ward on Friday nights.
Q: Will “Finding Bigfoot” be back? It’s one of my favorite shows. — Eddie S. in Oregon
A: As one of Animal Planet’s top-performing series ever, you can bet your sweet bippy that it’ll be back for a third season. Prepare yourself for 20 informative and somewhat-scary episodes beginning Sunday, Nov. 11, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. This season the team of investigators will travel worldwide in search of the ever-elusive sasquatch, heading to Australia to investigate the phenomenon known as “yowies” and to Indonesia to scout out the “orang-pendek” creature.
Q: I was wondering if two of my favorite reality shows will be back: “L.A. Ink” and “Gene Simmons Family Jewels.” — N.P. in Kentucky
A: I hate to have to deliver this double-whammy of bad news for you, but neither “L.A. Ink” nor “Family Jewels” has been renewed for a new season, and therefore won’t be returning to TLC and A and E, respectively.
Kellie Martin Joins Forces with Elephants
We opened in the Fall of 2000 with our own line of cotton knit baby clothes in a distinctive color palette with little embroidered elephants along with an eclectic mix of children’s toys, clothing and decorative items from around the world.
Over the years we have established a unique and timeless style inspired by world cultures, vintage classics, and Mother Nature with clothing designed to be simple, comfortable, playful and easy — always keeping in mind the lifestyle of a child.
Green by nature, Entertaining Elephants ethics and aesthetics are perfectly in sync — always favoring natural, vintage and recycled materials and supporting products made from socially and environmentally viable sources.
Interview: Kellie Martin Is Ready for Anything in Smooch
While Kellie Martin might be best known for her roles on "Life Goes On" and "ER," it is rare that fans get to see her in a lighthearted romantic comedy. Well, we will all get that chance tomorrow night when Kellie's original Hallmark Channel movie, "Smooch" premieres at 9/8c. I caught up with Kellie recently to talk about her role in her latest movie.Celebrity Extra: What were some factors that drew you to this movie, and to the character of Gwen specifically?
Kellie Martin: I really don’t get to do too many romantic comedies, and I love romantic comedies. I feel that this script is as good as the (end-product) film. It really carried through. I just thought it was a little piece of candy when I read it. It made me laugh, it made me tear up a little bit. And I liked that Gwen had some very funny stuff to do. I don’t often get to do funny stuff, I’m just usually having to cry. So it was a nice opportunity for me to do a little comedy.
I just loved the relationship between Gwen and Zoe. I have a 4-year-old daughter, and it was so easy to slip into that role because I think I have a similar relationship with my daughter. Very, very close. Very good friends. And I also just liked the idea of getting to fall in love. I’ve been married almost 12 years now, so it’s kind of fun to pretend to fall in love.
CE: Are there ways that you and Gwen are similar, ways that you can empathize with her?
KM: I think we both push ourselves very hard. Gwen, having lost her husband, is trying to be the mom and the dad to her daughter. She’s the breadwinner, and I think she has a lot of guilt about not having to spend enough time with her daughter. I’m exactly the same way. I push myself much harder than I should. I often catch myself and go, "Wait a minute — try to appreciate these moments.” And I was away shooting this. I was away for almost a month. I came home twice to see my daughter. But I had a lot of guilt of being away from my daughter. So, it was very easy to relate Gwen. And to lose your soulmate so young too, I had such empathy for her. It was really easy to love her as a character before I started playing her.
CE: I think it’s good for your fans to see you in a new type of role. Because I don’t think we’ve gotten to see you that way. And being a mom in real life, was it fun to get to play that type of role?
KM: It was really fun because I am a mom now, and I find that I always put so much of myself into the parts I play. And I like being able to bring that part of me to it. Because I love being a mom, it certainly opened up a lot of new emotional passageways that didn’t exist before for me. I really feel like I appreciate life’s little moments so much more now that I’m a mother, and I don’t rush through things as quickly. And I think I bring that to my work now.
Also, playing Kiernan's (Shipka, who plays daughter Zoe) mom was the easiest thing in the world. She reminds me so much of my daughter, and I’m a huge fan of hers. I love watching her on "Mad Men." I got to be her mom for a whole month, and it was great.
CE: She is just excellent in this movie. I wouldn't even call her a "child actor" — she is an actor!
KM: Yeah, she’s an old soul. I’ve worked with some child actors, and you know the ones who are going to do really well, and she’s already done really well. But you know the ones who are going to last, because they are old souls, they take it in stride and they are not too impressed with themselves — and they have a really good Mom. Her mom is fantastic. Kiernan will be doing this until she’s 80, and she’ll be really, really good at it.
CE: Another thing I really liked is it was a really sweet throwback to movies from when you and I were little: the fairy tales with knights and princesses. Were you attracted to the sweetness and the innocence of this movie?
KM: Definitely, and one of my daughters favorite movies right now is the “Princess and the Frog.” So when I read the script I was like, “Oh my God!” First of all my kid is actually going to be able to watch this. Which is very exciting to me because I don’t usually get to show Maggie the things I do. And I get to play a Princess in the beginning (during a fantasy sequence), which was so cool. She gets to tell all her friends that her mom is a princess.
It was just really fun to play that little bit of whimsy and romance, and it made it fun to shoot. There was just no angst. It was really lighthearted, and it’s not always like that. I’m usually playing someone who’s had something horrible happen to her. And granted, Gwen has had something horrible happen to her, but it happened a few years ago and she’s moved on with her life. I just had a blast doing it.
CE: As a Mom you must really appreciate the family fare that the Hallmark Channel constantly churns out.
KM: I do appreciate that. But I’m always shocked at what does scare my daughter. The witch at the beginning of the movie who turns the knight into a frog — she found that witch terrifying!! She ran out of the room screaming, and I was like, “Oh my gosh. That’s scary?” So you never know what they are going to be scared about.
But it’s true, the Hallmark Channel does programming for everybody. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are, you can pretty much watch anything on the channel, which is really, really nice. Even with the radio, I constantly find myself diving for the dial to turn it off because they’ve used an inappropriate word in a song. And she’s 4, so she picks up everything. She does not miss a thing right now.
CE: Being a graduate of Yale, so you must be thrilled that this film really promotes reading. I was like, “Yay! A child reading on TV!”
KM: You’re absolutely right. She’s reading. She’s not playing a video game. She’s not plugged into something. I totally love that. When I was Kiernan's age, I went through a Nancy Drew book a day. I hung out in my room and I ready my Nancy Drew. In the same way she’s obsessed with the Frog Prince, I was obsessed with Nancy Drew. And I feel like I don’t want to lose that. Parents need to make a choice when kids are little, that they are not going to let them plug into something — to the iPad or to a video game — I really feel it is so important that they go back to books. It forms the rest of their life. I am a lifelong lover of books.
Nothing against the iPad; I think all this technology is awesome, and it's making our world a pretty interesting place to live in. There is so much knowledge at our fingertips for research. That’s great. But to teach kids that books are important, that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
CE: How was Simon Kassianides to work with?KM: He’s awesome! He’s from London and has done a ton of stage, so I feel that he brings a whole different aspect to it than I do, because I’ve just done television my whole life. I feel like I learned a lot from him. He really kept me on my toes as an actor. And he was just so willing to go there. He took risks, which was just so fun to work with. And he was very, very easy to fall in love with.
CE: I could tell he had done stage work especially how he works with props — twirling the umbrella and flipping the hat on his head …
KM: I’m so glad that they hired someone like Simon to do this part, because so often in these movies they just get “namey” people — you know, people whose names you’ve seen before or someone who was on your favorite old series. But Simon has done a bunch of features, but he’s not someone who people in America have been really exposed to. I love that they cast him in this. The guy that cast this is actually John Jackson, who cast all of Alexander Payne's ("Sideways") movies. We had the most amazing casting director.
CE: In your own words, what is the central message of the movie?
KM: I think for me the overall message is that you should always allow yourself to wait for the unexpected. Be ready for anything unexpected to come your way, because you never know what life is going to bring you, and you should keep an open heart.
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