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Laura Innes Q&A - Radio Times, March 2002 |
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The actress talked to Radio Times about her abrasive ER alter ego and how rewarding she finds the experience of directing.
RT: What is your
favourite current
TV programme?
LI: I'd have to say The West Wing - not that I'm biased or anything! [Innes has directed several episodes of the White House drama, for which she earned an Emmy nomination]. The writing is fantastic. It's so smart and inspiring.
What is your all-time favourite
TV programme?
St Elsewhere [the eighties American hospital drama that was a forerunner of ER] - intelligent, eccentric and beautifully made with a marvellous ensemble cast.
Why have medical dramas
always been so popular?
Viewers can put themselves in the shoes of every character. They can imagine themselves as a doctor or a patient or a relative. Every episode hinges on a life-or-death situation. The moment people walk into a hospital, their lives are often altered for ever.
What would you be doing now if
you weren't an actor?
I'd be a school teacher - that's my dream job.
Do you have any unfulfilled
ambitions?
Not now that I am directing. It gives me the biggest buzz. The crass way of putting it is to say that it gives you complete control, but beyond that it's extremely creative. You're creating something from scratch but you're not alone, you're part of a community.
Which piece of directing are
you most proud of?
The episode of ER where Carter and Lucy got stabbed. I talked to lots of doctors about what happens when you're stabbed. They told me you start bleeding, you go pale, your lungs fill up with blood and your body goes into shock. I thought depicting that would be far more interesting than seeing a knife swinging through the air, which has been done so many times before.
What do you think of your ER
character, Dr Kerry Weaver?
I love the fact that she is so different. She is a woman completely without vanity. Also, she always speaks her mind . The producers brought Kerry in to the show because it needed someone edgy and abrasive. And although she has subsequently been allowed to show different sides, her core purpose remains to charge down the corridor screaming at the other doctors, "Do your job." It's not the way women are supposed to behave and it's very refreshing.
Why has she taken so long to
come out?
Kerry has put her passions very much on the backburner. She has deeply repressed herself to achieve her goals. Also, someone who is disabled is hardly going to run out and say, "By the way, I'm also a lesbian." That would be two strikes against her. She has buried her sexuality for so long, it's interesting now to uncork that bottle.
What is the best advice anyone
has ever given you?
When I'd just moved to New York and was sending my résumé all over trying to get an agent, the playwright David Mamet told me: "They'll break your heart a million times, but it will only make you stronger." He was absolutely right.
**
View our Laura Innes gallery - or take a look at our full ER guide.
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