Interview: Kevin Sorbo — Greek Hero, Starship Captain, Barbarian Conqueror, Old West Cowboy

Kevin Sorbo as Ray Eastman in Hallmark Movie Channel's
Shadow on the Mesa

He’s been a Greek hero, a starship captain and a barbarian conqueror. There aren’t many territories that Kevin Sorbo hasn’t explored, and the world of the Western is also one he is very familiar with. Having done quite a few Westerns already, with a handful being for the Hallmark Movie Channel, Kevin was ready to get back in the saddle again with the Hallmark Movie Channel’s “Shadow on the Mesa.” (Which is ironic, because Kevin’s character doesn’t actually ride a horse the entire movie.)

I spoke with Kevin recently about his new movie, which premieres Saturday, March 23 at 8/7c, and also stars Wes Brown (“Deception”), Gail O’Grady (“NYPD: Blue”) and Meredith Baxter (“Family Ties”).

Celebrity Extra: First off, tell me what it was about “Shadow on the Mesa” that made you want to be a part of the movie.

Kevin Sorbo: There were a number of reasons. It starts with Hallmark as a whole. They’ve been great to me. I love doing Hallmark movies. I’m a believer in family-friendly entertainment. There’s not enough of it in Hollywood. And I’m a big fan of David Cass, who directed it. We’ve done a couple of other Westerns together as well. One called “Avenging Angel,” and the other one is called “Prairie Fever.” They are wonderful, wonderful Westerns. I’m just a fan of Westerns as a whole. I’ve got about three more we’re trying to get money for right now. I’ve got Ann-Margret and Dwight Yoakam attached to one of them, so I don’t see why we won’t be able to do that one with that star power behind it.

But back to your question: I like the character of Ray Eastman — he’s interesting to me. This is the first Western I’ve shot that I didn’t ever have to be on a horse, which is weird, but my character is on crutches throughout. The back story is he got flipped off a horse and broke his leg. But he’s a fair man, and he’s a tough man. It’s pretty much a how-the-West-was-won kind of deal with this guy. He finds out his wife has not only been cheating on him, but she’s been cheating with the guy who’s pretty much a mortal enemy to Ray. He also discovers he’s got a son that he never knew about. There are some very emotional, touching scenes in there. Dramatically, it’s a very well-written script.

CE: Wes Brown plays your son, Wes Rawlins. Tell me about him, and the interaction between your characters.

KS: All his life, Wes has lived with this hatred for a man he’s never met. He never knew the whole story behind everything with who Ray was. So, he comes in basically wanting to assassinate me. He soon learns that everything he thought he knew about me was completely wrong. He’s a tough character to crack in terms of his youth and his anger. He’s very much a loner type of character; he’s soft spoken and sort of has a Clint Eastwood thing going on with him. My character has been around the block. He doesn’t have time for crap. He cuts right to the chase.

So we’ve got two different personalities that meet up, but I think I can relate to Wes, because at one time in my life, I was that young, fine buck as well.

CE: What else about Ray do you like and can you can relate to?

KS: I like his straightforwardness. He’s a man who is true to his word, and if you screw him over, he’s not real happy about it. I like his character a lot. He’s just a tough guy who doesn’t suffer fools. But he’s also a very loving man who has a hard time showing it in one way, but he says it in a very direct way.

CE: So, is this the kind of movie where you can pop some popcorn, grab the kids and sit in front of the TV for a few hours for some good, wholesome entertainment?

KS: No question about it — that’s what Hallmark is known for. There certainly is a target audience with the ladies, but they definitely want to appeal to men as well. I think that’s why they’re one of the few television outlets that still puts out Westerns every year, which is great. Trust me, all actors, male or female, want to do a Western. They’re lying if they say they don’t want to. We all want to.

CE: I have to admit, it does look like a lot of fun, with the sets, costumes, gorgeous scenery, etc. Just from talking with you, I can tell how much you enjoy it.

KS: It’s great. They’ve got these sets they’ve built, and you’ve got the outfits, and you’re walking around on the sets in your costumes, and it’s so cool. You sort of get into that period. At one time, back in the ’50s and ’60s, all the Westerns dominated television. From “Bonanza” to “The Big Valley” to “Gunsmoke” — which ran for about 27 years or something. Isn’t that ridiculous?

But in reality, that was a hard time to live in. These are hard men and women who crossed these mountain ranges to get to the West. And there was so much violence, and just imagine how stinky they must have been. But there’s an aura of romanticism there when we think about that time period because of how hard and tough these people were. And we complain about if our remote control stops working we have to physically walk up to the television to turn the channel. These people left Boston in July, and half of them died nine months later trying to cross all these terrains of America. Today we complain about five-hour flights from L.A. to New York.

CE: And don’t even get me started on smartphones attached to everyone’s hands.

KS: We don’t even talk to each other anymore. We sit at a table with six of our friends, and we text each other at the table. We don’t even talk to them.

CE: I loved your guest appearance in “Don’t Trust the B____ in Apt. 23” a few months back.

KS: Oh, that was fun. That was a lot of fun.

CE: It was hilarious. And you did such a great job. Would you like to do more sitcom work?

KS: I would love to. I’ve done a lot of guest spots, like “Dharma and Greg,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Just Shoot Me.” I did my own sitcom back in 2005. “Hercules” ran seven years, and “Andromeda” ran five years, and then after that I sold a series to ABC. It was a half-hour comedy called “Bobby Cannon,” where I played an end-of-the-year quarterback for the Chicago Bears. It was like “Coach” meets “Cheers” in a way. It tested No. 1 for ABC, but the then-president of ABC decided not to pick it up. To this day we are shocked. And they bought it from us because they didn’t want us taking it somewhere else and it becoming successful elsewhere. We’d be in our eighth season right now, there’s no doubt in my mind. It was a very funny show, but, you know, when shows fail, it’s the actor who gets the blame for it. Go figure that out. Welcome to the business of Hollywood.

CE: But if the right opportunity came around again, would you give it another try? I love seeing you in comedies.

KS: Well, “Hercules” had a lot of comedy in it, a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor. I’ve got a movie out right now called “Pool Boy,” and it’s a very funny comedy. It’s very reverential, sophomoric humor that’s “Naked Gun” meets “Airplane,” and it’s just all over the place making fun of current topics in America. I love doing that kind of stuff. It’s a blast.

Read more

Interview: Luke Perry's Gamble Pays Off

L to R: Ricky Schroder, Luke Perry, Katharine Isabelle

For fans of the Hallmark Movie Channel’s “Goodnight for Justice” films who are anxiously awaiting the next installment, your wait is over. Luke Perry returns as Justice John Goodnight in the third film of the series, “Goodnight for Justice: Queen of Hearts,” which premieres Jan. 26 at 8/9c. This time, John rescues a beautiful woman from a stagecoach gunfight, never realizing she is actually an outlaw on the run. As a romance develops between them, he helps her escape the corrupt man (Cyril Knox, played by Ricky Schroder) who is after her, until finding out she might not be as innocent as she seems. I spoke with Luke recently about this latest “Goodnight” film.

Daytime Dial: So tell us what John Goodnight has been up to since we last saw him in “Measure of a Man” until we see him come face to face with a bear in the opening scene of “Queen of Hearts.”

Luke Perry: Between “Measure of a Man” and “Queen of Hearts,” I never wanted to see another woman again, especially if she is going to spring on me, “Oh yeah, and that’s your kid.” I rode out of that (at the end of “Measure”) and was thinking: “Man, I’m not even going to stop and talk to a girl again. Are you kidding me?” But I come up on this situation that required some dealing with. And when I open the door, who should be there? A pretty girl. Isn’t that always the way?

DD: So in that opening scene, were you really face to face with that huge bear, or was there a protective barrier there between you?

LP: I did that face to face. That bear touched my face. That was an “oh sh*t” moment for everybody. It got real muddy, and the bear was slipping and I was slipping, and we were really close to each other. But they were sweet bears, and their breath smelled good. They’d been eating cookies, and their breath smelled like Oreos.

DD: Speaking of doing your own stunts, there is a really cool scene at the end of the movie, which I won’t mention to give anything away, and it really looked like you doing that stunt. Was that you?

LP: Yep, that was me. I’d been wanting to do stunt ever since I was 6 years old. And that’s a hard thing to pull off, because for insurance reasons, in America they won’t let you do it. But up in Canada, where we shot, as the producer of the movie, I was able to get it figured out. I think that’s a really neat thing for the audience. That’s why you do it.

DD: Did you let your stuntman do anything?

LP: Not to not take anything away from the lovely and talented Eli Zagoudakis. Eli jumped off the cliff before I did, because as a producer, I had to make sure that we got the shot in the can, so the responsible thing to do was to let Eli go first. When Eli got done, I looked at the assistant director and asked, “How much time do we have?” and he said, “Eighteen minutes.” I said, “Load ’em up again, boys.” And I climbed up there and got to do my take at jumping off the cliff.

DD: I got a laugh out of that scene in the beginning, where John shows he is not infallible, as he inadvertently lets off a young Butch Cassidy …

LP: There are two things I always wanted to do with this character: I liked the idea of him bumping up against history — Butch Cassidy, for instance. If you’re somebody who likes history, it puts you in the mind of what period they’re in. I’ve always liked stuff like that. And the other thing I’ve always said is judges are not perfect people. They’re just people who have to have this job of judging. That’s always interested me — the dispensation of justice by people who clearly are imperfect, because mistakes will be made.

DD: I finally saw “Lonesome Dove” for the first time a few months back...

LP: That was great, wasn't it?

DD: I absolutely loved it, especially Ricky Schroder. Aside from being a very good actor, was knowing that he could handle a horse and that he knows his way around a Western a big reason you decided to cast him as Cyril Knox?

LP: My hope was that all those people who saw “Lonesome Dove” would think, “Oh yeah, I saw him in ‘Lonesome Dove.’” And then they would turn up and watch this movie. Yes, absolutely, I wouldn’t try to hide that from you. But he was a good choice, and clearly he identifies with this type of material. We have seen him before and have seen him do it very well. And, of course, I wanted a good actor in the role.

DD: I also like that you cast him against type as Cyril Knox; we are used to seeing Ricky as the good guy.

LP: For me as an actor, I oftentimes wish producers would take a chance and cast me against type, and they often don’t, so when you get a chance, you do it. At least I do. I got a chance to say, “No, no, it’s not the guy that they would expect, so let’s do that.”

DD: How was Ricky to work with? Or is it Rick? I go back and forth …

LP: Rick, Ricky — I don’t think he cares, to tell you the truth. As long as you call him for lunchtime, he’s happy. I think he had a pretty good time on the shoot. And it was good for me to know that when we send him out on a horse and tell him to come riding in the shot, he would most probably stay on the horse. A lot of the time, actors can’t do that, but we knew with Rick that he would be really good.

DD: Your female foil in this movie, Katharine Isabelle, was really great in the part. What was she like to work with?

LP: Katie was great. She was a trouper. We had a real good time, and she didn’t fall either. Seriously — because a lot of times, people say they can ride a horse when you’re in casting but they can’t. Katie really could ride. That’s always Katie you see riding, and she does a great job with it. But not just with that stuff. She also did the scenes really well. She’s sweet, she’s really pretty and she’s sassy — all good qualities onscreen.

DD: And you reteamed with your “Jeremiah” director, Martin Wood. I’ll assume it was a good experience on “Jeremiah” for you to hire him for “Queen of Hearts.”

LP: Yes, it was. Martin is one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with. And people get the idea because he’s done a lot of sci-fi that he can only do sci-fi. I always knew that if I put him in another situation, he would be able to deliver for me. I think this is our best (“Goodnight for Justice” film) yet. Martin really had great command of all the elements, and we had a good pre-existing rapport with each other and a lot of trust. And he was great with all the actors. It’s always great when you get a chance to give someone an opportunity to step outside his envelope and show people that he can do it.

Read more

Q and A: Week of Jan. 21

Q: I heard that Luke Perry and Jennie Garth are planning to do a project together soon. Is that true? — Dahlia A., via e-mail

A: When I spoke with Luke recently, he was mum on the subject of Jennie, but he WAS eager to tell me about his latest Hallmark Movie Channel movie: “Goodnight for Justice: Queen of Hearts,” which premieres Saturday, Jan. 26, and re-airs throughout the week. (Check local listings.)

On his love for his “Goodnight” series, and Westerns in general, Luke told me: “I don’t need any aliens with my cowboys. I’ll just take my cowboys straight up if that’s OK with everybody else. We all talk about Westerns. There were some great ones made.

“What I love about (the ‘Goodnight’) movies is that you know what you’re going to get going in, which makes it like the old Western serials that would play before the movies. There’s a bit of a cliffhanger element, and the guy rides off in the end. But if he comes back the next time, you know there’ll be some more shooting and some girls and some action, and another little bit of the story will get told. That’s what I wanna do. I’ve never felt really compelled to do the bigger, better, more bang, more stuff. You can still make a good Western.”

Check back later this week for my entire interview with Luke. You don't want to miss it!

Q: Has “Body of Proof” been renewed for another season? — George T., via e-mail

A: The Dana Delany-starring medical drama will return to ABC for its third season on Feb. 5 at 10/9c with a two-part season premiere (with the conclusion airing the following Tuesday). This season, Dr. Megan Hunt tackles the biggest case of her career, and her biggest personal mystery life: Did her father really commit suicide, or was he murdered?

Q: I love this season of “The Biggest Loser,” but I wondered if they are nervous about including kids this time around? — Harriet W., Owings Mills, Md.

A: I spoke with host Alison Sweeney and asked her just that. Being a mom herself, she told me that the show plans to help these kids in the best way possible, and won’t make them submit to the grueling programs that the adults go through.

“The first thing we did was to take into consideration the age of the contestants, and how we could best help and guide them,” she said. “They don’t live on the ranch; they are not going to be competing. We encourage the families to also change their nutrition choices, and get them out there and exercising. This is all done in a kid-friendly way.”

Q: Can you tell me when Charlie Sheen’s “Anger Management” returns for a new season? — John R., via e-mail

A: The FX comedy — whose series premiere was the most watched cable-sitcom premiere in history — returned on Jan. 17. The network has ordered 90 new episodes, which will be produced over the next two years.

Read more

Interview: Luke Perry Gets Back in the Saddle

When “Goodnight for Justice” premiered on the Hallmark Movie Channel in January 2011, it became the network’s highest-rated film ever. “Goodnight” star, series creator and executive producer Luke Perry returns as Circuit Court Justice John Goodnight for the second part of the intended trilogy, which premieres on the Hallmark Channel Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8/7c. “Goodnight for Justice: The Measure of a Man” follows Justice Goodnight as he travels alone through the Wild West dispensing justice to towns that would otherwise stumble into chaos. On this particular journey, John finds himself facing a woman from his past, Callie Bluepoint (played by Stefanie von Pfetten), who lives in a town threatened by a murderous outlaw, Deke Spradling (Teach Grant).

Celebrity Extra: When you learned that the original “Goodnight for Justice” broke records for the Hallmark Movie Channel, what were your hopes for the future of the “Goodnight” franchise?

Luke Perry: I was hoping maybe to get the chance to do another one. That’s what I was hoping. I just don’t go into it with any expectation other than I just try to make the best movie every time. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes there’s a baseball game or basketball game or something on that draws all the television audience away. There are just too many variables to worry about and that kind of stuff, so you just make the movies that you can.

CE: Because of the success of the previous film, did you feel the pressure to really deliver with “Measure of a Man”?

LP: I felt pressure to deliver a really good movie. I feel the pressure to do all I can to promote the film, but I’ve been doing this long enough to know that audiences are fickle and different things happen. You just try to make the best movie you can and control what you can, which is your part of the process.

CE: Last we saw John Goodnight, he had a lady friend, Kate Ramsey, who isn’t in this movie. I assume the traveling required of him for his job makes maintaining relationships pretty difficult.

LP: Yeah, it’s just the nature of the position — you have to travel. She wasn’t in a position to go with him, and he’s got to keep traveling. But it would be great for him to get back to her eventually.

CE: When we first see John, there is definite evidence being on the road is wearing on him: His hair is shaggier; his clothes are a bit shabby …

LP: I’m glad you liked that and noticed that, because those are the kind of things — believe it or not — that you have to fight for. People were like: “No, clean up. Look good in the clothes.” I said: “Wait a minute, guys. He’s out there weeks at a time; it’s just not going to happen. You gotta look rough.” And I do look rough.

CE: Since there are few ties to the original film aside from some explained back story, “Measure of a Man” really can be viewed as a stand-alone movie as well as part of a series. Was that your intention?

LP: I hadn’t thought about that. That’s a very interesting point that you make. One of the things that I had discussed was that with each movie and the nature of the franchise is that each one is going to be a different story. He’s going to be in a different place, always traveling, so within the telling of the actual story, you don’t have to cover [what he’s been doing between movies]. The next movie that you will see is the one where it all comes full circle. I feel like we really hit our stride completely. “Measure of a Man” is the perfect segue between the two. It all ramps up, and by the third one we just all go in gangbusters.

CE: I also have to tell you that from the opening frames of the movie, the musical score really caught my attention — it’s just beautiful.

LP: I’m glad you mentioned that, and I would really like to take the time to talk about Graeme Coleman, our composer. He’s just such a talented guy. I told him: “Graeme, go for it. Give me that big Western stuff.” I want the music to be as much a character in this movie as anything else, because in all my favorite ones it is. And he doesn’t shy away from it. He steps right up to it. People who love traditional Westerners are looking for a good score. I’m very proud of Graeme’s work.

CE: You have a lot of scenes with Cameron Bright (of “The Twilight Saga”), who plays Will. Did you spend a lot of time together off set to build up camaraderie and chemistry?

LP: Oh, yeah. We had dinner together almost every night. I spent a lot of time with Cameron, and he was cool because he came in and put some time in — as much as he could — before the movie, getting to learn stuff he didn’t know how to do. If you don’t know how to ride a horse, don’t say you do. He didn’t do that. He was really honest about what he could do, but he was also really honest about being willing to learn, and he had a good capacity for it, so it was cool.

As we were shooting, I’d think, “Let’s just see how much of this we can get shot today, and Cameron was really great. He stayed in that saddle a lot longer than a lot of other people would. He hung in there, and we climbed him up there in those mountains, and he was great.

CE: Cameron plays Alec in the phenomenally successful “Twilight Saga,” which has a screaming-fan contingent wherever the stars seem to go. You’ve had to deal with your share of screaming teens; did you give him any advice?

LP: (Laughs) I wouldn’t know anything about that sort of thing.

CE: This time around, John has really found his niche and is in his element. What does he enjoy about his job and his life?

LP: Anytime you have to kill someone, even in the name of the law, it is no small feat. It’s not something this character does lightly. I think it’s really rewarding for him because you can see how the law can really be the great leveler in protecting the weakest among us, and that’s what it’s supposed to do. What I think is interesting about him also is he’s an active participant in this world by traveling through for his job.

CE: You mentioned a third “Goodnight” film. Can you give me any details?

LP: Well, we shot the third one. We started shooting it the day after we finished the second one. The third one is, it’s not as heavy a story. I said they can’t all live in a super highly dramatic state. Sometimes this guy is just out there, and there is still some justice that needs to be weeded out, but it doesn’t always come down to a life-or-death thing, and it doesn’t always come down to something intensely personal for him. Some of my favorite Westerns were a little bit lighter in tone, and there’s some good run and jump in the next one.

CE: Is the third film the end of the John Goodnight saga, or can we expect a new chapter?

LP: We are actively negotiating the future for this character, because so far it’s something that has worked out well for everybody. I like making them, and they do very well for the channel, so if that continues, then we will continue.

CE: You could be like Tom Selleck with his “Jesse Stone” movies …

LP: Aw, man — compare me to Tom Selleck. Yeah, I wish. He’s so great. I’d love to do a Western with him.

Read more

Q and A: Week of Jan. 9

Q: I know how much you love Fox’s “New Girl,” so do you have any scoop on what will happen in the new year? Jennifer S., in California

A: I recently spoke with Kali Hawk who’s co-starred in such movies as “Couples Retreat,” “Get Him to the Greek” and “Bridesmaids” and she will be appearing in a multi-episode arc in January and February. Kali told me: “It was one of those things where everything lined up. I’m good friends with one of the series regulars, Jake Johnson, who plays Nick on that show. For my episodes, I play a love interest for Winston, played by Lamorne Morris. I’m someone from his past who resurfaces. It’s very interesting to see how that goes because as we all know, sometimes when you reach back, it’s not exactly the same as it once was.”


You can read the rest of the interview here later this week to learn about her experiences on all of her different movies, including the upcoming Tyler Perry movie “We the Peeples.”

Q: I read in your column that Ricky Gervais is hosting the Golden Globes this year, which I am excited for. Is he currently in a TV series or movie that I can catch him in? Delilah F., via e-mail

A: Ricky’s hit BBC Two show, “Life’s Too Short,” will debut Sunday, Feb. 19, on HBO. It also stars Stephen Merchant and Warwick Davis, and centers on Warwick, who plays a fictionalized version of himself, and his day-to-day life. The series boasts A-list guest stars such as Johnny Depp, Liam Neeson, Steve Carell, Sting and many more.

Q: Will Luke Perry be making a sequel to last year’s “Goodnight for Justice” for the Hallmark Channel? I really enjoyed it. Jonathan P., via e-mail

A: It just so happens that Luke will indeed star in another “Goodnight” movie, this one called “Goodnight for Justice: The Measure of a Man,” which premieres Saturday, Jan. 28, at 8/7c. Luke returns as traveling circuit-court judge John Goodnight.


I asked Luke how he felt when he learned the original movie became the highest-rated film in the history of the Hallmark Movie Channel. He told me: “I was just hoping to get the chance to do another one. I don’t go into it with any expectation other than I try to make the best movie every time. I feel the pressure to do all I can to promote the film, but I’ve been doing this long enough to know that audiences are fickle and different things happen, so you make the film and control what you can, which is your part of the process.” Check back next week to read our entire interview.

Q: I love Laura Dern’s new show, “Enlightened,” on HBO. Will it return for another season? Sally T., Jacksonville, Fla.

A: HBO just announced that “Enlightened” will be back for a second season. However, it has decided to cancel “Hung” and “Bored to Death,” both of which completed their third seasons.

Read more

Interview: Lea Thompson Is Queen of The Cabin

Lea Thompson stars in the world premiere of “The Cabin,” a Hallmark Movie Channel Original Premiere, on Saturday, July 30 (8 p.m. ET/PT, 7C). In this cute, family-oriented romantic comedy, what was supposed to be a vacation of culture, adventure and ancestral bonding, becomes the Clash of the Macs. Two divorced strangers, with nothing in common but their last name, battle as they are forced to share the same cabin with their kids in Scotland.

I spoke with Lea recently, who told me all about the movie, as well as her new ABC Family show, "Switched at Birth." We also discussed "Red Dawn," Judd Nelson, Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, John Hughes, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood and "Dancing with the Stars" — so sit back, relax, read and enjoy!

Celebrity Extra: What made you decide to do this movie for the Hallmark Movie Channel?

Lea Thompson: I hadn’t done a romantic-comedy movie in my whole career. I like trying different things and I thought, isn’t this fun that I get to do this kind of family romantic comedy that’s generally kind of reserved for 30 year olds. How nice to do this. I love the whole thing with the Scottish games. I thought that would be really fun. I love to do physical things. The idea that I got to go to Ireland to shoot the movie was really, really, really fun. I just liked the script and I really liked the director, Brian Trenchard-Smith, who’s just so lovely. It was a win-win-win situation.



CE: That must have been a lot of fun to not only get to shoot a cute movie, but to get to travel to Ireland to do it.

LT: I know! It was very exciting and my sisters got to come and visit me. Our mother’s Irish, so that was really fun to spend a week and a half with them in Ireland. I love making movies in these places, because you really get a chance to really know the people and go to places you wouldn’t go if you were just a tourist.

CE: Can you empathize with some of the stuff Lily goes through to try to make this a great vacation for her kids?

LT: You know that idea of really wanting the vacation to go really great, and there’s lots of things that are out of your control? Being a working mom, your time is so precious with your kids that you want things to go perfectly, and they never do, and a lot of times the things that go wrong are the things that are the most special. Like in the movie, the little mistakes that happen end up making the trip even better in some ways — if you can role with the punches. I can definitely relate to that.

"The Cabin" cast

CE: And not only is it a romantic comedy, but there is also a nice family bond that happens between the two families …

LT: I loved that idea. The world is filled with blended families. There are so many people who get divorced and families getting together, and there are adopted kids and all that. Family is not only the people you are blood related to, but also your extended family, which can be just as important.

CE: I know you are athletic, but just watching you guys preparing for and competing in the games was making me tired!

LT: Yeah, it was exhausting. We didn’t have a lot of time to really train, especially the hammer throw. It was a little bit dangerous every once and awhile. Everyone was really game. It was a great cast. Everyone was really willing to try. Steven Brand (who plays Conor) was unbelievable at all of this stuff. He was so good at all these things, and he had never done it before. He is a really amazing athlete and he kind of led the way. The competition was very real between us. I really love that. It’s really fun in a movie to get out and be outside and do something physical. The crew always appreciates it. When you’re acting, they kind of go to sleep sometimes. When you’re throwing a rock, they wake up.

CE: Your character could have come off as somewhat of a two-dimensional bitch, but she wasn’t. You made her very likable. Was that a conscious choice on your or the director’s part?

LT: I think sometimes when people find those parts they purposely put me in them to try to soften them out a little bit. That’s a very nice compliment. I try to make you see why she is acting like she is. If you can understand why someone is acting defensive, you get to see underneath. You can see she’s just being a good mom and protecting her kids.

It’s my job to make words on a page feel human. I start by falling in love with my character. I fall in love with them so I can see that they’re good people underneath. You need conflict, and you need people in movies to not get along, but you also have to be rooting for her, because she was one of the main characters.

Cast of "Switched at Birth"

CE: You are also in ABC Family’s “Switched at Birth” (airing Mondays at 9 p.m.). How did they convince you to come back to series television?

LT: I did my nine movies for the Hallmark Channel for “Jane Doe,” so that was kind of like a series, even though it was movies. Regarding “Switched at Birth,” I just really liked the part. I’ve never played this person before. She’s really rich and she’s really uptight, and she’s got her whole life kind of perfectly ordered.

It’s also a really, really smart show. It’s not talking down to teenagers at all. There’s a lot of really great conflict in it. Just the idea that you got to meet your daughter and the woman who raised her after sixteen years, and try to live together.

I really love the opportunity for growth that she has that all of a sudden this kind of bomb goes off in her life and everything that she thought she knew was real is not real. I liked the opportunity for growth, and the writing was really, really good. I have two teenage daughters, and they love ABC Family, so the idea of being on a show that they have a lot of fun watching was really great to me.

CE: I see you are also set to co-star in “J. Edgar” as Lela Rogers this winter. What can you tell me about the movie and your part in it?

LT: I don’t have a huge role that’s for sure. But I play Ginger Rogers’ mother, who was actually a really interesting character. She was an actress and a writer, and she also was an expert witness at the McCarthy hearings. She determined what lines and which movies were Communist propaganda. Yeah, pretty nutty. You don’t get to see that part of her life, but I was fascinated reading about that.

It’s just an amazing movie and it was really an honor to work with Clint Eastwood. He’s kind of like Woody Allen: Whenever he calls, you’re like, “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.” So that was really exciting and it’s been a long time since I’ve done a period movie, so it was really fun to be immersed in the ’30s. Leonardo DiCaprio is amazing, he looks amazing, and he sounds amazing. He’s just awesome.

CE: I see that both you and Christopher Lloyd will be at September’s DragonCon sci-fi convention in Atlanta.

LT: Yeah, we have fun doing those things together. We’ll call each other up: “You going? OK, I’ll go.” We both never wanted to do them before, but we did a couple of them, and it was really fun. It’s good PR and it’s really fun.

CE: Do you have any other projects in the works?

LT: I have a movie that just came out on DVD that I produced called “Mayor Cupcake.” I produced and starred in it with my daughters. It’s such a cute movie, you’d love it. It’s a great family movie. It’s about a woman who makes cupcakes in this little tiny town. My husband is Judd Nelson. I also have three daughters in the movie with two of them played by my real-life daughters, Madelyn and Zoey Deutch. In the movie, I accidentally get elected mayor of this little town, and of course it’s really corrupt, and I have to clean up the town in my down-home kind of way. It’s just a lovely, funny little movie.

CE: It’ll be great to see you working with Judd Nelson …

LT: This is kind of a convoluted story, but when we were shooting — you remember that Judd Nelson was in “Breakfast Club”? The main song was “Don’t You Forget About Me.”

CE: Of course — that was actually my high-school senior-class song.

LT: Really? Then you’ll definitely appreciate this. My daughter sings it in the movie backed up by a band. My husband, Howard Deutch, and I met on “Some Kind of Wonderful,” a John Hughes movie. Two days before Madelyn had to record the song, John Hughes died. So Madelyn was singing “Don’t You Forget About Me” to Judd Nelson and myself and my husband, and we were all just balling. It was so special, and it was a really amazing moment. Sometimes things like that happen and we were all so sad. My husband loved John Hughes. We all loved him. He was obviously important to us in particular, because we’ve been married for 22 years.

CE: I have to ask, how do you feel about the remake of “Red Dawn”? Personally, I have my doubts …

LT: I don’t know. I have my doubts too, clearly, because they haven’t even released it yet, and the fact that they turned the Chinese people into Koreans digitally afterward was kind of interesting. I don’t know. I’ll be really interested to see it. One of the really amazing things about the original “Red Dawn” is that there were no special effects in terms of CGI or any computer-generated effects. Everything that happened really happened, which I think makes it more of a visceral nightmare. Because you never see it, we just talk about what happened in the other cities. But I’m sure in the new version, you’ll get to see a lot of bombs going off and stuff like that. Sometimes some things left to your imagination are actually more haunting.

CE: I also can’t believe that the original movie came out in 1984!

LT: I know. It’s so shocking that Patrick Swayze is gone. And that Charlie Sheen is so crazy. And Jennifer Grey won “Dancing with the Stars.”

CE: I loved her in that! I was voting for her the whole way.

LT: Me too, she was amazing.

CE: Would you ever compete on “DWTS” if they came a’callin’?

LT: Probably. I always do whatever anybody asks me to do. I’m like: “Really? Okay, I’ll do it.” I’m working with Marlee Matlin right now on “Switched at Birth,” and she loved doing “DWTS.” Everyone who does it loves doing it, so it must be great.

Read more