“ A lot of acting is being like a gambler” as she obtained an agent by her second year at Yale and started getting movies and plays upon graduation. She lived in New York City for a few years doing very well until a union strike hit and the work stopped coming. It was at this point that she relocated to Los Angeles. “The industry has changed so much since when I first started out. I got out of school in 1989 and I had a holding deal with ABC. They would pay to hold me and try to get me on one of their shows. They used to do this with kids coming out of Ivy League schools. Now, there are all the movie stars who want to do television. In the old days, movie stars would never do T.V. They would never do commercials; now they do commercials. So, back then there was a lot more work for what I call myself, a working class actor. “Mary continues, “I fill in all the middle roles, all the character parts. Now those roles are tending to go to famous people so there is less work available. Also, a lot of work is out of town because they are not shooting in LA as much. It’s just a lot harder to get a job.” Mary’s take on her profession is by drawing a comparison to a gambler. “A lot of it (acting) is like being a gambler. With other jobs you build up resume and that it is what sells you, but this is like every day is a new day… everyday is like starting over and possibly hitting the jackpot! “ As Mary continues with her successful acting career she also reveals that she is pursuing both writing and directing projects. “Right now I’m working on a screenplay that is based on one of my friends from the Thousand Islands who is lawyer. I’m also trying to get in television directing. I just finished this huge play, Anna Christie by Eugene O’Neill that we performed at the Odyssey Theatre in L. A. One highlight for Mary was meeting Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi backstage after they attended a performance. “It was very exciting Ellen came over and told me how great I was and how much she loved the play,” Mary shares. One of the other actor’s in the play was Kevin McKidd best known for playing the role of Owen Hunt on the popular ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy. “We did a lot of rehearsals over at the Grey’s Anatomy so that he could
come rehearse and then go back and forth to shoot scenes. He is just a fabulous actor. Perhaps the best part of her experience performing with this theatre company is that they recently told Mary that she will get to pick whatever play she wants to do next season. “ This is like a dream come true.”It’s not easy to get in theatre companies here because there are so many great actors and so little theatre and it’s so hard did get people to go to theatre here. This is definitely my big news for the year!,” Mary acknowledges. With her strong work ethic and down to earth demeanor, Mary has become a favorite of both directors and actors alike. “Director’s tend to like me because I come with a lot of ideas and say just tell me what you like and don’t like and I can do whatever you want. I come with my bag of tricks and ideas but I’m really flexible. You never know what the chemistry will be like on set. You hope for the best and hope the movie is good but you never know. I was in the one Sandra Bullock movie that bombed”, laughs Mary. Favorite acting partners include Billy Crystal and William H. Macy. “Billy Crystal is one of the loveliest men. What you see is what you get. He is just a funny, funny guy and great family man. William H. Macy is the salt of the earth and another great one. I have worked with a few challenging people but overall I’ve been very lucky.” Two films that Mary worked on are due out this year and include The Sphere and the Labyrinth and Paradise Florida, the latter shot last summer. Mary shares, “I think it is going to be a really great movie. It’s about addiction and the toll it takes on a family. I play the mother of the lead guy. We had a wonderful director, and though we were working with a shoestring budget, it was one of those experiences though where everyone gets on the boat together and just says we are going to make this
happen. It’s a very different experience than the big budget movies. When asked what she is best known for or what is that something about her, Mary has an interesting response, “I’m a storyteller and I have great stories to tell. I think people remember me for my voice and my personality. I will write a book at some point. Crews love me and the people backstage always love me because I’m a team player. It’s the simplest thing, I’ll have the costume girl tell me, “Oh thank you so much for hanging up your costume and my response is your kidding me, don’t people put their own clothes back on the hanger? “ Mary continues, “I came up with a lot of people who are really successful now and I’ve seen people change. They are famous and they become almost non human and want to be treated differently. I find that so strange because it just means they got lucky and they should be grateful! I find that behavior unnecessary and it trickles down to affect everyone around you. Suddenly the crew doesn’t want to work as hard etc. I like to keep everyone
WOUNY.COM • JUNE 2015
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