Michelle Forbes

Michelle Forbes speaks highly of her recent colleagues for their fascination with the human condition; ultimately for their ability to “get in there and be intimate with people, uncovering their deepest, darkest secrets.” She too has delved into some deep and dark characters over the years in theatre, television, and movies including Swimming with Sharks, Kalifornia,The District, Prison Break, 24, Battlestar Galactica, Homicide: Life On The Street, and Star Trek: The Next Generation and has enjoyed a diverse acting career where she explores the human psyche and spirit through intriguing characters and storylines.

With Forbe’s latest two series (both on HBO), In Treatment and True Blood, she brings us two more compelling characters: She joined True Blood late last season as Maryann, a wealthy “social worker” with an unrevealed secret power adding another layer of mystery to the town of Bon Temps, and Kate Weston from In Treatment. Kate is the repressed wife to psychotherapist Dr. Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne); they bring their 25 year marriage under the therapy microscope with Paul’s therapist, Gina, brilliantly portrayed by Dianne Wiest.  The series is gripping, and like therapy itself, you have no idea where it’s going to lead you. Gabriel Byrne’s Paul Weston is fascinating as he uncovers his patients’ struggles with piercing intuition and honest compassion as he himself hovers on the brink of an emotional crisis. Michelle Forbes tackles the role of repressed housewife with depth and grace alongside her own emotional cave-in.

As Forbes and I chat on a sunny Monday morning, we both agree that it’s pretty tough to afford therapy right now, so watching HBO is a cunning way to get some treatment: From Tell Me You Love Me to Tony Soprano’s insightful therapy sessions, there’s something to going inside the therapist’s room for our viewing pleasure. You can certainly get your money’s worth with In Treatment – 99% unadulterated therapy! So together we settle in for our own therapeutic session, and the conversation and laughs come so easily, I feel like I’ve known her my whole life and we just forgot to actually meet. Her distinctive deep voice lights up when she talks about Seasons 2 of In Treatment (returning April 5) and True Blood (coming in June) as well as yet another intriguing and dark new series, Durham County, coming out later this summer.  }

h: In In Treatment, you really feel like these two characters (Kate and Paul Weston) have been together for 25 years, it’s so raw. Is it challenging as an actress to go through such a personal and intimate therapy experience?

MF: I would not say it’s challenging, it’s what we live for – it makes it easy when the material is so dense and so deep and so chalk full of history and hurt and pain, and layer upon layer, upon layer, and you know all the deceits you have with yourself and your partner. That’s what makes the work beautiful and filling, resonant and challenging, in a good way, not in a daunting way.

h: How about the format which is basically nonstop therapy; do you rehearse it?

MF: No, we don’t rehearse it. There’s a table read and then you jump into it and you film. I mean that was the daunting thing to do, ten minute takes on this One Act play, to commit to it, and then jump into the deep waters and just keep swimming. So yes I think the format was challenging, but once you get over that little bump, and you get used to the format, then it’s heaven. It’s just heaven to have that big juicy scene in your hands and to not be piddling about with silly moving the plot along, or moving the D plot along. It really is just this focused, concentrated story where we turn every single moment over and over until we understand it. It is an actor’s dream in that regard.

h: Therapy use to be a pretty taboo subject. Over the last several years, we’ve seen more and more shows about therapy pop up. Any thoughts as to why we’ve become so intrigued?

MF: I think in Western civilization, the world of self analysis and psychotropic drugs, well nobody is a stranger to it anymore. Therapy is not a four letter word – you don’t go only if you’re in trouble. Sometimes people just go because they want more self awareness so they don’t keep making the same mistakes. It’s not as taboo as it used to be number one, in fact it’s hard to think there was a time it was taboo. But if you think back to the origins of therapy, even back in Victorian Ages when the mentally ill were carted out in front of audiences, in front of the Bourgeoisie and used as entertainment, you can take it back to then. And I think we’re all fascinated by the human condition and where better to really understand that than in the therapist’s room? It’s quite curious to me because we’re never allowed into other people’s therapy rooms, we have no idea what goes on in there, and we can’t open that door, but we want to know what’s going on.

h: What’s it like to work with Gabriel and Dianne?

MF: Not only obviously are they extraordinary actors and at the top of their game, but they’re also just really special, extraordinary people, and it was just a joy to sit opposite them. We had some laughs and we had deep talks, it was good; I am utterly devoted to both of them.

h: Personally speaking if you had to choose between going to Gina (Dianne Wiest) or Paul (Gabriel Byrne) for therapy, which one would you choose?

MF: I don’t know why I think that question is so funny, that’s hilarious. I would probably go to Gina’s character, Paul’s a little unhinged occasionally!

h: Tell me about the new season. I know Paul moves to NY, do you stay put with the kids?

MF: Yes, I stay put with the kids, he goes off to NY, and we have a few meetings, so we do sort of see that relationship come to as much of a conclusion as it can come to after 25 years of marriage. I think everybody is going to be in for a really interesting second season with the addition of incredible actors like Hope Davis and John Mahoney, I think it’s going to be every bit as good as the first.

h: Well, I can’t wait. And then switching gears to True Blood, what’s that been like to be a part of?

MF: It’s been fantastic, it’s been a ton of fun for all of us, and it’s just really a great and creative fun show to work on.

h: Why do you think it has resonated with viewers?

MF: I think it’s for many different reasons…If I’m to step back and really look at it on a broader objective scale, I would say that it’s really fun… it’s sexy and saucy, but it’s also a total escape from this national depression that we’re all in with the economy, and people being out of work. I think there’s a lightness to it and a sauciness to it where for just a moment we can forget our problems and have a whopping good time in Louisiana. It’s a world that is completely unique and outside of what we’ve known before.

h: And how do you feel about the second season?

MF: It really blows open in the second season, it opens up quite a bit; the town sort of opens up…there are some very, very interesting storylines going on, and it’s very funny.

h: I remember Swimming with Sharks (1994) so vividly because I was experiencing it in certain ways myself. Do you think Hollywood has changed a lot since then?

MF: I think it’s changed on the surface. I think Hollywood is always going to be the animal that it is which is somewhat ruthless and focused on money and numbers, and that’s why it’s a business and that’s why it’s always a delicate balance to create unique things under the paradigm and banner of a corporate mentality. There are ruthless businessmen who run this entire industry, so I think in that sense it hasn’t changed. But the topography has changed perhaps because it’s not all about film anymore – TV is equal to film these days – and that sort of opened up the creativity and sense of power and what have you. I wouldn’t say the core of the animal has changed; I think Hollywood is still true to itself.

h: The movie really captured that time in the industry. When you took the role of the ambitious movie producer Dawn Lockard, were you surprised at how dark the film got?

MF: I was horrified. I remember saying to the producer and the director who had both worked as assistants, I said at one point, ‘Look you guys, it’s entertaining and it’s funny but come on, it’s sort of unbelievable, nobody suffered this kind of abuse.’ And they were like, ‘No, no, no, we toned it down for the script.’ When they told me the instances that had happened to them, my mouth hit the floor, my eyes were as wide as saucers. I thought what human being puts up with that in order to take a small step ahead, and I’m an actor, so I’m used to a lot of disrespect and rejection and what have you, and even I draw the line somewhere. But once I understood what people go through and how that distorts them and their souls and how they get locked in this vortex, it’s almost like a cycle of abuse.

h: I know I think I have some battle scars myself! What other projects are you working on?

MF: Mostly True Blood which we’re shooting now. And I just finished a Canadian series called Durham County in Montreal, it’s going to be broadcast over here on Ion. I had a brilliant time doing it. The first season did extremely well, and it’s very dark and twisted, an odd little tale, that is visually stunning. I’m really proud of it.

h: Dark and twisted, I love it. So this is the second season?

MF: Yes. The first season was six hours and the second season is six hours as well. There’s an extraordinary writer, Laurie [Finstad-Knizhnik] who I just had a shockingly good time working with. These really passionate, exciting, and thoughtful women put together this really interesting dark piece. I play Pen Verrity, and she is extremely complicated, so you never know which way she or any of the characters are going to go. There’s a really odd sense to it. I think Laurie’s really had a chance to really look at women in a way that most people don’t usually have the courage to do. Such as exploring the world of what happens if you’re not such a great mother or biologically predisposed to be the perfect mother: The strain and the mind meld that happens when you’re smack dab in the middle of motherhood, and how to love through trauma, and how to overcome trauma and transform trauma if you’re able to. And in the midst of this being this story about love and grief and loss, there’s also a taut thriller. I saw the first season and thought I’d spontaneously combust if I didn’t get to be a part of it!

h: It reminds me a bit of Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her.

MF: That’s Rodrigo [Garcia] from In Treatment! He has a fascination with the human condition, and getting in there and being intimate with people, and sort of uncovering their deepest, darkest secrets. That’s pretty much what Durham County is as well, people who aren’t afraid to get in there and poke around the darkness of the nooks and crannies of our psyche. We usually don’t want to look at that, but it exists in all of us, and the further along we get in our lives, the darker it becomes, so I think it bears some looking at.

h: Agreed! And your three upcoming series, I’m looking forward to all of them.

MF: Thank you. I do feel really fortunate to work on these very interesting and intriguing projects.

h: Last question…..so how did this interview make you feel?

MF: (laughs) Like I need more therapy!

Anna Paquin

At the moment, Anna Paquin is taking a moment to unwind from her photo shoot for h, and there’s something about her that is slightly mysterious but also immediately ingratiating. Somehow this force of nature was one of the youngest Oscar winners ever (11-years-old) for her mesmerizing performance in The Piano, and she’s been working consistently since then in both the independent arena (The Squid and the Whale, A Walk on the Moon) and the Hollywood blockbuster realm (the X-Men trilogy, Almost Famous). Throughout her career, the New Zealand transport has always been able to defy the celebrity stereotype and maintain a seemingly normal life as the girl next door. She is down to earth, humble, and at the moment, quite happy. In truth, it is a happy time; she’s preparing to go on a well-deserved European vacation after many months of shooting her new HBO series about vampires, True Blood. The series is the newest brain fetus of Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball, and is based on a series of books by Charlaine Harris.

True Blood takes a new angle on the vampire mythos, creating a world in which vampires have revealed themselves to the fearful public. There is skepticism among the masses about their intentions, but the vampires are quick to assure the world that their people-eating tendencies are no longer to be feared due to an artificial blood concoction created by an inventive Japanese corporation. The bottled glog is called Tru Blood, and fang faces no longer need to feed off humans, you see. And while the vampires seem to come in peace, I think that you and I both know, once a neck gouger, always a neck gouger.

Anna Paquin

Anna sits down with us at h and tells us a little about, among other things, her leading role as Sookie Stackhouse.

Anna: Sookie’s your typical perky, happy, young, Southern gal, and also a waitress in a somewhat dingy truck stop-ish bar restaurant. She’s tough and strong; if she sees someone else in trouble, she’ll go and stick herself in harm’s way. She doesn’t fear much of anything, and therefore she ends up being caught in some bad spots occasionally. That being said, she’s only getting roughed up in the course of doing what she thinks is the right thing to do. That, and she’s telepathic (laughs). When the story begins, she meets and falls for the first vampire who walks into her small town. He comes into her bar one night, sits in her section, and orders a bottle of Tru Blood. She has an affinity for him because, for the first time, she’s not able to read someone’s mind.

h: How did you get involved with the show?

Anna: I was sent a pilot script about two Christmas’ ago, and I was absolutely enthralled with the idea of working with Alan Ball and HBO,  and so I went in and auditioned as many times as they would let me until
they finally agreed to cast me.

h: You were you a big fan of Six Feet Under I assume?

Anna: Absolutely, my God yes. I’ve been a big fan of Alan since American Beauty, so it was one of those things that when it showed up I thought, ‘There’s gotta be some catch here, right?’

It was too perfect. Obviously the catch in my mind was they’re not gonna cast me, it was calling for blond, tan, Southern, and perky. You know, people are generally hesitant to cast you in a part when they’ve never seen you play a similar role before. I’m pale with dark hair and from New Zealand. So I was so shocked, excited, and thrilled when Alan and HBO took that leap of faith and said, ‘Well, you know, she can act it…let’s do the make over.’ And it worked.

h: How was the makeover?

Anna: Well, for one thing, I spent eight hours in a hair salon with incredibly talented colorists turning my waist length, absolutely untouched, brown hair into blond hair. And then there’s a lot of spray tanning, it’s the easiest thing in the world. Then they add costumes, and it’s done. It’s quite easy as it turns out, minus the hair maintenance. I don’t know why women do that as an option; to keep my hair blond is hard work. It’s a lot of people having to go back and do all my hair as it grows in, it’s very, very high maintenance. I’ve had it for a year and a half and it’s great, I like it. But, I think if I switched hair color between seasons, my hair would fall out. You can’t mess with science that much without suffering major repercussions.

Anna Paquin

h: What was your first meeting with Alan like? Were you nervous
in your audition?

Anna: Yes, but no more so than with anything that you really want. I’d actually met him, sort of, years ago. I was more surprised that he remembered me. That’s always my thing, ‘Really, you remember meeting me?’ But, he’s incredibly lovely and he makes everyone feel really comfortable. He’s probably the least scary person I’ve ever auditioned for because he makes it feel easy. He’s smart and funny, just sort of charming and normal. It almost takes the
pressure off, in a way.

h: How is Alan different than other directors you’ve worked with?

Anna: He has this sort of joy about him, and this sort of love about what he’s doing no matter what. Over the course of our entire season, a year of shooting, I never saw him lose that. Most people, there’ll be times when they’re tired or less into it, they’re just worn out. But it’s very important to him to always make sure that everyone is having a good time. I don’t know if I’ve worked with anyone who’s still all about whether or not people are still having fun by episode 11. And that’s an amazing quality. And because he’s so talented and so good to everyone, everyone wants to work extra hard for him.

h: Did you do any research for your part? Obviously you can’t try out telepathy, but was there anything else?

Anna: I had all these really elaborate plans to (laughs) get a job somewhere waitressing, or to go spend time in Louisiana, but then, honestly, I ran
out of time.

h: How did you go about creating your Southern accent?

Anna: We all had a dialect coach, everyone had to do it. But after the first few episodes we really didn’t need it any more. It becomes how that person speaks, and you get used to it, and when everyone around you is doing it, it’s not actually that hard.

I’ve been technically working in accents my entire career. But as for the process, you listen to tapes and do phonetics, listening is a big part of it. I load those things onto my iPod and get into the music of it, and watch films that have accents that are similar. h: How much did you actually shoot in the South?

Anna: We shoot a ton on set, but we’ve gone down to Louisiana four times. We shoot in Shreveport, mostly exteriors, obviously locations that you really just can’t find in Los Angeles like plantation houses and such.

Anna Paquin

h: What was the most challenging part of the shoot?

Anna: My character is very good at getting herself into scrapes, (laughs) unfortunate type situations, where her life is in danger. There’s a fair amount of prosthetic elements and blood, but I love that stuff, the physical stuff, the prosthetics, the other-worldly elements that we get to incorporate. Honestly the hardest part was waiting to hear if our show was going to be picked up for a whole season after we shot the pilot, it was a couple months before we found out. It was kind of nerve-wracking. In my head, it was kind of all on my back, whether the show was going to get picked up or not, and everybody would get to work
for a whole season or not.

h: What did you think when you first saw the pilot?

Anna: (laughs) I didn’t see it until they showed it to the cast after the table read for episode two when we’d already been picked up and were about to start shooting. But I find it very difficult to be objective and detached when I watch myself. I was happy, obviously, but what I cared about most was the fact that we were going for more episodes. I was like, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter that I’m on some weird morose-ish trip about my own performance, because HBO
likes it and we get to do more.’

h: Were you a big fan of vampires before True Blood?

Anna: No, not really.

h: Do you like horror movies?

Anna: Mmm, they kinda scare me, I’m a big baby (laughs).

h: What movie has scared you the most?

Anna: Well, it’s not a horror movie, but Silence of the Lambs. For most horror movies, I just can’t watch people being tortured, it’s upsetting, violence for the sake of violence.

h: You seem to have an unusual ability to maintain a normal life, you even went to Columbia College for a bit.

Anna: Yeah, but I didn’t finish though (laughs).

h: Did you get too busy with acting?

Anna: Turns out I liked my job (laughs). I didn’t even get around to
picking a major.

h: Would you say that you were still able to get the full college experience?

Anna: Oh my God, I definitely did during my freshman year, my first year out of high school. I lived in the dorms and had an amazing time. I loved it. Some of my closest friends are the ones I met in college. It was the first time I hadn’t been working non-stop since I was 11, so I had the best time ever. No parents, no work. (laughs) I mean New York, come on.

Anna Paquin

h: Was it hard for people in college to separate you from your work?

Anna: Well, I’m not incredibly high profile in that sense. I mean, I work, I do my thing, but there were a few other kids who were also actors, so I feel like the freak show factor was spread around. Julia Stiles was in my year, and she’d done a lot of films that were kinda teen-oriented, so she was actually a lot more famous, frankly (laughs). I think she took a lot more of the circus freak, intrigue factor. I snuck in a little more under the radar.

h: How were your grades?

Anna: I’m a good student. (laughs) I didn’t get into Columbia by accident, let me just put it that way.

h: So, it didn’t take long before you decided to go back to work.

Anna: I started reading plays because I hadn’t done any theatre. I ended up reading something that I absolutely fell in love with and Philip Seymour Hoffman was directing it. It was going to go for the run of what would have been my first semester of sophomore year and I auditioned and auditioned and auditioned until he said yes and that led to another play which led to…I was originally just going to take one semester off and then three years later I was
at my friends’ graduation.

h: Do you know where your Oscar is right now?

Anna: Honestly, I don’t know where it is, it’s somewhere in my brother’s house. I left it there with a bunch of my stuff when I moved to Los Angeles. So, I don’t know, it’s probably somewhere out of the way.

h: I’m a big fan of The Squid and the Whale. Was it weird playing Jeff Daniels’ love interest in that movie after having played his daughter in Fly Away Home?

Anna: Probably for him (laughs). I mean for me, it was a different lifetime, you know what I mean? It wasn’t weird for me, but I think a lot weirder for him because I think he has kids close-ish to my age (laughs) and he’s a good, stand up guy. It’s also probably a lot weirder for him because he can probably remember what I looked like as a 12-year-old and I’m not really conscious of that,
so it’s kinda funny.

h: What’s the character you’ve most enjoyed playing to date?

Anna: I love my True Blood character, Sookie. I get to do so much stuff that’s so much fun, and it’s so different from anything I’ve ever done, which is not a slight on anything else I’ve already done, it’s just a fun show. It’s intense and it’s funny, it’s dark and it’s twisted, and it’s sexy and violent. Kinda otherworldly too. With episodic television, I’m loving the process of continually figuring out who these people are and working on them with each episode, that’s just so much more to do as an actor and I love that. So, I guess right now, I have my dream job.

h: Was there anything spooky that happened on the set?

Anna: Well, I mean…no. (laughs) I’m not a real big believer in that stuff.

h: Well, it is about vampires.

Anna: (Laughs) The only spooky thing is being asked by people when they hear you are doing a show about vampires, ‘Oh, so is it fiction, or non-fiction?’ Uh, it’s about vampires…what do you think? But, that’s just spooky in an entirely different way. People being stupid I think is incredibly spooky.

True Blood premieres on HBO on September 7.