Interview: Calista Flockhart

Early September 1997: Viewers get their first taste of Ally McBeal, a single white female Boston attorney with a penchant for neurotic fantasies and micro-miniskirts. The show's a surprise hit, outperforming its lead-in, the sixth season premiere of Melrose Place. It also ranks a close second in the Nielsen ratings to Monday Night Football, proving that the first night of the working week needed a fresh jolt of estrogen. Soon the show's a cultural phenomenon and its star, Calista Flockhart, is an overnight sensation.

Well, not really. The 34-year-old Rutgers University grad actually paid her dues as a struggling actress doing lots of regional stage work before making her Broadway debut as Laura in a revival of the Tennessee Williams classic The Glass Menagerie. Then came a couple of minor roles in Drunks and The Birdcage. But it was during her turn as the coldhearted Natasha in a Broadway revival of Three Sisters that she was asked to audition for a new TV pilot from writer David E. Kelley (Chicago Hope, Picket Fences). The rest, as they say, is primetime history.

Flockhart's ascendancy to household word status has had its drawbacks however. First, it's been easy for some to ignore her Greek name (Calista means "most beautiful") and refer to her by her TV moniker. (Flockhart's loyal fans often assume that she is Ally McBeal.) And the show itself has drawn its fair share of controversy: Catholics protested one episode involving a nun's right to engage in sexual intercourse, and Time plastered Flockhart's mug on its cover for a story announcing the death of feminism. Worse were allegations surrounding Flockhart's health when she returned for Ally's second season looking alarmingly thin. Rumors began circulating everywhere from the tabloids to 20/20 that the actress suffered from acute anorexia. Flockhart's new flack, PMK uber-publicist Pat Kingsley denies the allegations, saying she wishes she had her client's metabolism and Audrey Hepburn-like figure.

The eating disorder is an unavoidable topic of discussion when talking with the actress (after this interview, Kingsley told the Today show that the subject would be off limits). But Flockhart would understandably rather talk about her role as Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, her first feature film since the onset of Ally-mania. Chipper and smartly dressed in a black and white pantsuit, Flockhart talked about her TV alter-ego, tackling Shakespeare, and tacky tabloid rumors.


The Interview

A lot of people who've only seen you on Ally McBeal will be surprised to see you doing Shakespeare. Do you find that a bit of a hoot considering all the stage work you've done?

It's sort of a backhanded compliment. Yeah. I think that Ally McBeal is the first thing that people have really seen me in. There's an anonymity to doing theater in New York and so you lose your history. It is kind of ironic, and I hope that people will get past Ally McBeal eventually.

Are you actively pursuing more of a film career? It seems difficult to do with your TV schedule.

I'm very interested in it. It's very important to me. I think that one of the dangers if it's important to you is that you don't want to become a victim of your hiatus. In other words, there are only so many movies that go between May and July, in my case it's very short. So for me, it's very important because I don't want do anything that I'm not passionate about and I don't need to. I have the best day job in the history of the world. And also I'm doing a romantic comedy 10 months out of the year. One of the best written romantic comedies. So I'm looking for something to flex other muscles and do other things. So that's what I'm working towards. Developing projects for myself as an actor and opening up a production company eventually.

Can you spill some secrets as to what's going to happen to Ally next season?

In Ally? I have no idea. I don't even have an idea as to the next script that's coming up. David [Kelley] writes them as we go along, and I don't think he even has an idea.

How does he manage to write every episode?

I have no idea. He's really prolific. I think he's brilliant. I think these characters live in his head, and they just flow out into his pen and onto the paper. It's elusive.

Do you think Ally McBeal is a comedy or a drama?

I think it's both. I think it's a hybrid. I don't think you can label it. I think it goes from being a comedy to a drama, sometimes from scene to scene, sometimes from week to week, sometimes we say from line to line. It just is forever evolving and changing, which really is what is so fun about it. There are no labels so there are no restrictions. We're living in an anything kind of goes world, which is really great.

How do you feel about lawyers after doing this show?

Well, I have an uncle who's a lawyer who I've always liked. And I have my lawyer who I work with right now who I love. I like lawyers. I never met a lawyer I didn't like. Kidding. [Laughs.] I don't really have feelings about lawyers one way or the other, in particular.

Did you have any idea that Ally was going to have the impact that she did?

No. I was really drawn to the part, and I saw potential. I had only read the pilot, but I thought there was potential here to play a character who was limitless in a way, who could be many, many things, full of contradictions and smart and singular and eclectic. I just saw that. But I had no idea, I don't think anybody could possibly know.

People have such a strong identification with Ally. Do people actually mistake you for her?

Actually, people who come up to me are so wonderful. When people come up to you, it's the only feedback that you get in TV. One thing I really miss about the theater is that you have that immediate connection with the audience. And you know if they're coughing and you know if they're laughing and you know when you're on and when you're off and you know when you're reaching them. And when you do television, you only have the experience of doing it. There's never a time when I'm dying to run home and watch an episode. After you do it, you're onto the next one, and it kind of goes away. So you don't get the feedback. So it's wonderful when people come up to me. And some people do say, "Tell Ally she has a future. She'll get a husband." and I say, "OK! I'll go find her, and I'll tell her!" [Laughs.]

People seem to either love Ally or hate Ally. Does that make you feel you're doing something right?

I've always believed that acting for me is about communicating and reaching people. And I feel like we must have. It feels really, really good. It's satiating. I feel like anything that provokes discussion and debate has got to be something. I enjoy it. I always find it fascinating to see what people grab onto and what they like to talk about. Usually when I hear both sides of a certain dilemma, they both have good points. That's why it's not really solvable. Everyone has their own perception based on what they bring to it.

When you were starting out as an actor, did you always feel like you were good at it?

No. You certainly learn a lot about acting as you go. You don't want to be over the top. I think sometimes directors, in an effort to get what they want, can push you to that. And it's not filled emotionally. And you learn how to use your truth barometer. You have to be really good at detecting bulls--t, and if you know that it doesn't feel right, then it's not.

What was the point at which you realized this is what you wanted to do with your life?

I had gone to Rutgers, and I did a play my sophomore year called Picnic. My first play ever, aside from a couple of high school musicals. And that's when I had clarity. I was satiated, and I knew that this was what I was going to do.

I know you've had a lot of stage experience. Was your goal to always to do movies and TV?

No, my goal was always to get to Broadway. That was my first goal. When I did finally get to Broadway, it was one of the most special triumphs of my life.

Was it nice for you to film Midsummer in Italy where no one knows who you are?

Yeah! For about two weeks when I was in Italy, I had no inhibitions. Nobody knew who I was. And it was surprising for me. I didn't know that I'd feel the difference, and I certainly did. And then all the American tourists came over… [Laughs.] But I did notice a difference.

Would you say that your character Helena [in Midsummer] is obsessed?

Oh yeah. I'd say she's a bit fixated on Demetrius.

Would she do anything for love?

Yeah, I think that's what the play is about in a lot of ways. It's about how far people are willing to go to get what they want, and she certainly is willing to go pretty far. It's interesting: In the beginning of the play, Helena is not active. I think that she's kind of obsessing about what's happening, she's lamenting about it, she's not happy about it, she's not in a good place. And then she gets an idea and then she enters into the dream and becomes very active and starts to pursue him at all costs. And you know some people say it's very dark, it's very co-dependent, and they put these labels on it. And she is indeed fixated on it, she even says, "Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind." That my eyes are seeing what you are and they're reporting back to me that you're unworthy of my love and yet my mind is at a place where it can't process that information, and I'm gonna love you anyway. She's even aware of her own fixedness.

Would you agree that there's a bit of Helena in Ally McBeal?

I think that's what's so amazing. Shakespeare wrote this play so long ago, obviously. The characters are so human and there's a television character in 1999 who has similarities. They're general similarities, to be sure. They're both young women driven, passionate, who want what they want and lead with their heart. That's a testament to Shakespeare.

Are you that fearless in real life when it comes to love?

[Blushes.] Fearless as Helena or Ally McBeal? I think I take some risks in life, but certainly not always. I've never said [what Helena says in Dream], "I'll be your dog."

You've had a lot of stage experience. What's your comfort level in terms of doing Shakespeare?

I've always loved Shakespeare. My mother was an English teacher, so it was always available to me. The first one I read was Romeo and Juliet. And I really loved the tragedies. I'm not answering your question though, am I? How is it working with Shakespeare? How easy is it for me? I'm sorry…

What's your comfort level doing Shakespeare and also what's the difference between doing it on the stage and on film?

Yeah, that's what I was actually leading into. I think with Shakespeare, people are intimidated by the language because it's definitely a departure. I mean, we don't talk like that. It all comes down to emotions. So once you get what Helena's doing, what she's all about, this is a girl who's in love, and she's willing to go really far to get him. You come from an emotional place, and the language becomes a secondary thing. And it actually ends up helping you because it's so perfect that there's nothing else you'd want to say. And then it's beautiful. To listen to it at the same time. But that part takes care of itself. I don't do the thing of like stress this, don't stress that. That to me is too technical. I definitely approach it from an emotional point of view.

What was your favorite moment in the film?

What I love about Helena is very psychological. It was really fun to get into the skin of this woman who was incredibly insecure and is quick to jump to "I'm ugly" and "I'm unworthy." And so when the two guys turn and start professing their love for her, I found it very interesting that she didn't believe them.

Did you have fun riding the bicycle in Midsummer, or was it a prop that you struggled with?

It was a prop that I struggled with a bit. But I tried to use it and, you know, Helena was a bit obsessed with her bike too. She was never without her bike the whole movie.

Did you know there'd be mud wrestling involved in this film?

I did. I read it in the script.

What was that like?

Well, we thought it was going to be spa bath time. Anna [Friel] and I were like "Aah, good! We'll just spend the day in the mud. "But unfortunately it was filled with little pebbles and scratchy things, and it got into our corsets and after about two or three hours, it wasn't … well, it certainly wasn't a spa bath.

There was a lot of casual nudity in the movie. Nevertheless, were you concerned about what the flower petals covered?

I had those flowers glued to me. I had a petal for each … [Laughs, embarrassed.] And I had lots of hair. Thank God for hair and petals. When we were all lying down, I think it was a bit scary. But you just kind of use humor to get yourself through it.

You have a wonderfully expressive face that's capable of conveying multiple emotions at a given time. Did you grow up practicing these kinds of expressions in the mirror or do you rely on instinct?

I have to say it just comes from being in the moment. I'm unaware of it. I don't really know. People have said that about me, but I never practiced facial expressions. [Laughs.]

Did anything prepare you for how cruel the media can be?

No. I don't think anything could prepare you for that. I was shocked, and I had a tendency to take it personally. My feelings were hurt. I was frightened. I thought that it could potentially damage my career. That I would walk around for the rest of my life with a big red A. For adulterous and anorexic. No, it certainly wasn't pleasant, but as time went on, I realized or something changed in me, and I just started to ignore it. I've really learned to maintain my sense of humor.

Are you and Michelle Pfeiffer and David Kelley all friends? There's a preposterous rumor going around that you're not. Are you able to call them up and say, "You're not going to believe this ridiculous thing that I've just read"?

Right. We certainly laugh about it and tease each other about it, and we don't take it seriously. We all have a lighthearted time.

Still, there must be moments when you're in line at the supermarket and you see a tabloid headline…

Yeah. But I'm starting to find them really funny. If you really read the tabloids, they're very clever. Sometimes they're really well-written and so imaginative. I have to live vicariously through my own rumors because they're much more exciting than my real life.

What's the craziest thing you've read about yourself in the tabloids?

Oh! This is a case in point. They said that my dog Webster is now suffering from anorexia too. I don't know if they were accusing him because they do accuse people of having diseases nowadays. Maybe they thought that I was starving him too. Something ridiculous like that.

Can you take him out walking like you used to do?

Yeah, I do. I admit I have to be more vigilant now. It's not as easy as it used to be. But certainly not impossible. I do it all the time. I walk him all the time, take him on hikes all the time.

Does he get better dog food now?

[Laughs.] No, some things never change.

Is it a myth or is it true that when you and your brother were struggling in New York, did you actually subsist on canned ravioli?

We did. It's been blown out of proportion and a bit distorted, but the touching part about that story was that my brother and I were both struggling. We were young and poor and too proud to ask our parents for money, so my brother sent me a case of ravioli to help out. But, it was nice.

Would you mind retelling the story that you told on Jay Leno about your worst audition?

You really want me to retell it right now? [Laughs.] All right, so I went to this audition for a film, and I walk in and there was this man from Hollywood, and he didn't have his shoes on. And there was a terrible smell in the room. Oh God! His feet! His feet! Oh, I'm never gonna make it through this, I was thinking. It was just emanating all through the room, and I was thinking, "Oh, all these Hollywood producer types!" And then we kept reading the scene over and over again. And I finally left and I got on the subway and I looked down at my foot, and I had been in the dog park and I had poop all over my shoes. So I was the smelly one in the room. [Laughs.]