Interviews: Jesse Metcalfe, Brenda Strong Go Back to ‘Dallas’

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HollywoodChicago.com: You’ve had three notable roles in exceptional and legendary television shows – ‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Herman’s Head’…I mean ‘SportsNight.’ Which character do you think will live the longest in pop culture and which was the most interesting experience for you?

Brenda Strong in Chicago, June 6th, 2012 Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

Strong: ‘Seinfeld’ will live the longest in pop culture. It was definitive, and they were so good at capturing a specific place and psychology. And Sue Ellen Mischke, the ‘Oh Henry’ candy bar heiress, was one of few characters who wasn’t Jerry’s girlfriend, she got a one-up on Elaine and I just loved playing her. It was salacious and audacious, a great parody of the O.J. Simpson trial, with me trying on the bra – if it doesn’t fit we must acquit – that one will hold up in pop culture. Even my son’s generation loves those repeats.

‘Twin Peaks’ is a little more surreal and twisted. I loved the show, but by the second season they didn’t know where they were going, David Warner [who played Thomas Echkardt, Strong was his assistant named Jones] and I were just making it up as we went along, and they said, we like that, just go with that.

I will say I have been dreaming of working with Aaron Sorkin again, I was bummed that I didn’t get to do “Newsroom” [Sorkin’s upcoming HBO series], I think it’s going to sweep the Emmys. I adore that man as a writer and friend, I hope I get to work with him again.

HollywoodChicago.com: You were a yoga instructor and teacher when there was a Mind/Body Institute at UCLA. How has it defined your spirituality and approach to life?

Strong: Yoga in and of itself has had a huge impact in my spirituality, and in my ability to navigate life, and being an actor in show business, and making sure I’m not thrown under that machine and ground to dust. [laughs] It’s hard. You have people that adulate you and hate you. It’s tough for any persona, let alone a soul to navigate. Yoga has kept me grounded, going back to a beginner’s mind and healthy. It has allowed me accept what is now, whether it’s painful or joyful, it’s all part of the experience. It allows me to accept it all without judgement.

HollywoodChicago.com: What is your dream job as an actor? What role or character or genre would you most like to play before your career is done?

Strong: I would like to step into some of the classic roles of Shakespeare, I’d love to play Queen Gertrude [‘Hamlet’] and step into some of these powerful and historic women roles, ala Cate Blanchett. I think I’m ready now to do that, to wield a little more power in my career, and do more complex roles.

HollywoodChicago.com: You and I went through the same times in American history and culture. What do you think characterizes our generation and timeline the most, regarding that experience?

Strong: We have such an interesting generation. I was the youngest of six children, but I grew up as a kid in the 1960s, and I did feel the freedom and liberation, especially for women. Ultimately, when we came into the 1980s it was a bit shocking. The ‘80s ripped the rug from under me. I remember that one of the first things that Ronald Reagan did when he came into office was take the solar panels off of the White House. That was a declaration that the United States would keep the oil standard. All of the economic advancements that came through that administration came with a loss of the heart and soul of what was fought for in the 1960s.

We are also of a generation that had journalists exposing what was really happening with this country, with the Vietnam War and Watergate. We’ve since been disenfranchised in some ways, we had the promise of freedom, truth and love, and then we’ve been sold a bill of goods opposite to that. Now we’re in the power position to reclaim it, and I really hope we do.

By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com