Great ratings, a Golden Globe win and a couple of Emmy nominations have made life sweet for Kyra Sedgwick, who seems made for the role of a quirky, brilliant, fish-out-of-water Atlanta cop on TNT's The Closer. There are a lot of crimes to solve in the series' fourth season, and one thing's for sure: Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson will be driving her colleagues crazy with her obsessive attention to the tiniest of details.
The only downside to her success has been leaving hubby Kevin Bacon and her two children home in New York. Sitting down with Kyra, the only thing missed is Brenda's charming Southern accent, but she makes up for it with her graceful wit and candid quips.
You seem to love Brenda as much as viewers do.
"It's true. She's deeply flawed and complicated, fragile and strong—a bundle of contradictions. We're all sort of struggling to balance things, to be OK, to get through the day. I think that's something people can really relate to in Brenda—the moments of celebration, moments of feeling like she's really done something well, and then moments of thinking, 'Ugh, I'm screwing up all over the place and I'm confused.'"
Do you relate in your real life?
"I'm a slob. I forget things all the time and it really irritates everybody. It irritates Kev because somehow he remembers it all and my kids do too. They're like, 'Mom, I told you. Don't you remember?' They think I'm funny because I do silly, stupid things. So everyone teases me constantly. I used to be really bad at getting teased, like blowing my top and then apologizing two seconds later. I'm much better now. I think that comes with age, right?"
Does adding a few years make those love scenes easier or harder?
"They're kind of part of the gig. In some ways, it's sort of legal flirting. I've been married for so long—Kevin and I have been married 18 years—it's not so bad to have a new pair of lips to kiss. Can I say that and be really honest?"
What are you thinking when getting passionate with another actor?
"I think about the reality of the scene. I don't think about the shock value. There is no part of me that even considers it. Now that I think of it, maybe I should. Look, Brenda is a sexual person. She's a woman. She's got boobs. She's got a butt. Am I sounding defensive?"
Like most other TV series, you have your share of product placements. Is that selling out?
"I do product placement because they offer us a lot of money. I did the Revlon thing. Brenda changed her lipstick and it was a Revlon color. And the T-Mobile phones are a placement. But you know that gives us money to go out for an extra three days on location. By the way, look at the 'Sex and the City' movie which has an ad for everything. There's product placement in nearly every single scene."
You're due for a star next year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. How excited are you?
"It's an honor. Kevin already has one and he always jokes that you can't go to where his star is on Hollywood Boulevard at night because you'll be mugged or worse. There's actually some truth to that. Detective Mike Bertram of the LAPD is our technical advisor. I took him to see Kevin's star and he went, 'I remember investigating a murder right over there on the sidewalk.'"
Just in case The Closer doesn't last forever, are you thinking about your future career?
"I've worked in this business a really long time. I've been around slugging it out since I was 16. I'm almost 43 now and I think I get better as I get older. Knock on wood; I'll be able to keep working until the day I die."
The only downside to her success has been leaving hubby Kevin Bacon and her two children home in New York. Sitting down with Kyra, the only thing missed is Brenda's charming Southern accent, but she makes up for it with her graceful wit and candid quips.
You seem to love Brenda as much as viewers do.
"It's true. She's deeply flawed and complicated, fragile and strong—a bundle of contradictions. We're all sort of struggling to balance things, to be OK, to get through the day. I think that's something people can really relate to in Brenda—the moments of celebration, moments of feeling like she's really done something well, and then moments of thinking, 'Ugh, I'm screwing up all over the place and I'm confused.'"
Do you relate in your real life?
"I'm a slob. I forget things all the time and it really irritates everybody. It irritates Kev because somehow he remembers it all and my kids do too. They're like, 'Mom, I told you. Don't you remember?' They think I'm funny because I do silly, stupid things. So everyone teases me constantly. I used to be really bad at getting teased, like blowing my top and then apologizing two seconds later. I'm much better now. I think that comes with age, right?"
Does adding a few years make those love scenes easier or harder?
"They're kind of part of the gig. In some ways, it's sort of legal flirting. I've been married for so long—Kevin and I have been married 18 years—it's not so bad to have a new pair of lips to kiss. Can I say that and be really honest?"
What are you thinking when getting passionate with another actor?
"I think about the reality of the scene. I don't think about the shock value. There is no part of me that even considers it. Now that I think of it, maybe I should. Look, Brenda is a sexual person. She's a woman. She's got boobs. She's got a butt. Am I sounding defensive?"
Like most other TV series, you have your share of product placements. Is that selling out?
"I do product placement because they offer us a lot of money. I did the Revlon thing. Brenda changed her lipstick and it was a Revlon color. And the T-Mobile phones are a placement. But you know that gives us money to go out for an extra three days on location. By the way, look at the 'Sex and the City' movie which has an ad for everything. There's product placement in nearly every single scene."
You're due for a star next year on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. How excited are you?
"It's an honor. Kevin already has one and he always jokes that you can't go to where his star is on Hollywood Boulevard at night because you'll be mugged or worse. There's actually some truth to that. Detective Mike Bertram of the LAPD is our technical advisor. I took him to see Kevin's star and he went, 'I remember investigating a murder right over there on the sidewalk.'"
Just in case The Closer doesn't last forever, are you thinking about your future career?
"I've worked in this business a really long time. I've been around slugging it out since I was 16. I'm almost 43 now and I think I get better as I get older. Knock on wood; I'll be able to keep working until the day I die."
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