01-19-2009, 12:23 AM
BY KATE O'HARE | Zap2it
January 18, 2009
Inside the production offices of her first TV series, Showtime's " United States of Tara," on a small lot near Hollywood on a sizzling November day, Australian actress Toni Collette ("Muriel's Wedding," "The Sixth Sense") is wrapped in a bathrobe, pondering her longest job to date.
"Most of the movies I've done are nine weeks, or 10, maximum. But this is long, and I'm playing several characters. Including the pilot, it's, like, 14 weeks shooting."
The world of a TV series is often a surprise to film actors. The job lasts much longer - months, at minimum, and potentially several years - and you get to do much more every day.
"This particular project," she says, "I'm absolutely in love and sated and excited, even though it's a grueling schedule. I'm extremely passionate.
"There's so much sitting round, waiting for things to be lit in most films. [On this show,] there's more to do in a day, and I prefer that, because I'm more active, and it's more exciting."
What's true of most TV shows is doubly - or triply, or even quadruply - true of Collette's latest project, premiering Sunday night at 10 on Showtime.
She plays artist Tara Gregson, a wife and mother with dissociative identity disorder. She and her husband, Max (John Corbett), have decided she should try life without her medication and perhaps discover what caused her problems in the first place.
As a result, her other personalities have resurfaced: flirty, funky teenager T; two-fisted, porn-loving Vietnam vet Buck (a guy), and Alice, a '50s housewife who would put Betty Crocker to shame.
The show is the creation of Academy Award-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody ("Juno"), who executive-produces with Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Alexa Junge.
Cody proved her ability to take on a hot-button topic, teen pregnancy, with humor in "Juno," and she does the same in "Tara." The multiple personalities cause problems for Max and the couple's two precocious teens - Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) and Kate (Brie Larson) - and especially Tara's sister, Charmaine (Rosemarie DeWitt, who played Midge on "Mad Men").
But they also sometimes solve problems.
In one episode, Buck puts the smackdown on Kate's strangely coiffed boyfriend; in another, Alice does a charming psychological dissection of Max's insecure teacher (Tony Hale, "Arrested Development").
On the other hand, Tara doesn't want Max dallying with the "alters" - not that Buck is interested, but T and Alice sure are - which means he only has a part-time wife.
Talking to Corbett on this day proves challenging and requires following him through the raised set of the Gregson house, but finally he settles for a few minutes in his trailer, in the company of his two large German shepherds.
"He's trying to make it work," he says of Max. "He loves his kids, and he loves the wife that he has when she's around for a few minutes, while being Tara. I think he's playing this thing out. But it's coming to a head, though, for sure."
"Max is like this incredible, supportive rock," Collette says. "John's a great actor. He's so incredibly natural. He's a big guy, but he's got a sensitivity about him which is very real and very appealing. He makes me laugh every single day. He's a great on-screen husband."
As to why Max hasn't left, Collette says, "It's just him. They've been together for a long time. He's the one who put it together. The doctors couldn't figure it out.
"There are so many elements of it that could be classified as something else; it took a while to nail it down. Because he lives with her and knows her the best, he's the one who put the jigsaw together. It's a real strain on their relationship."
According to Corbett, the show hasn't yet revealed exactly when Max knew that there was something different about Tara.
"Did he marry a woman with the disorder," he says, "or did it come about after? I'm not sure he would have married somebody when he could have had a normal life. Max seems kind of grounded. Max doesn't seem like a big risk-taker that could have said, 'I can deal with this.'
"I think these personalities started to come out after they were together. That would be more interesting to me, anyway."
A self-professed "snob" about doing television, Collette couldn't resist "Tara."
"There's an ability to grow with a character and progress," she says, "especially with this show, these characters. There are so many places you can go. As long as you believe in it, it's a great TV show."
Video and story here:
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspape...1723.story
January 18, 2009
Inside the production offices of her first TV series, Showtime's " United States of Tara," on a small lot near Hollywood on a sizzling November day, Australian actress Toni Collette ("Muriel's Wedding," "The Sixth Sense") is wrapped in a bathrobe, pondering her longest job to date.
"Most of the movies I've done are nine weeks, or 10, maximum. But this is long, and I'm playing several characters. Including the pilot, it's, like, 14 weeks shooting."
The world of a TV series is often a surprise to film actors. The job lasts much longer - months, at minimum, and potentially several years - and you get to do much more every day.
"This particular project," she says, "I'm absolutely in love and sated and excited, even though it's a grueling schedule. I'm extremely passionate.
"There's so much sitting round, waiting for things to be lit in most films. [On this show,] there's more to do in a day, and I prefer that, because I'm more active, and it's more exciting."
What's true of most TV shows is doubly - or triply, or even quadruply - true of Collette's latest project, premiering Sunday night at 10 on Showtime.
She plays artist Tara Gregson, a wife and mother with dissociative identity disorder. She and her husband, Max (John Corbett), have decided she should try life without her medication and perhaps discover what caused her problems in the first place.
As a result, her other personalities have resurfaced: flirty, funky teenager T; two-fisted, porn-loving Vietnam vet Buck (a guy), and Alice, a '50s housewife who would put Betty Crocker to shame.
The show is the creation of Academy Award-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody ("Juno"), who executive-produces with Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Alexa Junge.
Cody proved her ability to take on a hot-button topic, teen pregnancy, with humor in "Juno," and she does the same in "Tara." The multiple personalities cause problems for Max and the couple's two precocious teens - Marshall (Keir Gilchrist) and Kate (Brie Larson) - and especially Tara's sister, Charmaine (Rosemarie DeWitt, who played Midge on "Mad Men").
But they also sometimes solve problems.
In one episode, Buck puts the smackdown on Kate's strangely coiffed boyfriend; in another, Alice does a charming psychological dissection of Max's insecure teacher (Tony Hale, "Arrested Development").
On the other hand, Tara doesn't want Max dallying with the "alters" - not that Buck is interested, but T and Alice sure are - which means he only has a part-time wife.
Talking to Corbett on this day proves challenging and requires following him through the raised set of the Gregson house, but finally he settles for a few minutes in his trailer, in the company of his two large German shepherds.
"He's trying to make it work," he says of Max. "He loves his kids, and he loves the wife that he has when she's around for a few minutes, while being Tara. I think he's playing this thing out. But it's coming to a head, though, for sure."
"Max is like this incredible, supportive rock," Collette says. "John's a great actor. He's so incredibly natural. He's a big guy, but he's got a sensitivity about him which is very real and very appealing. He makes me laugh every single day. He's a great on-screen husband."
As to why Max hasn't left, Collette says, "It's just him. They've been together for a long time. He's the one who put it together. The doctors couldn't figure it out.
"There are so many elements of it that could be classified as something else; it took a while to nail it down. Because he lives with her and knows her the best, he's the one who put the jigsaw together. It's a real strain on their relationship."
According to Corbett, the show hasn't yet revealed exactly when Max knew that there was something different about Tara.
"Did he marry a woman with the disorder," he says, "or did it come about after? I'm not sure he would have married somebody when he could have had a normal life. Max seems kind of grounded. Max doesn't seem like a big risk-taker that could have said, 'I can deal with this.'
"I think these personalities started to come out after they were together. That would be more interesting to me, anyway."
A self-professed "snob" about doing television, Collette couldn't resist "Tara."
"There's an ability to grow with a character and progress," she says, "especially with this show, these characters. There are so many places you can go. As long as you believe in it, it's a great TV show."
Video and story here:
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspape...1723.story
