Have you and Roz rubbed off on each other over the years? "When you do a sitcom you don't have a beginning, a middle and an end like with a movie or a play. So, you can find out anything [about a character] nine or 10 years into it. You do have to pull from your own life experiences a lot. I've found that I have. So, you can't get married to a detail because the writers may never go back to that detail. When the writing is good, the character sort of takes over and comes to life. I think I'm a lot more cautious and insecure. The other great thing about Roz is that she's much more secure in her work. She's really, really good at it and that makes her fun to play. Confident and devil-may-care." How do you think Roz has evolved over the last 10 years? "I think it's been a really interesting experience, because Roz is one of those people who is smart but doesn't really plan things out. She kinda rolls with the punches. She became pregnant and became a single mom. She loves being a mom. I think through that experience she's grown up a lot. At the same time, she really wants to hold on to her identity and her free spirit. I think she just wants to keep the adventure up. In some ways, that's led her down a lonely path but at the same time she really fiercely holds on to her independence. For the most part, Roz is happy. As far as her evolving, I think she sort of refuses to [laughs] except when it comes to being a mom." Where do you see Roz in the next 10 years? "I think she'll probably work in the radio business. Also, she's produced several things related to her own interests, so I think she might go off and become a producer. She'll bring her own view of the world to audiences. I hope she settles down. I hope she finds someone really nice who appreciates her!" Do you have a favorite Frasier moment? "My favorite Frasier moment is from an episode we did called "Ham Radio." It was a David Lloyd episode about us doing a radio play. Daphne and Martin are at home listening and their reactions are hilarious. The radio play just got sillier and sillier. All the characters from the radio station were involved. Bulldog (Dan Butler) brought a girlfriend with him to be in it and she was dyslexic. So, at the climax of the radio play she screams out, 'Look out! He's got a nug!' [laughs] It just makes me laugh every time I think about it." Do you have a worst Frasier moment? "All the other cast members do, but I've never had a bad moment. [laughs] I can't think of one, other than tanking a joke - but that happens so much!" How does doing theatre compare to doing Frasier? Is the live audience vibe the same? "You do have the live audience with Frasier, but you also have the cameras on the stage. You want to play to the audience because they're a huge part of the show, but the point of it is to get it on film. But theatre is so scary because you can't yell 'Cut!' You've just got to keep going. We're very good about knowing the lines here, because we all want to keep the scene going. So, if someone messes up [during taping] it's usually because a line was changed while we were in makeup or we just fouled up. But onstage, it's just paralyzing sometimes it's so scary." Is that part of why you enjoy doing theatre, the challenge? "Well, I grew up doing theatre. That's something that you kind of like, that fear, because if gives you that extra energy that you need. Also, it's fun to conquer it. It's also more important to do the play than to sit back and be scared. After all these years of doing Frasier with a little bit of a net, I wanted to make sure I still had that theatre muscle." What's next for you personally? Life after Frasier... "I think about it all the time. You want to keep going. Keep trying to do meaningful things that mean something to you. This is a real hard act to follow. I have interest in comedy and drama. Drama you go home at night and are just in a bad, bad place. Comedy's a lot more fun." |
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