TV Guide Online: Tonight
we are chatting with Patricia
Heaton from the popular TV
series Everybody Loves Raymond.
Welcome Patricia! Thanks for
coming!
Patricia Heaton: Hi!
It's great to be here! Thanks
for having me.
Question: First of all
Ms. Heaton, I find you to be
very lovely, and I love the
show, I got a kick out of
seeing your real husband on the
last episode. My question to
you is do you find your
personal life to be anything
like it is on the show?
Heaton: (John... I'm on
the phone right now...) Sorry,
my children are keeping me from
answering the question right
now...Yes... it's exactly like
it is on the show. I have no
life except for my children. :)
The show tries to portray a
stay-at-home mom, but of course
the children are never around
on the show. Whereas at home,
they're never not around. :)
Question: Hi Patricia,
is it fun working with Ray
Romano? He seems to be very
funny, and hard to work with
without cracking up all the
time.
Heaton: Ray is a
terrific guy... if you can get
him to stop talking about golf,
or about how bad he was dissed
in Sports Illustrated, or
barking at his assistant...
But, other than that, he's a
funny, wonderful man... :) But
seriously, he really, from the
beginning, has set the tone on
the set, and it's a very warm,
family, loose kind of set. And
it's a pleasure to be working
there.
Question: I think
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND is
sooooooooo fresh, what drew you
to the show?
Heaton: I was penniless.
LOL. My husband and I had just
had our second son, and my last
series had been cancelled, and
I wasn't so sure that the part
of Debra was going to be a
great part, but I knew that it
was going to be a good show,
because the pilot was so funny.
I thought that if the writers
could write a pilot that was
this good, the character of
Debra would be much better than
the average sitcom mom.
Question: What was one
of your first real projects???
Heaton: My first big break was
playing a gynecologist on
Thirtysomething. It started out
as a one-time deal, but when
they decided to give Patricia
Wedding's character ovarian
cancer, they brought me back
six more times. At that time,
that was the hottest show on TV
and everyone was trying to get
a guest shot on it. I had just
moved to LA from NYC and I
didn't even have an agent. So,
it was kind of a miracle that I
not only got on the show, but
was a recurring character.
Question: What has been
the funniest scene you've done
on the show?
Heaton: You know, it's
hard because the day after we
tape an episode, I can't
remember what it was about.
It's because we do them so
quickly, and you're right on to
the next one. So it's hard to
remember. But, I've always
loved the episode from either
the first or third season where
Ray and Debra try to write a
children's book together. This
season, our premiere was Debra
faking breast implants to see
how Ray would react. That was
pretty funny. And also this
season, an episode where Debra
tries to get along with Marie
and it blows up in her face.
Question: Hi Patricia!
How old are your boys?
Heaton: Six, four, two
and one.
Question: Have you ever
done theater? If so, what was
it and did you like it better
than television or movies?
Heaton: I love doing
theatre. I studied in NYC with
a man named William Esper. And
when I graduated from him, I
formed a theatre company with
some of his students and we
produced two plays in NYC which
were well received. One of them
I brought out to LA, which I
produced here. It kind of got
me my start. William Esper... I
feel like I owe everything to
him... and my mother, who bore
me. He made ALL the difference
in my being able to act.
Question: You are so
funny! Did comedy always come
naturally to you?
Heaton: In acting
class, it was always one of my
strong points, doing comedy
scenes. Right after I did
Thirtysomething. I auditioned
for a sitcom called Room for
Two with Linda Lavin. The
producers main concern with me
was whether or not I could do
comedy because they had only
seen me in Thirtysomething. So
I had to work a bit to prove
that I could do comedy. But I
really enjoy it more than
drama. Doing a sitcom is like
doing a little play every week,
and I really love doing
theatre. But I think it's going
to be some time before I'm able
to do any more theatre because
of my kids. And so, doing a
sitcom sort of perfectly fills
that niche.
Question: What actors
and actresses do you enjoy
watching, past or present?
Heaton: I always loved
Marlon Brando, James Dean and
Jimmy Stewart for their
naturalistic style. I love
William H. Macy, Phillip
Seymour Hoffman... and then
women, I love Diane Weist and
Elizabeth Franz. Linda Lavin is
amazing, and if you haven't
seen her on stage, you should
go. Holly Hunter is an amazing
actress. That's all I can think
of off the top of my head.
Question: Do you have
any projects coming up during
the hiatus?
Heaton: No, I'm just
looking at some things. But I'm
really weighing how I want to
spend my time. It would have to
be a project that's very
interesting, but also fits into
my schedule with my family.
Question: IN ALL THE
CHARACTERS YOU HAVE PLAYED WHAT
WAS YOUR MOST CHALLENGING ONE
AND WHY?
Heaton: I did a play in LA...
there were two that I did in
LA, both sort of hysterical
young women and those were the
most challenging. First of all,
it was theatre, so it's like
working without a net. You just
go out there and there's no
turning back. One of the
characters was a girl waiting
in an abortion clinic, trying
to decide whether or not to
have an abortion. She was a
really tough and wonderful
character to play. It was even
kind of a comedic role, if you
can believe that. And the other
character was an Eve Harrington
type. Sort of a benign innocent
on the outside and a real shark
on the inside. And very
hilarious and wonderful to
play.
Question: WOULD YOU EVER
CONSIDER PRODUCING OR DIRECTING
A FILM?
Heaton: Yeah. Actually,
my husband and I have just
formed a production company
called Fourboys Films. Our
first project will start
shooting in the next couple of
weeks in the UK. It's a series
of monologues for the BBC, and
that will be airing around
April in England before it's
sold internationally. One of
the reasons we formed our
production company is that we
think so much of the work
that's out there now is
brilliantly executed, but the
message in many of these films
is rather bleak and despairing.
We'd like to produce films
whose vision has a more hopeful
view of the human condition
without being sentimental. I
don't have any interest in
directing. I'm probably the
only person in Hollywood who's
not interested in directing.
But producing is something that
I love to do, because I like to
find talent in all the various
areas of a production and bring
them together and see what
happens.
Question: Now that
Everybody Loves Raymond is such
a big hit, how do you deal with
everyday life such as shopping?
Do people recognize you and how
has that affected your life and
your families?
Heaton: I have servants.
I never leave my house outside
of the studio...LOL I actually
have an assistant and a nanny
who help me out with a lot of
the daily chores. But it's only
because I'm too busy at work to
get a lot of these things done.
It's not because I'm mobbed
every time I set foot outside
my door. In fact, one of the
only times I've ever been
recognized was when I was at a
boutique paying for some
clothes and another customer
came up to me and said,
"Aren't you on that TV
show?" And just as I
answered, "Why, yes, I
am..." The salesperson
returned with my VISA and said
that my credit card had been
denied. So, I said to the other
customer, "That's right,
I'm Julia Louis Dreyfus."
But, normally, I leave the
house with dirty hair and a
ponytail and no makeup, and I'm
also a lot smaller than I seem
on TV. One of my girlfriends
insists that the reason I'm
never recognized is that I'm so
short that no one can see me.
:)
Question: Do you have a
website we could write to you
at?
Heaton: I am currently
working on putting a website
together for me individually
and for Fourboys Films and to
promote my special charitable
organization that I support
called Feminists for Life. It's
a group of feminists that are
pro-Life and as Hollywood is
such a hotbed of pro-Life
activity, I'm currently the
only member here in LA. :) So,
I'm working on trying to put
together a Hollywood chapter.
But, it's difficult to find
anyone in the Hollywood
community who is either
pro-Life or will admit to it.
It's a group that's not only
pro-Life, but it's against the
death penalty and tries to
rectify the root causes and
reasons for why women have
abortions. Such as, afraid to
lose their jobs, afraid they'll
have to drop out of school,
non-support from the father or
their families. So we're trying
to create an environment where
women don't have to choose
between their careers or
education and their children.
There's an address if anyone is
interested.
Heaton: It's...
Feminists for Life; 733 15th
Street NW, Suite 110;
Washington DC 20005 and the
phone number is (202) 737-3352.
TV Guide Online: Thanks
Patricia! We had a great time
and please come talk with us
again soon
