An Interview with Holland Taylor - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Mr. Television · 06-10-2013, 10:51 AM

http://www.parade.com/19653/dotsonra...ns-reputation/

Two and a Half Men's Holland Taylor Talks Ann Richards, Depression, and Charlie Sheen's Reputation
June 5, 2013 – 1:00 PM –

Holland Taylor goes for laughs as the overbearing and disapproving matriarch on CBS’ Two and a Half Men. Now she’s gone back to her theater roots with the one-woman play Ann, which has earned her a Tony nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Play. (Tune in June 9 on CBS at 8 p.m. ET to see who wins!)

Ann tells the story of the late Texas governor Ann Richards, the brassy Democrat who went from homemaker to political celebrity in the late ’80s and ’90s.

Holland, 70, whose career encompasses other Broadway plays, nearly 60 movies (Legally Blonde; Baby Mama), and popular television series (Bosom Buddies with Tom Hanks; The Practice) talks with Parade‘s Dotson Rader about her powerful role on Broadway, her struggle with depression, how former costar Charlie Sheen‘s Hollywood upbringing shaped his life, and more.

Why did you write a play about Ann Richards?

“Because Ann Richards’s death [in 2006] really rattled me, which is odd since I met her only once, at lunch with [New York columnist] Liz Smith. I had no idea how important Ann was to me until she died. Isn’t that true of many people in our lives? Right away I realized, ‘Holy Goodness, that person was everything to me!’

“She was such a figure in the literature of the Women’s Movement…she was a real figurehead in my life. But this play is not about the Women’s Movement. This is about a life well lived.”

Richards was transparent about the things she wanted to share, like Angelina Jolie was in opening up about her double mastectomy.

“I think what Angelina Jolie is doing is right up Ann Richards’ street. I was dazzled by it, and I thought it was a wonderful sharing, and just fantastically wonderful for thousands of people who are going through that. I think the world of Angelina Jolie, and infinitely more now, because that was really a dazzling, generous effort on her part. Ann Richards would just think that was the bomb.”

For a public figure, Richards was unusually candid about her alcoholism and divorce.

“She didn’t feel that was private. She felt it was very important for people to feel okay about a drinking or drug problem.”

Ann’s dad was a salesman in Waco, Texas, who encouraged her to be anything she wanted. Your father was a successful Philadelphia lawyer. Were your parents encouraging of your desire to act?

“My parents were not dissuading. I was very isolated as a child, melancholy by nature. I wasn’t at all gregarious. I was shy.”

Is that why you became an actress, to overcome your shyness?

“I never thought about it. At 11, I just announced that that’s what I’m going to be.”

After graduating Bennington College, you came to New York. Was it tough getting acting work?

“Yes. I always looked too young for the part. I remember [director] Hal Prince broke my heart into a thousand pieces [when] I auditioned for a play and he said, “You’re right for the part. You just seem too young.” It happened quite a bit. It ain’t happening any more! [Laughs]”

In those years you had no money, yet people thought that you did. Why?

“I always wore ludicrously expensive shoes! [Laughs] I didn’t have any clothes really, an ivory dress I wore to auditions. I kept it impeccable. Auditioning is a humbling, brutally difficult position to be in. So you want to appear confident.”

You often play strong, buoyant, confident women, like Judge Kittelson on The Practice or Gov. Ann Richards in your play. You seem very self-confident, never self-doubting.

“Well, I’ve suffered depression.”

When?

“From my early 40s into my mid-50s.”

How bad was it?

“Bad enough for me to entertain the idea of going into a hospital. I actually wasn’t a danger to myself, but I really sometimes wondered how I could get out of the house to go get food.

“The most important thing I learned about depression is to fight it cognitively. People who are in a serious, life-altering depression should get support in two ways: There are wonderful medicines that can help them, and then, while they are on the mend, they [should get] psychiatric or therapeutic support.

“I was on antidepressants for over 15 years, with very intermittent counseling. It was a very dead period of my life. Antidepressants take away the lows but they also reduce the highs. And for me, over a long period of time, they didn’t really work. So I quit taking them, and my life has been afire since then.”

This was before Bosom Buddies in 1980, the TV show that gave both you and Tom Hanks your first tastes of fame?“ I was off antidepressants by then. Bosom Buddies was the first TV job I ever did in L.A. I’d [already] done seven or eight Broadway shows.”

You have played mothers, most famously Evelyn Harper, the mom on Two and a Half Men. Do you regret never getting married in real life?

“Not at all. I never wanted to. I’d have been the most terrible wife in the world. An unsuccessful actress, not having any artistic satisfaction, not having any place to stand, not having anything? That is not a person you should marry. In fact, when my high school sweetheart said, ‘We should get married’ — I was taking a shower at the time — I looked down at the drain and thought, ‘If I marry, it’s all over. I’m much too independent.’ I was too self-involved.”

Did you regret not having had kids?

“Only after it was no longer possible. Look, I was a child myself for decades. There was no impulse to take care of children when I was barely taking care of myself.”

What do you think of Charlie Sheen’s replacement on Two and a Half Men, Ashton Kutcher?

“He’s very charming. Very affable and smart. But I’ve hardly been exposed to him at all.”

And what about Charlie Sheen?

“Anybody who’s spent time with Charlie likes him. He’s as smart a person as you’ll ever find.”

He sometimes hasn’t behaved like he’s smart.

“He grew up with a movie star father [Martin Sheen] who was gallivanting around the world. [Today] Martin is a big AA person and very public about it. But back in the day, Martin was a young, crazy, brilliant talent—always gone, always traveling, sometimes bringing his kids along. It was just a madhouse way [for Charlie] to grow up. And then Charlie himself was a teenage movie star with hundreds of thousands of dollars in his pocket at any given moment. It sounds great to a lot of people, but it’s not that easy to mature and to have a regular life.”

Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr., Lindsay Lohan, other talented young actors — why do they go off the rails?

“Why wouldn’t they?”

You’d think that if they had parents who cared about them, they wouldn’t.

“As if parents could control their children! If you grow up in [Hollywood], you’re going to be affected by the atmosphere. And if you go into acting at a young age, watch out.”

Would you advise anyone young to be an actor?

“Oh, please. No, I wouldn’t. Although maybe if I saw them act and they were brilliantly talented, I might. I taught an acting class, and this one good-looking, very charming young man was very good. I asked him, ‘Why do you want to be an actor?’ He said, ‘I want to be famous.’ I was astonished. I said, ‘Well, why don’t you make violins and become famous that way?’”

Wrong answer?

“Become an actor to be famous? Give me a break. Most really brilliant actors aren’t famous.”

A famous actress you respect is Tina Fey.

“I adore her. I worked with her and Amy Poehler [in Baby Mama]. Oh my God, I’ve never had so much fun working with anybody as with those two. They’re very different [women]. Tina is very cool and mental. Amy’s just this gushing little oil pump of affection. And yet they’re absolutely peas in a pod. They adore each other. They’re like sisters. They’re like Scottie and Westie puppies in a basket.”

In your career you’ve earned many honors. But to be nominated for a Tony as best actress, it must be thrilling.

“I’m thrilled for the play. I’m thrilled for Ann. The nomination is wonderful. I’m very fortunate. Ann Richards has lifted me up, just like she did everybody else.”

comedyfreak · 06-14-2013, 04:30 AM

Interesting read. I wonder if she is going to return to Two And A Half Men?

liane49 · 06-15-2013, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comedyfreak

Interesting read. I wonder if she is going to return to Two And A Half Men?

I miss her on the show. She was on Katie's talk show a while ago and said she was upset when Carlie Sheen went through his tudd times and is glad he's OK now.

ThomasE · 10-21-2013, 02:22 AM

She's still on the show. She is just not on every week.

06-10-2013, 10:51 AM	#1
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	An Interview with Holland Taylor http://www.parade.com/19653/dotsonra...ns-reputation/ Two and a Half Men's Holland Taylor Talks Ann Richards, Depression, and Charlie Sheen's Reputation June 5, 2013 – 1:00 PM – Holland Taylor goes for laughs as the overbearing and disapproving matriarch on CBS’ Two and a Half Men. Now she’s gone back to her theater roots with the one-woman play Ann, which has earned her a Tony nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Play. (Tune in June 9 on CBS at 8 p.m. ET to see who wins!) Ann tells the story of the late Texas governor Ann Richards, the brassy Democrat who went from homemaker to political celebrity in the late ’80s and ’90s. Holland, 70, whose career encompasses other Broadway plays, nearly 60 movies (Legally Blonde; Baby Mama), and popular television series (Bosom Buddies with Tom Hanks; The Practice) talks with Parade‘s Dotson Rader about her powerful role on Broadway, her struggle with depression, how former costar Charlie Sheen‘s Hollywood upbringing shaped his life, and more. Why did you write a play about Ann Richards? “Because Ann Richards’s death [in 2006] really rattled me, which is odd since I met her only once, at lunch with [New York columnist] Liz Smith. I had no idea how important Ann was to me until she died. Isn’t that true of many people in our lives? Right away I realized, ‘Holy Goodness, that person was everything to me!’ “She was such a figure in the literature of the Women’s Movement…she was a real figurehead in my life. But this play is not about the Women’s Movement. This is about a life well lived.” Richards was transparent about the things she wanted to share, like Angelina Jolie was in opening up about her double mastectomy. “I think what Angelina Jolie is doing is right up Ann Richards’ street. I was dazzled by it, and I thought it was a wonderful sharing, and just fantastically wonderful for thousands of people who are going through that. I think the world of Angelina Jolie, and infinitely more now, because that was really a dazzling, generous effort on her part. Ann Richards would just think that was the bomb.” For a public figure, Richards was unusually candid about her alcoholism and divorce. “She didn’t feel that was private. She felt it was very important for people to feel okay about a drinking or drug problem.” Ann’s dad was a salesman in Waco, Texas, who encouraged her to be anything she wanted. Your father was a successful Philadelphia lawyer. Were your parents encouraging of your desire to act? “My parents were not dissuading. I was very isolated as a child, melancholy by nature. I wasn’t at all gregarious. I was shy.” Is that why you became an actress, to overcome your shyness? “I never thought about it. At 11, I just announced that that’s what I’m going to be.” After graduating Bennington College, you came to New York. Was it tough getting acting work? “Yes. I always looked too young for the part. I remember [director] Hal Prince broke my heart into a thousand pieces [when] I auditioned for a play and he said, “You’re right for the part. You just seem too young.” It happened quite a bit. It ain’t happening any more! [Laughs]” In those years you had no money, yet people thought that you did. Why? “I always wore ludicrously expensive shoes! [Laughs] I didn’t have any clothes really, an ivory dress I wore to auditions. I kept it impeccable. Auditioning is a humbling, brutally difficult position to be in. So you want to appear confident.” You often play strong, buoyant, confident women, like Judge Kittelson on The Practice or Gov. Ann Richards in your play. You seem very self-confident, never self-doubting. “Well, I’ve suffered depression.” When? “From my early 40s into my mid-50s.” How bad was it? “Bad enough for me to entertain the idea of going into a hospital. I actually wasn’t a danger to myself, but I really sometimes wondered how I could get out of the house to go get food. “The most important thing I learned about depression is to fight it cognitively. People who are in a serious, life-altering depression should get support in two ways: There are wonderful medicines that can help them, and then, while they are on the mend, they [should get] psychiatric or therapeutic support. “I was on antidepressants for over 15 years, with very intermittent counseling. It was a very dead period of my life. Antidepressants take away the lows but they also reduce the highs. And for me, over a long period of time, they didn’t really work. So I quit taking them, and my life has been afire since then.” This was before Bosom Buddies in 1980, the TV show that gave both you and Tom Hanks your first tastes of fame?“ I was off antidepressants by then. Bosom Buddies was the first TV job I ever did in L.A. I’d [already] done seven or eight Broadway shows.” You have played mothers, most famously Evelyn Harper, the mom on Two and a Half Men. Do you regret never getting married in real life? “Not at all. I never wanted to. I’d have been the most terrible wife in the world. An unsuccessful actress, not having any artistic satisfaction, not having any place to stand, not having anything? That is not a person you should marry. In fact, when my high school sweetheart said, ‘We should get married’ — I was taking a shower at the time — I looked down at the drain and thought, ‘If I marry, it’s all over. I’m much too independent.’ I was too self-involved.” Did you regret not having had kids? “Only after it was no longer possible. Look, I was a child myself for decades. There was no impulse to take care of children when I was barely taking care of myself.” What do you think of Charlie Sheen’s replacement on Two and a Half Men, Ashton Kutcher? “He’s very charming. Very affable and smart. But I’ve hardly been exposed to him at all.” And what about Charlie Sheen? “Anybody who’s spent time with Charlie likes him. He’s as smart a person as you’ll ever find.” He sometimes hasn’t behaved like he’s smart. “He grew up with a movie star father [Martin Sheen] who was gallivanting around the world. [Today] Martin is a big AA person and very public about it. But back in the day, Martin was a young, crazy, brilliant talent—always gone, always traveling, sometimes bringing his kids along. It was just a madhouse way [for Charlie] to grow up. And then Charlie himself was a teenage movie star with hundreds of thousands of dollars in his pocket at any given moment. It sounds great to a lot of people, but it’s not that easy to mature and to have a regular life.” Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr., Lindsay Lohan, other talented young actors — why do they go off the rails? “Why wouldn’t they?” You’d think that if they had parents who cared about them, they wouldn’t. “As if parents could control their children! If you grow up in [Hollywood], you’re going to be affected by the atmosphere. And if you go into acting at a young age, watch out.” Would you advise anyone young to be an actor? “Oh, please. No, I wouldn’t. Although maybe if I saw them act and they were brilliantly talented, I might. I taught an acting class, and this one good-looking, very charming young man was very good. I asked him, ‘Why do you want to be an actor?’ He said, ‘I want to be famous.’ I was astonished. I said, ‘Well, why don’t you make violins and become famous that way?’” Wrong answer? “Become an actor to be famous? Give me a break. Most really brilliant actors aren’t famous.” A famous actress you respect is Tina Fey. “I adore her. I worked with her and Amy Poehler [in Baby Mama]. Oh my God, I’ve never had so much fun working with anybody as with those two. They’re very different [women]. Tina is very cool and mental. Amy’s just this gushing little oil pump of affection. And yet they’re absolutely peas in a pod. They adore each other. They’re like sisters. They’re like Scottie and Westie puppies in a basket.” In your career you’ve earned many honors. But to be nominated for a Tony as best actress, it must be thrilling. “I’m thrilled for the play. I’m thrilled for Ann. The nomination is wonderful. I’m very fortunate. Ann Richards has lifted me up, just like she did everybody else.”
	__________________ Sonny

06-14-2013, 04:30 AM	#2
comedyfreak Cheers! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 11,060	Interesting read. I wonder if she is going to return to Two And A Half Men?
	__________________ www.facebook.com/comedyfreak

10-21-2013, 02:22 AM	#4
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	She's still on the show. She is just not on every week.
	__________________ Check out my my "It's A Living" Facebook Fanpage!!! https://m.facebook.com/groups/107208...&source=result