An interview with Laurel
Holloman
By after Ellen.com
Posted by
Lesley
Goldberg
on
August 31, 2010
“Maybe there will be an L Word movie. I keep hearing
that they’re trying. I’m totally open to doing that.” And there you have it: Laurel
Holloman says she’s in to reprise her role as Tina Kennard if Ilene
Chaiken’s groundbreaking series were to make it to the big screen.
As for life after Tina, Holloman’s tim — save for a few
months last spring when she reteamed with Angela Robinson and Jamie
Babbit (and Meryl Streep’s daughter) on Teen Nick’s Gigantic
— has been filled mostly with exploring her other artistic talent, painting.
AfterEllen.com caught up with Laurel Holloman as she packed
up her New York loft and headed back to L.A. for the Emmys to discuss life after
The L Word finding balance between painting and acting and yes, her
thoughts on who killed Jenny.
AfterEllen.com: Looking back, were you happy with how The
L Word ended?
Laurel Holloman: I’ve never seen the episode. I
know I’ll watch it one day, but I thought it would make me sad so I didn’t
watch it. [Laughs] I enjoyed shooting it because that was it; it was so
emotional and it was really, really sad.
The whole sixth season I felt a like mentally I was moving
on, so I tried to stay true to the character and have some really lovely
moments between Bette and Tina. I don’t know how I feel about the “Who killed
Jenny Schecter?” story. I’m going to go with no comment! [Laughs] I was sad
that a lot of the fans were disappointed; I wish that we could have gone out in
a different way.
[Not watching the finale] wasn’t an intentional thing; I
just got busy in my life and realized that I never sat down and watched the
end. Maybe now I’ll watch because it’d be so easy to, but I just haven’t done
it.
AE: If the show were to have continued, where would
Bette and Tina be a year and a half later?
LH: That’s a great question. I think they’re
together, stronger and have that balance that they needed in the relationship.
I’m a hopeless romantic, so I’d like to think that they’re doing well.
AE: Did you watch Ilene Chaiken’s The Real L Word?
LH: No. I do want to see that though. I’m really
excited that she got that to happen and I know she’s probably done some amazing
things with it. She’s such a creative, strong person and I think she’ll go on
to do so many great things. But I haven’t watched that, either. It’s just me; I
don’t sit down to watch TV. I have two kids under 5 and I’ve been painting for
my website and for an upcoming show and my husband has been in China.
AE: Have you read anything about The Real L Word?
LH: No. How was it?
AE: There was one specific episode that featured one of
the cast members using a strap-on.
LH: Whoa! That’s interesting. When I get back to
L.A. and my house with Showtime, I’ll catch up on everything.
AE: In the six seasons on The L Word was there
ever any discussion about a strap-on sex scene?
LH: No, I don’t think so. It never came my way. No,
I don’t know anything about it.
AE: Moving on, it’s now been about a year and a half
since The L Word ended. What have you been up to? Have you gone on a lot
of auditions?
LH: Yeah, I have. I did something I knew I was
going to do around the fifth season: we adopted our daughter, and then we went
and finished the sixth season when she was 4 months old. Then, when I shot the
third season, my oldest was 6 months old. So I knew that I would want a little
bit of time — I wouldn’t have had two children if I wanted to jump back into a
job — so I took some time and tried to focus on jobs that fit my life and I
went and did Gigantic because of Marti Noxon, who worked on Angel
and it was a really easy, light schedule and a fun role. I turned some things
down and focused on painting because I could control my time schedule.
I came to New York in late April and I’ve been living in a
painter’s loft until this week. I painted partially for a show in L.A. and for
the launch of my website. I had my kids here and they had a great time. Now
that my husband is back from China, we’re headed back to LA. I’m just trying to
find the next thing and see where I land.
AE: What projects did you turn down?
LH: I turned down the lead in an indie film that I
didn’t really think was going to benefit me in any way. I was flattered to have
the offer. It’s not that I don’t want to act it’s that these were the things
that were already happening and I was so fulfilled by them that I just never
stopped. I am so focused right now on my art that I haven’t really thought
about acting.
AE: You’re active on Twitter, detailing your process as an artist and
recently tweeted photos of your work. What has the response from fans been
like?
LH: I really owe the fans for getting my art out to
people who weren’t fans of mine but were just fans of art. Now I would say
about one-fourth of the sales are fans and all the rest are just collectors or
people in the interior design industry. It has exploded in a way that I didn’t
expect. It’s great that the fans are so supportive because I felt very
vulnerable to artistically switch gears but I felt like I had to do it. Now I
know I can’t stop. [Laughs]
AE: If you could map out how to spend a year between
acting and painting, what would the balance be like?
LH: I would love to be on a series that was
ensemble-ish so I wasn’t spending five days a week not putting my kids to bed.
Maybe shooting 10 to 12 episodes and then painting over the hiatus and having
an art show or two a year. The commissions are now taking up a lot of time so
it’s hard to focus on the art show right now. I love the challenge of a
commission, though. I just got a commission from a yoga studio in Mumbai.
AE: I love that you and Jennifer Beals are both so
artistic — you with painting and Jennifer with her photography.
LH: She’s an amazing photographer. She’s been doing
it for so long. Leisha [Hailey] is also an amazing painter. She’s a
crazy artistic quadruple threat! I don’t think there’s anything Leisha can’t
do. She painted a lot in her trailer.
AE: What did you think of Jennifer’s L Word
photography book?
LH: Oh my God, it’s like my family photo album.
When I’m sad and I miss people I just open it up and look through it. I love
it. It was such a gift. I know it’s a huge gift to the fans, but for me it is
like my family album. They were like my family for years. These people watched
my children grow and they watched me change and grow, too. They see everything;
it’s a family. They see your good days and bad days and they make you want to
laugh when you’re sad.
It’s unlike other television, I don’t know how to explain
it. It’s so unique and special to have that many women on a show. It’s really
hard for me to walk on to another set since then and it probably always will
be. Maybe that’s why I’m painting so much right now — because I haven’t figured
out what that next thing is for me.
AE: Do you miss acting?
LH: Nope! I don’t. Not right now because I’ve been
so immersed in painting that I’ve had that release. I think I’m more particular
about what I like and that’s harder when it’s more competitive at the age that
I am.
AE: A few of your former co-stars have new gigs coming
up in the fall: Jennifer with Ride-Along —
LH: I don’t know if you’ve seen the trailer, but it
looks beautiful. I think that’s the perfect part for her. It’s going to be so
uniquely different than Bette that people will see what an amazing range she
has.
AE: Kate
Moennig just booked Dexter —
LH: And Rose Rollins is playing a cop — and Janina [Gavankar]
just signed with my management company and she’s playing a cop on The Gates.
Lots of doctors and mothers.
AE: Plus Sarah Shahi on Facing Kate. If you had
your pick of the lot, which show would you want to join?
LH: For me, it doesn’t matter what the show is, it
just matters if I like the character. I’m not sure that jumping in with another
L Word-er is the right thing to do, either. You have to separate
yourself a little bit. I loved Gigantic because I got to work Grace
Gummer, who is Meryl Streep’s daughter, and she’s incredibly
talented. And Marti is an amazing writer and creator; plus I got to work with
Jamie Babbit and Angela Robinson and a lot of great directors who also were L
Word writer-directors I loved hanging out with.
I’d love to work with Erin Daniels because we’re
friends outside of the show and she’s so smart and has so many great ideas and
is such a strong actress. She just had a baby, but she’s trying to find the
right project. I’d love to do more with Rachel Shelley, Mia [Kirshner]
or Kate.
AE: When will Gigantic air?
LH: Gigantic is going to air in October on
Teen Nick. I shot four episodes of that and it was a very different part than
Tina, which was a lot of fun. We shot it last spring and into the fall. My
character used to be a rock and roller and she’s a one-hit wonder who ends up
in an abusive relationship and winds up raising her teenage son by herself and
they have a very nontraditional relationship. It’s a very progressive story. Gigantic
is about celebrity and nepotism. It’s like a Gossip Girl in Los Angeles
with more comedy.
For more
on Laurel Holloman’s artwork, go to www.laurelhollomanstudio.net.