Tag Archives: Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell Explains How She Wards off Aging

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mary tnt25 lrMary McDonnell discusses how she wards off aging in a new interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.

“She stars on TNT’s “Major Crimes,” but often Mary McDonnell is Officer Needs Assistance. “I stay healthy by swimming every single day,” says McDonnell, who lives in sunny California. “The thing is I run my lines out loud when I’m in the pool. There are times I’m afraid that my neighbors think I’m a little bit crazy.”

“I’m in the pool talking about homicides from the show,” she says with a laugh.

At age 62, the big screen beauty from “Dances With Wolves” and “Independence Day” stays healthy with a combination of easy-to-do daily routines and a workable eating plan. Her biggest trick is to reduce stress through “really listening to my body.”

Aging? Who cares! “If I had some big trade secret on aging, I’d say it’s your outlook. Focus on what’s beautiful about you rather than what you don’t like about yourself.”

The power of mediation. “I love to meditate. It’s about opening up and broadening your life. It’s easy to say, ‘stop’ and then go into a quiet place and just breathe for a few minutes while you clear your mind. It’s not only good for your health, but it’s a great way to erase a bad day. Try to get in a little meditation every single day. ”

Eating well, with a side of supplements. “The key is to know your body. I understand how to eat and know when I need some protein or fruits and veggies. Listen to what your body is craving in order to have the energy you need. I also love supplements. Ask your doctor or go to your health food store to find out what supplements are right for you.”

Listen to your body. “I’m always surprised when my body tells me that I’m not 25 anymore. I think simple things like yoga and stretching really help. You want to work on listening to your body. Both yoga and stretching help you get in tune.”

Don’t stress. “After 40, it’s all about getting clear with yourself. You deserve to live a great life and should focus on how to get that for yourself.”

Read the original article here.

 

Mary McDonnell on Acting, Ego and Fame

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marynewwbIn a new interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mary McDonnell discusses the beginning of her career, the effect of ego and fame on the working actor, and more.

Listen to the audio of the interview here: MM-Pittsburgpost

Tell me what was it like the first time you heard applause?

Oh, what an interesting question. The first time I heard applause I think on the level that you mean, I actually was crowned Miss Teenage Ithaca [laughing]. It was back in probably, 1968. I found it very reassuring. It’s interesting what applause is for a performer. Really and truly it means a connection has been made. A lot of times, people think performers are sort of showoffs and live for the applause, but in fact, many performers are very shy. When the applause comes it means they connected in places where they otherwise might not be able to connect in a kind of generally social way.

The fame thing has kind of tainted the craft.

I do understand what you mean in that, at this point in our culture, there is much more self-consciousness, and it’s sort of the era of “I” and “me.” The iPhone, the iPad [laughing] you know what I mean? So there is a lot of putting oneself into a position of fame that we didn’t used to have access to, and that has kind of skewed the way we think about things for sure.

That said, was there ever a time you questioned the value of what you do?

I’ve never really questioned the value of it, but I have questioned some of the difficulties that one runs into having a career as an actor. There is sometimes such deep, deep insecurity and times of complete unknown that can really be very hurtful. You have to have such a strong core and self-esteem to navigate it. Not everybody who is given a talent is also given the tools by which to build that faith. You know, you’ve gotta have faith to know that it’s going to keep going because there are moments when you have nothing ahead of you.

As an adult and when you’re a parent and an actor, it can be truly devastating to approach the abyss. There is a void ahead of you, and you don’t have a job and you don’t know when the next one will come.

You have talked about focusing on positive energy. At what point in your life did you start doing that?

It was pretty early on. When I was an actress on stage in New York, my early years were really, really tough. I didn’t really have a path, and I wasn’t quite sure of how to go there. I was always living on the brink of poverty, really [laughs]. Not to sound dramatic, but everybody was in those days. I lived in an apartment that was $90 a month, and the bathroom was in the hallway and there was a bathtub in the kitchen, so it was a kind of New York lifestyle.

I think somewhere in there I realized I had a positive energy in my upbringing. We were raised to compete and we were raised to win, and we were raised as a family of sisters and then finally a brother. My parents instilled in us that we could attempt to do anything that we wanted. So I didn’t grow up with a limited sense of myself as a woman. I realized I was going to have to develop in myself a way to sustain better images on a daily basis. It took me a long, long time to figure out what that really meant. At this point in my life, I am feeling positive more than negative [laughing], which I really love!

Read the rest of the interview here.

 

Mary McDonnell on Character Likeability and Major Crimes

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2.10- raydor tao lrIn a new interview with Slate.com, Mary McDonnell talks about navigating the transition from The Closer to Major Crimes, and how she approached playing a character who audiences loved-to-hat.

Slate: Your character, Sharon Raydor, was introduced in The Closer as an antagonist for Kyra Sedgwick’s Brenda Leigh Johnson. Pretty much everyone resented Raydor’s presence. How did you turn a character whose main characteristic was that she was annoying into someone who the other characters respect and viewers would want to spend time with?

McDonnell: If people were asked or manipulated into having to like Sharon Raydor, it would have flopped. If the viewer and the other characters are experiencing her doing a job as well as she can, and through that she begins to expose other aspects of herself that may shift the way they feel about her, then we’re succeeding. Sharon Raydor had enough strength to overcome the need to try to make people like her. And it was in that resistance that people started to accept her and then grow fond of her, because she wasn’t asking them to change.

Slate: As an actor, are you aware of the likability, or lack thereof, of your character. Is that something that concerns you?

McDonnell: When Sharon Raydor was first on The Closer, I had a double experience. There was a part of me that found it very difficult to be the character that nobody likes. But then I would have so much fun with it in the world, I remember one time I was getting off the New York State freeway, and the lady in the tollbooth recognized me and went ballistic. She said: “Girl, I hate you! I’m so glad you’re on that show; you are so much fun!” And that was the kind of energy I was getting from people. They were loving being annoyed with her. That was a very fun dynamic. It was almost hard to lose that.

 

Slate: One of the aspects of Major Crimes that I really enjoy is Raydor’s relationship with Rusty, a kid who has had a hard life. He was a teenage hustler and a witness to a serious crime. Raydor’s interactions with him really bring out a mood that is often present in the parts you play, a hard-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside quality.

McDonnell: Yes.

Slate: Is that the kind of mood that you’re conscious of trying to project?

McDonnell: I think it’s something people see in me and hire me for. I think we all carry something, and sometimes it is for whatever reason needed in the marketplace of entertainment. And then the job is not to try and make it different for the sake of being different but to try and find what is very specifically unique about the character through which these qualities are being manifest. Sharon Raydor has got things going for her that I’ve never played before—and yet she has a core energy that I understand well.

Read the entire interview here

Mary McDonnell on Sharon Raydor, Stands With a Fist and other “Random Roles”

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1.08 raydor lrIn a new interview with The A.V. Club, Mary McDonnell discusses some of the many iconic roles she’s had through her career.

Mary McDonnell: Captain Sharon Raydor came to me through James Duff, the creator of The Closer, and the task at hand was to do a three-episode arc, bringing in an antagonist to give Brenda Leigh Johnson someone to tangle with. And little did I know the surprising future that was in the making. Little did any of us know. [Laughs.] So it’s a really great, fun job where I got to come in and push people around, and I thought, “Oh, that’ll be fun. I don’t do that very often.” Honestly, before I could really say “boo,” it grew into other things. And never in a million years did I expect it would end up journeying into a complete dance from antagonist to protagonist, to a new show and all of this. I will say that, if there’s a word to describe it, it’s “surprising.” It’s continually surprising playing Captain Sharon Raydor.

The A.V. Club: What was the process of transitioning you from The Closer to Major Crimes? When did they pitch you the idea?

MM: Somewhere in the second season of when I was doing The Closer. The first time I did three episodes, the next season I think I did five or seven, and somewhere toward the end of that, I think the spin-off started to be “in the air,” as they say. And then the way we went about it was, I came on the last season of The Closer as a regular to give us the platform through which to spin it off.

AVC: Was a full-time series role something you’d been interested in taking on? Certainly you’d done it before, but—

MM: I like hour dramas. I like the format, I like the lifestyle, I like creating at the character’s edge episode by episode and discovering. I love the discovery process, and I like working fast. So having finished Battlestar and taken a break, I was kind of interested. I was interested in developing something, actually. That’s what I was working on, developing another piece that would move into that format, when this all happened. And one thing I’ve learned as an actress over 30 years is that when it’s happening, go with it. [Laughs.] It’s really worked for me!

AVC: So how did Captain Raydor evolve after you transitioned onto Major Crimes? Certainly the writers fleshed her out a bit more. 

MM: Oh, yeah, she’s continually evolving. I mean, one of the main ways in which we started to see more of her was vis-à-vis the young boy, the character of Rusty, who ended up living with her. That allowed us to see Sharon’s personal life and allowed us to understand that she’s been a mother for many years and has all kinds of energies in the maternal arena that she doesn’t necessarily expose at work or utilize. It started to expand primarily that way; that knowledge or that awareness of her—or her awareness of herself that way—sort of became more integrated into her work as a cop, and then things started feeding each other. And now we’re almost finished with the second season, and I’ve got to say, I think she’s a really good cop. That was always there to be discovered, but I think it has been discovered this season.

Read the full article for Mary’s thoughts on Stands With a Fist, Laura Roslin, and on her role on two shows called ER.

 

Mary McDonnell on Success and Humility- USA Today

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Photo Credit: Tibrina Hobson

Photo Credit: Tibrina HobsonUSA Today chats with Mary McDonnell about success and humility in a new article in this weeks USA Weekend.

USA Today talks to Mary McDonnell about life lessons in this weeks USA Weekend.

“With a sense of humor and a lot of humility, success in both your personal and professional life is yours for the taking”, says Mary McDonnell, now starring on TNT’s Major Crimes, returning Monday (9 p.m. ET/PT).

The Oscar-nominated actress boasts an impressive résumé (Dances with Wolves, Battlestar Galactica), but there have been bumps in the road.

“You’re going to get … doses of being brought to your knees and swung at by a giant bat more than once and there’s going be moments where you just fall off the face of earth,” says McDonnell, 61. “So, learning how to take your licks and making it part of the program is key to being able to bounce back and finding the next beautiful thing.”

As for her 29-year marriage to actor Randle Mell? “The same things that used to make me angry now make me howl with laughter, and I say, ‘If only I could have gotten there sooner, but whatever.’ ”

Read the original article here.

Mary McDonnell On Major Crimes’ Winter Episodes- “Rusty is the catalyst to all the characters identifying with one another”

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