Interview with Sasha Alexander of "Rizzoli and Isles" on TNT - Primetime TV Show Articles From The TV MegaSite
 

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By Suzanne

Sasha Alexander

Transcript of Interview with Sasha Alexander of "Rizzoli and Isles" on TNT 7/7/10

I am enjoying this new TNT show quite a lot.  I hope you enjoy the transcript of this interview!

TURNER ENTERTAINMENT
Moderator: Kristina Stafford
July 7, 2010
4:00 pm CT

Operator: Good day and welcome to the Sasha Alexander, Rizzoli & Isles conference call. Today's conference is being recorded.

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Kristina Stafford. Please go ahead.

Kristina Stafford: Good afternoon; thank you so much for joining the Sasha Alexander, Rizzoli & Isles conference call. Rizzoli & Isles premieres Monday, July 12 at 10:00/9:00 Central on TNT.
The conference call is now open for questions. Please press star 1 to ask a question. Thank you.

Operator: And we'll take our first question from Lisa Steinberg with Starry Constellation Magazine. Your line is open.

Lisa Steinberg: Hi, Sasha. It's good to talk to you again.

Sasha Alexander: Hey, how are you?

Lisa Steinberg: Good, I was wondering what – how were you approached to be on this particular program and what made you want to be on it?

Sasha Alexander: I'm sorry, ask again?

Lisa Steinberg: Were you approached to be on this program and what made you want to be on it?

Sasha Alexander: Well, what made me want to be on it was reading a really good script and being compelled and attracted to the characters. I really – I really loved Maura Isles who was very fascinating to me. I just – I was very compelled by a woman who would one choose this profession and one that was you know came – which we will learn to you know we will find out but came from a very you know highly educated wealthy background and could have chosen to do a lot of other things but has this kind of you know just this uber-feminine kind of modern woman mentality but works this job.

There was something just intriguing about it. And I also really loved the friendship between these two women and watching these two very different women working in this environment, on this kind of gritty male environment. That was really the thing that you know that – the reason that I wanted to be a part of it.

And as how I got to be a part of it you know I went in and met with the producer and I met with the director, Mike Robin that did the pilot, and read with them and then I did a read with Angie Harmon who was already cast. And you know from the moment we read together, it just sort of clicked. You know Michael Wright and TNT and the Warner Brothers people were there and they said we have a show. So it's kind of as easy as that.

Lisa Steinberg: Well, from the previews and everything, we see that you have great chemistry with Angie Harmon. Was it instant when you guys began working together? Did it take a bit of time for you all to gel? I mean, it looks flawless.

Sasha Alexander: You know what it was instant. It really was. We you know we never met before and we went in to do this read together and the moment that we read it you know we're very – we have very different energies in real life and I think that that translates. But the thing that we do have in common is you know I think it would be respect for each other and we both have the same sense of humor. So we definitely can make each other laugh a lot. And I think that those things you know they show on screen and look Angie is you know Angie is a beautiful and stunning woman.

You know it's not easy to you know to find a right person to go with her. So I think that we both have really good qualities that kind of complement each other. You know we both look very different and we have different energies but yet I think that it really works. You know we're lucky. We actually, truly, when we do scenes together, I do feel like a certain click and a certain magic that I you know you can't say always happens.

Operator: Can we ask at this time that all questioners limit themselves to one question;however, you may re-queue if you have further questions. We'll take our next question from Earl Dittman with Wireless Magazine. Your line is open.

Earl Dittman: Sasha, how are you doing today?

Sasha Alexander: Good, How are you?

Earl Dittman: Great, I have to say I'm in love with the show. I've seen the first one and I'm just absolutely in love with it. You are both very great, wonderful.

Sasha Alexander: Oh, thank you.

Earl Dittman: But I have to ask, since NCIS, we haven't seen much of you on screen. Did you take a hiatus and then this show came on, you do. Was – how does that work? Did you …

Sasha Alexander: Well, I didn't take a hiatus. I did have a baby but I only took 3 months off and …

Earl Dittman: Oh, congratulations.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you; I have a 4 year old now but no, I did a show called The Nine on ABC. I did a pilot I did you know I worked here and I did a show, I did a House episode and Dark Blue I made eight movies, so …

Earl Dittman: Wow, my God.

Sasha Alexander: I did. You know I did a film called "Yes Man" and "He's Just Not That Into You" and I made a lot of independent films, some – one called "Tenure" with Luke Wilson and some films that got distribution but maybe weren't in the theaters and didn't have a huge commercial flash. So, no, no, I have been working as much as I want to be working.

Earl Dittman: Just not as serious as television?

Sasha Alexander: No, I haven't taken on a lead on a series television show since then. This is my first.

Earl Dittman: Well, we're glad you're back. Thanks so much.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Earl Dittman: Bye-bye Sasha.

Sasha Alexander: Bye.

Operator: And we'll take our next question from Jenny Rarden with tvismypacifier.com. Your line is open.

Jenny Rarden: Hi, thanks for taking our calls.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Jenny Rarden: Again, like Earl said, I'm thrilled about the show. We – my husband and I saw the first ep and are more excited for it than we are about anything else coming up in the next few months.

Sasha Alexander: Oh, thank you.

Jenny Rarden: The question I wanted to ask was brought to my mind when I heard some of – interviews from the cast of the Twilight movies, some of them had read the books before auditioning and some hadn’t read them until after they were cast and so I wondered, what about you? Have you read any of the Tess Gerritsen books before you were cast?

Sasha Alexander: No.

Jenny Rarden: And if you hadn't, have you read them now?

Sasha Alexander: Yes, I haven't read all of them but I have read a couple of them. No, I did not read them before doing the pilot. And I was going to and then Tess and our executive producer, Janet Tamaro said, "You know what? We'd prefer that you just do your own take and interpretation – like not interpretation but really take you know take this script and make that your own instead of trying to emulate something that's in the book."

I think whenever you something from a book to the screen, it's going to have a slightly different interpretation. In this case I don't physically look the character of Maura in the book. She has a very short black you know bob and she's a lot, I would say, cooler in a personality than the Maura that I'm bringing to the screen.

Jenny Rarden: Great, thank you.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Operator: And once again if you wish to ask a question, you may do so by pressing star and 1 on your touch tone telephone. We'll next go to the side of Fred Topel with Hollywood News. Your line is open.

Fred Topel: Hi, thank you; I just wanted to ask, why is it got to be Rizzoli and Isles? What's wrong with Isles and Rizzoli?

Sasha Alexander: It doesn't sound as good.

Fred Topel: Well, at least, you're cool with it.

Sasha Alexander: Oh, why not? Are you kidding? Absolutely.

Fred Topel: Well, I suppose if that's a quick fun answer. I'll just ask you, what drives you to succeed?

Sasha Alexander: Drives me to succeed? In life?

Fred Topel: Yes, in your work, in life.

Sasha Alexander: I don't know, I think you're kind of born with that. I've always been somebody that you know I enjoy life. You know and I want to be happy in it. So, I've always been that way. Since I was a kid, I really was somebody you know that was active, let's say. But these days I think it's about, you know, enjoying your – can you hear me?

Fred Topel: Yes, I can hear you.

Sasha Alexander: It sounds like it's clicking out. No, I think it's just an inner drive, I would say, and willingness to lead a good life.

Fred Topel: Oh, good, thank you.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Operator: And we'll take our next question from Oline Cogdill with Mystery Scene. Your line is open.

Oline Cogdill: Great, hi, I review mysteries and I'm a big fan of the book. But I think the friendship between the two women really shows up in the books and you also showed that in the two episodes I saw.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Oline Cogdill: Are you a mystery-fiction fan? And if not, what do you read besides scripts?

Sasha Alexander: Good question. You know I'm not – this is what I will say, one of the things that did intrigue me about when I just read the pilot, because I had not read the books before doing the show, was the mystery aspect of it. I didn't feel that it was just a crime-based thing, there was something very – it really does have that mystery element and it felt like a throwback to me of maybe other shows in the past that had a bit more of that.

There was something kind of iconic about it. The fact that it's set in Boston, there was a feeling that was different to me. And so, yes, I am definitely more of a fan of mysteries than I am of let's say you know a circular crime-based genre.

Oline Cogdill: Do you have – I'm sorry, do you have any favorite authors?

Sasha Alexander: You know what? Beside John Grisham and – I'm trying to think of – I'm trying to think of anybody else I read last. There isn't really anybody besides Tess now that I've gotten into, truly. Like after doing the show, she's you know she's the first person that I sort of went into. But I do like – I do like them and I think when I have more time to read, I will absolutely look for – if you can recommend any fantastic authors.

Oline Cogdill: There's a lot of them.

Sasha Alexander: I know there are, there are. But you know again, it's finding a world that you're – that – and a character that you're intrigued by.

Oline Cogdill: Correct. Correct. Well, thank you very much and again, the friendship is so important to the books and you guys just have great chemistry.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you so much. Thank you.

Operator: And we'll next return to the line of Jenny Rarden. Your line is open.

Jenny Rarden: Hi. I just was wondering how are you most like your character and how most do you differ.

Sasha Alexander: Well, I, Sasha, was never very good at math and science. To be honest, I really wasn't. So, it's fun to play a character that is so scientific and mathematical and whose brain functions at such a high you know at a high pace, like this. I'm – you know I think that's the biggest difference is that Maura is very linear in her thinking, very logical.

I'm not quite like that. I'm much more laid back and more of a – I would say I'm not quite so type A. So that's the big difference.

Jenny Rarden: Right, thank you.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Operator: And once more, I wish to remind you, if you like – if you'd like to ask a question, you may – you just use the star and 1. We'll next go to the line of Earl Dittman with Wireless Magazine. Your line is open.

Earl Dittman: Hey, Sasha. I forgot to ask you, you did mention your 4-year old. How has, or if, has motherhood changed your way you approach acting in any way? And also, is the set – are you able to bring your son or daughter to the set, to work?

Sasha Alexander: Yes you know that's such a good question. I think that becoming a parent absolutely changes your entire life and certainly changes your work, and it has changed mine. You know it just allows you know your access to your emotions even more than it already did. You know you just – you're watching this little person grow in front of you and you realize seeing you know how precious life is and how quickly it goes.

So you just, you get to things faster. Even emotionally, you get to things faster. And so, I'm not as, let's say, timid about reaching into some areas you know in myself and bringing that to my work.

Earl Dittman: Yes.

Sasha Alexander: And yes, I can bring my daughter any time I want but given that we're working with a lot of corpses, she doesn't come that often.

Earl Dittman: Not a good idea.

Sasha Alexander: Yes, I think that might be a little traumatic.

Earl Dittman: Yes, a little too traumatic. Well, thank you very much again.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Operator: We'll next go to the site of Allison Ebner with popculturemadness.com. Your line is open.

Allison Ebner: Hi, Sasha. Thanks for talking with us. You're turning a line-up of really strong women on TNT and not only is there one character woman on the show, but two. So, how do you think that dynamic role speaks of you or maybe differently than a single woman lead would on a show?

Sasha Alexander: Well, I mean, I don't know that you can compare it to another show because each show has its own – its own individuality but on our show, I think when you have two different women coming from two very different backgrounds but two strong women, it's fun for us because we get to explore how each one of them approaches their job and how they bring their own experiences to it.

In this case, Jane and Maura don't always agree on how to go about solving something. They both are very different in their approach, and a lot of times, that can lead to you know potential conflict and obviously, then figure in a debate you know to figuring out who and what is the right way to do it.

So I just think that we have more opportunity to you know to have a bit more of that banter between each other. And given that the two women are so different, it really – there's really something to play with.

Allison Ebner: All right, great. Thank you.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Operator: And we'll next go to the line of Oline Cogdill with Mystery Scene. Your line is open.

Oline Cogdill: Hi, I was going to ask a personal question. How is it having Sophia Loren as a mother-in-law?

Sasha Alexander: Well, the best thing about it is that she is the most normal person and I have the utmost admiration and love for her. But that really is the best thing about it. I know you know that she is an icon and you know an absolute you know legend and you know but really, truly, as a family member, the most beautiful thing is that she is really, really normal,

Oline Cogdill: Thank you.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Operator: And once more if you wish to ask a question, that's just star and 1. We'll next take a question from Fred Topel with Hollywood News. Your line is open.

Fred Topel: Hello again. Just as a follow up to my "What drives you to succeed" question, what kind of car do you drive?

Sasha Alexander: Well, that's so funny you asked. I am in the midst of car dilemma at the moment because I really need a bigger car just in terms of you know toting family stuff and all that, but I'm trying to be economic about it. We have an Audi – I drive an Audi station wagon now, the Audi Allroad.

But you know I'm looking into maybe the Audi Q7, the diesel. So I'm trying to do – I'm actually just doing that at the moment is looking into a you know a bigger car that has more space but that is economic. It's difficult you know because you can't fit your whole family in a Prius.

Fred Topel: So you're going to stick with Audi?

Sasha Alexander: Not necessarily, no. I'm looking into it. Do you have any suggestions?

Fred Topel: I don't know. I'm not there yet, shopping for big cars.

Sasha Alexander: It's a tough thing you know. I mean look, I love the Range Rover but it's a gas guzzler. So you know in L.A. we drive a lot you know we drive a lot around here. So, I don't know yet. I want something safe and something that's just – has a little bit more space. I am – you know yes, I'm just now in the midst of it. I have to make a decision within the next month.

Fred Topel: Cool, good luck.

Sasha Alexander: Thank you.

Operator: And we have no further question at this time.

Kristina Stafford: Great. Thank you so much for participating in the Sasha Alexander, Rizzoli and Isles conference call. As a reminder, Rizzoli and Isles premiers Monday, July 12th at 10:00/9:00 Central on TNT.

My review of "Rizzoli and Isles"

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