Small Screen
72 AMERICANWAY
OCTOBER 1 2008
BECKI NEWTON:
“[Mullally and Hayes] were amazing on
Will & Grace
and
worked so well together, so any comparison is incredibly flattering. That show
lasted a really long time; maywe be so lucky. I think the comparisonmostly per-
tains to our chemistry together, and it’s just a very natural thingbetween us.”
MICHAELURIE:
“We immediatelyconnected. Itwas likewehadknowneachoth-
er forever. I thinkwewere probably brother and sister in another life.” —B.R.
You were originally offered the part of
Desperate Housewives
’
Bree Van de Kamp, whichwent instead toMarcia Cross. What
made you accept the part of KatherineMayfair?
It was a huge
hit, and I’m not stupid.
Was there any tension with Cross, since she’s playing the role
you turned down?
No. Actually, Marcia Cross and I are very good
friends.We live in the same neighborhood. I find that it’s easier to
act with somebody you like, because you can really play. We have
a lot of fun together.
Doyouhaveany regretsaboutnotdoing the show thefirst time
around?
I admit to a few three-in-the-morning [thoughts of,]
Oh
myGod,what did I do?
But youdon’t knowwhat apilot isgoing to
turn into. I had just done a series called
Pasadena
, which I loved
doing, and I thought that the role was too similar to that. I’m
not a person who thinks about career; I think about acting and
whether it’s going to challengeme or not. I felt like I had already
played that part.
Then, [
Housewives
] became a huge hit, and I really appreciate
what [series creator Marc Cherry] has done. I think he has man-
aged to find this tone between comedy and drama that a lot of
people have tried to do before and have not succeeded at. I don’t
know how he does it — I really don’t. We could have one scene
where it’s flat-out slapstick comedy, andby the end of the scene, it
turns into seriousdrama. I think that’s reallyhard topull off. So last
year, he calledmeupand said, “Areyou ready to comeon the show
now?”And I said yes. He said, “Would you like to hear about the part?” I said, “You can tellme,
but [my answer] is still going to be yes.”
Abigpartof the show’sappeal is themanicenergy thecastgenerates.Are there times that
you feel youhave topumpupyourperformanceorpull back tocreate thatdynamic?
It took
me awhile to figure out what the tonewas for me. I loveMarc Cherry; he comes upwith the
best lines— in real life too. The big thing he said tomewas that inmy acting, I paint with a
finebrushand that Imightwant tousea thicker stroke [
laughs
]. So I startedplayingwith that.
When I look back at the early episodes, I actually think I did okay. But in some of the episodes,
I pushed it a little bit too far to see how far I could take it. Now, I fall back a little bit. It’s just
amatter of finding that balance.
Katherine is famous for her lemonmeringue pie. How are your domestic skills?
[
Laughs
] I
am
so
not Katherine. I’m verymessy and don’t really cook. I do like to cook, but I live alone, so
cooking for one person is kind of a bore. The only time I cook iswhen I have a bigdinner party.
I’m very goodwith desserts. Oaxacanmocha cake ismy specialty!
Speak Easy
Ugly Betty
stars Becki Newton andMichael Urie, on their quirky on-screen
chemistry and the comparisons of them toMeganMullally and SeanHayes
(who playedKarenWalker and JackMcFarland on
Will &Grace
).
WE RECENTLY CHATTED WITH THE
funny, charmingDelany about Katherine, a
character she once dubbed theAntagona-
tor. You can seeher inactioneverySunday
night onABC, andyou can catchupon last
seasonwith the recently released
Desper-
ateHousewives: TheCompleteFourthSea-
son
DVD set.
