| RADIO TIMES QUESTIONNAIRE |
| LAURA INNES The actress behind ER's abrasive Dr Weaver is just as outspoken as her TV character and has also had her share of dirty jobs, but she is always thankful for her healthy dose of The West Wing What is your favourite current TV programme? I'd have to say The West Wing - not that I'm biased or anything! [Innes has directed several episodes of the White House drama, for which she earned an Emmy nomination]. The writing is fantastic. It's so smart and inspiring. President Bartlet [played by Martin Sheen] offers the sort of leadership we're all craving for. He's the president we'd all love to have. We can only dream. What is your all-time favourite TV programme? St Elsewhere [the eighties American hospital drama that was a forerunner of ER] - intelligent, eccentric and beautifully made with a marvellous ensemble cast. It was also wonderfully gentle in a way that shows aren't allowed to be nowadays. Why have medical dramas always been so popular? Viewers can put themselves in the shoes of every character. They can imagine themselves as a doctor or a patient or a relative. Every episode hinges on a life-or-death situation. The moment people walk into a hospital, their lives are often altered for ever. Medical drama is like Greek tragedy - it's a very basic story about blood and tears and heroes and humanity. All human life is there - in all its glory and all its horror. Whose job would you like in television? I'd like to make as much money as Noah Wyle [who plays Carter in ER and who was last year awarded a huge salary increase, making him one of the highest paid actors on television at �280,000 an episode]. I'd like to have his pay cheque, but keep my own job. Describe yourself in three words. Without Noah's money. What would you be doing now if you weren't an actor? I'd be a school teacher - that's my dream job. I have a fantasy about moulding young minds, but in reality I'd probably be bored to death by the routine of school. Do you have any unfulfilled ambitions? Not now that I am directing. It gives me the biggest buzz. The crass way of putting it is to say that it gives you complete control, but beyond that it's extremely creative. You're creating something from scratch but you're not alone, you're epart of a community. When it's working well, you feel like a great parent, trying to bring out the best in everybody. But it's hard work - nothing worth while is easy. Which piece of directing are you most proud of? The episode of ER where Carter and Lucy got stabbed. I remember planning that for ages. I talked to lots of doctors about what happens when you're stabbed. They told me you start bleeding, you go pale, your lungs fill up with blood and your body goes into shock. I thought depicting that would be far more interesting than seeing a knife swinging through the air, which has been done so many times before. Do you ever get mistaken for a real doctor? All the time. I have to be very patient and explain to people that ER is not real. What do you think of your ER character, Dr Kerry Weaver? I love the fact that she is so different. She is a woman completely without vanity. Also, she always speaks her mind - she's an absolute straight shooter. The producers brought Kerry in to the show because it needed someone edgy and abrasive. And although she has subsequently been allowed to show different sides, her core purpose remains to charge down the corridor screaming at the other doctors, "Do your job." It's not the way women are supposed to behave and it's very refreshing. Why has she taken so long to come out? Kerry has put her passion very much on the backburner. She has deeply repressed herself to achieve her goals. Also, someone who is disabled is hardly going to run out and say, "By the way, I'm also a lesbian." That would be two strikes against her. She has buried her sexuality for so long, it's interesting now to uncork that bottle. What would be your first act as world leader? I would get rid of all nuclear weapons. I know that it would be more complex than that, but what's wrong with being idealistic? What one possession would you rescue from a fire? My photo album. Does everyone give that answer? Who is your all-time hero? I know it's boring, but I'm going to say my mum. She's the kindest person I know. She's hard-working, decent and very funny. What one thing would you change about yourself? My hair. It's too fine. I want a big, thick mane! What was your least enjoyable job? I was once a pooper scooper at a vet's clinic. jobs don't come much more horrible than that. What is the best advice anyone has ever given you? When I'd just moved to New York and was sending my resume all over trying to get an agent, the playwright David Mamet told me: "They'll break your heart a million times, but it will only make you stronger." He was absolutely right. From the Radio Times 2-8 March 2002 www.radiotimes.com |