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DIVA TALK: Chatting with "Pushing Daisies" Star Ellen Greene Plus Clark's "Fifteen Seconds of Grace"
By Andrew Gans
16 Nov 2007
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Ellen Greene in "Pushing Daisies."
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| photo by ABC | News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.
ELLEN GREENE
Ellen Greene is that rare breed: a gifted musical theatre actress and thrilling concert performer who is equally compelling on screen. This season, TV watchers across the country are lucky enough to have the opportunity to enjoy the innumerable gifts of this actress in the new ABC-TV comedy/drama "Pushing Daisies," which is written and executive-produced by Bryan Fuller and directed and executive-produced by Barry Sonnenfeld and concerns a rather unique pie-shop owner who is able to bring back the dead (there are serious repercussions, however, should the undead remain alive longer than 60 seconds).
Last week I had the great pleasure of catching up with the good-hearted Greene best known for creating and preserving the role of the lovably ditzy Audrey in the Off-Broadway staging and subsequent film version of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's Little Shop of Horrors who explained that she auditioned for the "Daisies" pilot and her role as Sylar's mom, Virginia Grey, on "Heroes" during the same two-week period. "I literally got them both at the same time," Greene says. "The casting people for 'Heroes' tried to work it out for me, [so] that I could do both shows. The day [after the 'Heroes' audition] was the reading [for 'Daisies'], so we had to make the decision in two seconds. Steve LaManna, my agent at Innovative, brought the ['Daisies'] script to me and said, 'Ellen, I see you doing this.' I loved it, but I loved 'Heroes,' too. They were saying that ['Heroes'] would be for more than one [appearance]. The next day, when I came in for the reading, Bryan [Fuller] said, 'Ellen, I made a call.' He made a call for me so that we could work it out, and they changed the schedule for me. So I started on 'Pushing Daisies,' and I think I did two days, and then I went to do two days of 'Heroes' with John Badham, who was directing it. It was very exciting. This all happened back in February."
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Ellen Greene and Swoosie Kurtz in "Pushing Daisies."
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| photo by ABC |
Greene said that in her "heart of hearts" she knew that the "Daisies" pilot would be picked up for the new TV season. "You know, you always know magic when you see it, [and] you want it to linger longer."
"Daisies" casts Greene as Vivian Charles aunt to Charlotte (Anna Friel) and sister of Lily (Swoosie Kurtz) the gentler, more affectionate half of the Darling Mermaid Darlings team, who has a love of cheese and humanity. And, Vivian is a character Greene truly adores. "This is my first series," Greene says, adding, "I've never done one because if you want [the show] to live a long time, you have to love your character. . . . It's such a wonderful, multi-layered [character], and I fell in love with Vivian. When you want to live with a character a long while, like I lived with Audrey, you want it to be someone that you love. If you love that character, usually, it will come that other people will love it especially if it has this magical quality. . . . So, for me, as a series, yes I felt it was going to go, but [I also] wanted it to go. What no one knows is the journey that Bryan [Fuller] has in his brain is so wonderfully multi-layered and complex. Even though [the characters] live in this world like 'The Land of Little Shop
,' this is the 'Land of Pushing Daisies,' with quotes around it [but] it's very realistic. There is an obligation of a murder each week, but Bryan is the visionary, and what is so interesting is the characters' journey and their intertwining."
Greene speaks glowingly about writer Fuller. "[He has] this God-given gift [and] is dear and sweet and loving and
to tell the truth, he reminds me so much of the energy that passed between me and [the late lyricist] Howard [Ashman]. He's unique and kind, kind, kind, but he's not afraid of emotion. He's really a special person."
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Ellen Greene in "Pushing Daisies"
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| photo by ABC |
Greene, who can be heard on one of the great solo recordings, "In His Eyes" (available at www.ellengreene.com), actually has nothing but praise for the entire cast and crew of "Pushing Daisies." "First off, I love working with Swoosie Kurtz!" Greene exclaims. "She's a wonderful actor. And, Kristin [Chenoweth] unbelievable! I mean, she's so magical. . . She's gorgeous. She's got a body of life. And I got to sing with her! That was really, truly exciting. . . I just saw Kristin singing 'Glitter and Be Gay,' and my mouth was open. Someone was playing it in the make-up room. We'd only just met when she came to do the pilot. A bunch of six nicer people, I couldn't be more fortunate to call my family from Lee Pace, who is so dear. When I first saw him, I said he's like a Gary Cooper. He's bashful, he's shy, he's sensitive, he's a great actor, he's beautiful, he's delicious. Then there's Anna Friel. To me, she lights up the screen. She is as dear as they come. She's also very funny. . . . And she has the obligation, of course, of being the heroine. She's just such a smart girl, and she's such a kind-hearted woman, and she's a mother. Gracie is her daughter, who is very sweet. . . . And when you hear [Friel] speak in her English tongue, you go, 'Oh my God, your American accent is brilliant.' I'm wild for her. And, Chi McBride is the funniest, tenderest, kindest [man]. He's also really good. He has some meat in the next [episode] we're doing. He's got drama chops, too."
She is also completely besotted with Sonnenfeld, who directed the show's pilot entitled "Pie-lette" and several other episodes. "The day before we started shooting," Green says, "we all went out to dinner. . . I got to sit next to Barry and Anna, the two of them such delights. . . Barry was so charming and so funny, talking about his 'sweeties,' his wife and daughter. He's just the most charming man. . . . He's also one of the funniest directors I have ever, ever worked with. . . . I like dear, kind souls who have a good sense of humor and are deep [and] complex."
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Ellen Greene in "Pushing Daisies."
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| photo by ABC |
Greene says the highpoint of her week is the day the new "Pushing Daisies" script arrives. "I literally thrill," she says. "I quiver all over, and I'm thrilled because I'm going to get to sit down and read it, and that's the most exciting moment. I will say the second most exciting moment is when we sit around the table and read it together." Because Greene and Kurtz's storyline is not the main thrust of the series although it's this writer's favorite part of show, as there is something magical that happens when the characters enter the home of the Darling Mermaid Darlings Greene's working schedule is not as demanding as it is for some of the cast. "Anna and Kristin and Lee and Chi are working [the hardest]. Swoosie and I are so happy the day we get to go to work! We're always so excited. I try to remember to bring baked goods or something. We just feel like a family." Continued...
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