Carrie Preston pour MyfanBase

L 'actrice Carrie Preston a donné une interview à MyFanBase le 23 mars 2012.

"1. How did you get into acting?

I grew up in Macon, Georgia and started doing plays when I was 9 years old, following in the footsteps of my older brother John G. Preston, who is still an actor as well. I considered myself a character actor from the very beginning when I did plays in the community theater and in school. Even then, I wasn’t Alice in Wonderland or Snow White or Cinderella. I was the Mock Turtle, Maid Dim Witty, and the kooky FGM (Fairy God Mother), complete with ass pad and glasses. I studied acting in various places, the most notable being the University of Evansville in southern Indiana and The Juilliard School in NYC. I relished the controlled chaos within the womb of higher education. And at 18, I started performing professionally doing Shakespeare in the summer breaks. But eventually the real world came calling, and I was definitely ready to get out into it.

2. When you booked the part of Arlene on "True Blood", did you know right from the start that her fiancé René was the murderer?

The series is based on the Southern Vampire novels by Charlaine Harris, so there was a blueprint to follow. In the book, Rene is the murderer, so I did know from the start that he was the killer. But the show took liberties with some of the character traits and plot points, so a lot of that was surprising.

3. Your "True Blood" character is very superstitious. Is that something you and Arlene share or do you have something else in common?

I grew up in the south, so I know women like Arlene. I also trust the writers, and I let their words take me where I need to go. We are both strong women. I'm not narrow minded like Arlene, but we have the same work ethic. We both deeply care about what we do for a living.

4. The show seems to have more and more supernatural creatures. If you could be one of them which one would you like to be?

I definitely think the vampires have more fun on our show! I keep pitching to Alan Ball the idea of making Arlene some kind of supernatural, but to no avail. I think they need someone to hold down the human fort. And Arlene is the woman for the job, I think.

5. Can you tease a little bit about season 5? Will Arlene still be skeptical towards her baby?

This season focuses more on Arlene and Terry than on the baby. We have not seen the last of Patrick, the mysterious figure from Terry's past that came into their lives at the end of season 4.

6. "True Blood" is very different from "Twilight" and "The Vampire Diaries", which mainly address a younger audience. How do you like the different approach "True Blood" takes?

In this youth obsessed world of ours, I think people love the idea of living forever. With "True Blood", one gets to see what it would be like to live forever as a sexy, passionate and sometimes political creature. On our show, which is for grownups and not teens, the vampires stand for any disenfranchised group of people fighting for their rights in society. You can either choose to look at the show as a sexy soap opera or you can find social commentary in it. It exists on both levels, and I think that's what sets it apart.

7. There are some explicit scenes for adult viewers on "True Blood". Were you ever shocked or found it difficult to shoot these scenes?

Mostly when you play the funny role on shows, they don't make you do sex scenes. So I haven't been asked to do a lot of that on the show, with the exception of the season 2 orgy scene. Those long nights in season 2 out in the fields wearing the black contact lenses doing the orgy scene with naked background actors dancing around us were some of the most bizarre and oddly funny nights of my career.

8. What is the best part from working on "True Blood"?

It’s always fun to go to work because I know that I get to put on that makeup, those nails, that bust-line and those heels and really transform into Arlene. I have a good time with her. When I’m on set I feel like myself but a little bit of her definitely rubs off on me. It is fun to be in the skin of someone you’ve been playing for four seasons, which is something that I’ve never really had the luxury of doing before.

9. Elsbeth Tascioni from "The Good Wife" is probably the funniest yet competent lawyer in TV. Would you let her represent you if you were indicted with something?

Elsbeth is dizzy like a fox. You think she's all over the place, but then she nails you to the wall. I would trust her with anything, but I'm someone who enjoys the thrill of a roller-coaster.

10. What is like to a play recurring character on this show? Do you get to spend a lot of time with Julianna Margulies and the other regulars?

Julianna and I became friends around six years ago when we did a Broadway show together called "Festen". Although she didn't have anything to do with me being cast, she and I were certainly very happy to work together again. I adore her, and the "Good Wife" set is so lovely to work on. That whole cast welcomes me with open arms every time I go on there.

11. You and your husband Michael Emerson were on stage and in a movie together. Do you play with the idea of the perfect show for you two together? What characters would you like to play together?

Michael often jokes about a show where the two of us play a zany wise-cracking Broadway couple from the 30's where we get to play dozens of different characters, and everything goes wrong.

12. You played Felicity Huffman's sister once on "Desperate Housewives" and in "Transamerica". What's working with her like?

Felicity is a consummate professional, and I have always admired her. She and I got along really well in both cases. I thought to myself, "If I make an entire career of playing Felicity Huffman's sister, I would consider myself lucky".

13. Please tell us about your film "That's What She Said".

I have a production company called Daisy 3 Pictures. Our third feature film is called "That's What She Said", which was was written by Kellie Overbey and stars Anne Heche, Marcia DeBonis and Alia Shawkat. It takes the chick flick genre, mashes it with the balls to the wall silliness of a good bromance and let's the girls come out on top. I like to call it an East Village cousin of the Bridesmaids genre, which I’m very happy now exists. We’ve been trying to shepherd this project into the world for a good seven years, off and on. And we had our world premiere at Sundance in January, which was the most incredible thing we could ever imagine. Now we have a distribution deal with Phase 4 Films, so the film will come out in the US hopefully in the late summer. It’s really extraordinary to have finally achieved that particular dream.

14. myFanbase is a website that is devoted to American television shows. Do you have one or more favorite show(s)?

I am such a television fan. My current favorite shows are: "Person of Interest" (Yes, it stars my husband, but it's also really good!!), I'm a huge fan of "Breaking Bad". The more recent shows I'm love are "Boss", "Game of Thrones", "Homeland" and "Enlightened".

Thank you, Carrie, we wish you all the best for your future! "

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Puis le 7 Juin 2012 pour le huffingtonpost.com

Huffington Post interviewed True Blood’s Arlene, Carrie Preston to hear more about the interesting turn things take in Season 5 with Arlene and her troubled hubby Terry Bellefleur (Todd Lowe).  She also talked about the other new man in her life: Terry’s old war buddy Patrick, played by Scott Foley. But don’t jump to any conclusions that it’ll get romantic …

“Yes, she’s been married four times, but she’s still traditional and a kind of stand-by-your-man Southern woman,” Preston assured us.

Preston also dished about the importance of having some normalcy in Bon Temps, what she’d like to see happen with Arlene, if she’d ever consider directing an episode and why she’s confident — even with Alan Ball stepping down as showrunner next season — that when “True Blood” ends, the series finale will satisfy fans.

Then there’s the Emmy buzz surrounding her “Good Wife” guest starring stint — she explains why her quirky character from that show is giving Arlene a run for her money, and why watching her real-life hubby, “Lost” alum and “Person of Interest” star Michael Emerson, go through the awards process is helping keep it all in perspective.

Just when you think Arlene has seen the worst of her issues … Terry really is a ticking timebomb!
I know, I know … it’s very interesting though because we haven’t really delved into Terry’s past yet. Not really. We’ve done a little here and there, but this season, we’re definitely getting a look at what he went through in Iraq, so I think that’s really interesting. Of course, we do that “True Blood”-style. [Laughs.] It’s definitely going to cast a bit of a shadow over Terry and Arlene this season.

Fans want Arlene to be happy, but do you think anyone could really live a happy, normal life in Bon Temps?
No. [Laughs.] I don’t! I think that in order for anything to work on television, you have to have conflict. Nothing can be too happy or it’s boring. People don’t want to watch that — they want to watch things that are exciting and dangerous and sexy and have tension. And our show does that very well.

But you seem to find a lot of shows that do that. Obviously, we love you as Arlene, but I love it even more that the “True Blood” schedule has given you time to do other things, like “Person of Interest” and “The Good Wife.”
I know — I do feel very fortunate in that way, and I feel very grateful that my colleagues over at HBO have been so generous about that, because they don’t have to be. Most of that stuff I shoot when I’m on hiatus, but a few things have had to overlap. But our cast of “True Blood” is, you know, the entire body of the Screen Actors Guild [Laughs.] … so none of us really work very many days.

“The Good Wife” was definitely the biggest surprise and gift that I’ve had in a long time, and that did come out of some other work that I had done. That whole adage of “work begets work” actually worked in that case — it was at the very end of their first season that my character was first introduced. Robert and Michelle King had seen me in “Duplicity,” which is a film that I did with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, which was such a fun part. They saw something in what I did with that and thought I would bring something interesting to Elsbeth Tascioni. So it was a real treat to really flesh that character out and find it along with them. And to have the call come again in their third season that they wanted to have me back to play the role again … that is something that they do so nicely on that show, reprising their guest stars as much as possible. They have such distinct characters, all the guests; it’s not like your typical lawyer or doctor or something. Elsbeth is not like any of them — it was just so fun to figure out how she is in the world and how she navigates things. She thinks differently than the others. I do hope that I get to dothey’re saying they want to bring me back, but I don’t know because they do have a lot of storylines to juggle on that show.

They’ve been very vocal about wanting you back for Season 4, and obviously there’s a nice Emmy nomination push for what you did in Season 3, which is well deserved. Does any of that ever go to your head, or do you just take it all in stride?

I’m extremely flattered by it. I’ve seen Michael go through the Emmy situation five times, and I’ve been there by his side, and I’ve been there when he’s won. It’s all really thrilling, but I definitely learn from him, and he keeps it all in perspective. Neither one of us got into acting to do anything other than practice it, so we feel very fortunate that we get to do that. If I were to get acknowledged in that way, it would be phenomenal, obviously. I’m a character actor and I get lost in these characters, so I think it’s only recently that people have begun to connect dots and go, “Oh, that’s the same person that did this, this, this, this and this!” which I take as a compliment. One time somebody called me an illusionist, and that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said. So for a character like Elsbeth to pop out, and for people to start talking about awards is such a pleasant and wonderful surprise.

You mentioned Michael, and really for years I feel like I’ve been begging your husband to go play on “True Blood” … and then you popped up on his show “Person of Interest” instead. Fans got a big kick out of that.
I know — and, of course, the irony is that in both of the cases that I’ve gone on his shows, on “Lost,” I played his mother in a flashback, so of course we had no scenes together, and now on “Person of Interest,” I’m playing someone who thinks that he is dead. [Laughs.] I’m appearing on his shows, just not specifically with him. I love that though, that the characters that I’m playing are so connected to his characters. I think that the fans take a delight in that, and then those that don’t know we’re married wouldn’t know otherwise … it’s like a little secret for the fans.