April 6, 2009
LORNA SCOTT STARS IN THE NEW COMEDY "SURVIVING SUBURBIA" AIRING MONDAY NIGHTS AT 9:30 P.M. ON ABC.
By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
N2Entertainment.net
In the 2008 movie "Wanted," Lorna Scott played a stapler-wielding boss-from-hell that drove James McAvoy crazy. The versatile actress from Beckley, West Virginia has carved out a nice little niche portraying quirky, yet memorable characters in movies and television.
A few of Scott's recent TV shows include HBO's "Little Britain U.S.A," and "True Blood" as well as the Logo Channel's hit series, "Sordid Lives."
Scott, who honed her craft in the theatre, has also starred in a wide range of movies such as "Role Models" (she was the horse scooter woman), "Bad Santa," "Cellular" and "Something's got To Give." Scott can also been seen in the upcoming Zac Efron movie, "17 Again" which opens nationwide April 17.
Currently, Scott is starring with Bob Saget in the new TV comedy, "Surviving Suburbia" which premieres on ABC April 6 at 9:30 p.m. following "Dancing with the Stars."
N2Entertainment.net caught up with the very funny and personable Scott during a phone interview from her home in Sherman Oaks, California. She talked about her new sitcom "Surviving Suburbia," as well as her TV, movie and theatrical career," portraying all those wacky characters, what she likes to watch on TV when she has time and what it was like hanging out with that pretty, blue-eyed, teen idol, Zac Efron on the set of "17 Again."
Here's what Scott revealed.
Q. What is your new show "Surviving Suburbia" all about?
A. The show is about families. Bob Saget likes his family and himself. I'm one of his nosy neighbors and we love to hate each other. What I really like about "Surviving Suburbia" is the writers of the show have written some scenes for my character that not only are funny but have some depth to them. On the show my daughter is 17-years-old and she has a baby, but then gets pregnant again. As you can imagine there is quite a bit of poignancy you can find in that storyline. I'm very excited about the show. The entire cast is because we could not have asked for a better time slot than to be following "Dancing with the Stars."
Q. Have you ever worked with Bob Saget before?
A. No I never had until the reading of the pilot for the show. He's so giving and generous. I just love him. He never makes you feel insecure about the work. He brings out the best in everyone around him. We have a lot of screen time in the third episode. It's a show about us in the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). We get into all sorts of things. It's a very funny episode.
Q. What do you draw from to come up with these characters particularly Janice in "Wanted."
A. (She laughs). I think I just draw from the days of me being in a bad mood or like when I used to work as a waitress in New York. If you can handle dealing with people in New York as a waiter or waitress--because they have seen it all and you don't want to mess with them when they have a knife in their hand--then you can prepare yourself to tackle any sort of mood or role. I think I was cast in "Wanted" because I was more dimensional than the "Bitch from Hell" type character. (Lots of laughter).
Q. Since starring in "Wanted" have a lot of doors opened for you?
A. I wouldn't say a lot, but they haven't shut either. Actually "Wanted" helped me land the part on "Surviving Suburbia." Some of the casting directors had seen the movie and liked my part in it and thought I'd be a good fit for the sitcom.
Q. Can you talk about working on Zac Efron's new movie "17 Again."
A. I had to go to New York to shoot a new ending for "Wanted." At that time I was about to start filming on "17 Again" too. But we had to shut down production on "17 Again" for about a week because Zac had appendicitis and had to have emergency surgery. In the movie I play a school principal but I didn't have a lot of screen time with Zac. I did get to hang out with him off set. He's a really, great guy. He's got so many fans. Every cast and crew member brought their kids to see him. I thought he did a great job with the movie.
Q. Is your show "Sordid Lives" going to return for another season?
A. It was supposed to start its second season already, but the production company didn't come up with the money to make it happen. These smaller production companies are working on a shoestring budget and in this economy it makes it even tougher. We're hoping we will get a shot somewhere else. I really enjoy working on it too. It's like "Queer as Folk" meets "My name is Earl." "Sordid Lives" started out as a play. It debuted in Los Angeles in 1996. I was in it and originally cast as Noleta (played by Caroline Rhea in the series). My character Vera was created for me in the film and the series. Vera's a pistol. She's the best friend of Sissy (Beth Grant), works at the Corner Stop, is very religious and very sweet, but she's always stirring the pot a little. What's funny is a friend of mine just returned from Israel and told me that the show is a big hit there. We're on all the billboards and bus stop signs and everything. Who knew? (Lots of laughter).
Q. What about HBO's "Little Britain U.S.A?"
A. That one is also supposed to come back for a second season, but we haven't heard yet. I call that show "Monty Python" meets "Saturday Night Live."
Q. When did you realize that you were going be an actress?
A. I started many years ago as a dancer. I attended North Carolina School of the Arts. It's a school like Juilliard. I had a great dance teacher there that saw the actor in me. She pulled me into all the actor/dancing parts and that's when I realized I could do both and I liked doing both. Things just took off from there.
Q. As a dancer, do you enjoy watching the TV show "Dancing with the Stars?"
A. I love it. It's my favorite show.
Q. Are you still a good dancer and any chance you'd like to be on it?
A. Oh, I'm so fat right now. But when I'm sitting on the couch dancing around on it when the show is on, I am FABULOUS. (Lots of laughter).