ER HEADQUARTERS.COM
// Chat Transcripts
Q:
What do you like about the women on "ER"
Alex Kingston:
What I like, actually, about the women in “ER” is that I
feel that we all seem very normal... as opposed to some
of the drama series where you might see women who are
supposedly in a low-paying job, but they all wear Armani
suits. There are shows where the women are over-styled,
and I just feel that “ER” keeps us looking normal and
messy.
Scroll down to read the full
transcript...
*****************************************************
OnlineHost: AOL's Entertainment Asylum welcomes Alex
Kingston to AOL Live. Alex, who won acclaim in the
title role of the PBS miniseries "Moll Flanders," joined
television's top-rated series "ER" during its fourth
season as the spirited British surgeon, Dr. Elizabeth
Corday.
Question: I think you are a wonderful actress!
Everyone on “ER” seems to have been influenced by George
Clooney. Has George influenced you in anyway?
Alex Kingston: Unfortunately, I hadn't had too many
scenes to work with George. In fact, in my two years, I
think I've only had two scenes with him. So, I would
say, if I felt any influence at all, it's more to do
with his personality on set. He was incredibly jovial,
had a wonderful wit and sense of humor. And people
would always be laughing on the set when George was
there.
Question: How does the working and creative environment
on “ER” compare to your past working environments?
Alex Kingston: Well, I've spent many years of my life
working in the theater and that's a very different
process. One works very closely with not only the cast,
but with a director for six weeks before an audience or
before anybody gets to actually see the performance.
Whereas, working in front of a TV camera in America, of
course, that's obviously much faster. There are some
directors who like to give a little bit of direction and
then there are others who come in and basically leave it
up to the actors. And I actually found that a little
bit disconcerting when I first joined the show.
Question: Is that you're real English accent, or
dialect?
Alex Kingston: No, it's my real English accent. LOL
Question: On “ER,” Corday hasn't befriended any of the
girls. Will she be more than an acquaintance with
anyone this season?
Alex Kingston: Well, last season there was one episode
in which Corday, Hathaway and Maria Bello's character
all went over to Corday's and were having something to
eat and drink. We were very pleased because we're also
aware that there are not many relationships between the
female characters. I'm not sure why the writers aren't
encouraged to explore those relationships. I have a
feeling that I might be doing more with Carol Hathaway
in the future perhaps. But the writers keep everything
so close to their chests that it's difficult to predict
what's going to happen.
Question: How does it feel to be the most talented and
the most beautiful women on “ER”?
Alex Kingston: LOL Well, it's very flattering that
somebody has those feelings. But I think they must be
watching the wrong show. LOL! Oh God, I don't feel
that way at all. What I like, actually, about the women
in “ER” is that I feel that we all seem very normal, as
it were. Just very normal women, as opposed to some of
the drama series where you might see women who are
supposedly in a low-paying job, but they all wear Armani
suits. There are shows where the women are over-styled,
and I just feel that “ER” keeps us looking normal and
messy.
Question: Did you watch “ER” before you got your part
on the show?
Alex Kingston: Yes, I did. I wasn't able to be a
regular viewer because I was working, but when I had
time off and would put the TV on, I would sit and watch
it as opposed to any other shows.
Question: Do you understand what you say in medical
terms?
Alex Kingston: I don't when I first get the script.
But, when we actually tech the scenes with medical
advisors I always make sure that I ask exactly what any
of the medical terms mean, where a particular organ is
in relation to the rest of the body. I really like to
know exactly what's going on because it also helps me to
absorb and remember the lines.
Question: Who do you think is your cutest co-star, Noah
Wyle, Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle or George Clooney?
Alex Kingston: The cutest co-star? Oh I'd say its
Rocket Romano, Paul McCrane. LOL Well, I can't say
anyone else because then they'll all get jealous.
Question: What would you like done with your character
on the show? Is there any special "hook-up" you would
like to see?
Alex Kingston: Well, actually, one of the things that a
previous question asked about, is that I'd like to see a
stronger relationship with one of the women. I feel
that the female characters on the show don't necessarily
exist with the men on the show, so I think it would be
good. I'm very interested in Corday's story line as an
intern where she got so tired that she started to make
mistakes. I think that was interesting because it's
very pertinent to what happens in hospitals all over the
world. I like it when I have really interesting medical
stories. I prefer that more than the relationship side
of Corday's life. Because I feel, ultimately, that's
what “ER” is about. Not what's going on in the
character's lives, but what's going on in the hospital
and what's going on with the lives that they're saving
or losing.
Question: What are your predictions for best picture
Oscar this year?
Alex Kingston: I know my prediction probably won't, or
what I want to, win. For example, I'd like Cate
Blanchett to win Best Actress and I really hope she
does. And I want Billy Bob Thornton to win for Best
Supporting Actor. Best Supporting Actress is really
hard because I think they were all superb. Best
Picture, damn, that's hard. I really like “Life Is
Beautiful” but I also think, just as a piece of film
history, “Saving Private Ryan” was extraordinary.
Question Did you like working with Oliver Platt in “The
Infiltrator”?
Alex Kingston: Oh, I LOVED it! I LOVED it! And I'd so
like to bump into him again. Because when that happened
I was just an actress who nobody really knew in America,
and he was just so nice on the set and not a diva in
anyway. I'd like to bump into him to just say, "Hey, do
you remember me?" He was an extremely nice man. Maybe
he could fill in for George! LOL
Question: What is it like working with Noah Wyle?
Alex Kingston: Actually, again, Noah is one of the
people that I have less to do with. I mean really for
my first season I was almost exclusively working
alongside Keith Benson and Rocket Romano and this season
I've been put with Mark Green so we're establishing a
working relationship together. I haven't had too much
contact with Carter. But I like Noah and he's a
phenomenal actor. I love the acting choices he makes.
With any piece of dialogue, he'll always make a choice
that's slightly off-center. And he's just brilliant!
Question: What's up with Peter and Elizabeth?
Alex Kingston: Oh, dear! Well, as everybody knows,
because Elizabeth was working so hard as an intern and
because Peter was so involved with discovering his son
was hearing impaired, that they both have come to a
point where they realize that the relationship was
nonexistent really. Well, their sexual relationship
was. And they've agreed to part ways. When they did
that, it was more of a let's put this on hold, but I
would say in the interim, the relationship has become
the larger gap between the two of them. So, who knows?
I think the characters are both in a tricky point in
their relationship because I think they like each other
and are drawn to each other, but certainly at the
moment, I don't think the relationship will go any
further. But who knows what will happen along the
line? But I'm more involved with Mark Green, so who
knows what will happen with that?
Question: Do you read any of the “ER” newsgroups or web
sites on the Internet?
Alex Kingston: I don't. I'm a little bit nervous,
actually, I think is the reason. We have one on the
set. You'll see that we have computers at the admin
desk and places like that and sometimes they'll call up
various web sites and it's the alternative “ER” where
people contribute to the story lines. But they're
really wacky and they go off on these extraordinary
fantasy tangents. And I think if that's what it's like,
I don't think I want to go on very often.
Question: What episode do you think had the biggest
emotional impact on your viewers?
Alex Kingston: I have no idea really. It's up to them
to decide that. I, for myself, enjoyed the episode
where Corday makes the mistake because she was so
exhausted, and the follow-up episode where she was
actually trying to change the ruling so that interns
wouldn't have to work such long hours. I certainly
enjoyed playing that. But I don't think I've had a sort
of huge emotional curve in this particular season. I
know that everybody was hugely taken by the rock that
Hathaway story. And for my money I thought the story
line with the mother whose son was dying, I find that a
really moving story line.
Question: How did you get started in your acting
career?
Alex Kingston: Well, when I was at school I had a very
enthusiastic English teacher and she would always put on
productions of whatever play we were studying or
whatever book we were reading. She knew that I was so
interested in drama that she would always cast me in the
lead. And that gave me, I guess, a sense of theater,
and also confirmed in my mind that that was absolutely
what I wanted to do. This was at a very academic girls'
school where most students went to Oxford or Cambridge,
and all teachers tried to stop me from going to drama
school and get me to go to university. I was determined
to do what I wanted to do. So I auditioned and applied
at all the drama schools and was accepted at the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Arts where I had a three-year
training and then basically, once I graduated, I then
spent 12 years just working in theater.
Question: Is Benton a good kisser?
Alex Kingston: Oh yes! LOL! He really is! LOL It's
rather scary because before we had our first screen
kiss, Eriq La Salle showed me his tongue and it's huge
and it actually frightened me. I was a bit scared.
But, no, he's a good kisser! I think Monica Lewinsky
said that Bill Clinton has very soft lips, but I bet
they're not as soft as Eriq La Salle's are. Angela, his
fiancee, if you're watching any of this, don't worry,
I'm not about to steal your man!
Question: Do you get camera shy?
Alex Kingston: Yeah, I think I do, actually. I get
camera shy when it's people taking photos and they don't
ask. For example, now that one is, in a sense, a public
figure, a lot of fans will just take pictures or just
come up to you and just take a picture without asking or
being sensitive to the fact that we might be filming or
having a private moment. And that's when I can get
camera shy. But in terms of filming itself, I'm getting
more used to working in front of the camera. The more
that I'm working with that instrument, the more relaxed
I become.
Question: We're going to England for 12 days in May.
Aside from the Garden Railroads we are going to see,
what would you recommend in London that is not the usual
tourist haunts?
Alex Kingston: Let me just see, if they are in London
on the weekend, on Sunday morning I think it starts 6 in
the morning and goes through until noon, there is a
really wonderful old flower market called Columbia
Road. It's in the East End of London and the houses are
really old and very sweet. There are wonderful shops
there and you get a sense of that it's old London. And
it's a nice thing to do on a Sunday morning. Let me
think what else. I would say Greenwich is a nice place
to take a boat from Westminster down to Greenwich. Or,
actually, if you take a boat from Westminster to Hampton
Court, where Henry VIII resided for a while, and that's
a nice estate to visit. There's a part of London called
Clerkenwell, there's a wonderful old prison there. And
this is a prison that was there in the 17th century, and
you can actually go in and you literally see the tiny
cells where the poor people who maybe stole a loaf of
bread would be shackled up for the rest of their lives.
It gives a real sense of what London might be like in
those days.
Question: Can you give us any information on what we
can expect from either yourself or in future episodes of
“ER”?
Alex Kingston: Well, I'm about to go to London to start
shooting a movie there. It's called “Essex Boys,” and
that's a contemporary London thriller. And I, actually,
don't know what the future would bring for Corday. I'm
sure you have every cast member say the same thing and
that's that the writers don't tell you what they have in
store. All I can say is that the last episode is bound
to be some sort of a cliffhanger.
