Interview With Anne Vancouver Canada July 2008 Hello Anne. To start, we would like to thank you for this opportunity to ask you questions. As long-time Fannes, we have followed your personal life and career for many years. And we have been visiting your official website frequently since its creation back in 2004. We hope you enjoy this first "Fanne" interview. So if you are ready Anne, lets' begin. FANNES: You have visited several countries. Which countries did you like the most? Or is there any one special country you haven't been to yet and would like to visit in the future? ANNE: Well, I would really like to visit every country in the world eventually. I'm curious about all of them and love what I learn when I go to a new place. Recently James was working in London and he flew Homer and I over, and we also went to Paris, and those places are wonderful. But, I'm always so glad to get back to Vancouver. We have a log cabin here we bought during the show and it's our favorite place to spend time. So, I'd have to say overall, I love Canada right now. FANNES: Anne, if you were to interview yourself, much like in the 2007 Esquire interview where Halle Berry interviewed herself, what one tough question would you ask, and what would the answer be? ANNE: (long pause), oh, wow, tough question...I would probably say that uh, all the decisions that you've made in your life, decisions that you stand by. And my answer to that would be, yes, I stand by all the decisions that I've made, but it doesn't mean that all the choices that you make in our life are not difficult. And, that the journey of standing by, and sticking by the choices I've made has been a challenge, but I've tried to stay true to my heart and stay as honest as I can possibly be, and feel proud with the choices I've made in my life. FANNES: If you don't mind Anne, we would like to learn more about your personal life, and your views and feelings about decisions you have made in the past. So here are some selected questions we picked from the many questions that were sent. During your childhood, your family moved several times and you must have changed schools frequently. How did your new classmates treat you being new to the school? Was it difficult for you to fit in or be accepted as a new student? ANNE: Yes, it was very difficult for me to change schools all the time, and I think I just became very shy. I became a very independent little girl who spent most of my time with myself because I was afraid of making new friendships cause I was always afraid we were going to move again. So, that's one of the reasons that for Homer's life I really wanted to switch over from doing movies, which would take me all over the place a lot to going into a TV show that I thought would give him a more consistent life so that he didn't have to change schools as much as I did, because I didn't want him to go through the same difficulty that I went through. FANNES: You once said that you are always honest, whether you are in the limelight or not. Do you regret some of the things you have said in the past? If yes, which are the things you wish you had never said and why? ANNE: Well I think that goes to part of the difficult question I would ask myself, I think it's been...the choices that I've made for myself to be honest came from my life as a child, I always felt that because of the lack of honesty in our household that kind of tore our family apart because we lived in a lot of lies, And so I don't regret any of the choices that I made to be honest. I wish I had the wisdom maybe that I have now, I might've treated things a little bit differently, or understood people's reticence to kind of embrace honesty with the bluntness that I now have. But, I stand by all of my decisions, and feel very proud, from being open about my relationship with Ellen to being open about my understanding of what happened to me as a child, and sharing my story. They were two of the biggest decisions I think I made in my life to be honest publicly. And, they are two of the things I'm proudest of in my life. So, I wouldn't take anything back, I just would say, as many people say, "If I only knew then what I know now", but that's part of what brought me to where I am, and I can stand proud, being a part of hopefully sharing honestly and openly, and helping other people to do the same. FANNES: Anne, if you were able to meet one person, for whatever reason, whether that person was alive today or not, who would you choose and why? What would you talk about? ANNE: Well, I had the opportunity..my friends on my birthday, one year a few years back, blindfolded me and said they had a huge surprise for me. And they took me to UCLA campus, where I walked blindfolded all the way through the campus, and they had brought me to hear the Dalai Lama. FANNES: That must've gotten a little attention, seeing you led through the campus blindfolded! ANNE: [laughing] It was very funny! I had them all around me...it was quite adorable, I think everyone giggled at seeing me stumble through the crowds of people who were there. But what my friends knew is that was the one person I would want to meet. I think there is such truth and peace and honesty spoken by him, and he stood up for what he believes in and I admire that so much. I didn't get a chance to meet him, but I got a chance to hear him speak, and if I had the opportunity to sit down with him one on one, to be in the presence of his wisdom and perhaps we can all, or certainly myself, be in the path of someone so dedicated to truth, honesty and peace. FANNES: OK, he's made a great mark on the world, that's an excellent choice. If you could get back one thing from your past that you have lost and miss the most, what would it be and why? ANNE: Well, unfortunately in my life I've experienced a lot of death of very close relationships, and[pause] to choose which one I'd like to have back would be difficult if there were a person that I would like to be sharing my life with right now most, I think it would be my brother who I lost when I was 14. And I would like to share, I would like to have a brother and I would like to share this life with him, and to have been given the opportunity to see him grow up and see what he was going to do, how he was going to participate in the world and share that with him. FANNES: Would you agree to have a movie made about your life? If yes, which actress would you want to play you, or would you want to play the role yourself? Who else might be in the cast? ANNE: Oh, gosh...would I agree? Sure, I'd agree, for the same reason I agreed to write my book. The more we tell our stories then the more we encourage people that telling their story is a part of healing that helps people to open up themselves. I don't think I would want to play myself, I probably couldn't have enough perspective, and would probably cast myself a little younger if I could[laughs] . But, let's see, who would I want to play me? I don't know a specific actress...someone who maybe had a similar journey to mine, who understood, I think, as an actress that you connect with roles because you've participated somehow in life in a way that helps you understand the truth of each character. So whether or not that actress would be well-known or not wouldn't matter to me, it would just be someone who could connect to the truth of it. And I used to, when my eldest sister was alive, she and I used to talk about who we would cast to play our father, and our fantasy was always Michael Douglas. I think about that now sometimes, too, but I don't know that anyone's going to do a movie of my book any time soon, but if they would, maybe Michael Douglas would be my Dad! FANNES: Are you considering writing another book? Is so, what would be the subject? We would all love to read about your life story from the point where Call Me Crazy left us. ANNE: Wow...well, first of all, let say that's nice to hear. I do consider writing other books...one of the things I learned about writing Call Me Crazy is that when I wrote so bluntly about my life, people really wanted me, in the industry, to be able to translate into other characters. Because I had been so exposed, it was kind of a little more difficult, [with people}knowing so much about me, for me to go into roles, so I've kind of chosen to take what my life taught me, and put that into characters, rather than talk so openly about my personal life. When you're an actress, I think people like to have a little bit more of a mystery so that they can really dive into characters. And so I've kind of shied away from that a little bit. That doesn't mean that I won't write another book. There would have to be a moment in my life where I understand that there's a space for it that makes sense. FANNES: Your decision to write Call Me Crazy must not have been an easy one. We admire you so much for writing it, not just for yourself, but for everyone that you have helped by doing so. We are curious to know if the decision was easier because your father had already passed away. Would you have written it if he were still alive at that time? ANNE: You know, I mean that's a good question, I don't know...I think when my father died, there was such a need for me to understand that story, because I didn't get to talk to him about it, and have a healing with him. I needed to find a way to continue my journey and move on from my journey, and so I found that writing the book was a way to do that. And if he were alive, I think I would've pursued that relationship with him, and tried to heal it with him. But, because I couldn't do it, I think that's one of...if there's every a way to look at a gift of, of pain in your life, I was very motivated to share my story so that people could do the same in their lives, if their loved ones were gone, or if there was something that they needed to heal, that there are all these alternative routes to not getting stuck in your past. And, I had been stuck in my past. My life from when my father was alive dictated my behavior, dictated my relationships, dictated my choices, and I needed to move on from that. The book was the answer to that, and had he been alive, maybe there would have been a different avenue, but that seemed the only one for me that made sense. FANNES: Some of us were in the audience when you read from your book in New York. That was on a Friday. The following Tuesday was the attack on the World Trade Center and the other events of 9-11. Your book changed many of our lives. That event changed many of our lives. Have you ever thought about the proximity of the two events? At the time it wouldn't have been appropriate to ask this, but since so much time has passed maybe it would be okay to now ask, what kind of impact do you think it had on your book tour and sales campaign? If you have any other related thoughts, can you please share them? ANNE: Oh, I've thought about it very much. Of course, it certainly changed everything. I was going from New York to Boston and did my second reading there, and was heading to Toronto to do my third reading the day of the attack. In fact, I got off the plane in Toronto and was told that a plane had just gone into one of the towers, and as we were walking through the airport, the second plane crashed. I went to the reading and we basically all prayed, we didn't know what was going on. And that was the end of my tour, certainly, in fact airports were such that I couldn't get any flights out, but that was the end of the tour. I think about that a lot, we were going to go across the country. As everybody's life was affected in different way, mine was certainly affected by it ending my tour and for me personally, there was a lot of confusion around why I wrote the book and what the book was about. And the book tour was not only about reading the book, but allowing people to understand why I had written it. So my moment kind of got stuck in perception rather than the truth about why I'd written it and what it was about. But then again I feel fortunate that I was even able to get my book out that year, and have a couple of times to share with people who were open to what it was about and what it was. Who knows what would've happened...I think everyone looks back at that moment in their lives and says "wow, my life changed because of that, what would've happened if that day had not occurred". And, I do too, but there were certain bigger issues in the world but I think we all got affected in very personal ways, as I certainly was affected. FANNES: You have the most adorable son, Homer. What is the one main characteristic you most hope to instil in him? And what is the most prominent characteristic of yours that you see in him now? ANNE: Oh....if he can have a loving exchange with this world, and be true to himself, and have a loving experience. That's the best I can do. I say to him often, let's speak in loving tongues, let's speak with kindness and have an exchange with the world through love and kindness. He's a little boy, right now he's 6 ½ years old, and that's a challenge because especially for a little boy, they want to be tough and they want to be strong, and that's the number one thing that James and I try to do, raise him in love so that he knows and can exchange openly in love, rather than in any other way. That's my personal challenge with him. From what I see in him, everybody says he's a little performer. He is a bright and expressive little boy, and I look at his facial expressions sometimes and see his energy-everyone always says I have a lot of energy-and he's got it, boy. He's right now playing with some stuff in the pool and diving and laughing and playing games and it's probably maybe my energy and my facial expressions that he's a little performer. Everyone says it. So, I've accepted that like it's true. [laughing] FANNES: Beautiful answer. Do you allow him to watch by himself? What does he like? ANNE: He likes cartoons and I never had a TV when I was a kid and it was always such a no-no for me to watch any television. So, I let him watch cartoons but I think they're funny. He loves SpongeBob. I watch that with him. I love watching SpongeBob. I think it's so creative and ridiculous. He's got a real sense of humor and I like encouraging that. There's such creative show on. But he likes everything...I mean he likes Hannah Montana and he likes The Wizards of Waverly Place. He always makes fun of me because he knows that he can't really watch PG movies and I have a funny time explaining to him what parental guidance means. But now he kind of jokes with me,"I can't watch that cause that's parental guidance". But he's certainly allowed to watch it. It's my business. I love my business. I love what people are doing on TV and it inspires me to see what kids like. So, I watch a lot of them with him. FANNES: Well it won't be long you won't be pointing out anymore what he's not allowed to watch. He'll be trying to figure out how to watch it. ANNE: I know! FANNES: There are a couple of questions about your acting career.What role would you not play, or line you would not cross, in the name of art? Is it nudity, use of profanity, a highly repugnant character or is there no limit? ANNE: My job is to experience the world of a character as truthfully as possible, and yet, I always look at the bigger picture of the piece that I'm being a participant of. I tend to look for a message in the movie that I'm participating in. If it's a greater vision or an understanding of the world, a group of people and a story that is giving something to the audience other than just...so all of those lines can be crossed if there's not a reason and a way that I'm participating with it to help give it vision that I think it's important to give. So, I don't really say there's a line or something that I wouldn't do. But I tend not to participate in....for example, I was offered a horror film. But I read the horror film, and it's not that entertainment isn't a value in and of itself because I am an entertainer. But some of the things that happened in this movie were things that I felt like were unnecessary. My [character's] daughter got raped very violently. And I just didn't want to, even though it's the mother of this particular movie, I got to get back at the perpetrator, I didn't find that showing that story and participating in that story for me was the best use of my creativity. So, I kind of look at it that way as a whole is this giving, is the way that this language, the way the bodies are used, is it a way that I can show what my point of the world is or help somebody else participate in a point of view that needs to be seen and shown. And that's how I choose my roles. FANNES: What do you think in your career you are the least appreciated for and maybe least understood for? ANNE: Well, they always like to call me crazy. Although that's a tricky question because I think the people who understand and have read Call Me Crazy and have gotten, it's probably the thing that people have gotten the most out of and also the thing that people are the most unaware of and confused by. So, it's kind of both. That book is probably the biggest question mark although the impact that it's had on the people, who read it and who have gotten something from it is greater than anything I could have ever possibly imagined for my life or career. And yet, I think it's one of the most confusing things for people who haven't taken a moment to read it or chosen to stand back and decide for themselves why I wrote it. So, there's no greater blessing than having written that book and knowing that people got something from it. FANNES: Is there any actor or actress from the past or present that has been a particular role model or point of reference for you? ANNE: I will never forget working with Bob De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. It will be going down in history as the moment that I don't know if any other actors will be able to have such a gift as I was, learning about acting and my career. But I've been touched by and really blessed by so many of the people I've worked with. Harrison Ford blew me away and taught me how to be a movie star. He guided me through what it was like to be in a popular movie and was a true hero to me. But I mean, the entire cast of Men in Trees just blew me away. They're giving of their art every single day. I didn't ever know that people could be so incredibly dedicated to creating a show about hope and love as these people were, all of them. So, I've been very blessed. I could name a person or probably a group of people on every single project that's been fortunate enough to be a part of this. They've helped encourage and inspire me in my life. FANNES: OK. That's great to hear. That's a wonderful answer. Are you interested in directing in the future? You've done that before. ANNE: I have. In fact, I'm thinking of it right now. We're in kind of a little tricky moment right now with actors, because SAG and AFTRA are both on strike, which is very, very sad and very complicated. But it is XXXopening. Having been on Men in Trees now for two years, my mind is opening up back up to what I could direct and some stories that I've written. If that's the next possibility for me, I'm certainly opening up more to that than I was able to when I was on Men in Trees. So, we'll see. I can't wait and see what I might direct next. FANNES: All right. Is there any role you've been offered, that you wish you'd taken or one you wish you hadn't take? Let's put it this way, one you've been offered that youre glad you didn't take? ANNE: [Pause] You know ,it's funny. Roles always...sometimes I feel like when I audition for things and read things, for some reason whenever I see them, there's always a reason I didn't do it or always another opportunity that came my way that made sense as to why I didn't get the one that I thought I wanted so badly. My rule about that is to give everything I possibly I can into every meeting and every audition if I have to read. So, the universe kind of guides what's supposed to happen for me. And it always seems to make sense. Upsetting as it is to get a rejection, if I do an audition, there's always seems to be a reason, the challenge is tapping that. I'm in a moment right now where I auditioned for a show on HBO a couple of weeks ago and I had fallen in love with the character. I think it would be a great next character for me after Men. And standing by, waiting to see if that's going to happen and my challenge is to understand that if it doesn't, it's going to be the right thing. But I do sit waiting like every other actor and saying well please, please, please take me. And hopefully, I will have the first thing to report within the next month on what my next show is going to be. FANNES: Tremendous. OK. Which of your previous roles do you feel best about, either from the TV or film? ANNE: Well, having just finished Men in Trees, that was something I will always be so incredibly proud of. And I think people came to that show and fans came to that show and really understood the beauty of that particular role and the family I was a part of on Men in Trees. I'm very proud of that. And to really throw people off balance, I just did a movie with Aston Kutcher called Spread, which was completely opposite. Marian Ashley was one of the more dark roles that I've played. I was proud of myself for being able to dive so deeply into a very tortured character and always as an artist, I want to challenge myself to do different things. So, that particular process going from Marian, who had what I thought was such a loving giving understanding and then going to a character in Spread, so completely shut down from her heart. Yeah, I like to be able to go through extremes with different characters because I think this world exists in many, many forms and shapes of people and human beings going through different moments in their life. So if I can do that with truth and I can bring it to the screen and help people relate to these characters, that's what I feel my job is. If I can walk away feeling good about that, I do and Ashton and I had a really great time working together. So, we'll see what happens next. FANNES: OK now there are questions about three or four of your roles and then a couple of Men in Trees questions and then that will be the end of it. The first one is How did you prepare yourself for the role of Dr. Sterling in Prozac Nation? You seemed so sincere and right-on for the role of the psychiatrist. ANNE: Oh, well that's so nice. That role came to me when I was on the road shooting a documentary of [name unclear? 25:41] and I had been through and anybody who has read my book knows, I have been through many forms and just going to many different therapists, who helped me heal my life. And each one of them helped me so much. So, I tried to draw on the wisdom and the care that they all took with me to create a therapist that was as giving as they had been even though that was a period piece and that doctor at the time, those doctors were more involved obviously it's called Prozac Nation, it was about a particular doctor, who thought that medication was the route toward healing. And certainly it is in some cases. So I didn't go through that particular thing in my life, I never took, I didn't go that route. But I kind of combined that kind of understanding that that was certainly a possibility and the therapist that I had worked with to chose someone who genuinely cared about the people who were sitting in her office. So, I appreciate that. That was a very important thing for me to do. FANNES: All right. Somebody asked about Another World. It says Anne, can you please take us away to Another World. What is it like to kiss Tom Eplin? Also, who Vicky and Marley each say was the better kisser of all their love interests on AW? ANNE: I think they both had him as a boyfriend at one point. FANNES: OK, well that takes care of it. ANNE: So, probably you know, he was the bad boy on Another World for sure. And so he was fun but i cant even, no let's go with Tom Eplin. That's probably true. I'll give him that credit. I think both Vicky and Marely liked him the best. FANNES: OK. Perfect. We'd like to ask you about your performance in the movie Birth? What's it to work with Nicole Kidman? And how did you prepare to play Clara, who was a rather mean character? ANNE: It was incredible to work with Nicole. I am a serious fan of hers. And she blew me away. She dives into characters the way that if I could be so bold that I feel like I do. She just completely immerses herself in the spirit and soul of these women and delivers such a truthful performance. Not to mention she's just one of the most incredibly professionals giving people. On the set of Men in Trees, we used to joke that there was no ego on our set. We all came to give everything we could do and to do the best we could with our performances and gave as much as we could to everybody who was working there. And that exactly what Nicole does. And preparing for Clara, I kept thinking her name was Clara, so what was that? She was actually in Birth, that character's whole responsibility was to show the clarity and the truth of the story that was being told by us. Because at the end, she is actually the only one who understands the truth of what's going on. And so, for me, I started with clarity and figured out that although she was very strong with that child, there are times when children need to be given boundaries. And that was her responsibility. And she was behaving in a way that was leaving many people down a very, very dangerous and painful path. So, I didn't see her as being mean. I saw her as being the clarifier, the person who was going to bring the truth in whatever way she needed to do that, she would. FANNES: That's a great, very thorough answer. I know that you used to keep up with Anna Stuart from Another World. Do you still keep in touch with her or anyone else from AW? ANNE: I have not spoken to her in quite a while, although I do keep in touch with many people from that show at different moments. They seem to blossom in my life and then we live our separate lives and then come in and as I think the journey of maybe even as the website has shown, I can get very involved sometimes in moments and then I have to go away and really focus on another part of my life and then I can return and give more time. So that's kind of how my friendships work to be honest. And yet, with the loving, giving fannes, they are there to embrace me in the time that we have together and we also understand that there are other moments in my life that we have to focus on. FANNES: OK and somebody asked that you've had to learn something new in order to master a role a number of times such as ice skating in Silver Bells or learning how to knit for an episode of Men in Trees and learning how to work with live animals. It has been said you are very assiduous during your training. What do you do in your training process that helps you to give life to a character? ANNE: Live as entirely and possibly as I can and absorb as many new things as I can and take in as I'm standing outside in my yard right now, taking in nature. We have this pond this now growing lilies on the pond. There's moments of springtime in Vancouver and it's so extraordinary. And I always will say OK, we take this in because this moment of life is being given to me right now. This beauty can only enhance if I can absorb it, it will enhance, there will be some day and who knows when it is, there will be a moment when I have to be a painter. And I'm asked to paint flowers and I will never forget this moment. So, it's as much from the tiny little things like taking in the beauty of the world around me to being challenged by getting Homer to play baseball and learning how to hit a ball to taking myself to a cooking class or writing a script, whatever it is to continually challenge myself in a day to fill myself up with new information, so that it can be part of any of the characters that I may have the opportunity to play. FANNES: OK good. So life informs art and art informs life. ANNE: That's right. It sure does. FANNES: At times you've said you missed Broadway and you would like to do a musical someday. Do you still feel that way? Do you have a musical or character in mind that you would love to do? And what do you like the most about live theatre? ANNE: I certainly want to do a musical. I can't wait to get back to Broadway. I don't know when that moment will present itself again and you know, Homer is now in school. So, it's a little bit more difficult to take off and do as much on Broadway. But I don't have any particular character in mind for a musical. I'm not sure. It's just going to have to come my way. Someday it will come my way and then I will have to train like a madwoman to sing as well as these Broadway brilliant people can do. It's more my desire to do it is more of a challenge to myself than an understanding that I could actually accomplish it. But I definitely want to it again. What was the second part of that question? FANNES: Just what do you love the most about performing in live theater but I think you really touched on that. ANNE: Yeah, it is quite an extraordinary thing. Well it's the giving, it's the giving and receiving component of theater that's very different than being on film. You have a very intimate relationship when cameras are in front of you. And your audiences that camera or the crew is standing behind it. But in theater, you're able to give and receive an energy because you get fed immediately what people are feeling and you're able to absorb that into your performance and give back immediately something that you might feel fulfills the next part of the journey. So you can really go on a full long journey of emotion of giving and receiving in the theater and you can't do that on film. You're only shooting a scene at a time or you're you know, in a particular moment. And you're making that moment as truthful as possible. But on stage you get to have a whole journey of an entire story experienced with people helping you understand how to give them the best possibly experience that night in the theater. So it's quite different and quite extraordinary. FANNES: Ok. Have you and James ever entertained the thought of appearing on stage together? Do you have another project you would like to do together? ANNE: We would love, we talk about it a lot actually how fun it would be to be on stage. We don't have a project right now but we certainly we are open to it at any time, just waiting for that right moment, trying to explore different characters that you know, taking people away from there [phrase unclear 35:02?] which is an important part of our lives right now and when we would be able to return to working together, we can't wait. FANNES: OK, that last couple of questions are about Men in Trees. It's not on right now but there's a lot of interest and a lot of love for the show. So the questions are, we love you as Marin and the cast is great. Can you describe for us what a typical day is for you on the set or on a location? Do you have to get in at 4am like we hear about or what's it like? How long do you rehearse? ANNE: Yeah. Oh yeah, you get up at about 4 and certainly for me, I was in probably every scene. So, my day would start at 4 in the morning. You go into hair and make-up. And I get handed the script that I've studied the night before in miniature form. And I sit and get my hair and make-up done and then start. If we spend a day on the set, we would go from set to set probably doing four or five scenes a day. And then if we had a day where we would be shooting at say Marin's cabin or something, we'd get in a van and everybody would pile in. And usually, because it was Vancouver, step out into the pouring rain with umbrellas over us traipsing through mud and dirt to get to the cabin and tents would be set up so we would have someplace dry to be in. And shoot our day. We always sort of dreaded Marin's cabin because as much as we loved the location, it was always the muddiest place in town. So, we would be up to our knees in mud with the crew standing by soaking wet, trying to keep the lights from exploding in the rain. So that was always more challenging, it's always more challenging to be on location in Vancouver because it's usually raining, muddy, wet and disastrous. FANNES: Yep. How long did you rehearse most of the scenes before they rolled film? ANNE: You usually rehearsed, you would probably run through the scene once or twice and then the crew gets everything set up while you are changing into your costume. And then you go back and shoot. On a TV show, you have to move very quickly. Regularly on a movie, you would shoot maybe one or two at the most scenes a day. And TV you shoot anywhere from five to seven scenes a day. So, that shows you how fast you got to move. FANNES: And was that fun set with practical jokes going on or was it a work set? ANNE: I wouldn't say there were a lot of practical jokes but there was a lot of joking and joy. We were one of the, everyone who came and worked on our show said this is the happiest crew I've ever been a part of. We really loved working together and we would, fortunately because we were shooting a comedy, we had a lot of laughter within the script and the scenes. And we were as much entertained by the other actors in the scenes that they were doing as we were by our own. And it was a very joyous experience. In fact, we're having a party tonight for many of the pp we worked with who are still in Vancouver and we gather any time we possibly can. We've all styled very close friends. FANNES: Well that will be great. So it's like a class reunion? ANNE: It is a bit and we have you know, when we're in LA, we see people who are down there. We all formed really special friendships, which is unheard of us just for a TV or movie. We've all stayed very close. FANNES: In the MiT pilot episode, we saw Marin using bear spray as if it was a mosquito repellent. Finally it seems like it made you sick. Can you share with us some memorable incident or something funny that occurred during the shooting to you or to another cast member? ANNE: Oh my God, well now that that's brought up, that's kind of ridiculous. Those things made us crack up all the time. What happened, well there was one day that Jack had to work with a bear and as everybody knows, bears are very scary. It was very tense on the set. And the bear came out on the set. And we have a set that was built as Marin's set on stage. And we also would go the exteriors to a real place where that cabin existed. But the bear came into the studio and they were supposed to go right out to their trainer and instead came right out the door and went right up to James and sniffed his crotch. And everybody had a moment of, Oh my God is that bear going to do him? You know, we worked with wild animals all the time. And they were trained but you can't stop a bear from being a bear you know. FANNES: Sounds like a scene you could have left in, maybe! ANNE: Yes. FANNES: Is Marin Frist a woman who could be your friend? Do you have anything in common with her? ANNE: Marin? FANNES: Yes. ANNE: Oh I think Marin loves [name unclear? 39:56]. I think she genuine wants what is best for everyone and that's where I really connected with her. She wants the best and will do whatever she can to help somebody come to a place in their life that they feel good about. And that's really where, I could with her from the beginning of reading the pilot to all the way through, the two years I was lucky enough to play her, she was a woman, who admitted her mistakes. She took falls left and right. Didn't know everything she thought she knew but was able to admit it. So, her honesty, I respected that. But mainly she, loved people and she fell in love with that town because she, her interest in people parks [phrase? 40:39] was genuine and she needed to get out of a place where maybe she wasn't able to exist in such genuineness like New York City. So, there were many similarities and of course as I played her more and more, we became more and more merged. FANNES: Here's a question you can tell comes from a true fan. She says, many of us enjoyed the scene with Marin on the Lynn Valley suspension bridge in the "Talk for Tat" episode. So, they know the bridge name, they know the name of the episode. Was it fun for you to do that scene? How many takes did it require for you to complete that? Were you nervous up there? ANNE: Oh, well we went out way early in the morning to get the light on that bridge. That was one of my favorite-one of the greatest things about working on Men in Trees was that every week, there would be some place that I would get to go that I had never seen before. And so when I got that that we were going to go do this suspension bridge thing, everybody was really excited , the director and they were so thrilled because we got to hike up into this mountains and shoot this glorious piece of nature. So no, I wasn't afraid but I thought that Marin would be. So, I was always trying to go through Marin's point of view. I thought she would hate this bridge. So, I've got to show in my body language that she was completely scared. We just had a heck of a time doing it. It did not take us very long because they had to close off the bridge to tourists while we were shooting. So, we were only allowed to shoot for one hour. So, we had to go through it and did it in as few takes as we possibly could to get as many shots as we did. FANNES: Ok. And then the last question is, we see you wearing lots of different hats in Men in Trees, as well as in real life. You have said in a past interview you like to wear hats. Can you tell us when did your love affair with hats begin and why? And do you get to choose the ones you wear on the show? ANNE: My love affair began because I don't like to do my hair. And so it was always a good way to get by having to dry my hair or wash it or anything else. So, it was, it's actually a choice made out of a need for simplicity in my life to get me out the door. And then I also love them because they're creative and they just help you express yourself like any clothes do. And on Men in Trees, I love that they brought in hats. The director of photography hates when I wear hats because it always shades my face. So, he can't get enough light into my eyes. So, as much as Marin wore hats, we wanted her to wear many more, but that was, we couldn't do as much as we could. So, on Men in Trees, the hats were chosen a lot because of style but then it got, we could only choose hats that wouldn't shade my face, so they couldn't have any brims and of course I would choose some. If I didn't want to wear one, I wouldn't. And then they got really, everyone, because it was pouring down rain. And we always tried to pretend that it wasn't raining when it actually was. But it was just pouring down rain one day and I was supposed to be going through the woods. And one of the funniest things that I, one of the funny scenes that we shot near the end was with Annie when we were walking through the woods. And I said, let me wear a huge raincoat and a huge rain hat and just have the thing be a big joke. And they let me get away with it. So, some hats are chosen for humor. And sometimes for style. And mostly because it makes it easier on my hair. FANNES: Perfect. And finally, I missed the first question because I didn't have the voice recorder on yet, so I'd like to ask you again, if you can recreate your answer. What is your perception of your Fannes? Are you curious to know who we are? What would you like to see more of, or less of on the site, as far as how we support you? ANNE: Oh, the Fannes have been the most extraordinary support, whether I'm doing a talk show, I know how much they care, whether it's through champagne, sending me Christmas wishes, posting notes, staying together on the website has been the most incredible thing, as [administrator] Preston has continued to remind me, the absolute dedication and I'm blown away from it all the time. I can't imagine that there would be anything more I could ever, ever wish for. And it would be my joy to meet every single one of my Fannes someday, and the only way I can do it now is to be on talk shows and say hi to you all, and to do the work that I do so that I can show my absolute appreciation through these characters, and hope that everyone can try relate to them and feel my gratitude as I continue to work. But I do, and I have had speaking engagements and I was lucky enough to meet a couple of people when I spoke in Vancouver, and I hope that becomes more of a part of my journey, as I am able to do more speaking engagements throughout the country, I would really love to incorporate that as a part of my life, and my life's work too. Maybe along that path I'll be able to meet every single one of you. I would just love it. FANNES: That's great. I think you got it word for word. I can see you're a performer. ANNE: Well, I didn't write any of that. [overlapping voices] I know it's taken me so long to get to be able to answer these questions, but I really appreciate everybody's patience, and yours especially Preston, with allowing me the time, and really being able to get to a moment where I could have this conversation and speak from my heart. It has been quite a year for me, and there've been some real challenges which have left me, kind of in my more private moments, and I really thank you all for sticking with me. FANNES: OK, well thank you. And thanks for giving us almost an hour and I'll get it typed up and posted to the site as soon as we can. ANNE: Well, that would be great. You should know, this is my first interview since Men In Trees got canceled. And I have not taken any interviews because I really haven't known how to speak about it, because it has been such a huge sadness in my life, so it that means anything, my Fannes are my first interview. FANNES: OK, that's great to know. We really appreciate that. ANNE: Well thanks, and I really appreciate you. Thank you so much for sticking with me. FANNES: OK...we're all done! ANNE: OK, thank you. Have a terrific day!