Catherine Bell Interviews
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Interviews with Catherine Bell
CBS Production
We caught up with Catherine Bell just before the cast and crew broke for their summer hiatus.
Q: Can you explain something for me? When you first appeared on JAG, you were a different character, correct? [note: Catherine Bell first appeared as Lt. Diane Schonke in the episode "Skeleton Crew." This episode never aired in the United States, but footage was used in the episode "Death Watch" (original airdate: March 31, 1998)]
Bell: Yes, it was a little part and I was killed at the end of the episode. This was the first year, then NBC canceled the show. And CBS picked it up and I heard they were going to hire a new female lead, and I just said "That's my part. I don't care, I'm getting it somehow." Which was weird, because I was already dead, but I was very persistent. And I wrote Don [Belisario, executive producer] a letter and said wouldn't it be interesting to have the new character look just like the old one. Because, basically, Harm was in love with the character that got killed. So I thought it would be interesting if Harm's new partner looked just like the deceased love-of-his-life. And Don said it wasn't such a bad idea.
Q: Did you have any favorite television shows as a kid?
Bell: Yeah, I loved all the silly ones...The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family. I lived with my grandparents so I used to also watch all the shows they watched, like Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I.
Q: Do you go online at all?
Bell: Yes, I do. Not as much as I used to, but I use the Internet for everything. I use it for information. Like if I'm planning a trip or something, I'll check out the place I'm going to. Actually, my husband uses it more than I do. He's really into video games so he uses it to find the codes, you know, the tricks for all the games.
Q: When you're not working, do you have any hobbies that keep you busy?
Bell: Sports, lots of sports...Wakeboarding, and dirt-bike riding, and all the stuff that gets people worried that I'm going to get hurt...But I'm really careful, I'm really safe. I'm not doing twenty-foot jumps or anything.
Q: Do you have any plans for the upcoming hiatus?
Bell: I'm still trying to figure that out. We have about seven weeks off, and I'm meeting with people and auditioning. I'm hoping to find something, like a neat little role in a movie or something. The trick is to find something that shoots right in those seven weeks. But I'm definitely going to be taking some time off, just hanging out with my husband and relaxing.
Q: I've read an old interview where you mentioned you rarely get recognized on the street, even though your ratings are great. Has that changed now that JAG has become a big hit?
Bell: It's changing a bit, but the thing in LA is everyone is either in the industry, or knows someone who is in the industry. So, they don't let on that they recognize you, that's what I've found out. Like, I'll be in a mall doing some shopping, something totally normal, and this person is helping me. And, at the end of about an hour or so, they'll sort of lean over and say [in a whispering voice], "By the way, I love your show." So they do know me, they just don't want to let on...But, people are recognizing me more. Sometimes fans just approach me on the street and say how much they love the show. It's great to get that kind of feedback.
Q: Was there a particular episode from this season that you thought was really fun or memorable in some way?
Bell: There is one it's coming up next week, "Second Sight" [original airdate: April 27, 1999], it's actually my personal favorite. It's about my parents, because we never really know what happened to them. I wouldn't say it was fun, but as an actress it was great to do, because I get to do every emotion there is.
Q: Any insights as to what is going to happen next year?
Bell: I haven't got a clue...I don't know. I'm kind of pushing for Mac to get a motorbike so she can pull up to JAG on a motorbike one day. But that's just my plan.
Entertainment Tonight
Bob Goen: Catherine Bell is now known as the beautiful co-star on JAG. But before stardom came hard work on the fashion runways and the shocking extremes that women sometimes go through to stay thin.
Catherine Bell: I was probably 10 to 15 lbs. thinner than I am now and I was always being told I had to lose another 10 lbs. And all the models there were rail-thin. You weren't to eat anything!
BG: Nine years before she joined David James Elliott as JAG's sexy Sarah MacKenzie, Catherine Bell was an aspiring model who was given the chance to work the catwalks of Japan. But she soon experienced the dark side of the modelling world when she was constantly asked to lose weight.
CB: I had a model over there show me how to throw up and I tried it once and it was the worse experience. I never did that again, thank God!
BG: Catherine gave up modelling and turned her attention to acting. One of her first jobs was as a nude body double for Isabella Rossellini in Robert Zemeckis' 1992 hit, Death Becomes Her.
CB: I went in and one of the AD's took a Polaroid of my behind, and I guess the director liked it. [laughs]. And it was a great opportunity to meet some wonderful people and I met my husband on that film.
BG: He was the AD taking the picture of you?
CB: No, but he was Zemeckis' assistant.
BG: It's a sure way of getting men, by the way.
She's been married to her husband, actor Adam Beason, for 5 years now and they recently invited me to visit their home in Los Angeles. While their family is limited to two Italian greyhound dogs, Catherine has big plans for her future.
CB: Probably right at the end of JAG, I would love to have a child or two. I ultimately want to have two kids.
FHM
She's saucy, seductive, and loves a man in uniform: Meet Catherine Bell.
You've met a few real JAG lawyers - is your role a realistic representation of what they get up to?
They say it's realistic, but that they wouldn't do 90% of the stuff we do. They spend most of their time in court and not hanging from the bottom of helicopters, ha ha; but they do say we put forward a very realistic portrayal other than that.
Have you ever gone up in an F-14 Tomcat?
Not a Tomcat, but I did go up in a F-16 Thunderbird. I got up to nine Gs'! I got a pin for that, and the pilot was nice enough to slow it down a bit for me, ha ha. He also let me do a few loops and rolls. It's like playing an arcade fame, you use a joystick. I couldn't see if I was up or down, but he guided me. It was incredible.
You're on record saying that you "don't have a personal life anymore." What hours do you work?
I always say that, but it's true. We usually work 14-hour days, and sometimes 16 to 18 days, which doesn't leave much time for anything else - most Sundays are spent recovering. Sometimes you work all the way through to 5am, then get a few hours and you're back on set again. When I do get time, I like to hike and I take lots of vitamins and powders to keep healthy. I try to discipline myself to spend 15 minutes working out each day as a minimum.
What were you doing when you found out you'd got the role of "Mac" MacKenzie in JAG?
That's a funny story. My husband and I were sitting at our dining room table looking at a stack of bills trying to work out a way we could pay them. We'd already borrowed money and I was thinking we'd have to borrow more. I'd been working two jobs and my husband had taken on another while I did acting classes. I got the call and my agent said, "You're not supposed to know this yet, but you've got the part..." I started crying and we went out and brought the cheapest bottle of champagne we could fine.
How did you get into acting?
I started when I was in college because I was shy and thought it would be a good way to break out of that. So I did a bit of acting and thought "that's scary, I'm gonna have to do it again." I'm a firm believer in doing things that scare you. I love to go bungee jumping, jump out of planes, ride motorbikes, do kickboxing. I love all that stuff.
You were also a "body double" for Isabella Rossellini (in Death Becomes her). What was that like?
It was strange, because I was showing my butt all day and all these guys (on the set) were hitting on me. It was like, "you're showing your butt on camera, why don't you show me?", and they were so sleazy and gross.... Actually, I met my husband on that film. He was assistant to the director, Robert Zemeckis, and the only guy who didn't treat me like a 'thing'. I was gone as soon as I spoke to him.
Do director's think they can get away with more with a body double than they can with the "star"?
Well, I don't have that experience but I know what you mean, there's meaningless shower scenes written in to scripts to show off someone's breasts.... I had to wear a bikini for the JAG episode we filmed in Australia, but that was okay because it was fun, and practically straight after I was approached by Playboy. I didn't do it because I didn't want my uncles going, "I know what your nipples look like," every time I saw them. But I did ask how much, and it was an incredible sum of money. It was kind of flattering but the shots I did for FHM were without doubt the sexist I have done and, I think, far sexier than anything Playboy could do. I was like "are these photo's of me?!"
How long were you in Australia for?
Only two weeks. Didn't get to see much except for the Opera House, Luna Park, and the Harbour Bridge - basically wherever we were shooting.
No time for sweeping plains and rugged mountain ranges, then?
Well, I did get to go out to the Blue Mountains with some friends, but it was so foggy while we were driving around there that they were pointing out into the mist and going, "Well if we could see, this is where the so and so is." I ended up looking at all the things I couldn't see on the drive on postcards. I was pretty funny.
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