Carnets SL27 Chronologie Episodes Secrets Refuge
Andrea Parker
biographie
La sublime Andrea Parker (la déesse de The Centre Forum... lol ! Pour la prière, tous les jours à 19H00, devant le Caméléon. S'il n'est plus diffusé, devant une cassette, pas d'excuse ! Re-lol. Rassurez-vous, le forum n'est pas une secte. Quoi que... Nous avons bien un gourou commun, qui est une série télé... ROTFLOL...), bien connue pour sa gentillesse auprès des fans (vous aurez remarqué que nous pouvons dire ça pour chaque acteur de tP je crois bien. Eh vi ! Ce sont les meilleureeeuuuhhh !!!), est une superbe jeune femme d'un mètre soixante-dix huit (et vi, elle est grande, comme l'ont remarqué les gens attentifs en regardant tP), véritable sirène s'il en est, aux longues jambes et à la chevelure brune. Ses yeux bleus rehaussés d'une touche de vert reflètent sa douceur excepté quand elle incarne la Dragon Lady qu'est Mlle Parker, ponctuant ses phrases de commentaires cyniques et ne répondant que par cette sempiternelle réplique devenue culte : "Quoi ?!!"... En dehors de ces instants, elle est charmante, comme ont pu le constater les veinards assistant à la Convention 2002 "A Pretender in Paris" (comme quoi Jarod a fini par visiter la capitale, comme le souhaitait Michael T. Weiss...).
"Notre" "Andy", comme aiment l'appeler les fans (suivez ma pensée...), est née en Californie du Sud, aux Etats-Unis, le 8 mars 1969 (ben non, elle n'est pô vieille). Elle est l'aînée d'une famille de quatre enfants. Comme tout le monde le sait, la danse est son dada. "Devenir ballerine était mon rêve", rappelle-t-elle souvent.
Elle essaya ses premiers tutus dès l'âge de six ans, étudiant la danse classique, s'entraînant chaque jour et parcourut le pays pendant l'été dans des programmes de jeunesse à San Francisco, New York et Cleveland. Elle était décidée et se disait : "Plutôt que d'aller jouer avec tes amis, tu apprends à mettre tes pointes et t'entraîner". A l'âge de quinze ans, elle quitta sa maison et intégra le Ballet de San Francisco.
Elle se produisit d'abord au "Metropolitan Opera House" et entama une tournée qui dura trois ans. Mais sa grande taille lui valut des soucis : "J’étais trop grande au regard de la limite imposée pour faire partie d’un corps de ballet professionnel". Cependant la danse l'avait aidée à se fixer des objectifs, et aussi l'avait libérée, car Andrea avait reçu une éducation stricte : "J’étais un peu une oie blanche et je me suis forcée d’embrasser le plus beau et séduisant élève du cours. Parvenue à mes fins, je me suis sentie beaucoup plus mature". Elle débuta une carrière de danseuse contemporaine, de retour en Californie. Elle apparut de cette manière dans des vidéos, des défilés de mode (de grands couturiers, pas de la gnognotte de quartier...), des publicités.
Elle commença à étudier la comédie tout en travaillant à mi-temps comme tenancière de bar pour payer ses factures et ses cours. Elle apparut dans une pièce de théâtre, "Fin Line", à Los Angeles et rencontra son manager qui lui proposa vite des auditions. Elle n'avait aucun générique ou aucune cassette à présenter aux directeurs, encore moins des recommandations ou influence, mais fit une apparition dans la série "Mariés, deux enfants". Peu après, en 1990, elle obtenait un rôle dans un épisode de la série "Seinfeld". Cela lui servit de tremplin, comme le fut "Des jours et des vies" pour Michael T.. Le rôle d'infirmière lui fit remporter un Emmy Awards.
Elle enchaîna ensuite avec des séries diverses, diffusées sur NBC, comme avocate de la Navy dans "JAG" ou représentante de produits pharmaceutiques dans "Urgences", et des téléfilms. (A noter... Elle a joué dans la série "Les aventures de Brisco Country Jr" où est apparu MTW ds un épisode !) Tomber dans les bras de George Clooney lui a certes amélioré sa côte de popularité mais c'est incarner Miss Parker qui lui apporta la consécration.
Eh beh ! Elle a vraiment de très belles jambes ! Je commande les mêmes pour Noël !!!
Elle savait déjà interprêter les femmes à la forte personnalité (car elle en est une !), comme on a pu le remarquer dans "JAG" par exemple. Même plus encore froide et calculatrice. Elle présente des caractéristiques masculines (pour le caractère, ce qui n'est pas étonnant. Rappelons-le, son prénom, "Andrea", qui se fête d'ailleurs le 9 juillet, vient du grec "adros" qui signifie "femme virile". Notons aussi que le côte de popularité de ce prénom a comme par enchantement augmenté sérieusement dès 1996...) tout en ayant des charmes féminins forts avantageux. Les producteurs du Caméléon se décidèrent sans doute pour cette raison. Elle était loin d'être la seule à auditionner pour ce rôle, mais elle avait le petit plus qui a fait la différence.
Lorsqu'elle lut le script de l'épisode pilote, elle fut très surprise de voir son nom partout... Elle savait que c'était son destin : "C'était quelque chose d'étrange. Dès que j'ai vu le rôle de Miss Parker, j'ai dit : mon nom est partout dans le script. Je savais que je devais me l'approprier. Il y avait trop de similitudes pour que cela n'arrive pas". Elle fut ravie quand elle apprit qu'elle avait le rôle. On se demande souvent si elle a des points communs avec son personnage, comme Patrick a le stoïcisme de Sydney et Michael T. le côté solitaire. Certains redoutent même de la rencontrer... A tort. Elle a quelques points communs avec Miss Parker : elle sait ce qu'elle veut et fait tout pour l'obtenir. Elle aura apporté le regard, la profondeur, le magnétisme à son personnage, sans parler de ses défauts (sa tendance à trop fumer). Elle adore son rôle et aime le caractère entier de Miss Parker, méchant, cynique ou tendre. Mais elle ne pourrait pas traiter les gens comme le fait la Dragon Lady. Il s'agit donc malgré les apparences d'un rôle de composition : "Miss Parker a un gros appétit sexuel, un faible pour l'alcool et la tabac mais c'est aussi une beauté fatale qui se sert des gens. Elle est très différente de moi et m'a fait passer des moments difficiles". Il n'est pas évident de se mettre dans la peau de son personnage : "Après avoir été recrutée, je savais que j'allais devoir m'imprégner de beaucoup de colère et de douleur en l'interprétant". Elle ne compte pas que sur son physique pour séduire les hommes... Et d'ailleurs, elle refuse catégoriquement de poser nue (désolée, messieurs !) ou de trop jouer sur son image. Comme elle le dit si bien : "Je ne serai jamais l’ingénue bêtifiante en couverture de Vogue !".
On la compare souvent, je ne sais pourquoi (je trouve personnellement cette idée absurde ! D'autant plus que les actrices ont très peu de points communs), à Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully dans "X-Files", pour ceux qui auraient tout oublié après le Caméléon...). Andrea commente : "Notre seul point commun, c'est une série qui traite du paranormal". Bien parlé. Par contre, une comparaison plus judicieuse est faite. Dès ses premiers rôles, on l'a compara vite à Emma Peel (de la série "Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir"). Cette comparaison amplifia avec la diffusion du Caméléon : avec ses tenues de cuir, ses longues jambes et son caractère, le mimétisme était parfait. Pourtant l'actrice a avoué : "je n’avais jamais vu un seul épisode de cette série britannique". Elle se procurera une cassette pour pouvoir juger d'elle-même et cette expérience sera troublante : "Lorsque j’ai vu l’allure de cette fille filmée trente ans avant moi, je peux vous assurer que j’ai ressenti un vrai choc psychologique !". Mais Miss Parker s'éloignera d'Emma Peel et s'enfermera dans une agressivité permanente. Si l'actrice n'en est pas là, son caractère n'est pas toujours très loin de celui de son personnage. L'actrice pense que la société d'homme dans laquelle nous évoluons a du souci à se faire. Tout va changer... (c'est ça, girls power !!!! Bon, je délire, mais il est vrai que les machos m'énervent un max...). Elle déclare : "Les hommes gèrent notre vie, nos pays, nos religions. Nous vivons dans un monde masculin dont la réussite n’est guère brillante. Qu’on laisse une chance aux femmes de montrer ce dont elles sont capables".
Elle, a su montrer de quoi elle était capable et s'est trouvé un métier qui lui convient (à part ses rêves de ballerine, elle serait peut-être devenue psychologue ! Si si, une Sydnette en plus !). Sa confiance s'est développée : "Il faut se sentir assez sûre de soi-même pour exprimer ce qu’on ressent avec des mots à travers un texte, des dialogues". Assez sûre d'elle-même pour rêver de jouer avec les grands : elle redonnerait volontiers la réplique à George Clooney (berk, quelle idée !) ou tournerait également avec plaisir avec Christopher Walken (voir la page sur "Catch me if you can" ds les "infos" - accessibles ds les Annexes) qui est selon ses propres termes : "un type intéressant et mystérieux" (la définition n'est pas mauvaise !). Le mystère, d'ailleurs, est son domaine. Elle a un certain goût pour le surnaturel, le paranormal. Elle pourrait même devenir Dana Scully. L'actrice trouve des point communs entre les deux héroïnes : "Elles sont toutes deux, Dana et Mlle Parker, indépendantes, performantes et intrépides avec des traits typiquement masculins dans leurs façons d’agir !". (Mais serait-ce une bonne chose, vu la qualité du Caméléon ??!).
Photo promo de sa nouvelle série, "Less Than Perfect"Andrea, dès 2002, a commencé le tournage d'une nouvelle série (ABC), Less Than Perfect, diffusée sur le satellite mais pas encore en France... Elle interprête Lydia. Voilà donc un nouveau rôle drôle pour elle.
Elle revêtirait volontiers les talons aiguille et les mini-jupes de Miss Parker si les producteurs décidaient de faire une suite. Elle le déclare avec un enthousiasme bien plus encourageant que MTW (hum, d'ailleurs, sincèrement, elle est plus "abordable" de ses fans !!)... Par fidélité envers les producteurs, mais aussi car elle rêve de raconter toutes les "belles choses" qui n'ont pas pu l'être (alors ça ça m'a sciée, des paroles comme ça j'en lis pô tous les jours !!!).
Andrea Parker aime monter à cheval, lire, passer du temps avec sa famille et ses amis et conduire des voitures de course (elle aime réaliser des cascades). Elle participe de temps à autres à la Motion Picture Stunt Driving Course à San Bernardino en Californie. Elle pratique aussi le tir, ce qui fait qu'elle n'a pas de mal à manier les armes de Miss Parker...
Comme les autres acteurs, elle a du coeur et est un membre actif de l'organisation "My Good Friend Foundation", qui lutte contre la cancer, particulièrement la fondation "Pedriatric Cancer Charity Organization", qui s'occupe d'enfants malades.
De sa vie privée, on sait peu de choses... Elle a un homme dans sa vie, certes, mais elle cache en général son identité. (On le sait, d'abord, c'est Jarod !!! Nous ne sommes pas bêtes, nous. lol D'ailleurs, ça se voit, et il y a eu BIZOU en public - cf Convention 2002 à Paris, véridique ! -, celui que l'on n'a pas vu dans IOTH...). Depuis, on a su... elle vit depuis plus de 10 ans (plus de 13 je crois) avec un homme nommé Jim (elle a avoué cela lors du Festival de Monte Carlo en février 2001).
Pour lui déclarer votre flamme, messieurs, ou lui repprocher de scotcher votre compagnon devant la télé, mesdames, pour lui demander si oui ou non elle est amoureuse de Jarod, bref, pour lui écrire, voici une pitite adresse :
Andrea Parker
Susan Smith & Associates
121 North San Vicente Boulevard
Beverly Hill, CA 90211 USA
Heu, après informations, cette adresse serait erronée... Andrea a une nouvel agent. Pour lui écrire, voici sa nouvelle adresse :
Andrea Parker
c/o Mitchell K. Stubbs and Judy Page
1450 S. Robertson Boulevard.
Los Angeles, CA. 90035 USA
Pour finir, voici un petit article (en anglais, désolée, mais il est facile à comprendre) tiré du NBC Peacock Buzz du 13 ovembre 1997, où on parle un peu plus des actions d'Andrea dans "My Good Friend" :
Andrea Parker of NBC's "The Pretender" Volunteers To Counsel Afflicted Teens as Part of Charity
It's only coincidental that Andrea Parker portrays icy Miss Parker -- poster girl for women with attitude -- on NBC's "The Pretender" (Saturdays, 8-9 p.m. ET), but while most viewers recoil from her sleek, bad-to-the-bone character, a few cancer- afflicted teens see another Miss Parker off-camera, one who has provided love and caring friendship during their uphill battle.
Quietly, Parker has dedicated much of her free time during the past two years in corresponding with and mentoring child and teenaged cancer patients as part of her affiliation with the Glenn Siegel "My Good Friend" charity organization. Named for and inspired by the young man whose goal, before he succumbed to brain cancer, was to make life easier for his fellow pediatric cancer patients, the national charity is now run by his parents, Barbara and Marv Siegel.
"I first heard about this group while guest-starring on an episode of (NBC's) 'JAG,' when I found some information in my dressing room trailer," says Parker. "Fifteen minutes later, I was moved to tears because there was so much passion in their mission."
Parker called Marv Siegel and volunteered to join the non-profit charity's efforts to pair entertainment and sports celebrities with some of the young patients. She shared several phone chats with various teens, and helped to uplift their spirits simply by showing that someone cared, and eventually became a buddy.
After more time passed, she developed a special relationship with Sabrina, a Virginia teen, and at last flew there to meet her new pal last summer.
"The experience was overwhelming," recalls Parker. "It was so positive for everyone that we feel like family now. She has taught me a lot about strength and love and not giving up. She's a smart and passionate young woman who is a survivor.
"Since then, Sabrina writes me letters in code to see what's up on the show. The sad thing is that she really understands the pain behind (the fictional) Miss Parker's anger. She's even writing a script for 'The Pretender.'"
Parker wants to make it clear that her primary mission is to offer support for her youthful charges, not derive any false sense of self- satisfaction.
"I'm not here to get anything out of this; I just hope to relieve some pain, give love, and offer a hand to those who need it. I want to let them know that they are valued. I'm troubled by the randomness of life, where some are blessed while others are burdened. I hope if I were going through something like this, I would know that no one can do it alone. Some kids get love at home, others don't. There's got to be someone there to help.
"One of the good things about being an actor in Hollywood is that you're in a position to remind other people that there are still others who need help. It's the ultimate gratification -- it's why we were put on this earth."
Parker admits that the dubious notoriety of her well-coifed, stiletto- heeled character often precedes her when dealing with adults who spy her in public. But not so with her "Good Friends."
"Adults say with relief, 'Oh god, you're not really like Miss Parker.' Every time someone says that, I'm really flattered. They think I'm a witch, and then learn I'm not. That's totally cool!
"But kids understand more so than adults that what they see is just pretend -- if you'll excuse the pun. They haven't lost their innocence."
Presently, Parker keeps busy away from the set by visiting and signing autographs for children at local Los Angeles hospitals, as well as maintaining her relationships with her phone and pen pals.
In the meantime, she knows the value of perpetuating the myth of the fictitious Miss Parker.
"I suggest to people I meet on the street to tell their friends that I was vicious in person," she says, with an evil twinkle. "They might as well make up a big, fat, juicy story and say that I was nasty. That often makes a better story!"
Fortunately, many young cancer survivors know better.
(Glenn Siegel's "My Good Friend" is a national charity; volunteers can write to the organization at: 3587 Highway 9, No. 207, Freehold, New Jersey 07728)
Voici un autre article, tiré de XPose, où Andrea parle de son rôle dans tP (d'habitude je ne mets pas d'articles, bien que j'en possède, mais là il m'était difficile de couper des morceaux) :
PLAYING a TV villain can be a thankless task. Just take The Pretender's cold and determined Miss Parker. She's a wonderful character; charged with returning the runaway Jarod to the Centre at any cost. Yet her alter ego, the charming actress Andrea Parker, sometimes suffers the public's wrath for her on-screen callous deeds.
"I was at a party," Parker tells XPose, "and I was speaking with one woman. We'd been chatting for 20 minutes, and a girlfriend of mine came up and started talking about the show. She said, 'Oh you're an actress?' I said 'Yeah. I work on a show called The Pretender.' She said, 'I watch The Pretender. Who are you? 'I said, 'I play Miss Parker.' She looked at me, she stared at me, and her eyes got really wide, and she said, 'My God you are Miss Parker. I can't stand you.' And she refused to talk to me for the rest of the evening. Then I just thought, "How strange are you? And how complimented am I!"
I must confess, before commencing the interview with the actress, I was hit by a wave of uncharacteristic nervousness. Her TV character is so resolute, so manipulative, so overbearing, that I almost expected to finish the chat as a quivering wreck. Yet the real Parker is generous, kind mannered, and displays all the good humor that the Centre's evil agent clearly lacks. It seems that this confusion of actress and character is a regular occurrence, but Parker takes it in her stride. "I'm flattered by that," she beams. "That's the best compliment I could be given, for people to think that I truly I am that way only confirms that they are believing my acting.
My suspension of that reality was believed, and that's my job - that's what I get paid for, and that's what I love to do." So is the old adage that bad guys are always the most fun to play actually true? "Oh absolutely," she responds. "To tell you the truth it's the sweet and demure and softer characters who are the ones off screen that you have to be careful of!"
The Pretender made it's debut on NBC in 1996, and quickly a substantial audience thanks to a unique and intriguing format devised by executive producers Stephen Long Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle. Kidnapped by the Centre as a child, Jarod (Michael T Weiss) has been his been abused - his genius tapped in the name of profit. But when Jarod escapes, and uses his gifts in the name of good, Miss Parker and SYdney (Patrick Bauchau) are assigned to bring him back.
Parker recalls that she was instantly attracted to the character; the fact that they share the same surname is a total fluke. "It was the most fascinating and unapologetic female character I had seen," she claims. ''She's an uncompromising individual. She does not apologize for who she is. She is aggressive and demanding and con-descending and impatient and controlling … just so many qualities that we rarely get to see from a female character. At the same time being quite vulnerable and lonely and sad and pathetic. "The fact that my name was all over [the script] I assumed gave me the edge! It is bizarre... it never dawned on me to have it changed."
As the series has progressed, the audience has gained an insight into the events that have made Miss Parker into such a monster. Her mother Catherine died in an elevator shaft when she was just 10 years old. Miss Parker had always believed this to be suicide, but Jarod later revealed that she was murdered - and we later discovered that the killer was Jarod's father. Miss Parker would also discover that she was conceived during her mother's affair with Ben Miller, and that the man she believed was her father cannot be trusted. Indeed it also appears that her colleague Lyle (Jamie Denton), who she regards with contempt, is her brother…
These dark secrets have allowed the audience to empathize with Miss Parker, and the actress claims that, when she took the role, she was aware that the character would ultimately develop beyond the limitations of being an efficient, heartless bitch. "In the original script that I read, Miss Parker was a lot more three-dimensional, a lot more of a full character than we saw in just the pilot," she says. "I wouldn't have taken the show if I hadn't thought that those qualities would eventually come around. "But by the same token I have to be very careful. There' s a fine line there and I don't want her to be too weak or too vulnerable. It's important that her edge is maintained, and that we keep all of the dimensions and the qualities of the character together. If all she was was a demanding bitch, that would tend to get quite boring. But I think those qualities mixed in with many other colors are what make her so interesting."
Was she able to research the role at all? "Only in my own psyche," Parker muses. "The deeper and darker and volatile parts of my own mind and experiences are what I've drawn from. I've actually had to fabricate and manipulate my own fantasies to make a backstory and history for her. "My life is quite blessed I'm very loved and supported by a large family.
Unfortunately Miss Parker has not had that same experience so I've had to do a lot of work to understand what it would be like to grow up as she did, in a very isolated and unloving environment. Not to say that she has never been shown what love is, I think that's what creates the inner conflict for her - she was intensely close with her mother, until her mother passed away when she was about 10. So for the first 10 years of her life she had a very normal and happy childhood, and the death of her mother is when the frailties came about. It was the loss of her mother, the loss of love."
For the scenes featuring Miss Parker as a child, the character is played by Ashley Peldon. Given that the two of actresses never co-exist together on screen, do they tend to interact at all between the scenes? "Oh absolutely, we've spent good quality time together," enthuses Parker. "What a talented and fine young woman she is. It's actually quite incredible to see her growing up, because over the last three years these are crucial maturing ages. She looks more like a woman than I do these days. She launched a talented young lady."
Oddly enough, the two performers have never discussed their mutual character in depth. "I think I've been so impressed and pleased with her own portrayal as the character that I never felt it was my place to put upon her my own ideas. She hasn't asked for my opinion, so I certainly wouldn't offer it first."
It's been hinted that Miss Parker wishes to leave the Centre but cannot move on until she has caught Jarod. Her continued failure to do so has kept the character focused on her objective - and the producers have spiced up proceedings by introducing new dynamic into the mix such as Brigitte (Pamela Gidley) and Mr. Lyle.
"We had a ball - so much fun!" says the actress of the new principals. "Pamela and I had a great time together shooting Toy Surprise, which was the episode where the nemeses meet and we basically got to beat the living tar out of each other."
As For the future, Parker believes that writers will continue to explore both the hard aspects and vulnerable side of the character. "I think we just continue to ride both of those waves. As soon as she's soft we'll create more conflict and we'll bitter her up a bit. As soon she gets too edgy we'll bring in a little more vulnerability. It's all about a balance."
Asked if she bears any similarities to her screen counterpart, Parker admits that both pursue what they want, "but I would never dream of treating people the way she does." They are also both reformed smokers, and during the first two seasons, the agent was frequently seen with a cigarette - something that can cause great controversy in these days of political correctness. "She was an avid smoker and didn't apologize for it," offers Parker. "To tell you the truth, I thought I would get a lot more grief than I did. I think it was the fact that she's the villain and she's evil. It's OK to smoke. If you're bad.
"There was one great episode where Miss Parker and Sydney are in the car and they were on surveillance and Sydney is eating a croissant and he offers her one. She just puts the cigarette out right in the croissant!"
It's a healthier villain we've seen during the third season, as Miss Parker has steered clear of the nicotine - at the actress's request. "I wanted to quit in my own life," she says, ''and I prepared the writers for that and third season she came back a non-smoker. They haven't made much mention of it - it hasn't been that a big deal." Having played the character for more than 50 episodes, Parker has come to know the agent as intimately as the writers. The actress has reached the point where she feels able to make her own suggestions, a1though her requests have not been successful.
"They humor me for the most part," she shrugs. "They listen to everything I say and they nod and pat me on back, and sometimes they use them and sometimes they don't. But they are always available and that's important. To tell you the truth, sometimes they're not used and I'll put them in anyway! When they' say 'Action', I'm free, so I try and be good but occasionally I have override. If feel it's necessary for the character, then it will be included."
Sadly, one suggestion that did not come to fruition was for the episode Toy Surprise. An accomplished stunt driver from The Pretender set, Parker had hoped to bring her skills to the screen, and the script was written to accommodate this. "I came to find out that one of my producers wasn't comfortable with me doing that. I explained it to them that it's something I'd been training to do for years and I actually am a professional stunt driver and I can do this work but I wasn't allowed to do it. Of course, if something happens to me then we've got a big problem. It's a bone of contention; I don't know really where the line is drawn there. I think it's sad and unfortunate that something that I'm trained to do wouldn't be allowed ... it would make for a better show, as far as l'm concerned ... to be able to see in a long shot Miss Parker reverse 180 and then without breaking frame, without any edit, be able to come into a close up and know that it is me ... a very powerful move. Especially as a female. It seemed like a big waste for me, but then again I'm paying for the show!"
Andrea Parker left home when she was 15 years old, a ballerina who was determined to succeed in show business. That resolve has paid off, and among her many screen credits are roles in Ellen, Murder, She Wrote, Dream On, JAG and ER. In the latter show played a pharmaceuticals saleswoman who dated Doug Ross (George Clooney) and the role spanned a number of episodes during two seasons.
"It was incredible," says Parker, looking back to the early days of ER. "What a great show, what a talented cast. You'd think they were shooting a comedy over there. The energy on the set is so great and fun and George is just a treat to be near. He's very genuine and very jovial and when I auditioned it was for two episodes and it turned into two seasons. It was a great role for me, it was a good character and it was a good opportunity for me to get my feet wet in the episodic department. "There were so many really powerful people behind it and so many talented people cast, and the feedback from just the first couple of episodes was awesome. Everyone felt they were on speeding train and there was nothing they could do to stop it."
Does she feel that her role in such a high profile NBC series helped secure her job in The Pretender? "Sure," she replies. "Everything helps this business - even projects that nobody ever sees. If you work with talented director who might cast you again in something else, even just getting out there and auditioning. Even if you don't get the role sometimes you make an impression with the casting director. It's not always the most talented man who gets the job in town, so it's really about perseverance and being diligent and getting up the next day and doing it again. If you get a door slammed in your face, then you pick yourself up and you dust off and get back out there the next day. You can't take it all so personally."
For the immediate future, Parker remains committed to The Pretender, a show that continues to draw fine viewing figures for NBC. And, as the show has developed, so its backstory has become more intriguing and the producers continue to surprise with fresh and exciting twists on the format.
"There's action and human dilemmas and we have endless opportunities," notes Parker. "Our executive producers/creators/writers are extraordinarily talented and I just don't ever see the supply of ideas running out. Especially with a character like Jarod - he can do anything, he can be anyone on this planet and that's a lot of people. "[This season] I think Jarod is a bit more dark, and malevolent and vengeful in his own right now. He's not as innocent and naive as he was when he first escaped from the Centre, which makes it more interesting. Mr. Lyle is adding some conflict and rivalry for Miss Parker which is always good. I think all of us feel grateful and blessed that we're in our third season and continuing to do what we love to do - which is to work on this twisted little show."
It's a silly question but it has to asked: if Parker could pretend anyone or anything in her own life what would it be? "I wouldn't wear any other shoes but my own!" she insists, before letting loose with that infectious laugh one more time. "Even if they are six inch stilettos!"
For members of The Centre use only
