Where To Catch Her: Starring in THE BRAVE, which premieres on Monday, September 25, on NBC.
Set in the high-tech world of Special Forces Operations, your character is the deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and yet she’s just gone back to work 10 days after losing her own son.
“Could you imagine? Her dedication and commitment are extraordinary. I don’t know if I would show up! That’s what makes [my character] Patricia such an extraordinary person. People put their faith and trust in her to make life-and-death decisions. It honestly feels like a badge of honor has been bestowed on me to play her…. I’m getting emotional just talking about her, which is funny because I’m not a crier and she is the strongest woman I’ve ever played. I cannot believe that people do her job. I’m amazed.”
There’s a lot of intense action in this series.
“There’s a hostage situation that occurs in the show that I was just floored by. When you see this teamwork, you will think this is a group of people they took from Special Forces and trained them to be actors. It’s that good. The behind-the-scenes you’ll witness is something audiences have never been exposed to before, which is what makes THE BRAVE so unique. These secrets have never been revealed. Nobody has ever talked about these kinds of stories. What [ER Executive Producer] John Wells did for the emergency room, [BRAVE Executive Producer] Dean Georgaris is doing for Special Forces. I am very grateful to NBC for giving me the chance to play this dramatic a role.”
Speaking of NBC, your very first TV role was on ANOTHER WORLD.
“Yes, it was — and they keep bringing me back. God bless them!”
Do you look back fondly on your soap days?
“I do. Sofia [Pernas, one of Heche’s co-stars on BRAVE] was on a soap [as Y&R’s Marisa from 2015-16], as well. A number of us have come out of them and we feel very proud of that. I have a real soft spot for soap operas in my heart because that’s where I started.”
NBC
You also won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress in 1991 for your soap work.
“I did!”What did you learn from your Bay City days that you’ve taken with you throughout your lengthy career? “Show up on time. Know your lines and take risks. That job really taught me how to do that: Trust yourself.”
You also took home two Soap Opera Digest Awards for AW, too.
“Tell our show’s creator that I win awards [laughs]!”
Where do you keep your Emmy?
“It’s in my agent’s office because she found it in my trunk. I was so embarrassed that I had won something…. I didn’t have pride then. I, as a woman, have had a difficult time embracing my own strength and celebrating my own accomplishments, becoming fierce with who I am and what I believe in. It’s been a challenge. That’s why I feel like now I go, ‘Where is my Emmy? Let’s win another one!’ I feel like now I can handle the responsibility of being the lead of a show, and that took me some time. I wish I had figured that out earlier or I could have walked with pride with my Emmy, but it took me a while to be able to stand tall. Now, I fully embrace this human that I’ve been honored by playing.”
Do you still talk to anyone from your AW days?
“Oh, yeah. Anna Stuart [ex-Donna]. My mom. She’s one of my best friends. Yes, of course I still talk to her. I don’t keep in touch with too many people but she was really my BFF on that show and we’ve stayed friends ever since.”
NBC
After all these years and all your film work, what is it that you still love about doing television?
“The chance to explore. I like the surprises of television, unlike a movie where you have a beginning, middle and end. With television, I get a surprise every week. Just like the audience is interested in what’s going to happen week after week, I’m that interested, too.”
A video preview of THE BRAVE is at the top of this post. THE BRAVE, kicks off tonight at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT
