Anita Barone – Mother Knows Best

Q.  What are some of the current projects that you’re working on?

A.  Well, the main project is the half hour family sitcom called “The War at Home” on Fox at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night after “The Simpsons.”  That’s the main one, the other are my two daughters Madeline and Roxy.

Q.  What made you want to be a part of this project?

A.  After the birth of my second child I wasn’t going to go back to work.  My agent felt the need to send me this script and I passed because I wanted to be a stay at home mom.  Then I read it and it was hilarious but I said still, I am just going to take the time to stay home with my daughters.  Then they just kept calling me about it and I re-read it and I said I would just go and meet them.  I met Michael Rapaport and the producers and it was just kind of love at first sight really.

Q.  You’re a working mother in real life.  Does this help you relate to your character?

A.  It’s a different type of parenting, I have little babies and my character has teenagers.  But, definitely having children in real life helps you with your character having children on camera.  I’ve been mommy’s on TV shows before with “Daddio” with Michael Chiklis and also on the Jeff Foxworthy show.  That is definitely something that happens and I don’t know if it is just having raised your whole body in carrying a child and giving birth to a child, kind of what it does to you.  Every cell in your body just makes you have a better understanding when you’re actually working, when you’re character is a mother as well.

Q.  When filming do you feel that you and the cast have a lot of chemistry together?

A.  It’s amazing, it happened immediately and we all go out together to movies and it’s crazy.  People have stopped us at the mall, they’ll stop one of us and they’ll be like, “Oh my God!”  Then they’ll see another one and they’ll like, “You guys hang out together?  Are you really a family?”  So, yeah, we have chemistry on and off screen.

Q.  Do you have a most memorable moment from filming “The War at Home”?

A.  That’s a good question, it would have to be bleeped, I can’t even say.  It was when Michael started ad-libbing in front of the audience and it was done as a joke but it was very HBO is all I can say, it wasn’t Fox kind of job.

Q.  Why should viewers be tuning into the show?

A.  I think viewers are tuning into the show and I think the reason why is because it’s incredibly relatable.  Not only to teenagers and to parents of teenagers, also grandparents of teenagers and people who have raised their own kids.  That’s also a lovely thing, I get stopped by people in their mid to late fifties and also people my age and teenagers.  I think it’s a really broad spectrum our show appeals to, it’s not for the really, really small children because it’s a little racy and a little out there.  Most of the things will go right over their head, they won’t even know.  But, I think it’s real, and I think the issues that we tackle aren’t easy, we deal with drug use and homosexuality and regular sexuality.  Trying to keep your teenage daughter from not getting pregnant and safe sex and the fact that our characters, my character and Michael Rapaport’s character, were wild teenagers when we were teenagers.  It hasn’t all gone away, I think the issues are incredibly relatable but not always talked about.  While Dave and Vicky might not make the best choices, they struggle with it.  That’s part of the war, they struggle with their own decision making and are dealing with the teenagers and trying to figure it all out.

Q.  How is “The War at Home” different than other family shows on television today?

A.  I think it’s different because we’re funnier, we’re funnier than any family sitcom.  Everyone can quote me all day long about that, I just think that we’re the funniest show out there.  It’s not even being egotistical, it’s in the writing, it’s funny.  The reason why is because I think we make bolder choices, we take greater risks and I think that’s imminent in the show.

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  In my spare time I have play dates at the park with my children, I do arts and crafts with them.  Occasionally, I have dates with my actor husband Matthew. 

Q.  What is your latest obsession?  Are you into any particular book, sport, music group or activity?

A.  I do, I like sports, I used to play soccer but I haven’t for quite some time.  I enjoy watching boxing with my husband, we go to boxing matches.  I enjoy taking my daughter to her play class every Saturday morning, that’s a new favorite thing I do.  It’s really hard to have book reading time but I have a few that are sitting in my dressing room and some that are on the bedside table that I’m struggling to get to.  Usually when I get home, by the time I play with my kids and clean up the kitchen and write some bills I’m conked out.  I want to see that movie Tristan and Isolde, that’s the movie I want to see.

Q.  Now that it is 2006, what are you most looking forward to this year?

A.  I am looking forward to us finishing up a really good season on the show and looking forward to continuing next season and moving into a larger house.  We’re out of closet space here! 

“The War At Home” airs Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on FOX