Heather Burns – Twenty Good Years

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  Well, I completed a film in June, it was just after I did the pilot for “Twenty Good Years.”  I wrote and produced it with my fiancée, it’s calledAshes.  This summer I worked on a smaller part in a movie called Watching the Detectives with Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu.  Paul Soter directed it; it’s a funny film, and that’s pretty much it.  Then, I’ve just been working on the TV series.

Q.  What can you tell us about the premise for “Twenty Good Years” and about your character?

A.  The premise is about two men, John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor.  On John’s sixtieth birthday he is asked to kind of semi-retire from his job as a surgeon.  He ends up moving in with his best friend, played by Jeffrey, because he can’t afford his apartment because he has so many alimony payments.  They are kind of opposite, Jeffrey’s character is kind of neurotic and reserved.  John’s kind of a flamboyant surgeon and I play John’s daughter.  In the first episode I’m pregnant with a baby, I was inseminated at a sperm bank.  So, I have the baby and then on the show I’m a single mother.  I’m also a teacher, I’m kind of the opposite of my father.  It’s a great part!  I love that she’s a single mother, this aspect of her wanting a baby and just going out and having a baby and then watching her father deal with that, because of course he’d like her to get married. 

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

A.  Initially when we started John and Jeffrey were signed on.  I am just a huge fan of both of theirs, I think they’re great actors.  I’ve grown up watching both of them, before I even read the script I knew that it was something that I wanted to pursue.  I really liked the script once I read it.  I actually laughed, so many pilot scripts are just not funny.  This one was and I could clearly imagine John and Jeffrey in it.  So, I jumped at the opportunity.  I just love working with the best people I can, you learn so much.  So, I just knew if I got the chance I’d learn a great deal; and I have!

Q.  Do you have a memorable moment from filming?

A.  I was thinking about that and it’s always fun because they’re both really funny guys.  I have to say what I really enjoy about it is the audience.  I really, really like filming in front of the audience.  They just add an energy and a dynamic that is a lot of fun I think for all of us.  That’s been really nice in terms of filming. 

Q.  Why should viewers take the time to tune in?

A.  I just think if you like these two actors, and they are great actors, then people will like the show.  It’s so rare to find people with this much skill, especially in comedy on TV and with such incredible chemistry.  It’s also seems like a typical “Odd Couple” pretense, but it’s different in a lot of ways.  I think what’s interesting too is that it  deals with aging, but the kind of baby boomer aspect of that.  Which, I can’t recall having been dealt with as much.  Certainly there is this scenario of two older guys living together, but the fact that they are baby boomers is something completely fresh.  It kind of takes a whole new view point on that scenario.  This almost childlike enthusiasm that they have and the fact that being sixty doesn’t really mean what it did thirty years ago.  The writing is excellent, it’s funny and it’s definitely a classic kind of show.  We have a live audience, I think that’s really nice and not done too much anymore.  So, it’s kind of fresh in that way too. 

Q.  The critics have given the show mixed reviews.  Do you feel like viewers can look beyond reviews and judge for themselves?

A.  I certainly hope so, I certainly hope so because I do think it’s a good show.  I think fans of either, or both, John and Jeffrey will definitely like it.  They’re doing their work the best and it’s really fun to watch.  I really hope people can look past reviews, and also, I hope it does well myself because I’m having a really nice time.  I’m really having a good time.

Q.  You’ve done acting and writing.  Is there anything else you’d like to try your hand at that you haven’t yet?

A.  There is nothing at the moment that I’m dying to do.  I just want to get the film Ashes completed that we did this summer.  Not at the moment, I don’t think I want to direct right now or anything like that.  But, I’m certainly open and I love theater.  Perhaps I’d like to direct a play one day but not immediately. 

Q.  With Ashes, is this a role that you had written for yourself or someone else to play?

A.  Well, the part I ended up playing I originally did not write for myself.  I was just writing the role and I kind of wrote another role for myself.  In the end I decided to play the role that I hadn’t written for myself.  Because it was bigger and on film it would be cheaper for us instead of hiring another actress to play it.  But, also it’s kind of against type for me.  She’s more of a vixen then I usually play, so it was fun and challenging.  I took the challenge and it was a lot of fun, I’m glad I did.  I didn’t think of it, other people had to say “Why don’t you play this part instead?”  I thought, “Oh, I never thought of that.”  I did not write her for me.

Q.  You have a flair for comedic timing.  Is this something that comes naturally to you, or are you constantly working at it?

A.  I guess I’d have to say it comes pretty naturally.  I find that if I try to work on it I become very un-funny.  So, I try not to focus on it at all.  It’s funny with timing, with me, if I really sit there and map it out it becomes miserably un-funny.  I try to play every scene as serious as I can and the humor comes out of that.  It’s a tricky thing, with comedy if you’re trying to be funny you become very self-conscious and that just ruins it.  So, I try to let it go and not over think.

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

A.  Since I’ve been in LA I’ve been hiking a lot, that’s not usually what I do when I’m in New York.  I’ve had to move here so it’s a little different.  I’ve been hiking as much as I can in LA and I really enjoy it.  Other than that, just working since I’ve been here. 

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession?  Are you into any particular book, music group, sport or activity?

A.  Not particularly, it’s kind of nice.  I’ve just been working, I’m reading a book that I like but I’m not obsessed with it.  There is not anything that I am particularly obsessed with; which is good.  I can think about a lot of negative things sometimes, like over population or something like that.  I can work myself into a bit of a depression.  At the moment I’m going along every day not too focused on anything.  It’s kind of refreshing.

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  I’d like to say thank you!  The fans that I’ve met are very nice people, a lot of them are kids.  I appreciate the love they show and it’s nice that people take the time to follow me.  It’s nice as a character actress to have people follow you through the different things that you do.  They’ve been great, I do a lot of theater as well, and there are really nice people who come and say hello.  I thank them for their support.