Rosanna Arquette – Sideswiped

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) Tell us about your new series “Sideswiped” and about your character Mary.

A) “Sideswiped” is a show about relationships and dating in the digital age. I play a mom of a 35-year-old who is wondering why she is not married yet. My character, Mary, was married at eighteen years old. She raised her kids and then her husband died so she never got to have fun. She embarked on the dating app world with her daughter. I have another daughter who is married with a small child. They’re a little young to be married and is feeling a little bit frustrated so she’s living through us. We go on all these adventures. It’s funny. It’s a good comedy.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the series?

A) Carly [Craig] basically had me in mind when she wrote it. She wrote me this great letter and her and Robin [Schiff] hung out. By the end of it we ordered champagne and I said, “Let’s do it!”

Q) Was there anything you added to Mary that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) Oh, I think so. [laughs] I think it might be a little bit different than what she thought. It might be a little…I’m definitely kooky and have a lot more of a wild side. In the next season we’re going to explore some other aspects of her. She never got to work so she’s not anything like me. I’ve worked all my life, but she’s never even had a job. She doesn’t even know what it’s like to go out by herself and eat in a restaurant. We explore those things of her actually finding herself and who she is – not through a man. It’s really who she is as a woman as she was never able to have her own voice. So, we’re exploring those themes in the show, which is great.

Q) What did you find challenging about your role?

A) Because I’m someone who has my own voice? [laughs] I have my own voice. I definitely speak my mind. So, to play someone who never got to experience freedom and a sense of self – yeah, it was interesting to play someone like that. It’s fun because if she was stuck in that I wouldn’t have fun. But she breaks through and becomes her own person, which was fun. Like all women should do!

Q) Talk about working with Chelsea Frei.

A) She’s such a real talent. She’s a gifted actress. I call her like a little Meryl Streep. She does theater, she does Shakespeare…She’s really talented and gifted. So, I really like working with her a lot. I look forward to seeing how her career grows. This is really her first thing out there. She’s done a lot of theater and I think people will find her just wonderful and fun to watch. I think she can do anything

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming the show?

A) It was quite a trip doing that because there was a lot going on in my life at the time while we were shooting it. The Ronan Farrow story came out and we all came out about Harvey Weinstein. It sparked this huge movement and that was all going on. Between takes I was talking to a lot of women who were afraid to come forward and tell their stories. There was also a horrible flu that was going around and this flu that everyone seemed to get lasted for a month. When you are working on a show or a movie the show must go on. It doesn’t matter unless you’re hospitalized. A lot of people’s jobs are at stake if you leave. They don’t have the money to do that. And I was so sick. There were a couple of scenes where I worked through it and I was worried they were going to get sick because I brought this to set. It was an epidemic that went around. They didn’t get it badly, but I was floored. It was the first time in my life where the doctor said, “You cannot go to work. You are going to get pneumonia.” It was severe bronchitis on the way to walking pneumonia. The truth was it was walking pneumonia so for a week they just rescheduled and shot other stuff. Then, I came back. I think there is a pot smoking scene where she walks in and I’m smoking pot with my friend. I don’t even remember doing the scene. I don’t even remember it! I was hallucinating, and I had the highest, highest fever. It’s funny. Carly was telling me, “You can’t even tell. It’s so strange.”

Q) What do you think it is about “Sideswiped” that will make it a fast fan favorite series?

A) I think that many women I know were having parties to binge watch and have their girlfriends over. It’s for girls and boys. Men and women. It’s for all ages. I think it’s just light. There is just humor. With everything going on in the world, God knows we need a little break. In the old days, people would go to the movies to escape. So, it’s a little escapism with humor, relationships, connections and misconnections. I think it’s light and people need a break sometimes. I think it will be great for that.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback you’ll receive to episodes?

A) I don’t read good or bad reviews. I never have. With this whole social media, as we have seen, the pros and cons of it. There are a lot of vicious, cruel bullying that goes on. You spend a lot of your time blocking mean people, but then I have as many mean people I have a lot nicer people who are lovely and you talk. But I don’t like the stuff. We’re all in the thick of the negativity right now because we’re seeing what’s happening in our country. But when people are using it to be cruel, bully and be racist I’m not into that.

Q) And it’s so great to see you speaking up!

A) I am also into the #MeToo movement. I sometimes can be a voice for the voiceless, but I also stand behind people. So, I’m a big retweet-er. I retweet stories I think that should go out there and sometimes I’ll put things out there in an emotional state with terrible grammar and regret it later. But whatever. It’s just like, “put it out there. Just do it.” I do think we’re all in a vortex of negativity right now because it’s so sort of dark and scary what’s going on that I really hope that the hope I do have – like those Parkland students, the young people use their voice and the change that can happen. What we’re seeing is an incredible amount of hatred and racism. It’s not what this country was built upon. It’s really depressing. You wake up and think, “What is going on?!” A lot of people died for this country. They built our country and I don’t want to be a part of seeing democracy being broken down like this. We just need to get back to the principles and allow the Republican Mueller do his job. [laughs] It’s becoming Republican – Democrat. Republican – Democrat. It’s the rights of our country. This is America, not Russia.

Q) You have an incredible body of work from Desperately Seeking Susan to Pulp Fiction! What have been your favorite projects to work on?

A) I really loved working on After Hours. It was a fun experience and it was the first time I got to work with Martin Scorsese. I’ve gotten to work with him twice as an actress and once as an actor. We worked together in a movie that David Salle directed (Search and Destroy) and Marty produced. That was such a fun experience. I really loved working with John Sayles on the film Baby It’s You years ago. Now, I had a blast doing this show. It was fun doing comedy. I realized how much I missed doing comedy because I’ve done a lot of drama. But I really love comedy, so it’s been so fun to come to work and laugh and have really good people around. Carly created this and ’t’s a fun group of people. It’s really important to her to keep it light and fun and that’s what she’s doing it for. She’s like a little cheerleader. There were times when I’d be talking a woman off a window ledge and having to do some humor. [laughs] It was quite challenging. If we go (which we most l likely will) I’m not going to be doing it like that because it takes away the energy that I want.

Q) What advice do you have for upcoming actors and actresses?

A) I would say study and really do it for the art and the work and the love of acting. Become a great actor. As you know, fame is for the birds. With reality television, uh…It’s kind of frankly for me (and I’ve said this before) that reality television is the death of art. It must have been twenty years ago when it was just kind of starting, but I think it has kind of put a damper on some things. You get attacked for that though because everyone loves their reality television. I prefer for actors to study, do theater and watch films and understand what you’re getting yourself into. Don’t do it to be famous because God knows anybody can do that at this point. Do it for the love of the art and the work of being an actor. The great actors you see, there are so many wonderful actors. Some of the younger actors that have come up through the years are just so talented. I love a lot of the young people that are coming up. I’m very impressed with them. I love Emma Stone. I like watching her and I think she’s wonderful. And I’ve met her. She seems like she has a pure heart. There are so many wonderful actors out there that I’m impressed with.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) I hope you tune in to “Sideswiped.” I’m excited about it. It’s fun to do comedy. I hope you enjoy it and love it enough for us to come back next year because we have a lot of adventures planned. It’d be fun to come back. I hope we do.