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A Revealing New Role
It's rare for Hollywood actresses to allow cameras to roll without their lustrous hair and dewy complexions intact. But Kate Walsh, star of ABC’s Private Practice, occasionally likes to shake things up. This being the case, she jumped at the chance to play the character of Jane in the new independent thriller Angels Crest, based on Leslie Schwartz’s novel and directed by Gaby Dellal (On a Clear Day). “I didn’t have to wear any makeup,” she enthuses. “It was great!”
Flying up to Calgary, Alberta, to film on weekends, Walsh was more than willing to scrub off her Private Practice paint for this film—a project she lovingly refers to as “Heavy McGee.” Angels Crest chronicles the swirling emotions of a divided foothill town in the Rockies after a three-year-old boy freezes to death on a fishing trip with his young father. The town prosecutor (Jeremy Piven) takes aim at the young man, and the ensuing investigation threatens to tear their community apart. “[Jeremy’s] great in this film,” Walsh insists. “It’s a whole new kind of role for him. I also got to work with Elizabeth McGovern, whose movies have always inspired me. My character’s a grump, an artist… a little bit of a surly lesbian, in love with Elizabeth. She may have the one bit of levity in the film.” Lynn Collins, Thomas Dekker and Mira Sorvino round out the strong cast, and the wintry terrain steals scene after scene.
From Theatre to Primetime
It’s this kind of ensemble work that most thrills Walsh. A graduate of The University of Arizona, this Tucson girl found acting success in Chicago as part of the Chicago Shakespeare Repertory and at the Piven Theatre Workshop in Chicago (helmed by Piven’s parents, Byrne and Joyce). “We did a lot of improv, and it was all about listening to whoever you’re on stage with,” recalls Walsh. “All sorts of people—the Cusacks, Lili Taylor—came from there.” Walsh shone on stage in Moon Under Miami, Troilus and Cressida and Born Guilty before landing roles on TV shows like The Drew Carey Show and Karen Sisco and appearing in films such as The Family Man, Kicking & Screaming and Legion. Her most notable credit, of course, is the role of high-heeled neonatal surgeon Dr. Addison Montgomery—originally of Emmy darling Grey’s Anatomy—and now the center of Private Practice. “Working among others has always been a joy for me,” she says.
Walsh applauds the strong vision of her show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, and credits her fellow cast members—including Taye Diggs, Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman and the recently departed Audra McDonald—for giving Private Practice wings. “It was a huge transition, going from ‘number ten’ on the call sheet for Grey’s to being ‘number one’ on this other show,” she says. “Luckily, the cast on Private Practice literally consists entirely of stars. They all love to act. The show just gets better and better, which doesn’t usually happen.”
