Sela Ward interview on CNN's "Showbiz Today"

Sela's interviewer is Laurin Sydney.

SYDNEY: Once a week, Sela Ward can be seen in the critically acclaimed series "Once and Again" but Sunday, you can catch this star in "Catch a Falling Star." Sela plays a rather spoiled Hollywood actress who gets lost while on location.

Here's a small peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CATCH A FALLING STAR")

SELA WARD, ACTRESS: Please help me. Which way is town? Oh, God, I think I'm losing it. Oh, I don't believe you did this. You're an idiot. You walk off a movie in Manhattan, walk off a movie in Beverly Hills. You don't walk off a movie in a god-forsaken mountainside in the middle of nowhere. Oh, oh, oh, wait until the Actors Guild hears about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYDNEY: The Actors Guild is not going to do anything.

Joining us now is an actress whose star is definitely not falling, Sela Ward, and thank you for stopping by again today.

WARD: Thank you. I had so much fun doing that movie. I was just looking at that. It -- those were great memories. It was fun and light and just a laugh a minute the entire time we were there.

SYDNEY: And you definitely were not type cast, because you are as far as you can get from a spoiled Hollywood actress.

WARD: Well, I hope so. I hate that kind of behavior. But it was definitely a fun farcical piece not to be taken seriously, but a really fun two hours to put a smile on your face and I think it does that.

SYDNEY: And romantic. We need more romance.

WARD: And it is romantic. It's true. It's a wonderful little romantic comedy.

SYDNEY: And you wore two hats during this, because you also were the executive producer.

WARD: It's true, and that was like being thrown into the -- what is it -- the frying pan, into the fire kind of thing. I think they green lit the project three weeks before we would actually have to start filming, so I could go to work on "Once and Again." That is nothing in terms of preproduction and trying to work on a script and get it together, which I don't know that we ever quite was able to do that. (E's note: This statement suggests "Catch..." was filmed last spring, since regular production on OandA seems to have started around June.)

SYDNEY: Were you looking for a property like this?

WARD: I was dying to play something that was -- I wanted a romantic comedy, I wanted something light and fun. There is not enough of that to me. You know, I didn't want a disease of the week or some, you know, very heavy drama to play, I wanted to break from that. And it's really a cute, fun piece.

SYDNEY: Absolutely. Sela, every part that you choose to play you put amazing integrity and honesty into it, especially Lily in "Once and Again," all those little nuances, so much reality.

WARD: Thank you, thank you for saying that. That's quite a compliment.

SYDNEY: How do you do that? Is there a trick?

WARD: No, Lily is -- you know, every character is different, but Lily is very special. It's -- first of all, the writing, Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz are brilliant writers and producers, and the writing is so much of it.

But the character I love because she's neurotic and she's not perfect and she doesn't have all the answers and doesn't have it all together and struggling to balance life like we all are, and I find that she has a great sense of humor, so for me, there's a lot of myself I get to put into that, and yet she's very different from me. So I can't think of a better role to play.

SYDNEY: And except you have a very happy home life.

WARD: I do, oh, yes, I do.

SYDNEY: And a busy one.

WARD: Knock on wood, I'm not getting divorced.

SYDNEY: Knock on plastic, but it's wood on television, it's OK.

WARD: Yes, whatever. I am. I have a wonderful marriage and I hope that, that lasts. I mean, we never know, and I'm certainly not going through those things that Lily is and that's a good thing.

SYDNEY: Absolutely. And, Sela, walking through the hallway from the green room to the studio, we have many, many celebrities that grace our studio. Men were practically fainting left and right.

WARD: I am coming back here tomorrow.

SYDNEY: Do you understand the effect that you have on people, or is that just...

WARD: No. I'm -- you are embarrassing me. I'm so flattered that you would say that.

SYDNEY: She's actually blushing and that's refreshing.

WARD: I am blushing. Thank you. That feels great.

SYDNEY: OK, since I have you in a vulnerable minute, even though I did mean that, can you give us a hint about what's going to happen Monday night on "Once and Again"?

WARD: Monday night is -- I saw the show the other day, it's one of the best hours of television I think I have ever seen, so if you've never seen the show this is the night to watch. I'm not going to say what happens, because you do have to watch, but Sunday night watch CBS.

SYDNEY: You can catch, "Catch A Falling Star" Sunday night on CBS.

WARD: "Catch A Falling Star."

SYDNEY: Sela, thank you so much.

WARD: Thank you so much.

SYDNEY: Go back in the hallway and let the fainting begin. Thank you, Sela.

WARD: Thank you, Laurin.__CNN "Showbiz Today" Transcript (March 3, 2000)