Time is now for 'Once & Again' star; Newton-raised Hinkle fights for her character
By Amy Amantangelo

Actress Marin Hinkle, who plays Sela Ward's sister Judy on "Once and Again" (airing Fridays at 10 p.m. on WCVB, Ch. 5), wants to hit the gym.

This season, Steven Weber returns to the series as Judy's boyfriend. And that means one thing - love scenes.

When Hinkle heard Weber was coming back, she thought, "Oh God, I'm probably going to be in my underwear and T-shirt."

Weber's return signals more screen time for the actress raised in Newton. In its first season, the show concentrated almost exclusively on Lily (Ward) and Rick's (Billy Campbell) burgeoning romance.

"It's really hard to be on a television series when weeks go by and you're not asked to come to work," Hinkle said in a phone interview from her home in Los Angeles. In its second year, the show also is focusing on Lily and Rick's extended family.

"Just this year, they gave me a set that will be my own life, my own apartment. I was so happy for Judy," Hinkle said.

The vivacious actress often finds herself talking about her character in the third person. "I'm the champion of Judy. I'm in meetings (saying) her voice must be heard."

Until she and her husband moved to California last year, Hinkle had spent most of her life on the East Coast. Her parents - Margaret, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge, and Rodney, a retired dean of Fisher College - met in the Peace Corps. Hinkle was born in East Africa. She credits her Newton public school education, which began at Bowen Elementary and ended at Newton South High School, with much of her success. "I had incredible teachers and amazing education," she said.

After graduating with a double major in English and theater from Brown University, she attended graduate school at New York University.

"The three-year program is really intense, and it really stretches you. When I look back on it, I honestly think I was pretty bad. I was filled with passion, and raw and nervous."

The master of fine arts degree she earned reassured her supportive parents, who were concerned about her choice of profession.

"My parents were really glad I was educated, and yet that meant nothing when I auditioned. Some people never finish high school and that doesn't affect their career," Hinkle said. The years that followed her graduation from NYU were difficult. "The rejection wears on you. I was a very happy and jubilant kid. I found myself being beaten down often. Days and days of 'You're not the right type, you're not pretty enough."'

Hinkle began writing directly to community theaters and landed a role in a production of "My Children, My Africa" in Portland, Maine. "It was really exciting for my family to see me," she said. The work won her membership in Equity, the theatrical union, and more roles in community theater. That lead to a role on Broadway, guest-starring stints on "Spin City" and "Law & Order," and the eventual call from "Once and Again."

These days Hinkle is much happier with her career. The "Once and Again" cast gets along well. It's almost "eerie how sweet and kind everyone is to each other. I feel so lucky," she said. __ Boston Herald (October 26, 2001)