TV INTERVIEW: KATHLEEN ROBERTSON
Prowling the Corridors of Power for the 'Boss'
A good political aide is seen, not heard. With the kind of finesse also accorded to Mafia hit men, these worker ants carry out their King’s orders with stone-cold expressions, offering humbly potent advice and surveying the enemy camps like clear-minded spies. In the case of a Chicago mayor whose brain is going to a rare disease, that lucidity is a very good thing indeed, especially in the enticing form of Kitty O’Neil. As a true believer who espouses the company line that “Kane is the city, and everything we do that is good for the city comes from the fact that he has the power to do it,” Kitty isn’t so much the power behind the throne as she is the force that will continue to prop it up at all costs.
However, that doesn’t mean that Kitty doesn’t like a good lift herself, when it comes to torrid bouts of public sex with a hot young candidate. But then, what else would you expect from Starz -- the rising, hot-blooded cable network who also offers the Machiavellian thrills of Camelot, The Pillars of the Earth, and Spartacus? Here, the arena is political, where so far only morality is being gutted in the developing, darkly intelligent downfall of the “Boss.” Kelsey Grammer (who also executive produces along with Gus Van Sant) plays the man given a death sentence that will bring on increasing hallucinations amidst his regular bouts of strong-arming.
Kitty has seen it all through her eight years with Kane, offering nary a blink. But doubtlessly there will be some chips coming off of this tantalizing ice princess as Boss develops. Kitty is a particular raw TV evolution for Kathleen Robertson -- a Canadian-born actress whose adolescent work in My Secret Identity and Maniac Mansion would lead to her first big break as Clare Arnold -- one of the cool kids on Beverly Hills, 90210. Robertson parlayed her peppy beauty into such offbeat film choices as Nowhere and Splendor for enfant terrible director Greg Araki, as well as roles in Dog Park, Psycho Beach Party, XX / XY, and as a Canadian killer in Torso. Her continuing eye-catching work in Tin Man, The Business, CSI: Miami, and Hollywoodland are full of the smart appeal that’s landed Robertson the silent but politically deadly role of Kitty in Boss. And just as her character is filled with drive, Robertson’s own career is now finding her as a writer and star for the suspense thriller Three Days in Havana, and as a psychologist in the dramedy series Your Time Is Up. Now Robertson reflects on what might be her most daring character as Kitty O’Neil, a right-hand woman to be reckoned with, even in Chicago.
Daniel Schweiger: How did you end up alongside the “Boss?”
KR: When I heard that Gus Van Sant was doing a television series, I was immediately intrigued. I read the pilot and just loved it. Farhad Safina, who’s another creator on the show, is also an unbelievably brilliant writer. And the idea of Kelsey doing a role like this had so many components that were exciting on a personal level for me. All of this made Kitty a dream role for an actor, and her role just gets better and better as the eight episodes unfold over our first season.
DS: Is it difficult to play a woman whom at first appears to be as cold as she is concise?
KR: Kitty goes on a real journey which I can’t give you any “spoilers” about. What you see is definitely not what you get with her -- I’ll say that much. She does a lot more than deliver information, and goes on a massive roller coaster ride personally, and professionally, that turns her world upside down. We get to see who Kitty really is behind the façade.
DS: But is that difficult to reign in at first?
KR: Farhad is very specific about how he wants each character. If anything, it was always about doing “less.” So playing Kitty wasn’t difficult in that respect, especially with what I found out by interviewing women who did her job. They told me that being a female political aide is very much business. It’s not about trading on their sexuality or being the best friend or the mother to the mayor. It’s all about servicing him. So the key to Kitty, for me, was to understand, on a psychological level, what would drive her to do this for a living. What would make her excited to get up and go into this world? And once I figured that out, I sort of understood her.
DS: Was their any commonality you found with women who are political aides?
KR: I talked to many women who worked for Richard Daley, who was mayor of Chicago for many years. I kept asking them, “But why?” Why would they want to be in this sort of fiefdom where you’re serving The King? That wasn’t something I could personally relate to. But in the end, I connected to Kitty’s job by relating things in my own personal life to hers.
DS: What do you think distinguishes Chicago politics from any other American city?
KR: The obvious answer is the unbelievable, on-the-table corruption that everyone acknowledges there. Even the people I talked to who worked in the mayor’s machine told me how blatant it was. And the history of Chicago politics is unlike anyplace else’s. Nothing we could do in Boss could touch on what went on there, or what’s still going on there.
DS: Kelsey Grammer definitely has a presence here that more than fills a capital building. How do you hold your own without being blown away by his character’s force of personality?
KR: Kitty has worked for Mayor Kane for eight years, so she’s not intimidated by him. So as an actor, it was absolutely essential that I could be in a room with Kelsey and hold my own during a four-page scene with him. But it turned out to be really fun because Kelsey is an actor in the truest sense of the word. People forget that he’s a classically trained Shakespearean actor who got his start doing theater. An hour after meeting him, he was calling me “Kath” and asking me to run lines with him. I’ve worked with some actors who walk on set, and you feel that it’s their room, their show, and that they’re the star. They’re not going to read lines off-camera for you. But Kelsey has none of that. He’s there to delve in, dissect, and rehearse the material. He’s there for every drop of the experience. And because he’s a co-producer on Boss, Kelsey has a lot invested in the show, so he wants it to be great. And he definitely brings out the emotion in you.
DS: You get to show a whole new wild side to yourself in Boss...
KR: You can’t do a show about Chicago politics and not have sex be a part of it. I actually loved that element of Kitty. She’s so contained and detailed that she needs that outlet. Those scenes, for me, were a big part of me wanting to take the role. And being on Starz is pretty cool because we can really go there and explore these characters the way they would be. If Boss were on network television, it would be a completely watered-down version of itself. I love that we go there on Starz. Farhad said to me, “This isn’t the NBC version of what this girl would be. This is who this girl really would be."
DS: Boss is certainly a long way from 90210 for you...
KR: Yes [laughs], I’ve been acting for a very long time. When I started, no one wanted to be on television. Everyone wanted to be a movie star. But now television is really where it’s at for great writing and great material. I can’t remember the last decent movie I saw, but I certainly remember cable shows like The Wire, Nurse Jackie, The Big C, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Killing. They’re insane. They’re incredible, and their writing is so beautiful. It might be cliché to say that all the great roles for women are on television, but all the great roles for guys are there too. Television, for me, is where it’s at now, even in a way it wasn’t ten years ago.
DS: How did you make the move into writing?
KR: It came from a natural progression. Writing was something that I always loved to do. I’m Canadian, and I get a lot of material offered to me out of there. But I was always frustrated because so much of it wasn’t interesting. So I just started to write my own scripts. The first thing I wrote was for a pilot called Your Time Is Up, which sold. Now I’ve just optioned a book. Writing is really taking off for me. It’s exciting to be creative without having to wait for the phone to ring to give me permission to be creative as an actress.
DS: If you could write the ultimate character for yourself, what would she be?
KR: It’s funny because I don’t really write for myself. I always write with other actors in mind. I’m now doing a screenplay that I think will have my ultimate character!
DS: I became aware of your work through your appearances in Greg Araki’s Nowhere and Splendor -- a ménage a trois comedy which is my favorite film role of yours...
KR: Greg is one of my best friends. He’s incredible because you can count on one hand the directors who are left who can write, shoot, direct, and produce like him. And he’s still making movies the same way he did when he started out. He’s such a unique artist, and his movies are like nobody else’s. I told Greg I’m glad that people have such strong opinions about his work, whether they love or hate his movies, or whether they’re offended or turned on by them. So few artists are making movies that are still relevant or push those kinds of buttons. He’s an amazing artist, and it was a great experience to work with him.
DS: It struck me about Boss that you could basically put guns in these characters' hands and turn it into a crime drama, a la The Sopranos.
KR: Well, just wait! The show is slowly percolating to a boil.
DS: What’s ahead for you?
KR: I’m back in LA after three and a half months in Chicago. For the next couple of months, I’m on writing deadlines, which are my focus. Then I’ll see what happens. I’m not super-dying to jump back onto a set just yet. I just want to wear my sweatpants and sit down with my laptop.
DS: What do you think Boss ultimately has to say about women in the political arena?
KR: I don’t know if Farhad is trying to make a comment about women in politics per se, especially because this takes place in a male-driven world, but over the course of the first season, you’ll get to see what the effects of a life like this will have on someone’s self-esteem. It’s a tough, tough world for the guys, but it’s even tougher for women like Kitty. And it’s not one that I would ever have the stomach to be a part of.
'Boss' premieres Friday, October 21, 2011 on Starz.
Special Thanks to Nancy Bishop and 'Venice Magazine.'
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