Lots has happened since the last interview in 2003, your marriage to Yvonne and the birth of your daughter Indigo Sanara. How is life with your new family, you must be delighted with another daughter? How did you meet your wife Yvonne? Lou Diamond Phillips: Life with my family is absolutely amazing. It always gives one perspective to watch your children growing up and developing their own lives. Grace and Isabella, the twins, are now twelve, Lili is ten and Indigo is a little past two. Having them certainly made me prioritize what is important to me in life and being a good father and husband now top the list. Speaking of Yvonne, we met while I was doing a commercial in Vancouver. She is/was a make-up artist and we met on the job. Fortunately, she moved to LA shortly thereafter and we were able to begin dating. As I recently tweeted, six years and one Indigo later... LH: In the seven year gap since our last interview, I would like to discuss some of the projects you’ve worked on. Which have been your favourites, most exciting, or most disappointing during this time? LDP: It's a blessing to me that I continue to work in so many aspects of this creative field, be it movies, TV, theatre or my writing and directing endeavors. (As you in the UK know, I even threw a reality TV stint in there.) Some of the high points have certainly been the opportunities I've had to work with stellar talent like Stephen Soderbergh and Benicio del Toro on 'Che,' my 'Numb3rs' appearances, the National Tour of 'Camelot' playing King Arthur and my recent experience working with the likes of Robert Carlyle and Ming-Na on 'Stargate Universe.' I've also had a few projects that I thought came out quite nice like a small indy film called 'El Cortez' or the mini-series 'The Triangle' that my friend Dean Devlin produced with Bryan Singer. LH: What was it like working on Love Takes Wing with your daughters and wife Yvonne? LH: You are seen alot more on the small screen, with your appearances in Stargate Universe, and as Agent Ian Edgerton in Numb3rs, do you have any more episodes planned? Is TV a medium you enjoy doing? LDP: I just finished a brief appearance on 'Numb3rs' for the season finale. Hopefully, it won't be the last episode ever and we can look forward to a return in the fall. I go back to Vancouver in March to start the second season of Stargate Universe. I am hugely looking forward to that since I truly admire and adore that cast and crew. I also think the writers are doing a bang up job and give us mind-blowing things to do. As far as working in TV, the writing, production values and acting are all comparable with making movies, you just have to do it a little faster. Plus, I love being able to stay put in one place for a while. Doing a lot of films in a year requires a huge amount of travel and inevitably takes me far away from the family. Fortunately, Vancouver is close and Yvonne and Indigo usually travel with me. It's like a homecoming for her and, as I said, the town holds a special place for us. I'll have to get the big girls up there this season whenever their school schedule allows. LH: Congratulations on winning "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here", what was it like in the jungle being away from your family, was it as tough as you thought it would be, were you concerned that it would affect your acting career? What made you decide to do a reality show? Would you ever consider doing another one? LDP: I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here was truly a departure for me, in more ways than one. I actually am a fan of some reality shows, like Survivor, and I made the mistake of mentioning that to a producer. I said, off-handedly, that I might be interested if they ever did a celebrity version of it. Watch what you ask for! Truly, though, I was intrigued by the adventure, having been a Boy Scout earlier in life and interested to see if I had the mettle to put myself to the test before I sign up for a walker. The charity angle was also a big motivator. I don't regret a second of it. It was not as physically trying as I expected it to be but the emotional and psychological aspect were certainly taxing. I have never been totally cut off from my family or the world in such a complete way. In that respect, it was actually worse than prison because you couldn't read or have any contact with the outside world. Just lots of time to think and reflect. Oh, and deal with some pretty wacky personalities. One nice fringe benefit that I didn't anticipate was that the viewing audience got a chance to know me as a person much more so than they have ever gotten from a movie role or interview. I am extremely grateful for the support that led to my win. LH: Are there any programmes you would like to make a guest appearance in? Are there any shows you enjoy watching? LDP: As far as favorite TV shows go, Yvonne and I are huge fans of all the Law & Orders. It was nice to make a guest appearance on SVU even though my character was certainly one of the vilest, most despicable roles I've ever done! It was great to work with Mariska since I've know her for twenty plus years. One of my absolute favorites is 'House.' I think Hugh Laurie is brilliant and would love the opportunity to work with him. As far as new shows, 'The Good Wife' with Julianna Margulies is pretty fantastic and I would'nt mind an appearance on that show. I have to add, briefly, that I was truly grateful to have done an episode of "The Beast' with my old friend Patrick Swayze. Patrick was one of the finest people I have ever known and, after knowing him since the late 80s, it was an honor to see his work ethic, professionalism and passion for acting up close. He will be missed. LH: I’d like to take you back to the days before La Bamba, could you tell me about the roles you starred in, some of the more obscure films and tv appearances? LDP: I can't really recommend any of the roles I did before La Bamba for performance reasons but they might be interesting to people for anthropological reasons or just for a good hoot. I pop up briefly in an episode of 'Dallas' as a thug (Patrick Duffy was great then and now) and in a terrible TV movie where I played a terrorist alongside Morgan Fairchild! Basically, I was a glorified extra. Strangely enough, I played a lot of thugs early on. I used to keep a switchblade and a red bandana in the car for auditions. Anyway, the road to being an overnight success is usually not really overnight. LH: I think that I must have every film that you have appeared in, but have not been able to track down a film called Angel Alley, can you tell me a little about it? Was this the first film that you starred in? LDP: Angel Alley was the first film role I ever landed. It was a ChristianYouth film and I played the bad guy boxer. I was 19 years old and studying theatre at the University of Texas at Arlington where I eventually received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama. I went on to do Harley (which is the same movie as Dakota with less money) and then Dakota with the Kuntz Brothers producing and my good friend, Fred Holmes, directing. LDP: A hobby I get to practice almost every day is my cooking. I love it and Yvonne and I are big fans of cooking shows. It was a real treat, therefore, to be a guest judge on Iron Chef America. I judged last years Thanksgiving special and I have another episode coming up judging the New Iron Chef Jose Garces. And, yes, I'm getting quite a bit of street cred for my poker playing lately. I had a great run in The World Series of Poker in '09, making it to the end of the fifth day and placing 186th out of 6,494 players. Top 3%! I also recently made a final table at a charity event for the Disabled American Veterans. I have a few more charity tourneys coming up including one for Sharon Osbourne's Childrens Hospital Fund. Poker Stars will be sponsoring me in some professional competitions so, hopefully, that will bring me across the pond sometime this year. LH: You used to sing with The Pipefitters, how did you get involved with the group, are you still in contact today? LDP: The Pipefitters were mostly a bunch of buddies of mine from Texas and we, surprisingly, toured the US and Canada a lot in the late 80s and early 90s opening up for some amazing bands, even though we never recorded an album. The band actually came into being as part of a play called 'A Riff for Emily' about plumbers who wanted to be blues players. The play was written and directed by John Lee Hancock who just recently directed 'The Blind Side.' Two of the stars were my buddies Bill and Sherman Allen. The play closed in a night but the band went on, rehearsing in my living room since I had the biggest house and no furniture. Bachelor days, you know. Bill and Sherman still gig at the Pig N Whistle in Hollywood every Tuesday night and I pop in every once in a while to sing the blues. Bill and I are actually working on a screenplay that will incorporate some of our experiences of the time. Can't tell you more but keep your ears open. LH: You have made appearances in music videos like Little Miss Lover (BB Chung King) The Angels (Melissa Etheridge) La Bamba (Los Lobos) and Liberian Girl (Michael Jackson), have you appeared in any others? How did these come about? LDP: The music videos that I have appeared in were mostly because of personal connections and usually transpired simply because someone asked me to do a favor. The interesting one was being asked to be a part of the Liberian Girl video. Michael Jackson was never on set so, sadly, I didn't get the opportunity to meet him but I look at that video as a very interesting time capsule of who was high profile at the time. I met an amazing array of stars that day and just felt honored to be a part of it. LH: It has been unfortunate that some of the projects you have worked on are still yet to be released or have slipped into post-production hell. What happened with the series Backyards and Bullets, Laws of Chance and the movie The Invited? LDP: Interestingly to me, so many projects get reported on in this age of instant information that I sometimes feel it's a bit premature. For instance, when you shoot a TV pilot, there is no guarantee that it will make it to broadcast. This was the case with projects like 'Laws of Chance,'Backyards and Bullets,' and even the highly anticipated Aquaman series "Mercy Reef.' Why that one didn't make it to air really confounds me. Other films, especially the little indy ones, have an uphill battle to get distribution from the get-go. If they are seen at all, it's usually because they've come out good and there is an audience for them. Unfortunately, without having seen it, I'm afraid 'The Invited' doesn't fall into that category. It's been floundering in limbo for three or more years going through re-writing, re-editing and re-naming! I doubt I would recognize the film or the character that I signed on originally to do! Oh, well. The best laid plans... LDP: Ever since The King and I on Broadway, I've always kept it in mind to get back on the boards on occasion simply to reconnect with an audience and return to the purity of acting. Though the prospect of seven months on the road was a bit daunting, I am thrilled that I undertook the National Tour of Camelot because it was such a wonderful life experience. It was much more difficult than K&I simply because we were in a different city every single week, moving on Mondays with a new opening night every Tuesday and the requisite round of press for every new stop. The schedule was truly gruelling. The show itself was beautiful and I was blessed with an amazing cast and crew who grew to be very close. Many of us remain in touch. I was also able to use Time Winters, my Pelinore, in my film 'Love Takes Wing' The icing on the cake was that Yvonne did my make-up for the show and we brought Indigo along from the age of three weeks! We got to see the country together and the baby would be lulled to sleep in the dressing room by the sound of Lerner and Lowe's beautiful music coming over the intercom. LH: Over the years you have been a supporter of many charities, which are you currently supporting? LDP: I've always felt that we in this business are blessed and it is incumbent on us to share the love, if you will. I am always open to supporting charities and do my best to contribute personal time when the schedule permits. And, as I've said before, it's not always easy when my first priority is the lives of my children and kissing the wife every once in a while. Still, a few of the constant groups I support include ACT Today! which is Autism Care and Treatment Today! for whom I am the spokesperson and Amado and JB Penas Art Has Heart/Legacy Art Foundation in New Mexico. People might remember that they were the recipient of my I'm A Celebrity...efforts. Others include the USO, Time for Lyme, Disabled American Veterans and any number of literacy and education groups. I often post appearances that I make in support of charities on Twitter. Follow me @LouDPhillips. Yes, it's really me. LH: What are your forthcoming projects? What are your plans for the future? LDP: This year will see much more of the same from me with a few very interesting possibilities thrown in. I am currently booked for appearances on Numb3rs, my recurring guest star role on Stargate Universe and I just finished what I think is going to be a great little film called 'Transparency.' It is dark, gritty and was a challenge to play. Hopefully we'll see that one grace a few film festivals. Yvonne has become my 'idea well' of late. I'm currently writing a big sci-fi project that was her idea and we are near sealing a deal for another television project that was also her brainchild. In addition, I'm attached as a director to a lovely film project based on a novel that I truly hope finds it financing. A lot of irons in the fire and we keep stoking them hoping they will catch! Like I said before, keep your eyes and ears open. LH: Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, your fans and I both appreciate this. I wish you the best of luck, and hope we can keep in regular contact for many years to come. © 2010 Lindsay Holmes – www.loudiamondphillips.co.uk |
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