From: carolh@meaddata.com (Carol Hickmott)
Subject: SB: Nancy Grahn...
Organization: Mead Data Central, Dayton OH
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 18:53:25 GMT
Distribution: usa

By popular demand, here is much of the interview with Nancy Grahn...It  
appeared in the July 29th Chicago Tribune and was written by Marla Hart...
 

Headline - Quirky Santa Barbaran - Nancy Grahn made a small part play big by
           playing Julia as a neurotic

On a recent visit to Skokie to see her family, actress Nancy Grahn slips into
the deli in a floral shift, with no makeup and little fanfare.

Under normal show-biz circumstances, the actress would be swamped by fans.

Grahn stars as lawyer Julia Capwell on NBC's Santa Barbara, and though the soap
has consistently ranked in the bottom one-third of daytime dramas over its eightyears, the critics have raved and fans in 35 countries have clamored for its
sophisticated humor and depiction of California lifestyles.

"I'm like Madonna in France," Grahn says with a laugh. "My pictures are 
plastered on the subways."	

Grahn, playing Julia for seven years, has transformed the role from a 
supporting role to an atypical romantic leading lady.  Her character is
grounded in reality and illuminated with quirks.

"People relate to my character so much.  They say, 'I know this woman!'.  I
think it's because I brought a neurosis to her," Grahn says.

"There's so many characters in daytime, there's just not enough situations to 
make everyone original.  So making her somewhat neurotic made her look more
film-like to me."

Born and raised in Skokie, Grahn began her professional acting career when she
landed a plum role at 19 in a Goodman theatre production of "Guys and Dolls".

"It made me feel connected," says Grahn.  "I never saw myself married, but I
always saw myself acting.  It was something I had command of.  Besides, there
was nothing else I could do.  I can't type, I can't sew, I can't cook."

Grahn moved to New York the next year, where she studied with famed Method
acting instructor Sandy Meisner and went on to play everything from 
Shakespeare to "Little House on the Prairie".

In 1985, Grahn moved to L.A. and joined Santa Barbara.

"It was the only soap that I considered doing," she says.  "It was so witty
and literate. 

"We sort of catapulted females on soaps into the 90's," Grahn adds, noting
that she and the show's writing team were in sync.

"Usually a romantic lead is more of a heroine, the pretty princess.  Julia
had a baby on her own.  She contracted for it even though she hated the man
at the time; she thought he had good genes."

"She's the most political female in daytime.  She's pro-choice, and a bleeding
heart Democrat."

Still it wouldn't be soap without hyperbole, and Grahn's character has had
her share of troubles to endure:  Julia has been held captive, raped by an
environmentalist, lived with an alcoholic and married her baby's surrogate
father, all the while practicing witty repartee as well as law.

Grahn, who won an Emmy in 1989 for her wide ranging characterization, says with
a laugh,"We've kept her very versatile, from farce to very serious.

"It's the only way you can do a character on a soap.  Otherwise the audience
will get bored.  I don't want anyone to ever anticipate what I'm going to 
do.  I want them to be surprised."

"I try to act truthfully in imaginary situations.  It's like peeling the layers
of an onion.  You have to keep asking the question 'Why?' all the time.  "Why
would she say this, why would she do this...

Why does Grahn ask why? to keep her character honest, she says.


-- 
Carol Hickmott                               Product Certification Engineering  
Mead Data Central                                               (513) 865-7164
P.O. Box 933                                               carolh@meaddata.com
Dayton, OH  45401                                    ...!uunet!meaddata!carolh