TV

Catching up with Kate Moennig

Kate Moennig has been an AfterEllen.com favorite since she first appeared on The L Word as Shane McCutcheon, the girl everyone wanted to date and just couldn’t hate, no matter how many times she screwed them over. The actress behind the role has managed to move on from the series to play a doctor (Three Rivers), a tattoo artist (Dexter) and a druggie prostitute (The Lincoln Lawyer). There’s no typecasting for this woman, who told our Lindsey Byrnes (during a shoot for the new issue of WORK magazine) about her experiences as an actor, the difference between film and TV and how she developed her own sense of style.

AfterEllen.com: You recently had a part in a big Hollywood movie, The Lincoln Lawyer, starring Matthew McConaughey, and, in 2009, you were in a movie called Everybody’s Fine with Robert DeNiro and Drew Barrymore. But, other than that, you have mostly worked in television. Do you see your career moving in the general direction of movies or are you still interested in acting on TV?

Kate Moennig: I’m just happy to be working, considering how much the business has changed in the last few years. I’m open to whatever grabs my interest. I love the reliability of a TV series and equally love throwing myself into a film and then being done with it. As long as it’s different from the last thing I’ve done and doesn’t feel like it’s as creative as paint by numbers.

AE: Last time I saw you, you were in the middle of working on an indie film. What was it? And when do you start filming your next movie, Gone, with Amanda Seyfried?

KM: That movie is called Default. It’s following the format of the found footage genre. It’s loosely based on all these news stories we keep hearing about in the news regarding boats being hijacked by Somalian pirates. However, in this case, we are on a plane in the Seychelles. That was a labor of love, but it was so satisfying to do. Simon Brand directed it. I hope it finds an audience. The way it was put together was very instinctual and everyone involved was at the top of their game.

As for Gone, I do that next month sometime.

AE: What is your dream job and why?

KM: I think Anthony Bourdain has a pretty sweet deal.

AE: You want to be a chef? You are quite the cook! Would you want to have a cooking show?

KM: Thank you. I love the clean kitchens on those shows and how everything dirty magically disappears. I don’t think I could do it. I like to concentrate when I’m cooking. It’s my perfect excuse not to talk.

AE: What is the most dreadful thing you have had to do as an actor?

KM: Having to make terrible dialogue sound natural. And network testing for pilots can be pretty inhumane at times. But there is no way around either of those things sometimes.

AE: Did you know that AfterEllen.com has interviewed a woman who is a Kate Moennig celebrity impersonator? She goes to parties and does photo shoots as you. How do you deal with those types of things?

KM: You know, I think it got forwarded to me. It’s kind of bizarre and oddly complimenting.

AE: What is it about being an actor that you love the most?

KM: Working.

AE: Totally – I hear that. It seems like it’s stressful like any freelance job! How did you get interested in acting?

KM: Between my best friend helping me find the courage to do a play at this children’s theatre when we were 10 or so and growing up in this creative environment where my pop could paint, draw or carve anything he saw to absolute perfection and my mom being a dancer, I was pretty lucky that I could explore that side of myself. I got through puberty watching tons of movies and no one in my house thought that was an odd thing to do.

AE: So your parents were really supportive of you making a career out of acting?

KM: They were supportive of me finding something I was interested in doing. They knew academics weren’t my strong suit and they understood why.

AE: I noticed when we worked on a photoshoot for the upcoming issue of Work magazine together that you are extremely comfortable in front of the camera. It is amazing, because in real life you are so shy. And although this seems to be a common theme for actors I wonder if you fall into the category of people who are more comfortable playing a role than opening themselves up personally, and if so, why?

KM: I think it depends on the environment and the people you’re working with. I’ve been in work situations when I didn’t feel like I was in safe hands and it shouldn’t have, but it did make me less available on certain levels. Or it made me second guess myself. I’ve learned some lessons that way and I’ve gotten pretty good at knowing when I’m around the right people who are all there for the right reasons.

AE: I also noticed on our shoot and just in hanging out that you are very observant with clothes and shoes. How deep does your interest in fashion run?

KM: I love clothes a lot. I don’t like trends but I appreciate style – how things are cut, how someone wears them. When someone looks great, to me, it represents knowing yourself, knowing your body and working with what you have. It’s empowering, it’s an extension of oneself and it doesn’t need to cost thousands of dollars to discover that. It could be a T-shirt from a flea market, but if it looks great on your body, then so be it. I always appreciate that aesthetic because there are no rules.

AE: What is your opinion of gossip magazines?

KM: I don’t think much of them since I don’t read them buy them or support them.

AE: I guess that is sort of an opinion in itself, wouldn’t you say? I mean, kind of a form of boycotting?

KM: I don’t really boycott many things. It’s more that I’m just not interested in that sort of stuff.

AE: Yeah, I wish I could say I wasn’t. I mean I try to stay away but I find myself sneaking peeks at the grocery store, it’s like a sickness. It’s amazing how we praise actors for acting like others, but then we try so hard to find out who they really are at the same time, like what I am doing with this interview. It’s like my question should just be this: Who are you Kate Moennig? What do you think is the biggest misconception that the public has of you?

KM: You know, one thing I’ve noticed is sometimes when people approach me; they instantly talk to me like I’m in a bad mood, which isn’t the case. I’m naturally just a shy person when I’m around crowds or people I don’t know. It’s that age-old stereotype of thinking someone is a bitch or stuck up when really they are just quiet. I don’t expect to be handled with kid gloves and it embarrasses me when it happens. I love and adore the people in my life, I value my privacy and I work hard. I’m always trying to work on myself. But I f–k up all the time too, just like anybody.

AE: What kind of advice would you give to a young person wanting to get into acting? What is the best piece of advice that you have ever been given?

KM: What always gave me comfort was hearing others who are way more established than me say, have a hobby or an interest outside of acting. It’s true. There can be so much lag time between projects sometimes that having other interests can keep you sane and not become obsessive. It really can be a lifesaver and it can be anything you want. I’ve heard a lot of advice but that has always stuck with me.

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button