From Stage to Screen: Emmy Winner Kate Burton Shares Her Story

Listen to this episode of The Locher Room featuring the extraordinary Kate Burton—an Emmy-winning and Tony-nominated actor, director, and professor.

Kate is a celebrated artist and educator at the University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts and Brown University, has made an indelible mark on theater, film, and television while inspiring and mentoring the next generation of performers.

Her illustrious career includes standout roles in films (127 Hours, Dumb Money), television (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Homeland, Inventing Anna), and theater, with 14 Broadway productions and numerous regional and international performances to her name.

Don’t miss this special opportunity to hear Kate reflect on her extraordinary journey—from acting and directing to teaching and advocacy.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
[Music]

(00:07):
Happy New Year, everybody. I'm Alan Locker and I'm so happy to welcome you to the locker room today.
I hope you all had a safe and happy start to 2025.
And before we dive in, I just wanted to take a moment to send my love and thoughts to our friends in Los Angeles.
The events unfolding there are truly heartbreaking and I encourage everyone watching

(00:28):
to consider supporting a charity of your choice to help those in need.
Every little bit will make a big difference.
Now, I couldn't think of a better way to kick off 2025 than with the remarkable guest joining me today.
She's an eminem winning and Tony-nominated powerhouse who has left her mark on stage,

(00:48):
14 Broadway shows, I believe, on screen and in the classroom.
From her unforgettable roles in Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Homeland, Inventing Anna
to name a very small few to her critically acclaimed performances on Broadway
and now as an inspiring professor at USC and Brown University,

(01:08):
teaching the next generation of performers she truly does it all.
Please join me in welcoming the incredible Cape Burton to the locker room.
Hi, Kate.
Hi, how are you? Happy New Year.
Same to you. Same to you. I'm so glad we could do this.
Thank you for being here.
Do you make New York your home?

(01:30):
I'm pretty much divided between New York and Los Angeles.
I'll just cut right to it. I live in an area of Los Angeles that thank goodness
I was able to steer clear of the fires.
Thank God.
But I am very, very, very dear friends who lost so much.
I can't even begin to describe it.
And it's been, and thank you so much for what you said in your introduction.

(01:53):
I think that honestly, whoever reaches out to you, if you have friends in LA
or even if you don't have friends in LA, you know, just know that however you can help do so.
And no amount is too little.
As I say to everybody who gives to anything, it's like there's no small amount.

(02:14):
So yeah, so I divide, I've been back and forth between Los Angeles and New York City.
I grew up in New York City.
So I didn't realize that.
I didn't realize that.
13 blocks from here from where I live.
And I won't say where you live, but I think I know where you live because I posted that you would be here today.
And somebody who used to work for me reached out.

(02:35):
I said, she lives on my block.
I see her walking her dog every day.
Well, that dog has now moved to the UK.
So I'm not walking the dog myself.
But yeah, I do live here, Upper West Side and I grew up on the Upper West Side.
English Bulldog.
Her name is Belinda.

(02:56):
She belongs to my daughter, Charlotte, who is a student at Cardiff University in Cardiff Wales.
So that's where Belinda now resides.
She's a world traveler.
We got her a year ago from Korea.
So what can I say?
But yeah, daughter be following in your footsteps.
Um, you know, not a little bit in determined.

(03:17):
She's, she's a, uh, an older student.
She's 26.
She decided to go back to college.
Um, she's very interested.
She's very creative, very interested in the business.
Um, and my son is, was an actor for about five years.
He's, he's 10 years older than her and he lives in Los Angeles.
And he's now a writer and works with a lot of, um, writing partners and creates content.

(03:44):
Anyway, so yeah, my two kids are interested in creative arts and not surprising.
Uh, I think Charlotte, you know, who knows what she'll, she'll, she might do a hundred things and she might do the mall.
She might actually might be behind the camera in front of the camera.
She's had a career in vintage fashion.
So she's also very much has an incredible eye.

(04:05):
So, you know, but this is, uh, she, she's very, um, deeply fond of the United Kingdom.
And, um, my whole family is from the UK from Wales, South Wales.
So she's really gone to the roots of my family.
So, you know, it's big.
It is.
You came myself.
Yes, it is a pretty, and right now it's looking pretty good.

(04:28):
I got a lot of time there.
But I have, you know, I moved to this country when I was four.
I was came as a, as a UK citizen.
I'm still a UK citizen and an American citizen.
Do I look like I'm lucky for you?
Thank you.
Um, and, um, and, you know, I moved to Los Angeles 20 years ago from my husband, Michael Richie,

(04:53):
to run the center theater group in Los Angeles, which is the omenset in the taper.
And he did that for 17 years. He retired at the end of 2021.
And then he, um, returned to New York as his base.
So New York is his base.
But I will say that my base is, I have two bases.
And there are 3,000 miles away from each other.
And to be honest, I mean, I grew up in New York City and I love New York City.

(05:17):
Um, but I love LA.
I love LA also.
I really love it there.
I love everything that's great about New York is terrible in LA.
And everything that's wonderful in LA is terrible in New York.
So, you know, it really, if you are blessed and I feel blessed that I get a chance to hang out in both areas.
And the thing I love about LA is, you know, and it's kind of what's happening right now.

(05:40):
It's a really incredible sense of community.
Um, you know, it is not one city.
It is 88 communities that were, uh, wherever you live, I live in Los Felis.
Um, I spent a lot of time in Silver Lake and Echo Park and, and Highland Park and, um, Eagle Rock and Pasadena and, you know, um, and the truth of it is these are the areas, you know, this is where you sort of you find your little places, your grocery stores, your, you know, where you go to your nursery to get your flowers to plant in your garden.

(06:12):
And it's really, um, it's an extraordinary place and it's a place that why I, what and the wonderful David Eulin wrote a great piece in the New York Times about why he loves LA.
And he also had moved there from the East Coast.
And it's that thing of like, it's all about the future.
It's about looking forward and growing up in New York City with one of the greatest cities in the world to maybe the greatest city.

(06:38):
You know, we look at the future, we look at the past, we look at everything. We're always like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, you know, we never stop stop moving.
And, um, and there's something so fascinating about being here and spending time here and I must say it was very disconcerting being here when those fires were happening.
Um, uh, and you know, we were in constant touch with our neighbors, but my neighbors were amazing. And suddenly we created a little and I'm not on social media. So there's none of that.

(07:06):
And we created an incredible, um, you know, thread that we were sharing all our information and then I have these beautiful renters who are living in my home and they work part of it and we were all sharing.
And, you know, and that's what happens in, you know, out of these terrible times comes incredible community and incredible support and, you know, I LA will be all right because LA has survived.

(07:31):
I mean, biblical, it doesn't begin to describe what it is to live in LA. I mean, between the floods, the fires, the earthquakes, you know, um, yeah, it's beyond, it's beyond belief.
And you think when you're outside of it, you're like, oh, dear God, are they even standing up? But the reality is is like on September the 11th, I was uptown on the Upper West side. And frankly, if I hadn't listened to the radio or people had yelled in my face, I wouldn't have known exactly for like some time.

(07:58):
What was happening?
They are resilient, they are resilient out west and I have and New York, you know, we are living to resilient cities. So I feel so, as I say, so different from each other.
But, but equally loved for all different kinds of reasons.
Absolutely, it was hard to, you know, I like you. I have so many people out there that thinking every day I was texting another one, oh my God, I hope you're okay. And one who had to evacuate and thank God, it's not just, you know, it was just thank God.

(08:33):
Thank God. I pray for everybody.
Last time you were here in February, you were here to talk about Oscar Wilde about America. Yes, finally released the documentary documentary. Will you tell everybody about the documentary and your role in it? I know it's a small role, but it's a very small role, but I very, very beautiful role that I so enjoyed shooting.

(08:56):
It was an incredible experience. You know, James Walsh is an extraordinary director and has a vision that is very original, very much his own.
And it was a fantastic Fantasia. I really felt like it was a Fantasia of Oscar Wilde in America, how he was appreciated and sort of talk about going forward, going backwards, very contemporary moments in it.

(09:21):
You know, with beautiful, beautiful actor Oscar playing, playing our guy, you know, playing our Oscar. So it was really, it was a very special experience. I was just there for a day in Santa Fe, New Mexico, standing on a hillside playing Sarah Bernhardt of all people.

(09:42):
And that was, it was wonderful. And it was funny because I've been back there a couple of times to shoot other things. And so sweet, like some of the crew and the crew was like the size of my kitchen. I mean, it was so tiny.
And some of the people who worked on the crew are on these other very huge Netflix shows that I'm doing out there. So it was a, it was a sweet thing and we stayed in touch and very supportive.

(10:04):
And now people get to see it. It's on Apple P Plus, you know, I'm so thrilled. Actually, I'm going to get to see it again.
Because I only saw, so it's very, very early on. No, I'm excited. And of course, the great Rosemary Harris is in it, which is such an honor for all of us to have her there.
Yeah, it was really, it was really great. And I think to be honest, it's been an interesting couple of years having done that Oscar Wilde piece. And then I've ended up doing a lot of very interesting films. And

(10:37):
one I got to do during the strike, which they got a special, you know, dispensation. And that's called violent ends. And it's directed by John Michael Powell with a great cast and very excited about that movie.
It's a Western. So I play a sheriff in the Bronco with guns. Yeah, it's very exciting from New York City. Never. This is like what's happening.

(11:02):
It takes place. You know when that comes out, I'm not sure when I'm hoping it's coming out within the next six months.
And it's called violent ends, which is a quote from Shakespeare.
Code from Romeo and Juliet. John Michael Powell is the director.
And it was just it was just really great. We did it the last month of the strike and then the strike ended like one night when we were shooting. So we were so thrilled.

(11:33):
And and and then the other film that I did last summer, which was again four weeks total mayhem.
And these films are that all of these films that I'm doing. I'm doing one starting very soon. They're all a four week films. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. You just work, work, work, work. And then it's over.

(11:56):
And this is called the surrender. It's a horror movie. And I'm just checking on where it's and it is opening. It's directed by written by Julia Max, who is so wonderful.
Did you do a horror film before? I've done not horror. I've done like big trouble in a little China, things like that.

(12:21):
No, I've not really done a horror. And I don't watch horror films. Like I was reading, you know, the incredible David Lynch. I was reading his obitio amazing obituary in the New York Times today, which if anybody hasn't read it. Oh my god, you have to read it. It's so brilliantly written by J. Hoberman.
And it's it tells you everything. I mean, it's it's like it's an extraordinary biog. It's true. I will go.

(12:45):
You got to read it. And of course, the great Joan Plowwright, the beloved lady Olivia, she passed away yesterday. And her obituary, I read on the, she was a friend of my family.
And I loved her so much. And she, but she lived to a ripe old age. So she, she's same age as my mom, 96 of my mother passed away 11 years ago. But so these greats, these incredible people.

(13:13):
And I mean her obituary made me cry. It was so extraordinary. They are, you know, when you have a little inkling that somebody is not going to be with us long. Of course, they do their due diligence. And so the obituary's become works of art. I mean, they really are great.
And so you know, my coin in bringing up all of this is that I was so frightened to see David Lynch's movies. I did see twin peaks, the original series that I must say I was like, you know, like on the edge of my seat.

(13:42):
And I have watched segments of the elephant man because I was in the elephant man on Broadway. And he, I mean, oh my god, so terrifying.
So the absolute question, I don't see that many horror films. So I'm like, bracing myself the surrender, but it opens were very excited. It opens at South by Southwest.
Oh, that's awesome.

(14:04):
I'm sometime around March the 9th or 10th. So we're very excited.
Yes, me and my beautiful fellow actress, Colby, Minnefee plays my daughter. It's the two of us screaming.
You know, it starts at what's interesting about the film, it starts off as a domestic drama and it ends up turning into a horror movie.
And so it starts off as just a mother and daughter dealing with the death of the dad and my husband. How do we handle it? He's dying. Oh my god.

(14:33):
And then the daughter discovers that the mother has kind of contacted some other worldly humans to. I like a good horror. I do.
Yeah. And you'll enjoy this. There's a lot of the before the Christmas holiday. I interviewed Ray Wise on here. A little in power.

(14:55):
Oh my god. He was he was a lot of fun. He's doing a small stint on the young and the rest less. And he was really.
Oh, that's so cool. Yeah. He was a great, great person to talk to. Let's go back to the beginning. It's my understanding. You did not want to be a professional actor.

(15:17):
And your mother, Sybil Williams, a Welsh actress, your father Richard Burton, one of the most famous men and you were going to go into international diplomacy.
Yeah, I sure was.
I know it's interesting that come from well, I mean, basically what happened was as I grew up, you know, I was born in Switzerland.

(15:41):
I learned French and English some simultaneously, although I don't speak fluent French, but I speak it well enough.
And so I came to the United States when I was four after my parents divorced. And I always went to French schools.
So I went to French small French school and then I moved to the United Nations school, which is a school where a lot of children of diplomats go.
You know, I was there near the UN and I was with children of diplomats and in the summer times, you know, we'd all go and visit each other wherever the home country was.

(16:12):
And my home country was America, but I was also UK.
So, you know, when I was a history major in college, a Russian studies major, I started learning Russian when I was in the eighth grade at UNIS, which always had, which was what made UNIS so amazing is that you learned a third language.
And then I did Russian. And you know, it was just this confluence of experiences that I just was learning these languages.

(16:42):
I was studying history. I was so interested in it. I was reading Russian literature for the first time.
And I was reading history, Russian history. And I mean, because at that time it was when Nicholas and Alexandra came up by Robert K. Massey, which is one of the greatest books ever written.
I mean, it's like, if you want to know anything about Russia, if you know nothing about Russia, just read that book because it tells it's beautifully written.

(17:05):
It's easy to read. And I was 13 when I read it.
So, and it just blew my head off because it's one of the greatest stories ever told. I mean, the Royal Family, the Zarr, the Zarina, Rasputin, Lennon, you know, Marx.
I mean, you can't make this, it's greater than fiction. I mean, it is one of the greatest stories ever told about the Imperial Royal Family, suddenly all these communists and, you know, come in and they want to take over.

(17:35):
And how does it happen? And it makes you understand like how it happened and why it happened. And it was small things and huge things, which is what's so exciting about the study of history, which is why I was history major in college, also Russian studies, because they overlapped.
And I was planning my senior year, before my senior year, I studied at the Middlebury Russian School in Vermont, which is a great language institute. And I, I went to visit my friend Nancy Carlin, who's a great actress, who lives in Berkeley, California, in where she grew up, which was there.

(18:13):
She was an American conservatory, and I just went, I don't know, I got to think about this because I had always done theater as an extracurricular activity, always enjoyed it. And who, you know, the greatest theater any of us ever do is in high school and college.
This is what we remember, right? That's just how we fell in love. So I just watched myself, okay, I'm going to give this a try. But it was not something that I was leading towards at all. It was totally like a moment. I was in, I was UC Berkeley looking at the School of Slavic Studies, which were the great incredible professors, the great writers of, you know, Russian studies, Russian literature, Russian history.

(18:57):
And I visited Nancy, I visited with Nancy and her incredible family, her mother, Joy Carlin, who's still very much with us is one of the founders of ACT, this beautiful theatrical family. And I just went, I think I need to try this.
So then I spoke to my parents, my mother was fully behind me, because she'd seen me in every single thing I'd ever done in high school and college.

(19:20):
Like a mom should, like a mom should. And my dad actually had not been be good that I didn't, but I mean, I just never invited him to see me. It just didn't occur to me. It just was like, it wasn't something I was thinking about. I wasn't like, oh, yeah, well, I'm definitely going to be an actress. I wasn't.
Yeah.
And so I didn't really invite him. And because I just thought, oh, this is a nonstarter. I mean, this is not what I'm going to do. And so then I told him and he was a little taken aback because I was the first person in the family to finish college.

(19:49):
So he went for six months. My mother didn't finish high school. And so, um, so that's really, you know, he was, he was, I said to him, look, I promise you, if it doesn't work out, I'll do something else.
I do have a call that I went to Brown University. I have a college education. I'm very, very well educated. I was in a professor there that also said something to you.

(20:12):
Yes, I had a wonderful Russian history professor called Tom Gleason, Abit Gleason was his actual name, Tom Gleason and Tom had three of us who were artists are budding artists, but we were Russian studies majors. And it was me.
It was an incredible pianist called John Davis, who's still an incredible pianist. And it was a great budding documentary filmmaker orange a Kobe. And he inspired all of us to follow our art.

(20:40):
He had been a fine artist as a young, as a young person, but he went to Harvard and his father was some Muckety Muck in Washington. And you know, he ended up becoming a great, great scholar, great, um, great historian, incredible history professor.
And then he ran the Georgia cannon institute in Washington during the Reagan administration, which kind of blew him away. But, um, yeah.

(21:06):
And he, and that was, you know, he was a considered the top of his field. I mean, just an extraordinary professor, but also just an incredible man, an incredible friend to me, an incredible mentor.
And now that I'm a professor myself, you know, I know what it is to be an incredible mentor and the truth of it is I had the mentor experience, which on Wednesday, I went to the matinee of sunset boulevard.

(21:30):
And barreling onto the stage came one of my students. And I, I knew that this student was in a Broadway show, but I didn't know which one and I'm a Tony voter. And it's Brandon Melbord Kowski.
And he's in the ensemble and you can't miss him. He's beautiful long hair, go to and a beautiful dancer and absolutely wonderful. And the show was fantastic.

(21:53):
I hear my guns. I, I hear, I'm sorry, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. I have never been a huge fan of that musical, but I will tell you, but I, Evita is one of my favorite things in life. And I cannot wait for that.
But the production Jamie Lloyd's production is extraordinary. I mean, I'm a Tony voter for like over almost three decades. And I, I can honestly say I've not seen much like it, especially in terms of like I did love the original material, but what that director, what Jamie Lloyd did with it, there's use of all this camera.

(22:31):
There's a lot of camera work in it. There is the opening of the second act is one of the most thrilling things I've ever seen. And I know they go outside.
It's beyond, it's beyond what they do. And then I talked to the stage manager, Johnny Mulani, who's a pal of mine afterwards. And he said, oh, and you know, Tom Francis who plays Joe Gillis, he can't, he's the only person who can hear the music.

(22:58):
There's he's singing, walking around Superdalley and 44th Street. And he's the only one who can hear the music. And he's with members of the cast. And like by the way, the security guards.
It's truly, it's thrilling. I'm so excited for you to see. I definitely, I definitely want to. That's incredible. I mean, that must have meant so much to see one of your students up on that stage.

(23:29):
Well, it was great. And what was so sweet is as I was with my two dear friends from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Cardiff, Lucy and Tim. And Tim had been the professor of one of the lead actors in the show, David Clackston, and who plays Max, you know, the very mysterious Max.

(23:50):
And he was brilliant. And so we all went backstage and we saw our students. I mean, it was just and then Brandon appeared in front of me. And I, we hugged each other. And I said, I'm so proud of you. I knew you were in something. I wasn't sure what it was until you walked on the stage. I was like, there is. That's what it is.
That's an incredible experience. Well, you know, your mother, your father, your stepmother, Elizabeth Taylor, all masters. Is there.

(24:17):
And my stepfather, Jordan Grisver. He was too. So is there something you've learned from them or piece of advice any of them gave you that you still think about today?
You know, it's odd. Elizabeth did. I'm so happy got to live a nice ripe, ripe, long life. My, my father and my stepfather did not. My father, my stepfather died in their, in their 50s.

(24:46):
You know, I've been blessed. I, when I think I learned from all of them, none of them with the exception of my mother, actually, who then became an artistic director, first a casting director, then an agent, theatrical agent, then an artistic director is the value of training.
And because I got, I, because I went to the Yale School of Drama, and I had my three years after Brown, I, I truly believe in so many ways that having that training, you know, it really is those three years, which are just, it's just you're in, you know, you're in a little powder keg with a cohort with a group, you know, my, my group was incredible.

(25:32):
Some of my group have won three, three Oscars. And the thing is that, that's a talented group.
It's a pretty talented group. And between all of us, I think we have like 20 Emmy nominations or something. I mean, it's just like, it's crazy. And lots of Tony nominations. And, oh my god, it's really thrilling.

(25:55):
But I will say that, you know, when you're in that incubator for three years, and we were blessed because we were in the first class that was with Lloyd Richards, who was the great African American director of all of August Wilson's early plays.
And Mr. Wilson was with us, developing his plays. I mean, come on. I mean, it's like having Anton check off walking around.

(26:19):
I mean, it was, you know, we didn't know. I mean, we just thought who is this incredible guy, you know, and then of course now we know 40 years later, look at this, look who we got to watch become one of the great playwrights of this of the world.
So it was really a magnificent thing. And so I was very well prepared when I came out, but you know, my generation didn't have any camera acting. And we just had theater. And so the fact, you know, and it just goes to show that three three Oscars have been one by one of my classmates is that, you know, the truth of it is.

(26:56):
But we had wonderful acting teacher teaching it was it was a little catch is catch can as there were people were leaving people were coming.
But you know, my acting teachers at Yale were some of the greatest teachers that have ever been and to particular girl, Gister and Andre Belgrader, who have taught some of the greatest actors on the earth.

(27:20):
And truly between all of them, we got what we needed and I, I especially knew that I needed to be in drama school because I was dad's daughter. And I knew that I.
Those people would people would expect people would really look at me more particular. I mean, and the biggest thing that I can say to anybody who's the child of a of a luminary is, you know, you're going to get your foot in the door.

(27:45):
And I think that's why I think it's a little bit easier without question. Staying in the door is going to be hard harder. And I truly believe that that was the case. And I feel like I had a very I was very lucky because I was able to evolve as an actor in a very kind of.
Organic way like I came out of drama school. I went straight into a play. I like to play. You went straight to Broadway. I went straight to Broadway with George. He's got.

(28:14):
Yeah, with one of the greatest actors who ever lived as great as my dad. And I happened to meet my future husband who was the stage manager who was sitting in my den right now.
I didn't realize what we have a small connection to that play. You're kidding. I worked with Elizabeth Hubbard for 13 years. No.

(28:36):
And grew up and grew up watching her on as the world turns. My mother learned to speak English watching as the world turns.
What language is your mother's face? My parents were born in Amsterdam Dutch. No kidding.
They were Holocaust survivors and moose. Oh my God. Amazing. Oh my God. Alan. I mean Elizabeth Hubbard. First of all, played a part that you played 35 years later. Right.

(29:07):
Yeah. So I played definitely Sillington the young Archen in the 80s George Scott in 82 and then in 2017 I played Liz. I played Elizabeth Hubbard's role. And actually I loved Liz Hubbard. She was so.
Impurious and wonderful and the young actress. And there she was and she was all there. They are. My God. Oh, she's so beautiful. But this was a dream cast. I mean, look Dana Ivy. Oh my God.

(29:39):
Oh my God. Jim Pidic Betty Henritsi. Oh my God. Yeah. She was a. She was a well red and incredibly smart and talented. No, I mean, but she was great in the role. And I mean, she was great.
She was so perfect in it. It wasn't even like she was acting. And that's that's the greatest compliment I can even I can say to any actor is that I didn't even feel like you were acting. I just was watching you be.

(30:06):
And that's the thing that you know and she's such a famous soap opera star. You know, but I was so. But when I think about it now at the time I was like, oh yeah, you know, it's soap opera is and you do this. And I did a couple of soap operas for one day only.
And all my children I did Ryan's hope. I think I did all my children and I played one in one I played a doctor who performs abortions. And another one I played I think it was Ryan's hope I played a Swiss telephone operator.

(30:40):
And because I was born in Switzerland, I thought, okay, well, let's have a little French and a little German will have both. So I kind of dress like a German, but I spoke with a little bit of a French accent. So what can I tell you?
What was it like going back to that plate 35 years later to take that role?
It felt like honey. It felt like dream. It felt like breathing. I remember I actually.

(31:06):
Um, um, I felt like it absolutely the minute I opened my mouth in the first day of rehearsal. I was like, yeah, no, I don't know. I know who this is.
It felt like breathing working with Kevin.

(31:27):
Kevin.
I mean, he just, it was such a perfect thing to work with him. I'd known him forever. I'd done a movie with him the ice storm and amazing film.
I'd known him forever. I'd seen him in a hundred things. I'd always been pals with him. We had the same acting coach for a while. This amazing man called Harold Dusken, who actually was always Kevin's coach.

(31:56):
And I just, it was just dreamy working with him. It, the way it was, it was very meta in that the way the relationship that he and I had off stage was sort of really replicated in the play or maybe it was vice versa.
He was just such a dream to work with and I, I never knew what was going to happen, which is perfect for the part that's a perfect list.

(32:23):
Liz wants to know everything that's going to happen. She's ready with her cup of tea. She has at the same time every day.
She plays a role in his life, keeping him calm, keeping him, but he is completely a nut bar.

(32:45):
I would have paid a lot of money to see Liz Hubbard on stage.
Oh, she was great. She was great. I mean, she was great with George. She was great with George. She was perfect.
And you know, honestly, as a young actor, you don't know what you're absorbing. And so when I played the role hundreds of years later, I just was like, oh, yeah, I just totally knew what to do.

(33:10):
And that's where you realize, oh, it's the training. It's the experience. It's the years and years and years and years and years.
I'm doing play after play after play after play, H as a week, H as a week, it's exhausting. I'm actually I'm I'm very I'm very out of.
I'm not out of shape theatrically, but I am. I do need to get back on the stage. So I actually.

(33:37):
And I had an opportunity of doing a play that I was very excited about and then it couldn't work out with my schedule, which I was very sad about.
But I'm going to do this thing called pen pals. And I'm very excited because I'm going to work. It's it's just a two hander, but it's a reading thing that casts change every week. And I'm doing it with Paul,
who is a great, great actress who happens to be Mrs. Denzel Washington. But I only say that because she is a brilliant actress and we've never had a chance to really see her.

(34:09):
So I'm going to work with her. So I'm very excited. And I particularly wanted to work with her. So that's very.
That's very. Doing that. Their son did a show. I forget. Maybe he did. He did the piano lesson.
That move is at the movie of the play. He's dead both. Oh, he did. So it was a piano lesson. He was describing on Jimmy Kim of the story.

(34:34):
His mother came to every single show and gave him notes after every single show. Like she came like 70. He said like she came to 70 performances. I was like, that's a mom right there.
Well, I think yeah, I mean, I happen to I've met Pauletta a couple of times and Ted, so they came to see President laughter and we hung out.

(34:57):
And my next door neighbor in LA is one of their closest friends and delivered all their children. So that's that's. Yeah, that's still LA. You always say yes, my next door neighbor was the gynecologist.
Yeah. So.
Have you had the opportunity to do what you did with President laughter like have one role in one play and come back many years later and play another.

(35:20):
No, actually, I think that's the only. Oh, no, yes, I have. What am I saying? I did.
I did. I've done three sisters by check off four times and I've played all three sisters. I played one of them twice. So that's one thing. And then when I was in college, I played Nina in the seagull, another check off play.

(35:44):
And then many years later, I played our cotton at the mother. And the most exciting thing about that second time was that my son played my son, my son Morgan, Richard, my son Constantine, goveril, which that's got to be special.
Yes, all. We did that play together. And then we did another play together. There was also incredibly special called the corn is green where he played the student Morgan Evans and I played his teacher. And that was written by my godfather, Emlen Williams. So.

(36:18):
Did I get it right that you've done 14 Broadway shows? I have. Yeah. I was going to do a 15th. Yeah, last year I was meant to be in room. I don't know if you heard about room.
Was the show never opened with the amazing Adrian Warren. I was playing her adopted mom. And it was incredible. And frankly, I saw the first act. We all watched the first act. It was one of the most extraordinary things I've ever seen.

(36:45):
And I really, really hope that at some point we can do that play because it was so exciting. The director was Cora Bassett, who also wrote the music, co wrote the music and Adrian Warren. Oh my god. I nothing could prepare me. Well, yes, of course, I was prepared for how great she was going to be. But oh my god.
It was an incredible thing. And we and then it they just didn't have the funding. It all fell through. So it was very very upsetting. I thought this is my 15th Broadway show. But no, I still have to do. But you've done off Broadway. You've done so many different things. Do you have. I mean, is it possible at all, even to pick a favorite stage role you've done.

(37:26):
I tell you what I think the my favorite experiences on stage. I would say present laughter. Definitely the second one because of course I hear I was grown up actress. I love present.
You knew a little more, right? I sure did. Just a few decades later. No, and that's the beautiful thing is when you get to that thing where you think, oh, I know more now. I know I know how to handle myself.

(37:53):
You know, I've been really blessed. I played some majorly huge roles, which sometimes is great. And sometimes it's really, really hard. And I was never scary for you.
It was as a younger actress. But the beautiful thing that happened is in my late 30s, I got two parts.

(38:15):
One was I took over from Kate Nelligan in an American daughter by Wendy Wasserstein and the great down Sullivan who directed me four times. I love him. Love, love, love him directed me. But and he really directed me.
I was lucky because I took over in two shows in which the director really directed me. You know, it wasn't just the stage manager putting me in. So that was American daughter. I took over from Kate Nelligan.

(38:40):
And that was 27 years ago, because I was pregnant with my daughter. And and then right after that, I had my daughter. And then after I had my daughter about six months later, four months later, I took over in the beauty queen of Lena and by Martin McDonough from Mari Mullin who had created the role at One the Tony award.

(39:03):
I was directed by Gary Hines, the great director. So I got the opportunity to work on two leading ladies with two of the most incredible directors on earth, Dan Sullivan and Gary Hines.
And deep breath. And then I went and did the UK Ireland tour of the beauty queen of Lena, which also was incredibly amazing to be all over Ireland and England with Anna Manahan, the original mom.

(39:27):
And then I started head a gabbler, literally, like 10 days later, when I came back from that tour. And it had I not done those two shows back to back. I would never have been able to sink my teeth into head. And then head of began and had to began like like we were a British company because we started a really small theater,

(39:50):
a pastry theater, my mom's theater, then we moved to Williams down my husband's theater, totally total nepotism, by the way, total. And then we moved to, we moved to
the Huntington Theatre in Boston, which was Nikki Martin's theater, my beloved friend and director. And it was there that Ben Brantley came to see us and gave us all the review that changed our lives.

(40:17):
And that was it. And then the next thing we knew we were going to go to Broadway and it was beyond. And then we were in tech and September the 11th happened.
And so it was not only an experience. So I talk about those three roles because they literally one led to the next. And I talk about those three roles in terms of my evolution as a leading lady.

(40:42):
And what's wonderful is since that time I've gotten to play leading roles. I played Prosper in Tempest. And, and, you know, and so that's been, you know, but I've also played smaller roles in one of my most favorite things that I've done in the last few years was I did a Christmas carol, the one that was done on Broadway with Campbell Scott.

(41:09):
I did that with Bradley Whitford on a small tour in the West Coast. And that was during COVID. And we had to close two weeks early because of COVID. But that show.
That is one of the most joyful and amazing plays I have ever been in. I played the part that Andrea Martin was a dear friend played on Broadway.

(41:34):
It's like three small roles loved it loved being part of the ensemble. It was, I mean, Matthew Warchus directed the original production. It was just the music was some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard.
It was thrilling to do. And we did it in Spokane, Washington, Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas. And Los Angeles. And it was just so thrilling.

(41:58):
It was just a love fest. Alex Newell played one of the other ghosts. She and I were the ghosts of Christmas Christmas past present. You know, there was a future ghost adorable.
And Bradley Whitford was scourge and we just we laughed our heads off and had the best time of our lives. It was just incredible.
He's fantastic. He's fantastic.
A fan Patrick wanted to watch live, but he couldn't, but he wanted to know because he I think has spent much time in Williams town was curious what some of your favorite shows there have been.

(42:31):
Oh, that's a good question. Oh, yeah, a lot of shows. Oh, I got it. I think some of my favorite. Oh, my God. One of my favorite shows.
The cherry orchard, which was my first check off there that was with calling to her. And Austin Pendleton and George Morfolk and Maria to Chi and blind Tanner and Christopher Reeve and John Glover. I mean, you know, Williams town.

(42:57):
Oh, I was at school. I was a Yale. I played on the summers. 18 summers. My first that was my first summer. And I would say so many fun. We did the front page with Christopher Reeve and Edward Herman.
That was so much fun. The Rover with Christopher Reeve and fake Grant and you know, oh my God. Like I mean, I did small. I did outdoor theater there.

(43:30):
Did a fantastically interesting play about the challengers space program called Beyond Gravity or Define Gravity.
And and then a new Irish play by Frank McGinnis called Carthaginians. You know, I mean, we just didn't you name it. I did it there. I did so many different kinds of plays there. My last play there was an incredible time stopper play called hapgood. And that was a huge role.

(43:59):
And I have to say, I mean, those summer theater things where you're doing your drills and tempest was another one of them are really challenging because you don't have quite as much rehearsal and oh, really tough stuff.
So, but an incredible experience. And then this summer, I'm hoping to do all swell that ends well at the old Globe and San Diego with my dear beloved Peter, Peter Francis James is directing. So that's why I know.

(44:28):
I'm guiding light. I worked. I love Peter.
Great actor. And Peter was in present laughter with me. He was. Oh, I love. Yes. For he's works in every play the Kevin's in. So he's got said he's got that voice.
I know he's in love. He's in 10th right now on on. This is an instrument's play. So I'm excited to see that.

(44:51):
Oh, wow. You have said that you did theater in your 20s, 30s, 40s. And then you landed this hospital show which turned into a 20 year experience.
How did the role of Dr. Ellis Gray come around and what has she meant to you? She changed my life. But I actually have to say, you know, a lot of things changed my life just because you know, you have those markers.

(45:21):
And if you're lucky enough to have had, you know, a multi decade career that I have. So I feel like, you know, when I was in my 20s, it was a group of really great interesting plays and big trouble in little China.
And then in my 30s, it was, you know, long order and, you know, moving into television and then, you know, had a gabpler at the end of it.
My 40s was me as a sort of leading lady in the theater. But, you know, TV and film had been great. I had lots of interesting lots of interesting experiences.

(45:56):
But, you know, nothing had put me on the map necessarily. And I didn't even care so much to be honest. I was just like, I'm so lucky I get to play all different kinds of parts all the time.
And then, you know, one day, you know, I was 46 when I met Shonda Rhymes. And I had sort of like a couple of years, which had been like, neither here nor there. They were okay.

(46:21):
You know, there was not a lot going on. We were moving to LA because my husband was going to run the theater. And then one day, you know, I got the script for it was called surgeons. And my agent said, OK, here's the thing though. Your character is has early on said Alzheimer's.
And I was like, oh my god, oh my god. And so anyway, I wasn't my heart wasn't in it to be honest when I auditioned for it. I did, I did, they initially said, oh, you know, you just have to meet everyone.

(46:50):
And I was like, OK, and then I waited in the waiting room. And so I thought, well, I'm just going to learn this. And I had the same line like 17 times. So I just said, well, it's not hard to learn.
So I just went in and it was one of those times where this just happened for actors where I literally I opened my mouth. I closed my eye. I did the scene. I closed my mouth. And I knew I got in this part.

(47:11):
And I was like, and I didn't know how I felt about it to be honest because I was a little bit like, do I really want to play this part. And so then they offered it to me. I did the pilot. I never thought I would see any of them ever again.
And my sister Amy Christopher who works in casting at that time. And she she has some business called the tape room, right. She puts people on tape. Amazing, amazing business. And she works with me at Brown, a lot.

(47:35):
Brown University.
Brown University. She said to me, hey, you know, she was working. She was the head of casting for Fox Television in New York at that time. And she said, you're that show you that you pilot you did is it got picked up. I was like, you kidding.
And she said, yeah, so they changed the title. It's called Gray's Anatomy. And I said, OK. So you know, I knew that I was going to be in seven out of 13, which is usually the way.

(48:02):
That's what I've always done recurring roles. It's I've been very blessed. I love recurring roles. I love them because they're always really interesting. They're always really well written. And also I have freedom to do other stuff.
So that's why I really have enjoyed on the Queen of our.
It's kind of great. I mean, you don't get paid. Obviously, you don't get paid with the what the regulars get paid. But who can you know, honestly, you have the ability to do a Broadway play, go to your TV show, do a movie, go to your TV show, if all works out.

(48:31):
Anyway, so basically, yeah, that was it. I did the pilot. It was picked up. I was in the first few episodes. And again, it was all like in the care home. And my daughter was coming to visit me. And I was like, oh, my God, this is like really intense.
And then I was actually on the verge of saying, you know, I just don't know that I can do this for a really long time. It's so hard. And then I got the next script and Shonda had written all the first scripts. I'm pretty sure she did. Anyway, and she brought me into the hospital.

(49:07):
So I came into the hospital and yelling and screaming. And then I meet and then I have scenes, you know, wonderful scenes with Ellen Pompeo, my beautiful daughter Meredith Gray. And then I'd had, you know, suddenly I was with Sandra, oh, and Chandra Wilson and Jim Pickens and Isaiah Washington and, you know, T.R. Knight. And it was just having all kinds of scenes with them.

(49:28):
So suddenly I was in part of the ensemble. And when that happened, everything changed for me as an actor. But again, it hadn't been on the air. So we didn't go on the air until I think it was the day before we finished shooting the 13th episode, I think.
And desperate housewives. And we always loved our desperate housewives because they are sure to send they were at nine. And I think we were 10. And you were watching desperate housewives. And literally I knew on a dime. It was on a dime.

(50:00):
Desperate Housewives, nine o'clock, Gray's Anatomy, Pilot, first episode, 10 o'clock. The next day I was in New York City, where I was based at the time.
And I was doing the crossword puzzle, New York Times crossword puzzle Monday puzzle, very easy. And this woman standing over me said, hmm, are you doing the puzzle to keep the Alzheimer's at Bay, Dr. Gray?

(50:24):
And that was after one episode. And I literally thought, and I literally, it was great that that happened because I kind of I remember it vividly in me. I remember thinking, oh, that's what this is. I did not know I had never had that experience.
I was like 47 40. I don't know what I was. And so from that moment on, it was like wild. I mean, I hate to use this analogy. It was like wildfire, but it was it was unbelievable. It still is unbelievable.

(50:56):
But those first 20 years, 20 years.
I mean, those first three years were, and basically most of my role in the play in the show was the first three years. And then I was, and then I died. And then I returned. And then I returned five years later after I'd already been on scandal as the vice president, which Shonda also created and which, you know, when she asked me about that one, I was like, yes, yes, I'll do it whatever it is.

(51:22):
Yes, you know, the answer is always yes when it comes to Shonda. So you know, it was unbelievable. And people would stop it. And mostly the things that that I found the most moving was when people would say, thank you. My grandmother has Alzheimer's. It's been, you know, we feel we, it's so great to see you show where they tell the story of how difficult it is, how amazing it is how hard it is.

(51:46):
How extraordinary it is. And that meant more to me than almost anything, although it was very nice to get two Emmy nominations, I must say.
I was very thrilled about that. And I was thrilled because of what I was thrilled about is it's I was just I was so blessed. And I always feel this. I even feel this now. It's like, you know, I feel so blessed with the kinds of parts I've gotten to play.

(52:10):
It's interesting, complicated women who of all different from all different walks of life, all different professions, not just moms and grandmothers, which are basically also great to play.
Sally Langston was phenomenal and the Liberty report I couldn't get enough of the Liberty report. You you played Hillary Clinton. I mean, you know, talking to me, which is so interesting for for a woman who wanted to get into diplomacy.

(52:43):
Yeah.
Sally Langston, I played so many politicians and then I did the pilot of V. I was in the pilot of V. And that was thrilling. And the only reason. And I was a little bit crushed by this, but the only reason I couldn't be in the show more was because of scandal.
Because I was playing the vice president on scandal. So I was I love V.

(53:05):
And you know, I don't get the opportunity to do comedy all that often, but it is very interesting. The people who always cast me in comedy are often foreign directors.
And so that's, you know, it is a thing where you get pigeonholed as an actor. You just do you get pigeonholed.
And it's just a natural thing. I mean, you know, it's just, you know, that's what happens. And there was a period where I played people with mental health issues. So that was like a four year period. And then I played people politicians. And that was about a five year period.

(53:41):
And, yeah. And so now, you know, and so it's interesting. I mean, one of the things I can say that I'm very gratified by is that I always do things every year. There's always something that I do every year as an actor, which I've never done before.
So every year has something new for me. And that's that's a very side. This year I'm doing this to handler with Pauletta Washington. Just for one week, I'm doing, I have two Netflix shows in which I have two two episodes of each. One is called the Beast and Me.

(54:09):
I played Matthew Reese's mother in law. And he's a dear friend. So that's I love him. We just started watching the diplomat last night.
Did you ever watch the Americans with him? I have not, which is that is I've heard.
I'm really we're watching we're watching the diplomat and we started at 7 30 last night and at 1 30 in the morning, I said to my husband, we have to stop. We have to stop. And this is my problem. See, the minute I start watching a TV show, like like slow horses.

(54:45):
So good. And I'm reading the books. I'm on the ninth book. I'm on the ninth. Oh, I didn't know it. I actually didn't realize it came from.
Yeah, yeah, it's nine books nine books by Nick Karen. Wow. I think it's a, I people need to know such an incredible show. I watched it.
People left and right. Yeah, watch them. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, and I also it's one of those shows you could it's like P. K. Blinders. You can watch it a second time and sort of see things that you didn't see the first time through.

(55:14):
My friend is not the production manager or unit manager on the diplomat now that it's come here to be.
So it's come to the United States. Well, I don't think it's come to the United States on camera. They're filming. Oh, yeah, they're filming it here. Yeah, I think Carrie wanted it be.
Who she has her kids. Yeah, here kids. Yeah. Yeah. Matthew. I fell in love with Matthew on brothers and sisters. Oh, wasn't he wonderful? And yeah, all of them.

(55:41):
They were all wonderful. Yeah. No, so do you watch a lot? You know, I watch in spurts like if but my problem is I can't stop watching. So if I watch something like with slow horses, I watch the first season, I actually watched it.
I watched it once and then I watched it again like a couple months later because it was like so dense and then I was watching a season two, season three, season four, but I'm so far ahead now because I've read I'm on the ninth book. So I know what's going to happen.

(56:15):
So terrible. That's it. I sort of fall in love with these shows and that's you know, with the diplomat. It's so up my alley.
These shows slow horses, the diplomat homeland. These are the kinds of shows I personally love as a as a viewer. But you know, we love peak, peak blinders during COVID. We watched all of that. I ended up watching the second time with my son.

(56:39):
The best British baking show. I mean, you know, I do have a tendency to go down the UK route. Um, because of my heritage. They make great TV. But I mean, you know, I just I just really I do enjoy it.
I was late to the party. Did you ever watch broad church with Olivia Coleman?
I just watched the first season with my daughter. And of course, again, couldn't go to sleep until two in the morning. I mean, and that's the reason I just watched the Eddie Red main day of the jackal when I was at you. I was in the

(57:11):
I have really. It's very good. Very, very good. The original. Let you go.
I'm going to raise it. Oh my god. First of all, you know, you've named scandal, Gray's Anatomy, inventing and a homeland. You've done so many. I mean, I know Gray's has been this journey. But is there a favorite prime time role you've done?

(57:39):
I'm really in a prime time. Um, that's like, you know, the. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Um, during COVID, I had a year. I was unbelievable. I did. Um, Nora in inventing anana. Oh my god. That also was another shonda extra
extra. If you know, Julian, did you watch her on Ozark before that? I had seen scenes from Ozark. Um, I love Julia Gardner. I loved working with her. It was a dream to work with her. Um, so I did that that year. I did. I did inventing anana. I did the drop out with Amanda Sifred.

(58:20):
Unbelievable experience. Well, that story was an unbelieveable. I did. It's not. Yeah. Unbelievable story.
That is based on a podcast. The book. There's a great book about it called a bad blood from the guy who is from from the Wall Street Journal. That is unbelievable. I mean, so I did that. I did those two back to back. Then I did Amazon Prime.

(58:48):
Um, the Bosch legacy playing a character who had it up here. Yeah. I'm not going to give it away. But I didn't even know what I had done. So anyway. And then in the middle of it, I, and then in the middle of it, I played Hillary Clinton. I mean, you know, and I did another TV show with Luke Evans, the great
character called echo, echo longboard, which I have no, I've never seen it. I'm sure it's great. It looked like it was going to be a lot of fun. Um, but anyway, I just have to say that it was, um, it was just

(59:24):
unbelievable. But yeah, so I feel feel very blessed. Um, and, you know, I have these two movies coming out and violent ends also stars Billy Magnuson. I wanted to mention another person at work. Love, love, love, love, love, love, love.
And what's that one called that's violent ends starring Billy Magnuson. Um, and, um, and it's, uh, it's just a directed by John Michael Powell. It's just so, I mean, it's, I think it's very excited. I saw the movie and I think it's wonderful. Very, very proud of it.

(01:00:02):
Incredible cast. And, uh, that's violent ends and that comes out sometime in the next, I would say four or five months. And the other thing that I'm doing, and this is all end with this, is that, um, it's my father's centenary this year, as they say in the UK. Um, so a lot of there's a new, um,
new film, uh, a fictional, biopic, uh, about him called Mr. Burton. It's not about him. It's not Mr. Burton is not my dad. Mr. Burton is actually Philip Burton, who was my adopted grandfather. And it's about how the young teacher Philip Burton is in Wales and along comes this scrappy 16 year old called Richie Jenkins. And he takes him under his wing. And it's a beautiful film.

(01:00:46):
It's called Mr. Burton. It's directed by Mark Evans. And that'll open in March in London. And my daughter and I will be at that opening and starts Toby Jones as my grandfather and Leslie Manville as the housekeeper, Miss Mossmith and as the land lady and then this beautiful young actor Harry Laudie playing my dad.

(01:01:10):
And it's just an gorgeous Welsh actors, um, playing, you know, all my relatives. So weird. It's the weirdest thing I was watching the movie like, you know, so that's very exciting. So it's a very, very, you know, I have my own stuff coming out and then I have stuff about my dad.
And so this whole year will be a celebration of his 100th birthday. And my only sadness is the great play, the motive and the cue, which was about him and John Gilgur doing hamlet together directed by Sam Mendez, the whole production team from Lehman Trilogy.

(01:01:47):
We were hoping that that would come to Broadway this spring. And we're still hopeful, but it's looking tight. There's, you know, all these theaters get booked up. So that's that's for the future.
Well, I wanted to read what Kate had said. She said that your performance as Ellis Gray broke her heart, especially now that I've experienced some of that with a parent who isn't really moving.

(01:02:12):
Oh, thank you so much for that. Well, that means a lot to me. Yeah, it's, you know, Alzheimer's is, you know, I've been with my husband 17 years and really was the first time his mom had dementia. And then the last couple of years, I know way too many people who have Alzheimer's way too many.
I know. And yeah, I know it's, it's something that we need to really, yeah, we need to keep working. I mean, they're making, they're making progress. They are making progress in finding, you know, a cure.

(01:02:45):
We just have to keep.
But it's so, you talked about, you know, the impact. I mean, you really, it's sort of what soaps did early on, you know, introduced, you know, socially relevant issues.
To the public and that, you know, the fact that you were playing that as Ellis Gray is, you know, well, I mean, that's why it made, you know, it just made so much.

(01:03:16):
It just made so much sense to me.
You know, in terms of why it had such a huge impact. And weirdly, at the same time as I was doing grays, I was also doing this really great show called Rescue Me with Dennis Leary.

(01:03:37):
And in that show, I played the caregiver to someone with Alzheimer's.
And I was doing them literally at the same time. So it was so wild, but it was so great that the stories were being told, you know.
So this is you were learning both from both sides.

(01:03:58):
Yeah, I really was. And I mean, you know, I mean, so it's really, it is, it's, it's a very powerful experience.
And I will say even now with all the advent of Netflix and, you know, and all the cable and the streamers, it's like if you can really find even now a really important story.

(01:04:23):
And you can really tell it well on network television. That's what's going to reach most people still because you know, you don't have to stream. You know, you can get it right near the room.
And so, but, but the thing that's heartening to me about grays and out of me is that it's unbelievable how it just keeps going.
Not so much about the 20 years on the air, but the fact that students, my students at both Brown and USC have seen it.

(01:04:52):
Sometimes it's their second go round. They started watching it when they were much younger. And then the thrilling thing is how many medical medical folk have been inspired by grays and I'm sure.
And I'm like, nurses or doctors.
And you know, when I, you know, when I'm at USC where there's a huge medical school at Brown, there's a very majorly highly regarded medical school when I go into those medical schools, they go, oh my god.

(01:05:26):
And, you know, and I already tell my mental hospital or the doctor's office, there's always a moment of like, oh my god.
But I'm sure a nurse is saying something or a doctor for sure. Yeah. You know, but it's, but it's that's when it's exciting when something has an impact. And that is how you do.
So I'm sure you have had an impact. The fact that you are passing on your knowledge to students at both of these schools. I mean, I hope they realize how lucky they are to.

(01:05:57):
I think they do. They're pretty great. My students are great in both schools. It's, you know, there's nothing more important than having a great teacher. And I mean, bless because I had great teachers.
Yeah.
You mentioned him. Did you ever think you would end up here, you know, teaching in academia? No. Yeah. No. No.

(01:06:22):
You know, that happened out of the blue. My great mentor of mine at USC, who is the dean of the time asked me to become a professor. And I didn't even really know what that meant. No idea.
I was like, yeah, I wish I had fine. What does that mean? And so he, his name was David Bridal and he made me a full professor at USC. And I didn't know what that meant.

(01:06:45):
But it was a great, incredible gift. And I feel very, very blessed. And you know, because what ex what ex exists now are these positions, which are professors of the practice. And that's what I am.
And you know, like, you know, if you're watching Lauren, so Donald Andrew Weissman, the great prosecutor is professor of the practice.

(01:07:11):
And you got me at Lauren's and you got me at true. Yeah, we love him. So in this house, so anyone. So that's the story. But yeah, so that's what we are. We're professors of the practice. And what that means is, you know, we don't have PhDs. I do have an MFA from Yale, but we don't have PhDs.
You know, it's not about obviously our written work because our work is our acting work. So we bring, you know, if you're in the arts as I am, you know, so that is, you know, what, what, what any drama school wants to have is a working professionals who come in and who teach the students in real time while they're working.

(01:07:47):
But scheduling is a little touch and go sometimes because I would be running to sign up for your class knowing what you've done. I mean, what a gift to those kids, what a gift.
Thank you. Well, it's been a delightful, it's part of my life. And it's really now a good third of my work is as a teacher. And I teach on the ground at Brown for the most part.

(01:08:11):
And then I teach on zoom at USC for the most part. But then I do show up in in person occasionally and I do zoom at Brown occasionally. But usually like, for instance, I'm shooting a movie in the month of February.
And so I'll have to do like a little tap dance. But this is the beauty of zoom. This is why we love zoom.
I mean, technology. Yeah, it really is. Well, that's the one thing that they're the only, you know, one of the only good things that came out of COVID is that I learned how to really maneuver myself.

(01:08:39):
On most platforms out of the screen yard is we did it. We did it. We did it. We did it. Such a pleasure. Kate. Thank you so much. Any time, Alan. Thank you so much.
Well, it's out of you. Have something you want to talk about. Don't hesitate.
Totally. Well, thank you. Have a great weekend. You too. Take care. Bye.

(01:09:02):
Thanks, everybody, for joining us today. Thank you to the incredible Kate Burton for spending this hour with us. You can catch Kate's performance as Sarah Bernhardt in Oscar Wilde about America now streaming on Apple TV plus.
And of course, you can watch many of her shows on streaming platforms anytime you want. If you haven't yet subscribed to my YouTube channel, you can do so down below.

(01:09:26):
Turn on the notifications for reminders of all upcoming shows. And if you'd like to stream audio versions, just search the locker room on your favorite streaming platform.
[Music]