Shaking Up The Housewives

Irish Voice Entertainment

Shaking Up The Housewives

May 15, 2008

In Desperate Housewives Dana Delany plays Katherine Mayfair, the impeccably groomed hurricane that blows through Wisteria Lane bringing sweeping change and soaring ratings. She talks to CAHIR O’DOHERTY about the show, her career and why she thinks she’s becoming an Irish female bachelor.

IRISH American actress Dana Delany grew up in Stamford, Connecticut in the 1960s in a neighborhood where elegant French widows kept a tight lid on all the secrets within. So she knows better than most how to disguise raging passions and soaring ambition with a genteel gloss. Better yet, she knows how to have some fun in the process, too.

As Katherine Mayfair, the secretive but show stopping diva you love to hate in Desperate Housewives, Delany has delighted viewers and critics by playing a woman who’s been described as a cross between J.R. Ewing and Melrose Place’s Amanda Woodward.

Filming of final episodes this season has concluded, and this week Delany is in Santa Monica, where she talked to the Irish Voice by telephone before heading back into the studio for some pick up shots.

Word from the set is that there are some very dramatic new developments in the final episode. Whatever fate – and the show’s writers – have in store for Delany’s Katherine, there’s no doubt that career wise, these are golden days for an actress who used to absolutely hate television.

“When I was growing up there was a certain path you followed to become an actor. You went to New York and you honed your craft on the stage,” says Delany.

“Maybe then you would do film but you would never do television. Everyone looked down on television.”

But celebrity snootiness about being on the box has long since ended. Nowadays Delany often finds herself at the center of ratings powerhouses like The View, which she has co-hosted.

“I got one bit of advice from the producer before going on. He said you’re going to have to jump in because if you don’t you won’t get a word in edgewise,” she says.

“He was absolutely right. It’s not my nature to compete for attention. I’d come on the show in the past as a guest star but not as a host. I think I’m more comfortable being a guest.”

Although at the start of her career she was focused on starring roles in the New York theater world, television kept sending her offers. Delany originally said no to China Beach (the show that she won the 1989 Best Actress Emmy for) until her agent assured her it was a great script.

Years of experience have taught her to recognize that a role is all about the strength of the written word. So many of the best roles for women, she discovered, are on television. It changed her outlook.

“I always knew that I wanted to be an actress, from the time I was a little a kid. It sounds pretentious, but I really feel it’s like my calling,” she says.

“I don’t think of it as just my job, it’s something that fulfills my soul. I’m just lucky that it’s worked out.”

Most famous for her stunning Irish looks, one well-known film critic has also spoken of her black Irish soul.

“I think there is a bit of truth to that idea. People often talk of the Irish bachelor, and I think I’m the female version of that,” says Delany.

“I come from a long line of bachelors – my uncle, my grandfather, my father were all very solitary people, loners really, with a slight bit of the melancholy that comes with being Irish. I’m just one of those people who’s a bit of a wanderer. I like traveling solo. I’m an Irish female bachelor - that’s just who I am.”

Researching her last name on the Internet, Delany discovered that it translated to “black defiance.” The idea delighted her.

“I do have a temper and it rarely comes out, but when it does it’s very cold and cutting. I thought that translation was very appropriate. I’m not an explosive type, it takes me time to get there, but once it’s out it’s out.”

Actresses often complain about the lack of roles for women over 40, but Delany has had no trouble in consistently finding challenging work. Fledgling actors might want to take note of this.

The secret of her success is very simple, she says. Delany surrounds herself with creative people which always leads to challenging work. It may not always be a high profile acting gig or a starring role, but it will often lead to one. By consistently staying on the radar she has been picked for more roles more often than most other actresses of her generation.

“In the beginning it was hard. New York’s a tough town and it took me a while,” Delany says of her early acting days.

“Even though I grew up in Connecticut it’s very different living in New York. I had the assortment of odd jobs to make money while I was doing theater.”

Some will be surprised to hear that Delaney was originally offered the role of Bree – the uncrowned matriarch of the Desperate Housewives neighborhood – no less than three times by the show’s creator Marc Cherry. Each time she refused.

“It was not what I wanted to do at the time. I listen to my instincts because in the end that’s all we have,” she says.

“It just didn’t feel right to me at the moment. I had been doing a lot of work and I just didn’t want to commit to a series. I felt like it was a role I had already done. The show turned out to be a huge success, and I’m delighted to be a part of it.”

Growing up in Connecticut, Delaney knew a lot of women like those depicted in the show. Women for whom life is all about taste and style and not really about the heart.

She also knows there’s a great cost attached. All of the women of the block have to lead perfect lives, but they all have their secrets. That’s why the show’s become such a success – people can relate.

It helps that the writing is strong too. Playing against every stereotype, the gay couple living on Wisteria Lane is famous for their bad taste. As Katherine Mayfair, Delany becomes incensed by the sight of their pink flamingo on the lawn and becomes president of the local neighborhood association just so that she can have it removed.

Again, playing against stereotype, it’s not the gayness of her neighbors but their miserable taste that sets her off.

“I was sort of surprised when I first came on the show because I didn’t know I was going to be so mean to everyone. That took me aback,” Delany says.

“Now I don’t care if people don’t like my character, I just want them to understand her. Soon her secrets are revealed we are going to see a softer Katherine, but I don’t think she’ll lose all of her snarkiness because I think that’s fun.

“I hope she continues to stir thing up. All will be revealed in the season finale. It will all come out – the whole story!”

The two-hour special season finale of Desperate Housewives will air this Sunday at 9 p.m. on ABC.

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