According to IMDb, your first credits in the industry were in 1983 with the series The Optimist and Bay City Blues. Since you were already 35 years old at the time, why do you think it took so long for you to start working professionally as an actress?
When you look back at that time, it was basically a period when women were really taught to learn how to type, and this was all you were going to be able to do. I mean, I remember working in the 70s when women couldn't own a house, women couldn't get a credit card, women were only expected to wear dresses and have two pairs of stockings in their drawers—if one got a run, you had to replace it. So, I basically started out as a credit investigator, and I worked my way up to being a national credit manager. I worked for James B. Lansing Sound, which made JBL speakers. I was doing small jobs here and there as an actress, and whenever I got a job, I used it as my break.
So, at the beginning, you were alternating between your stable job and your first acting roles...
I was doing what fed my soul, and that was acting. But at the same time, I had that mentality of, "You're a woman, you're never going to be able to do anything, and show business is just out of the question." I mean, I can still hear my aunt saying, "No, no. You need to do something else because you'll never make it." And I'm sorry that they're not alive to see that I made it. And you know what? I always tell everyone, "You can too. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you cannot have your dreams, because you can."
In 1990, you starred in the movie Daddy's Dyin'... Who's Got the Will?, playing Beau Bridges' wife. How did you get that role?
I had been doing the original play for Del Shores for over two years on stage. Then we got to go to the Fringe Festival in Scotland and perform. Molly McClure, who played the grandmother—may she rest in peace now—and I got to reprise our roles in the film. For me, it was great because I knew who I was in that film, having done it for so long. I do remember Beau being so gracious one time. Since he was the major star, we did all his scenes first, then the camera reversed on me. And when the camera reversed on me, he suddenly said, "Can I do my part again? Because I'm seeing things and feeling things that I didn't feel the first time." So, it's that kind of collaboration. I worked with the most marvelous, wonderfully talented cast.
You ran a self-funded campaign by placing an ad in Variety to be considered for the Oscar. Given that it wasn't a widely seen film and MGM wasn't supporting the campaign, did you truly think you might be considered for the award?
Well, everyone I had talked to said it was really a good film. I was encouraged by all of the cast and crew members to do it. I hired a publicist. I really didn't know anything about what to do or how to do anything like that, and it just didn't work, but we did what we could. You know, I got to talk with Johnny Carson, and it opened doors in other aspects for me, even if I didn't win or get a nomination.
Looking back, do you feel that it led to better career opportunities from that point on?
Yes, because they suddenly were like, "Who is this woman?" It's like that saying that if a door closes, a window opens. Don't let it stop you. If it's your dream, you keep working towards it because that's what you want and what your heart and soul needs.
As you said, you went to promote the movie on The Tonight Show, which was still hosted by the legendary Johnny Carson at the time. How did it feel to be sitting on the most iconic talk show in American TV history?
You know, I kept going, "Oh, oh, oh." And he asked me if I was having visions (laughs). One of the things that all the actors I was surrounded by would always say was, "When I get on the show with Johnny Carson, I know I've made it, and I'm going to tell people who were mean to me, tell them who they were." So, anyway, it was just wonderful. And working with Jay Leno, too. I mean, I got the opportunity two times. So, it just opened more doors.
That same year, you appeared in an episode of Roseanne, and four years later, you portrayed Roseanne Barr herself in the TV movie Roseanne & Tom: Behind the Scenes. Do you feel that having worked with her added something extra to your performance?
You know, I'm not really sure. I always told people, "It was good to be the queen when I got the opportunity." She was at the height of her career. It was wonderful to be on her show. After I did the movie of the week, I met her. I was on an elevator. She got on the elevator, and she said, "You. I like what you did, but you cried too much." And she was very generous to me. She did tell David Letterman that she gave me my start in show business (laughs). And I was like, "Okay, I'm a little bit older. I've been doing this longer than you have, darling. But, you know, you hit it big, you're great, and I'm getting this great opportunity."
Was it the only time you met her after doing the TV movie?
No. Years later, they had an anniversary for her show, which I was invited to because I had been on the show. All of a sudden, I'm in the room, and somebody gives me a baby. I'm holding on to the baby, and I'm not sure whose baby it is. Then Roseanne comes through the door, saying, "Why is she holding my grandbaby?" (laughs). Anyway, we deal with a lot of mental health issues and things like that, and I by no means know if that's what she's been going through or not, but she was a creative genius. I'm just sorry to see that now there's disagreement and disparaging remarks being said about her, because my experience was always in a positive way.
One of your most memorable roles was playing Suzanne Somers' sister on Step by Step. Can you describe your experience on that beloved show?
You know, that's one of the shows that I got from Daddy's Dyin'... Who's Got the Will? I was put under contract to ABC. They sold me to Miller-Boyett Productions and Lorimar Television. I was so happy knowing that I was going to be working with Suzanne, and I love Patrick Duffy; I mean, we're still friends right now. It was so much fun. I have to say that Peggy Rea, who played the mother and passed away several years ago—may she rest in peace, too—was a consummate professional. And along the ninth or tenth, maybe a little later, episodes, we looked at each other and said, "Well, maybe we're not going to be long for this series."
That was kind of odd. You both had quite important characters, and then suddenly you were not there anymore. Do you know what the real reason was behind both of your departures from the show?
The show was going more towards the kids. Then Cody came on, and Sasha Mitchell was playing him, which was wonderful. He had already worked with Patrick on Dallas. It was kind of like, do you remember Family Matters when Urkel came on? It was the same kind of thing. What direction did the audience take? We sort of realized we were the older, superfluous kind of people at this point, and we just went into the beauty shop and were never heard of again. But that's happened before. I mean, people have gone upstairs and never come downstairs. They've been lost forever. Or you're in a coma somewhere. It's just show business. And for the business aspect, if the ratings are going higher with this person, they're going to go with that. There was more story going on with the kids because that was the age range of the viewing audience.
What was it like working alongside John Malkovich in In the Line of Fire?
What an incredible actor, nice person, and just can be creepy as hell (laughs). I have to tell you that when I was doing the film, I was also doing a stage show. One of the young girls in the show came up to me and jokingly said, "If I don't get to meet John Malkovich, I'll kill you." So I asked if it would be all right for a young theater person to come and be on the set with me and perhaps meet John. Everything was agreed to. He spent at least two hours talking to her about theater. And I mean, first of all, now I'm a goddess as far as she's concerned. I was mesmerized by all the stuff he was talking about because I love to do theater as well. Then, they called him in and said, "John, we're ready for you now." Suddenly, he turned into that character. He transformed his face. It was amazing.
Any particular anecdote you'd like to share?
He went in to work with the young lady who played my roommate on the show, which was her first big film. There were two and a half hours of her getting thrown into that mantelpiece. But when it was time to kill me, he was very much okay with the stunt thing. He was like, "When we do this, we're going to go one, two, three," so that I would turn at the same time, ensuring no one would get hurt. He was so kind. In that film, the scene where they're on the roof and he's kind of hanging there, it was his impulse to put that gun in his mouth. He made that decision, which made it just incredible—creepier, but such a wonderful moment. Anyway, I can't say enough about him.
In the mid-90s, you ventured into voice acting by playing one of the sheep in the cinematic classic Babe, something you repeated when you participated in Rango in 2011. What do you find special about acting solely through your voice, without your physical image?
First of all, it's not my forte; it was just another little feather in my cap. I have to say my voiceover friends are geniuses. I mean, they're amazing. And I would not put myself in the category of voiceover actress. I belonged to what they call a loop group, which is ADR—additional dialogue for the films and stuff. And at the time, this particular company that was doing Babe had no idea what they had. They really didn't, because they didn't have any marketing going on. We were just part of the voices that filled in things at the end. So, I made sheep sounds. Then, when I did Rango, it was very different.
How so?
I'm better if I'm in the room when I audition. For me, when I went in the room with Gore Verbinski, that's where I got the job—talking and doing whatever he asked for. I just did it on the spot. And it was a strange thing because we didn't go into sound booths when we were rehearsing. We were on a big sound stage, and we would rehearse live. Then, we'd go behind giant battens, the whole group, and everybody had a mic and was doing the same thing at the same time. But there's a dance scene when all the animals are dancing with each other. They hired a choreographer to come in, and all of us who were doing the voices were asked to do the dances and everything so the animators could see how people moved. At one point, I remember Gore talking to Johnny Depp, saying, "Now, I want you to do this. And then I want you to walk over here, and I want you to pull your gun out like this." At this point, Johnny goes, "Is this animated? Why am I doing all of this?" (laughs).
In 1997, you appeared in Speed 2: Cruise Control, marking the second time you had been part of a sequel after also appearing in Gremlins 2: The New Batch in the early '90s. Do you think it's worth making continuations of movies that were originally so successful?
Well, you know, I think it's okay to do it, but I think sometimes you need to remember that the first one was a hit. If this movie cost a million dollars, don't think you're going to do a sequel for five million. When we did Speed 2, I think it could have been a lot better, but at the same time, 20th Century Fox was putting money into Titanic. So you're kind of like this: "James Cameron, Titanic, whoosh. Speed 2, clunk. No, we can't do any more shooting here." Gremlins 2 at least sort of stayed with the character and the «don't get them wet after night» thing. But as far as Speed 2, it could have been a lot better had the promises that had been made about money and stuff like that been continued. But it's, again, show business. What's going to make you a lot of money? Titanic or Speed 2? Titanic. So where are you going to put your money? Titanic.
What do you personally think about this idea of show business putting money over artistic choices?
Honey, it's any business, either show business or business business. When you're dealing with, like, Amazon, if some product's not working, it's gone. It's about what's making the product grow, the money grow, the money come in, because that's how the company itself keeps going. It's like being not asked to come back for Step by Step. The fact that the audience was all young meant that the advertisers were not going to do Depend commercials; they were going to do Sugar Pops, popcorn, and candy for these kids. So again, it's all business, but you can get through that. Nobody can tell you you can't, just keep going.
Which moments stand out to you from being directed by Clint Eastwood in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?
The fact that he asked me to do something, and I said, "Mr. Eastwood, wouldn't it be better..." He goes, "Wait, honey, it's Clint. It's Clint, darling." I said, "Okay, Clint. Wouldn't it be better if I came through the door on this side because of the fact that..." Anyway, he said, "I think you're right. Hey, everybody. She's going to come in this way." So, he made me feel part of the family; he made me feel valid as a performer, but also as someone who thinks about what she's doing. A lot of times, everything they want you to do is on that printed page, but sometimes the printed page is what the writer envisions. But if you're putting yourself into the character, I may start to laugh on a certain line because emotionally, that's where it comes from for me. That's where it came from in the audition that got me the job...
Was there ever a situation where you had to fight to be heard as a performer?
Years ago, I did The Vagrant, and when I did it, I had a sex scene, and I was portraying it like I was drunk because she's supposed to be drunk. And the director said, "No, no. I want this to be tragic." I was like, "Okay." Which is what I did and they shot. Two weeks later, I had to go back and shoot it the way that I felt it was supposed to be done in the first place. So, it took extra time and money. You know, Bill Paxton, may he rest in peace. What a loss for all of us. He was always teasing, "Wait. She's gone into the second pair of underwear." He was joking around, trying to make it light. And I'm mortified, I said, "Stop!" (laughs).
From 1998 to 2024, you appeared in over 500 episodes in what is probably your most prominent role as Nancy Wesley on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. What would you say are the biggest differences between acting in this genre and acting in other formats, based on your own experience?
In a film, you come in and shoot maybe the middle of the script today, and then they'll call you back in a week or so, and you're going to shoot something from the first part of the scene. It's disjointed. If you're doing a soap opera, it's like shooting a movie script a day. So, you may have 20 to 40 pages to memorize. So that, and there's no stopping—it's not like going, "Stop! Line." There's none of that. You need to keep going. Generally, the only time they stop is if it's a camera issue, or if there are shadows on somebody that shouldn't be there, or if your glasses glare funny, or whatever.
Isn't it exhausting at some point?
It does get exhausting, especially if you have a heavy storyline, because then you may work three days a week, and then you have two days to memorize the whole next week. And it is some of the hardest work I have ever done, because one minute you're laughing and everything's good here, and then you're emotionally wrecked by the next scene. I have such great admiration and respect for every one of the actors that I have worked with during my 20 years in daytime TV; they bust their ass making sure that the audience loves what's going on. And I have to tell you that, which will make me cry, the fans of daytime are some of the most extraordinary and loyal people. I have so many fans that have become friends. And they think of you as family because you come into their houses every single day.
Is there any storyline or narrative arc that has left a lasting impression on you during your long tenure on the show?
Well, I think that doing the leukemia story, where Kevin Spirtas and I had a child to save our other daughter, was impactful. They just brought her on, and of course, she's a resentful character because »you only love your good daughter». They ended up doing an LGBTQ+ storyline where my husband decides that he is gay. And I wish that that show had been done better in the fact that it was kind of like, "I'm here. I don't love you anymore. I'm gay. Goodbye." I would hope that at some point, Kevin and I would come back to the show and maybe stretch this out in the fact that I'm happy in one place, he's happy in another place, but we still love each other. We have two beautiful children together. See, those things were not addressed the first time. There's so much more to that, so much more that needed to be explored in that storyline.
Could you expand on this idea?
I mean, I'm always grateful to be working, but I think it did a disservice to women who've had this happen to them, and also to the gay community. We all have different colors to what we do and how we do it. And to be dismissive of these two vital things, I think, was not a good thing for the show. But again, in a heartbeat, I would go back. I had so much fun with all the people there, who I still see all the time. It becomes a family. And I think, in some aspects, Days of Our Lives has forgotten that. But I know that they have new head writers now who were there before and really worked hard. In fact, the new head writer is the one who created the leukemia story that gave us Joy, our daughter.
Over the course of your career, you've had guest roles on some iconic television series. What memorable experiences or stories do you recall from these appearances, starting with your time on Seinfeld in the '90s?
I got to do two episodes there. The first one, I had just done Step by Step's pilot. I got asked to come over and do this role. I think Fred Applegate was the actor. But also, there was Jason Alexander. Jason, right now, works for a cancer charity called WeSpark. They're wonderful. They treat the cancer patient, their family and friends, and nobody's charged. It was started by Wendie Jo Sperber. Anyway, that first episode was so much fun. I didn't get to meet Larry David at the time, but later, there was another episode called The Sniffing Accountant, and that was where Newman got me and started touching me at the mailbox, and I started screaming for my boyfriend. I was also doing Burt Reynolds' show at the time, and so it was like, they didn't shoot on Monday, so I shot this on Monday. So again, I felt that my talent willed out, and the fact that Jerry or Larry asked me to do another episode—God bless them.
What about Desperate Housewives and The Big Bang Theory?
With Desperate Housewives, I got to do one episode in the beginning and then one when they were ending. And so, again, Marc Cherry, genius. And The Big Bang Theory, what a great bunch of guys that were there. I have to tell you, Jim Parsons, the actor playing Sheldon, and all of them came over to the table where we ladies were sitting for our scene, and each one of them thanked us for being there and said they were looking forward to a great show. Just really nice. And it was interesting because some of the crew I had worked with on Roseanne. So, I mean, there was some closeness.
In 2016, you won a Primetime Emmy Award for your role in Acting Dead, and two years later, you won a Daytime Emmy Award for The Bay, though the latter was revoked afterwards. What reasons did The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences provide to explain this decision?
Okay, first of all, the producers, Gregori J. Martin, they were the ones that submitted me. What happened was there was an error, because the year before, I guess they had changed. So, if you have done this, you can't be a guest and things like that. And, I mean, there were so many convoluted things going on there. But it came back like they were trying to make it my fault. One of the gentlemen that worked for the Academy, the one that put out the Daytime Emmys, said to me vocally, "I'm so sorry, Patrika, they're going to take your Emmy, and they want to take so-and-so's also, but I'm going to fight for him." And I was like, "You're going to fight for him, but what about me?" For me, my good name was being put into question, and the one thing we do have is our good name. Don't let anybody ever mess with your name. And I wanted it very clear that I hadn't done the submission. All I did was get the Emmy.
At the time, you mentioned that it was related to ageism, favoritism and gender inequality. What specific instances were you referring to with those statements? Is it that incident where the member of the Academy told you he was fighting for the other actor?
Yeah, he was a young, hot actor. I was an older lady. I felt that there were also some questionable things about the fact that some of the people who were supposed to be impartial were going to private parties with these other people. It just didn't sit right with me. Then they were going to give it to another actress who was older, but then they decided she had submitted wrong, too. So the worst part of this—and this will make me cry—one person in this category submitted everything correctly. It was his shot for an Emmy, but the National Academy for Television Arts and Sciences threw the whole category out. So it was throwing the baby out with the bathwater. This young person may never get another opportunity, and they screwed it up for him. And that, to me, is despicable. I pray that he gets another opportunity.
You are a board member at The Thalians, an organization dedicated to raising funds to educate and destigmatize mental health. What achievements have you had recently?
Well, The Thalians was started years ago by Mariska Hargitay's mother, Jayne Mansfield, with Debbie Reynolds heavily involved. Ruta Lee is still there; they're old Hollywood. The business has changed so much, whereas, you know, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra aren't around anymore. There used to be big galas and stuff, and Hollywood supported mental health. We work with Operation Mend out of UCLA, which helps our returning vets who may have PTSD. Also, one of our spokesmen, Joey, was severely burned. Operation Mend works with them mentally to let them know that whatever is on the outside may have been distorted, but who you are is still here. Our organization donates $250,000 every year, sometimes more when we have it, and we will continue to do so because I think things are only going to get worse, mental health-wise.
What is your most important goal for The Thalians moving forward?
When we go to show business, my hardest thing with The Thalians right at this moment is making them realize that it's not 1950, it's 2025. And if we want to cultivate things, we need to start getting new members because, God bless our old members who donate to us generously all the time, but I'm not sure if we're in their will. So when those generous members are gone, we don't have a backup. That's one of the things I work on with Frank Sheftel—he's our president—to try to start doing things that attract younger members, other people like me who want to get involved, and to start doing events like they used to do before.
What have you been up to in recent years?
Well, I've done a number of different web series, and some of them are starting out and doing well. I mean, I'm not totally involved. So once I do the job, I'm onto the next job. Yesterday, I shot a commercial. I did a Super Bowl commercial last year, and now I'm doing this one. It's not a Super Bowl commercial, but it's another one. So again, listen, if the voiceover asks me to do something, I'm there. If they want me for commercials, I'm there. If they want me for theatrical work, soap operas, movies, or television, I'm there. I am glad to say I'm a working actor, and I'm fulfilling my dreams.
Also, you did Ladies of the ‘80s: A Divas Christmas...
I did Ladies of the ‘80s, which was kind of strange, but God bless them for asking me to do it. I was on the last day of shooting, so I didn't work with anybody but the assistant director, the camera crew, and the director lady. I just had to look at a spot on the wall, and the stage manager was reading me the words.
What's your advice for young actors?
I encourage all young actors to do vision boards about what you want, and every day look at it and move yourself forward toward that direction. I did one years and years ago for the Emmys, and I have two Emmys, though I had to return one. But I have pictures with both of them, so as far as I'm concerned, I got two (laughs). Just be positive about you and what you're doing, and keep working on it. But again, you're not an overnight success, and don't sit in a bar and whine about not having a job. Go into a class and start meeting other people who don't have jobs and are working for them. Network, network, network. And be kind.
What personal and professional projects do you have in the near future?
Well, you know, I wish I could predict the future, but listen, I have two different people who've written series that are trying to get them done, with me attached to them, and a couple of films. So, I'm open to most anything. I could retire and be happy as far as being able to take care of things, but I don't think I'd be happy not doing what I love to do. So, I'll be in a coffin trying to get out because I have an audition (laughs). It's that kind of thing. You just need to do what you love.