E-mail a friendNatascha McElhone
original airdate August 21, 2007
Natascha McElhone realized in her teens that she wanted to perform. Since making her film debut in Surviving Picasso, she's appeared with some of Hollywood's biggest stars in over two dozen films, including The Devil's Own and The Truman Show. She's on TV in TNT's The Company and Showtime's new series, Californication. The British-born actress attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and began her career in the theater. She's also appeared on several hit BBC TV productions.
Natascha McElhone
Tavis: Natascha McElhone is a talented actress whose film resume includes "Surviving Picasso," "The Truman Show," "Laurel Canyon," and "Solaris." Her latest project is for television, though, starring opposite David Duchovny in the new Showtime series, "Californication." Love that title. The show airs Monday nights at 10:30. Here now, a scene from "Californication."
Tavis: Duchovny comes to visit us regularly. What a nice guy.
Natascha McElhone: Yeah, he's a great guy.
Tavis: You like working with him?
McElhone: I love working with him. It's been a real - it has been a joy. I haven't actually - I'm not familiar with "The X-Files," I'm very embarrassed by that. Or -
Tavis: It was a big hit.
McElhone: I know. (Laughter) That much I do know, yeah.
Tavis: What were you doing during the "X-File" years?
McElhone: I know, during those years? (Laughter)
Tavis: You were doing something else.
McElhone: I must have been in jail or something, I don't know. But in a way I'm really glad, because I just met him on these terms, as this guy on the show.
Tavis: So you don't know how big Duchovny is, then. That "X-Files -” he has a huge, like, rabid following of people.
McElhone: I know. No, I know. Yeah, yeah.
Tavis: They're really pretty - yeah.
McElhone: But from what I gather, this is a totally different role, and (unintelligible) -
Tavis: Yeah, it's a very different role.
McElhone: - and he's great in this.
Tavis: For those who haven't seen the show, how would you describe it?
McElhone: A lot of fornicating in California, I guess. (Laughter)
Tavis: That's one way to put it.
McElhone: Yeah. It's - what is it? I had lots of people sort of describing it as more of a kind of - a sort of seventies-style feel to it, and something that was witty and clever and for adults, and adults behaving like kids a lot of the time but sort of uncompromising and honest and irreverent and all this stuff that combined I think will be different.
Tavis: And your character, your role?
McElhone: I guess I'm the classic - I'm the foil. And that's a challenge at times, because you want to kind of goof around like everyone else, and you have to hold the straight line so that there's some kind of reality or point of reference in the show (laughs) that people can relate to.
Tavis: How would you describe the relationship - well, first of all, you guys have a child together, right?
McElhone: Yeah.
Tavis: Tell me about your relationship with David's character in the show.
McElhone: He - well, they were together and they had a child together, and then they split up. And you don't actually see that at the beginning; you very much have moved past all of that. So you start the series where they're already separated, but there's clearly a huge pull between them still - some kind of chemical link. And they - you know that thing; can't live without him, can't live with him.
Tavis: As I see it - you tell me if I'm right or wrong - is he trying to make his way back, or is it just - to your point, just a bond that you can't get away from?
McElhone: Yeah, no, I think they're both kind of trying to clamber back in some way, but it just keeps falling apart, yeah.
Tavis: Yeah, yeah. So when you read something like this, what about a role like this intrigues you as an actress? Why did you want to do something like this?
McElhone: It's weird, the TV half-hour episodic thing, because I'm really not familiar with that at all. And so when I got this script, there's this tiny, thin little manuscript. It's like, this is just an idea, what? (Laughs) And so I had a long talk with the writer and the creator and the director of the pilot, and they were really compelling and very funny, and very into kind of collaborating and using all of our ideas together and all that stuff which I have to say they've stuck to, which quite often people promise that stuff and (unintelligible).
So it was not so much what was on the page; it was more the possibility of what it could end up being that excited me. And not knowing the end of your character's story, that, if you're used to doing film, mostly, where you know all the players - you know the beginning, middle, and end, you know your journey - it's a completely different trip, doing this.
Tavis: How's the transition been for you from - since you have done so many films, to this episodic -
McElhone: I love it. I've had the best summer. It's way beyond my wildest dreams. I entered in with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement but a bit of trepidation, and that's all fallen away. It's just been - I can't believe I'm getting paid to do it. It's been amazing fun.
Tavis: Let me switch gears somewhat gently here - maybe not so gently. In the show, you play the mother of Duchovny's child. In real life, you're married and your husband has a really fascinating line of work. And when I was doing the research for our conversation I really got into reading about what he does. Share more about what his work is.
McElhone: You mean on the charity side of it, or?
Tavis: Yeah, absolutely.
McElhone: So we run this charity called Facing the World which brings kids over from Third World countries with craniofacial deformities that can't be treated in their country of origin. And so that they come to England and we raise money for each one, and it's a pretty expensive process in that the medical treatment they need tends to be a lot, and obviously that costs a lot.
But it's been really, really successful, and we do various fundraisers and dinners. Or sometimes if I'm in a movie and the people behind it are willing to let us piggyback onto their premiere or something, we kind of raise money like that. So yeah, it started in Afghanistan and now there's kids from Laos, Cambodia, Haiti - where else? Two different - Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Tavis: So when you say it's expensive, what kind of money are you raising for these procedures?
McElhone: Well, the belief at the beginning was oh, it will just be, like, 10,000 pounds, so $20,000 per child. But you just go - well, from his point of view, you go in there and you open up this kid and you don't even know half the problems that you're going to be dealing with until you're in that, as he says. And so sometimes, the cost kind of goes up because let's say there's another problem that they didn't foresee because kids and the description of their illness hasn't been properly diagnosed from (unintelligible).
So they do the diagnosis once they arrive, by which time you're in too deep to pull out. So they tend to go ahead, but, like, we've had anonymous donors and things like that just come at the last minute and say, “No, you need another 10 grand to fix this kid up.” And (unintelligible).
And then there was a program made about him called "Changing Faces," and that also inspired a lot of sympathy and we raised a lot of money from that. But the good thing about those, you just see the results and the before and after. So yeah, he spends a lot of time doing that stuff, and I feel very humble in the face of that.
Tavis: To your point now, I was going to ask how being a part of that contextualizes what you do in life. I find that the charity work that I do, the nonprofit work that I do, always has a way of bringing me back to center. It always contextualizes what this TV thing is all about or the radio thing is all about, or being an author.
It kind of, for me at least, pales in comparison to the love and the service that you can provide to everyday people through whatever your philanthropic work is. How does being a part of that kind of work and experience contextualize your life and your work in this medium for you?
McElhone: Yeah, as you say, of course the entertainment industry seems to pale into insignificance when you're faced with the kind of stuff that my husband does. But then to counterbalance that, as he says, it's an incredible vessel to use for promoting or peddling your cause, whatever that may be. It's a great soapbox. Otherwise, people wouldn't find out about any of this stuff.
And also, just when I go to visit the kids in the hospital, what are they sitting and doing? They're watching TV when they recover. This generation seems it wouldn't - they wouldn't survive without TV. So I think it's all good.
Tavis: So your husband fixes them up and then they can turn the television on and watch his wife. (Laughter) I see how this works.
McElhone: Yeah.
Tavis: I see how it works. Natascha McElhone is her name - did I say that right?
McElhone: You said it absolutely right.
Tavis: When she walked on the set she asked me - while the clip was playing, she whispered in my ear, "Do you know how to pronounce my name correctly?" I said, "I've been practicing for three days to get it right." (Laughter) So I hope I got that right that time.
McElhone: It's only to save you embarrassment.
Tavis: That's okay. The show is "Californication." Again, love that title. It's on Showtime. Nice to have you here, and tell David we said hello.
McElhone: I will.
Tavis: Nice to see you.
McElhone: Thanks so much.
Back to August 21, 2007