Author: Emma Loggins
Date: 2008-06-18

Interview:
In Plain Sight follows the story of a Federal Marshall with the Witness Protection program who must hide her high-risk, high-impact job from her family. To those that know her, Mary Shannon is a glorified meter maid, but her real job is much more dangerous. She must oversee federal witnesses who have been relocated through the Witness Protection program and make sure that they stay safe. We had the honor of sitting down with one of the stars from the series, Lesley Ann Warren. Here's what he had to say:

Did you find anything in particularly challenging about your role?

L. Warren: It's interesting because I don't know how much of it you see in advance or whatever, but if you're just seeing the first two episodes, she is so much more complex a character than is apparent initially, and I knew that going in because I had talked with the creator, David Maples. But what you will get to see is, what is revealed along the way, is her broken dreams and her sort of heartbreak and what motivates her to behave in the ways that she does initially, which seems like she's just this great party animal. But she adores her daughters, but has no clue as to how to raise them and gave up her own dreams in order to try to do this mothering.

How much of that history with your character did you know going into the role and how much did you have to fill in a little bit to hone your performance?

L. Warren: I did know a sort of general trajectory of the character because I had talked about it with David, but it was pretty general at the time that we discussed it because he hadn't written the scripts yet. But I had a sort of sense of where she was going and then with each new script I work with a coach, I always do, and we would fill out some of the pieces of her history that maybe weren't apparent in each episode so that I could come into it with a knowledge of her background. And so some of it is fabricated by me and some of it is supplied by David. The interesting thing about doing a series for me, which I've never done really, is that each episode reveals some other facet of your character to you, which is kind of exciting.

How is the character of Jinx different than other characters you've played and is that something that drew you to the character or how did that come to be?

L. Warren: It is something that drew me to the character because when I first read the pilot, my character had a really small role in it, but I loved the writing of the show. I thought the show was really smart and sophisticated and edgy and very sort of cool and a unique tone for television, or anywhere actually.

And so I went in and met with David Maples, the creator, and it was his revealing to me where this character goes and the journey that she takes and the sort of heartbreak that's at her core and that's what really drew me to her. So, I don't feel like, in fact, I have ever played a character like her before and as an actress, that's what is ultimately the most challenging to me.

What has been your favorite scene to film so far on In Plain Sight?

L. Warren: That's interesting. I mean I think it was the scene where I get to audition for Sweet Charity, which is a community theatre production of Sweet Charity that's being done in the area. So I got to sing, which is something I love to do, and then my daughter, Mary, walks in on me and I don't even know that she knows that I've gone to audition, and I feel humiliated and disgraced, and all the pain of the past comes bubbling up inside of Jinx and she lets it all out. And I think it was very revealing and very difficult, but very revealing and sort of heartbreaking thing to shot, and that, in combination with the singing, I think, was my favorite moment.