Selma Blair plays bratty daughter in TV sitcom
By Bruce R. Miller | Posted: Friday, October 31, 2008
Selma Blair stars as Kim in the NBC sitcom "Kath and Kim." The series was adapted from an Australian original. In that version, mom and daughter were played by actresses the same age.
LOS ANGELES -- If you squint a lot and put Vaseline on your eyeballs, Selma Blair says, you could believe she's Molly Shannon's daughter.
In "Kath and Kim," creative costuming and inventive acting do the trick.
Shannon, who's 44, and Blair, who's 36, got the roles because they're good actors, Executive Producer Michelle Nader says.
Besides, the Australian actresses who created the roles "are the same age," Blair says. "Actresses play different people all the time. It's weird. It's this thing called 'acting.'"
Shannon knows. She made a name for herself as Mary Katherine Gallagher, a Catholic school girl on "Saturday Night Live."
Now, the two are comfortable in the roles. Shannon wears a wig. Blair dons hair extensions -- and clothes that are way too tight.
"Kim eats a lot," she says. "Her clothes are three sizes too small because it's the stuff she was wearing when she was 13, so there are a lot of wobbly bits hanging around."
Blair doesn't mind. As she envisions the character, "Kim's delusional. She thinks she's a real trophy wife and looks amazing."
Shot like "The Office," "Kath and Kim" follows the day-to-day exploits of an outgoing mother and her obnoxious daughter. Both have men in their lives, but Kim splits from her husband with amazing regularity. Humor comes from their attempts to lead lives like their idols.
Kim worships Britney Spears, Blair says. "She's really in a state of arrested development, which I see all the time. People don't want to grow up, so it's part of the humor that my character could be 20, 30, 40. We see it in the tabloids -- people not dressing their ages, mothers of famous people not dressing their ages. And my character loves that and looks up to those people."
Britney Spears and Paris Hilton "get it right. I get it wrong."
Blair heard about the role before she went to film "Hellboy II." "I had to work really hard to convince them to let me do it. It was great material. There's not that much for a girl that's a little past her prime. I wanted to play someone who was different than me. Now, I find that she's not that different."
Blair laughs. Able to slip into character in a minute's notice, she's the kind of actress Christopher Guest would love for his largely improvised films. She admits she'd love to be in something like "Waiting for Guffman." Instead, she's often cast as the "girlfriend of" or the sidekick.
In former Sioux Cityan Lori Petty's film "The Poker House," she plays a mother going through a hard time in life. The story is told through the eyes of her 14-year-old daughter. Petty, Blair says, "did an exceptionally good job" as director. "She was really remarkable."
In "Driving Lessons," Blair plays a teacher who has an affair with her student. "I don't know anything about that film," she says bluntly. "But it was an interesting experience."
Now, she's concentrating on Kim, a character with infinite possibilities. When she's not working, "I surf. I horseback ride. I play with my dog. But mostly," she adds with a smile, "I work."
In "Kath and Kim," creative costuming and inventive acting do the trick.
Shannon, who's 44, and Blair, who's 36, got the roles because they're good actors, Executive Producer Michelle Nader says.
Besides, the Australian actresses who created the roles "are the same age," Blair says. "Actresses play different people all the time. It's weird. It's this thing called 'acting.'"
Shannon knows. She made a name for herself as Mary Katherine Gallagher, a Catholic school girl on "Saturday Night Live."
Now, the two are comfortable in the roles. Shannon wears a wig. Blair dons hair extensions -- and clothes that are way too tight.
"Kim eats a lot," she says. "Her clothes are three sizes too small because it's the stuff she was wearing when she was 13, so there are a lot of wobbly bits hanging around."
Blair doesn't mind. As she envisions the character, "Kim's delusional. She thinks she's a real trophy wife and looks amazing."
Shot like "The Office," "Kath and Kim" follows the day-to-day exploits of an outgoing mother and her obnoxious daughter. Both have men in their lives, but Kim splits from her husband with amazing regularity. Humor comes from their attempts to lead lives like their idols.
Kim worships Britney Spears, Blair says. "She's really in a state of arrested development, which I see all the time. People don't want to grow up, so it's part of the humor that my character could be 20, 30, 40. We see it in the tabloids -- people not dressing their ages, mothers of famous people not dressing their ages. And my character loves that and looks up to those people."
Britney Spears and Paris Hilton "get it right. I get it wrong."
Blair heard about the role before she went to film "Hellboy II." "I had to work really hard to convince them to let me do it. It was great material. There's not that much for a girl that's a little past her prime. I wanted to play someone who was different than me. Now, I find that she's not that different."
Blair laughs. Able to slip into character in a minute's notice, she's the kind of actress Christopher Guest would love for his largely improvised films. She admits she'd love to be in something like "Waiting for Guffman." Instead, she's often cast as the "girlfriend of" or the sidekick.
In former Sioux Cityan Lori Petty's film "The Poker House," she plays a mother going through a hard time in life. The story is told through the eyes of her 14-year-old daughter. Petty, Blair says, "did an exceptionally good job" as director. "She was really remarkable."
In "Driving Lessons," Blair plays a teacher who has an affair with her student. "I don't know anything about that film," she says bluntly. "But it was an interesting experience."
Now, she's concentrating on Kim, a character with infinite possibilities. When she's not working, "I surf. I horseback ride. I play with my dog. But mostly," she adds with a smile, "I work."
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