When I first moved to L.A. in January 1999, I worked for a foreign journalist for about six months. During that time I conducted interviews with well-known actors Michael Ontkean (Twin Peaks' Sheriff Truman, Slap Shot), and Laurie Holden (The X-Files' Marita Covarrubius, The Majestic). Ontkean's interview was more fun -- as it was conducted informally at his home in Malibu -- but I enjoyed both immensely. I wouldn't mind doing something like this again, so if anyone out there has the hook-up to David Bowie, give me a call...

MICHAEL ONTKEAN, ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST TALENTED ACTORS. FROM "SLAP SHOT" TO "TWIN PEAKS" TO TODAY'S INTELLIGENT CAREER CHOICES, HE'S STILL CHARMING US...

An interview by Alexandra Scarborough

Malibu, CA. USA

Upon meeting MICHAEL ONTKEAN, a veteran of film and television, one immediately notices his complete lack of pretension. We were greeted by his smiling face, outstretched hand, and a gracious personality - he even offered drinks and comfortable shoes! Ontkean has a manner that is simultaneously animated and open -- inviting as much discourse from the interviewer from as he himself. You simply can't help but feel better after sharing in conversation with him. When Ontkean describes his creative passions (which, aside from acting, include: poetry, his family, drumming, motorcycle repair and ice hockey), he often erupts into a deep genuine laugh, demonstrating his assertion that he truly feels "blessed." Ontkean came to Hollywood after four successful years of playing right wing on his college hockey team at the University of New Hampshire, where in his junior year, he led the nation in scoring. In his senior year, he hitched a ride with two girlfriends to drive across the U.S. Once in Los Angeles, he managed to get onto the Warner Brothers studio lot and found his way to director Norman Jewison's office. He asked Jewison about a job, and the director had him read a bit from Fiddler on the Roof. That led to a screen test, which kicked off his nearly three decade career, including dozens of portrayals in films such as Slap Shot (with Paul Newman), The Toy Factory (with Orson Welles), The Blood of Others (with Jodie Foster), Making Love (with Harry Hamlin and Kate Jackson), and many television roles, including a successful run of the show The Rookies, and most notably as the sensitive and earnest Sheriff Harry S. Truman in David Lynch's Twin Peaks.

WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF TWIN PEAKS LIKE?

Twin Peaks was definitely a world unto itself. It was its own universe, defining itself constantly, and it was fun to be a part of that. It was like being on a hockey team that wins the championship; you're all huddled together, yet each person has their own distinct way of approaching things.

HOW WAS YOUR RAPPORT OFF-CAMERA WITH KYLE MACLACHLAN (AGENT DALE COOPER), GIVEN THAT YOUR BOND ON-SCREEN WAS SO CLOSE, ALMOST BROTHERLY?

We hit it off right away. After the first rehearsal we discovered we were both big Led Zeppelin and Kate Bush fans. (Laughs).

YOUR CHARACTERS' RELATIONSHIP TRANSCENDED THE TYPICAL BUDDY-COP SCENARIO.

Truman and Cooper were a tribute to (series creators) David Lynch and Mark Frost. They were two characters that were very dissimilar, yet had a lot of points of intersection. They came from different worlds, backgrounds and world views, but they had an honest respect for one another, and were genuinely amused by each other, rather than passing judgement.

DO YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH BEING RECOGNIZED AS HARRY MORE THAN ANY OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU'VE PORTRAYED?

It depends on where I am! (Smiles). Working on Twin Peaks was a wonderful experience and if it were the only thing I had ever done as an actor, I would still be extremely pleased.

BACKING UP A BIT, LET'S TALK ABOUT SLAP SHOT. DID YOU TEACH PAUL NEWMAN ANY HOCKEY MOVES?

He taught me life moves. Newman was my boyhood hero. To have him so generously open the door to acting was a gift beyond my wildest dreams.

YOU MADE THAT FILM AFTER A BREAK IN YOUR CAREER.

Yes, it was after I did The Rookies, and I stopped acting for about two and a half years. I had come out to California and did a half a dozen "B" movies and a TV series that was very successful all within about two years -- so I was a little dizzy. (Laughs). It had been fun, but suddenly stopped being that way -- so, believing in the pleasure principle, I decided to back off and do something else. I had hockey and all my friends in New England, so I went back and spent my time playing, repairing motorcycles, writing and enjoying myself. Two and a half years later, Slap Shot brought me out of the woods. Without that film, I never would have returned to acting.

IN YOUR VERY FIRST FILM, THE TOY FACTORY, YOU WORKED WITH LEGEND ORSON WELLES. DID HE PROVIDE YOU WITH ANY INSIGHT OR TIPS THAT YOU USED LATER?

I took notes on everything he said to me! (Laughs). He was a legend, and as luck would have it, he was very kind and generous to me. He was a great storyteller and raconteur. He also gave me sound advice: "don't depend on one industry or country for your livelihood. Spread yourself around the world, so if you happen to be out of favor in the USA, you keep in favor elsewhere." It didn't make sense at the time, but it paid off later, after I made Making Love.

HOW WAS THE RESPONSE TO MAKING LOVE?

It was a real mixture of things. You have to remember that the film came out in 1982, which was pre-AIDS, so America was still a strongly homophobic society. Making the movie was not simple, selling the movie was not simple, the reaction to the movie was not simple -- everybody was looking at it with different sets of eyes. But thank God for Europe -- I was invited to work there, and it resulted in four films. I had the time of my life in Paris, spending two years working with Claude Chabrol, Edouard Molinaro, Bruno Gantillon and others -- so the blacklisting from America over Making Love turned into a profound blessing.

HOW DID YOU END UP BACK IN HOLLYWOOD?

I was asked to play music in the film Maid to Order, and having a whole family of musicians in California, I decided to get back to my rock and roll roots.

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING POETRY?

When I was a teenager. I has to hide my books and my poems in the bottom of my duffel bag, because at that time in Canada the only acceptable things were hockey, beer and girls. (Laughs).

WHERE DO YOU PERFORM?

Cafes, colleges, nightclubs, coffeehouses, union halls, street corners -- you name it. I belong to a poetry squad and lately we've been giving hit-and-run readings on the metro buses and trains.

DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW FILMS COMING OUT?

Summer of the Monkeys was just released by Disney, and I have a new comedy scheduled for theatrical release this year called Isn't It Romantic?, with Alison Eastwood.

ANY PLANS TO PRODUCE YOUR OWN PROJECTS?

Funny you should ask that -- are you psychic? (Laughs). I do have something scheduled to begin shooting in late fall, that I'm producing. It will take me back to a part of Canada that I love, the prairies around Saskatoon.

SINCE YOU HAVE WORKED IN BOTH TELEVISION AND FILM, DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR FUTURE PROJECTS?

No -- I'm open to whatever life presents. (Smiles).

SMART, SEXY AND TALENTED - ACTRESS LAURIE HOLDEN OFFERS A LOOK INTO THE WOMAN BEHIND THE X-FILES' "MARITA COVARRUBIAS."

An interview by Alexandra Scarborough and Araldo di Crollalanza

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Laurie Holden, the actress who plays icy informant "Marita Covarrubias" to David Duchovny's "Fox Mulder", seems much younger in person. Perhaps it is due to her girlish smile or ease in conversation. Not a stitch of Covarrubias' cold-as-steel personality comes through. As beautiful and clear-eyed in natural sunshine as she is under the lights of the camera, Holden proffers a positive attitude toward all her life's accomplishments and endeavors. Raised in Canada, Holden was exposed to the world of film and television at an early age. Her stepfather is director Michael Anderson, known for such films as AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS and SUMMER OF THE MONKEYS, and Laurie often traveled with her family to film sites. At age seven, Holden received an unexpected opportunity to play the daughter of actor ROCK HUDSON in the Anderson-directed mini-series THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES. In college at UCLA, Holden started with studies in economics, but shifted to theatre by the end of her freshman year. In her senior year, she received the prestigious "Natalie Wood Acting Award" and landed her first acting job within a week of graduating. Since then, Laurie has racked up a number of roles, including a regular spot on CBS' THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, numerous film credits (including PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, directed by Michael Crichton), and of course, her recurring role on THE X-FILES. Holden speaks with a great deal of enthusiasm in regard to her work, co-stars, and influences, and is highly respectful to the craft of acting. Given her seemingly limitless zeal, she is sure to become a superstar.

WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?

Nothing at the moment, but I'm hoping to do a summer movie or two before THE X-FILES starts back up. I'm looking for a really good romantic comedy.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST RECENT FILM?

That would either be a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie called THE PATHFINDER with Graham Greene and Kevin Dillon, or an HBO film called PAST PERFECT I did with Eric Roberts, Saul Rubinek and Nick Mancuso.

ARE YOU THE ONLY DAUGHTER IN YOUR FAMILY?

No, I have an another sister who lives in Texas -- she's getting married soon -- and a little brother.

HOW IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GILLIAN ANDERSON ON THE SET?

It's wonderful! Unfortunately, we haven't had a chance to work together yet, because all the scenes I've had, have been with men. I think she's lovely. I feel very inspired by Gillian, because she is one of the best actresses on television, period. She's so truthful, and has such a soulful believability to everything she does. I look forward to getting to work with her. We've talked about it, actually. We were saying that we would really love to go head-to-head and have a "power-out' scene between the two of us.

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING IN ADVANCE ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUR CHARACTER ON NEXT SEASON'S X-FILES?

I have no idea. I'm hoping that I stay in that incapacitated state for a while. The last you saw of me, I was with Krychek (Nicholas Lea). So, I think it is possible that he and I are together somewhere. It should be interesting what Chris Carter has up his sleeve, but I don't think Marita could come back coiffed again; I believe she's been injured.

DOES CARTER EVER TALK TO THE ACTORS ONE-ON-ONE TO TELL YOU WHAT HE WANTS TO DO WITH THE CHARACTERS OR THE STORYLINE?

I had one big talk with Chris Carter when I first signed on to the show, and he said to me, "I think of Marita as a Mata Hari. I never want to see you feel, show empathy, or have humor -- this woman is the ultimate mystery. You don't know if she's going to kiss you or kill you."

SOME PEOPLE WERE DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU WEREN'T IN THE X-FILES FILM 'FIGHT THE FUTURE.' WERE YOU CUT OUT, OR WERE YOU JUST NOT IN IT AT ALL?

I wasn't in it at all, and I understand why. Chris Carter has had a real clear idea of what he wanted in terms of an arc for this character, and if I had been in the movie it would have been too early.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE COURSE OF THE SERIES THAT HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY FUNNY OR EXTRAORDINARY?

One of the oddest experiences was while I was shooting the episode "Tunguska," and Mulder came to Marita's apartment to figure out the contents of the diplomatic pouch...well, David had his dog Blue visit the set that day, and he wanted the dog on the set beside him. So here I am in this very slinky robe, and we're having a very intimate scene, and the entire time the dog is right by his side, just millimeters below the camera lens, panting heavily.