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Alexandra Tydings Interview
In doing my research, I saw that you are a graduate of Brown University. Yes! Was your major in theatre? No, my department was called Modern Culture and Media. That's where the film department was. It was mostly theory -- feminist film theory and psychoanalytic theory. All that kind of stuff. [smiles] I noticed that in your background. It's cool that you have that experience and then took a role like Aphrodite. [laughs] I meant that in an entirely complimentary way. When you first took the role of Aphrodite and you played it in the "surfer babe" mode, was that your doing as far as implementation? That was the script they gave me. When you get words like "b*tch*n'" and "totally", you kinda have to go with that. [both laugh] Certainly, I took it to places that someone else might not have, but yes, they wrote that in the script. Since then, I'll get a script and I know the character pretty well and can make some suggestions, but the original thing was all the writers. Since your first appearance on Hercules, I have really enjoyed your portrayal of Aphrodite more and more over time. It's not done in a "dumb blonde" kind of way, either. It is rather sophisticated. [laughs a lot] Other people I have talked to appreciate that too. Really? Absolutely. Good! Aphrodite is a very popular character. That's what I've heard. [smiles] That's funny. It was weird because she's [Aphrodite of Greek mythology] one of my favorite goddesses -- she always has been. She is the goddess of love -- she's beautiful and special and wonderful and brings so much joy to people. But on the show, she is really kind of a bad guy most of the time! [laughs] She's funny, and she's not mean-spirited, but... That's a very interesting observation. It seems that over time, with many characters on the show, the more appearances that character makes, there is a deepening of the character, a richer history is given, and often, as a consequence, the more sympathetic they become. Yes! Definitely. Are you happy with how that's been going? Yes. I have my favorite experiences, which has more to do with who I'm working with. We've had some really fun actors and directors. I notice that you have also done a lot of theatre. Do you miss that sense of immediacy you get in a reaction from a live audience? Yes. It's lovely; it's really lovely. But I also miss the experience of working through something. In film, if you're into something intense and you're right in there with it and it's going really, really well, it might last for two minutes. Then you hear "cut". In the theatre, there's just something special about working on something for a long time, moving from one scene to another. It just seems like a richer process. I miss it a lot. Is that something you'd like to go back to or expect to go back to in future? Yes. Yes. Any plans for that kind of work in the near future? I'm presently studying, so I'm constantly doing work like that. I have dreams, but nothing concrete at the moment. Anything coming up for television projects? I'm going back to New Zealand in a couple of weeks or so, in mid-January. Xena or Hercules? I can't remember! [both laugh] I only heard just last night. I was on the phone, it was so hectic, I'm leaving Monday (for holiday travel plans). So I have all these last-minute business things, shopping plans. I was on a pay phone at six o'clock at night, with one finger in my ear going, "What?!" [both laugh] I think she said Hercules. And we have another episode we filmed about two months ago [THE QUILL IS MIGHTIER]. I just did the ADR [automatic dialogue replacement] for it. It was a Xena. I usually do Hercules . It was fun. I lose my powers. I get dirty and gross -- it was fun. [both laugh] I like the ones where I get to mix it up. That was directed by Andrew [Merrifield]. He's usually an AD [Assistant Director] on Hercules, and he's been an AD on Xena too. He's Australian, and that was the last episode he directed before he moved back to Australia to pursue his directing career. He was great; he was really fun. In my experience, it's a personality thing. The people that the crew respect, the people that the crew get along with, that's when things really click. Everyone knows how to do their jobs. When you can get people to relax and play and have fun, it's great. |
