Inside ‘In Plain Sight’ with Mary McCormack (Part 1)
Basic cable’s USA has a new hit in its crime dramedy stable, the witness protection series In Plain Sight, which stars television, film, and stage actress Mary McCormack (The West Wing, ER, Murder One, Private Parts).
The actress plays U.S. Marshal Mary Shannon, a dedicated law officer reluctantly based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There, she devotes most of her time to protecting her charges, who change from episode to episode, while also enduring needy relatives (Lesley Ann Warren and Nichole Hiltz) and an uncommonly patient boyfriend (Cristián de la Fuente).
Fresh off of impressive ratings for In Plain Sight’s premiere and a Best Actress Tony nomination for the French farce Boeing-Boeing (the statue went to August: Osage County’s Rondi Reed on Sunday), McCormack recently took the time to answer a bunch of questions about her latest TV gig during a teleconference. Read the first part of the Q&A session in the interview below; the second part will follow soon.
On how she got the role of Mary Shannon and why she wanted to play the character:
Mary McCormack: You know, I was looking for a show to do, and I was reading just lots of scripts, and I just picked it up, and it was in a stack of scripts, and I read it. I remember just laughing out loud a bunch of times, which I rarely do, even with really funny scripts — just because I don’t know when I’m reading, you know, you almost sort of clock a joke in your head more than you laugh out loud.
And this one, I just remember actually sitting in my living room just laughing. And I just called my agent and said, “I really, really want to go in and meet on this one” and “Who are they after?” And, “Do I have a chance?” And, you know, just expressing a bunch of interest.
And so then I went and met with [executive producer Paul Stupin and series creator and executive producer David Maples], and they didn’t ask me to read actually. I was willing to read, but they didn’t ask me to read. We just sat and talked for a long time. And then, yes, they offered it to me after that.
On the most challenging part of her role as Mary Shannon:
Mary McCormack: Well, the role is such a nice fit for me. Honestly, I think the most challenging part of this job was just how much I’m in it. I’ve never really experienced that kind of workload before. You know, it’s challenging and fulfilling, it’s sort of, you know, one of those things, be careful what you wish for. It’s such a great part and it’s— You know, you see her at work and you see her at home. The sort of challenge for me was I went to Albuquerque with an eight-week-old and was working sort of 13- to 19-hour days, and, for me, that was the most challenging part was just staying afloat.
On how much McCormack knew about Mary Shannon’s background, such as how she ended up in New Mexico:
Mary McCormack: Yes, that’s what we talked about, David and I. The trick of TV, of course, is that you can make a bunch of that stuff up and, you know, it all might change one day when the writer decides to write something else, you know, because with television things get revealed slowly.
That’s something a lot of actors hate about the medium, but I kind of like it. But, you know, we just discussed that, yes, with the Marshal Service. It’s usually a matter of placement and that her relationship to Albuquerque and sort of the Southwest is that she went there under protest. [The pilot mentions that Mary is from New Jersey.] And so her energy is so different than the mellow, you know, sort of relaxed place she’s been put in.
On Mary Shannon’s brilliant professional career yet screwed-up personal life:
Mary McCormack: Well, I think it’s probably something we see a lot, right? I mean, with successful people, they focus their energy on their work and, you know, unfortunately some things like marriages or relationships and other things slide a little bit. Usually it’s people hiding themselves, right? They’re hiding from something they don’t want to look at, and so they hide in their work.
I think that happens a lot. So I love that David sort of has her hiding, as well. She’s hiding from her own fear of intimacy, and she’s hiding from her own anger at her mother, and she’s hiding from all that stuff, so she just focuses on work, you know. I think it’s sort of a beautiful backdrop that she hides people for a living and she’s sort of hiding as well.
On how Mary Shannon got involved in law enforcement and what it’s like to work with Lesley Ann Warren (Mary’s mother Jinx Shannon) and Nichole Hiltz (Mary’s sister Brandi Shannon):
Mary McCormack: Well, I love working with both of them. I mean, I think it’s so interesting. I mean, to me, you know, I had a mother, my mother was always — and I think I can say this without hurting her feelings — my mother was always late and is often late, and I’m always 15 minutes early to everything.
So I think we’ve all experienced sort of becoming who we are as a reaction to what we come from. And I think Mary Shannon sort of raised herself and had to look after herself from day one and probably is really, really — I think in my mind this is how I explained it — is really, really frustrated and really, really angry about not having a mother who was into the law and into structure and rules and all that. So she went as far as you could go with that and keeps everybody in line, and keeps a to-do-list on her you know dashboard. And all of that is sort of a reaction to what she comes from, I think.
On whether or not Mary Shannon has any friends in New Mexico or if she’s too busy with her work and family:
Mary McCormack: Yes, no, we don’t see any evidence of that yet. I mean, we’ll see what David does. I don’t think she’s a very friendly person. You know, I don’t think that’s a strength. And in fact, in episode four, there’s a line between Fred’s (costar Frederick Weller) character and mine where he says, “You know you’re my best friend.” And she says, “You’re my only friend.” So, yes, I think that’s it. I mean, I don’t think she has really any friends.
On her favorite scene to film so far:
Mary McCormack: Let’s see— My favorite scene to film maybe was that— I don’t know if you guys have seen this episode, but the one with the Trojan horse [“Trojan Horst," scheduled to premiere on June 22]. It’s an episode that Fred and I sort of get in a standoff. We end up in an abandoned bar in a sort of gun standoff. And so I shot the scene with Fred where I think he might die and he thinks I might die, and I think it’s a really beautifully written scene.
On what’s coming up on In Plain Sight:
Mary McCormack: Well, you know, her relationship with Raphael (Cristián de la Fuente) gets investigated a little bit more, you know, where they stand and what they have and all that. And Raphael sort of spends more and more time with my sister (Nichole Hiltz), which complicates things. And let’s see what else—
You know, each week there’s a different witness story, so you get that every week. In terms of my sister and my mother, they continue sort of down their road of destruction. And, yes— I mean, I don’t know how much I can tell without giving it away. I don’t know what I’m allowed to tell. Brandi has— You know, you see her use the drugs. In the pilot, you see her sniff some sort of illicit drug, and that storyline also continues. So they wreak some havoc, as I think everyone can sort of see is coming.
On upcoming guest stars:
Mary McCormack: Yes, Dave Foley is great in [“Trojan Horst"]. Dave Foley is excellent in that. And we pick up Sherry Stringfield, [who] is really good. And oh, gosh, Wendell Pierce— He is my favorite of the whole season. He was phenomenal.
I mean, Wendell Pierce is like a brilliant actor and it was a huge coup [getting] him. He had worked with the director of that episode before. So I think he came really for him, and he loved the writing and the role. But he’s amazing in it. I mean he’s just really moving. I don’t know what number his is. It’s called “Iris Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” [It's the seventh episode, and it premieres on July 13.]
On her most memorable moment filming In Plain Sight:
Mary McCormack: You know, when I shot that scene with the Native American in the bathroom, where I throw the soap at his groin? I was so sick when we shot that scene that I was throwing up between takes in a bucket. That’s memorable.
So when I see that— Actually, I had some sort of stomach bug that I’d gotten from my baby, and I was so ill. But we had to shoot it that night because we were losing that location. And I actually would just like say a line, throw up, say a line, throw the soap, throw up. You know, it was unbelievable. I was honestly just barely getting through it.
On other funny moments on the set:
Mary McCormack: Let’s see, let’s see. I constantly teased Fred because he’s so vain and he wears— Between takes he puts in retainers sometimes. And he says they’re not retainers, they’re Invisalign. [He's] very defensive about that.
And then he also carries in his suit pocket— Sometimes he carries a little mirror so he can check his hair. So I give him a lot of heat for that because I always say he’s the chick and I’m the guy.
On filming the show in distinctive Albuquerque:
Mary McCormack: Well, I mean I liked working there. Albuquerque is sort of a great city actually. I mean it’s interesting because when people think of New Mexico they would always say, “Oh, you’re in New Mexico. Oh, it’s gorgeous and Santa Fe is beautiful.” And I was like, “I know, but we’re going to Albuquerque.” And lots of people know Albuquerque, but it’s not what they talk about when they talk about New Mexico.
But we actually really enjoyed it. I mean for me, I like it more than this other city. It feels more like a city actually. I mean, it has a university, and so therefore, it’s more— I don’t know — More interesting. You know, it’s diverse, and there’s a lot going on culturally. It’s bigger and less touristy, and it feels like a real place— Like people really live there.
And I don’t know, we enjoyed a lot. I think in terms of what it contributes to the show— Just New Mexico in general really contributes to our show. There’s nothing else on TV like that, you know, with the big sky and sort of that landscape, which is really like another planet. There’s no one else shooting there right now. So it’s really special, and it looks like you could get lost there. You know, it looks like a place you might go to start over.
On what she thinks will draw viewers to the show:
Mary McCormack: Well, I hope it’s the writing, you know, the sense of humor, the fact that the characters are a little bit off-beat. I mean, yes, I think that. I hope it’s the writing. I mean, when I read the script, I laughed out loud a few times, which is rare. And things that I thought were going to happen didn’t happen. I hope it’s that.
I hope people want to laugh and sort of follow an interesting— I mean, also it’s interesting that I think each week you get a little bit of both kind of shows. You know, you get a procedural because each week you get a new story about a witness and how they ended up hiding in Albuquerque. [Y]ou get both the procedural aspect and you get a serial aspect. And I think that’s satisfying; at least it is for me.
On where she would want to relocate to if she had to enter the Witness Protection Program:
Mary McCormack: Golly, I’d like to live in London. [M]y husband is from there. I mean, you can’t go where your family is, but my husband is English, and we spend a lot of time in London, so I know it and like it.
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2 opinions for Inside ‘In Plain Sight’ with Mary McCormack (Part 1)
In Plain Sight: ‘Iris Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ Spoilers and Preview (7-13-08)
Jul 13, 2008 at 11:50 am
[...] Live Here Anymore,” and this is the one lead actress Mary McCormack singled out during an earlier interview as having an extra special guest star named Wendell Pierce. In fact, the actress called Pierce her [...]
In Plain Sight: ‘Iris Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ (7-13-08)
Jul 13, 2008 at 1:56 pm
[...] fans of the show should be excited because Mary McCormack, who plays lead character Mary Shannon, has called guest star Wendell Pierce her favorite guest star of the entire season. I’ve got big [...]
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