You might not recognize Brenda Strong’s face unless you’re an obsessive Desperate Housewives fan, but you’ll surely know her voice. As Mary Alice Young, she narrates every single episode from beyond the grave. But being just a voiceover role, unless they give her a flashback cameo, frees Strong up to do movies. While talking about the Desperate Housewives Season Two DVD, she revealed the scoop about her upcoming movie project.
What movie do you have coming out?
“I’ve been very fortunate this year. I’ve done several movies in kind of the hiatus period which has been great. There’s a film called A Plumm Summer with Hugh Jackman and Billy Baldwin and Henry Winkler. It’s a family film about two young brothers coming of age in the 1960s.”
Are you the mom?
“I’m neither brother’s mother. I’m Henry Winkler’s wife and I play his partner in the TV show that we have, and it’s based on actual events.”
Did you meet the real person?
“I met the real person’s daughter. Mine is actually a character that’s not an actual character. It’s a little bit of a fabrication. It’s kind of a mixture of people so it’s not an actual person that I’m playing, but the person that Henry’s playing is Happy Herb who had a television show called Froggy Doo. So I can’t say that I met the person because they’re not really alive.”
Is Desperate the sweetest gig because it’s just your voice?
“I don’t just read my voiceover. It takes a couple of days. It’s about a three day week. It’s one day doing a prerecord for the editor to work with, one day at home doing my homework, getting the timing correct and working with all the other performances. And then one day in the ADR studio to lay down the final tracks. I am in a very, very lucky position. I’m one of the few actors that gets to kind of choose which takes I want to use. So I’m lucky in that way. I get to shape my performance and I think that’s a very rare thing.”
Will we see that on the DVD?
“I have to tell you, in all honesty, I don’t remember what we did to prepare for the DVD. I’m sure I’m going to be surprised like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s what we did.’ I think they did do an interview down in the basement of the Alfred Hitchcock Theatre with me. They came in and they filmed me doing my work so I think that might be one of the elements to make it to the second year. In case people wonder how that works, they’ll get a chance to see it.”
What’s your favorite scene on the Season Two DVD?
“I think the scene where Julie comes up the stairs and finds her parents in bed. The shock on her face and them trying to put their clothes on and hobbling down into the living room screaming, ‘It’s okay!’ It’s hysterical. It’s such a great reverse of a parental relationship. The whole thing with George, the pharmacist. He’s such an extraordinary actor and he and Marcia just played so beautifully off of each other. It was so sad to see him go. I have to say, I was hoping that it was a mistake because he added so much to our show. I think in many ways that was one of my favorite parts of last year.”
Have you watched the DVDs?
“I’ve watched the first season DVD and I thought it was terrific. You can sit in a really comfy chair and watch several episodes together. It’s an amazing ride. We accomplish quite a bit in every episode. It’s so much faster in the plotlines, the way they move, than a lot of other shows that kind of take their time and drag it out. So I think it’s extremely entertaining, the twists and the turns.”
Do you hope for more flashbacks?
“Yeah, I think we all cross our fingers for different things, and certainly Mary Alice being dead has the advantage in that she doesn’t have to wait for the next script to find out that, ‘Oh, it’s my character being killed off,’ because I had that news very promptly in the pilot. So yeah, it’s always nice when they write in flashbacks and I get to come play on Wisteria Lane with my friends.”
