Juggling a Life and a Sitcom

Juggling a Life and a Sitcom
Six actresses sat down with the Hollywood Reporter to talk about how they balance their personal lives and starring on a TV comedy.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, star of "The New Adventures of Old Christine," says she's able to do it because her show is a multicamera series, unlike many of her counterparts.

Because of that, she only has to put in two or three 12-hour days a week instead of the five required on a single-camera series.

Amy Poehler, who stars and produces "Parks & Recreation," says her schedule is pretty crushing. Not only is she in almost every scene, but she also has to write and cast roles on the weekend.

Jane Krakowski of "30 Rock" is in awe of series creator/producer/writer/star Tina Fey, who does all the same things Poehler does, plus go home and write until 2 a.m. every night.

Poehler and Fey both have very small children.

Mary-Louise Parker talked about the fact that fans of a show used to come up to her when she was on "The West Wing" and tell her how much they hated her character.

Now that she's starring on "Weeds," they'll ask her for a dime-bag. Sarah Silverman of "The Sarah Silverman Show" advised laughing like it's the funniest thing she's ever heard.

"It allows you to move on," Silverman explained.

Christina Applegate, star of "Samantha Who?" and former star of "Married With Children" said she doubts she'll ever leave the earlier show behind. Rather, she says, she embraces it.

Louis-Dreyfus says she doesn't think aging women is nearly the problem on television it is in movies.

Poehler pointed out that she was only eight years older than Rachel McAdams when she played her mother in "Mean Girls," further illustrating the inequities of aging in film.

Applegate bemoaned that she was turned down to be on the cover of a magazine because they didn't want anyone over 35. Still, she only feels 20.

Silverman says it's only a problem for her if she's looking at a script and the "girl" part isn't funny.

"I don't need to play the girl who's mad at the main guy anymore. I've done it, and it can be embarrassing."

They also worried about how much the move to high definition was creating problems. "30 Rock" uses real locations and real props.

Poehler pointed out that when they made the move, "Saturday Night Live," where she worked until landing "Parks & Recreation," had to start using thicker makeup and better wigs.

As for ratings, Parker says she doesn't worry about them.

"It's not like I'm going to think, 'I better take off my shirt!' I'm going to take my shirt off anyway."

Gina Wilhelm Actress