Previously Unpublished: An Interview with Daphne Zuniga

So I’ve been digging through my old TCA interviews in search of some conversations of decent length that I never managed to place anywhere at the time I did them, and I found this one that I did with Daphne Zuniga at what I presume was the winter 2012 CW event, since she was promoting the final season of One Tree Hill at the time.

After transcribing it and therefore listening to how I conducted myself, I’m going to guess that this was well into the event, because I’m clearly in “I’ve had just enough drinks to be able to talk to an actress I used to have a crush on” mode, but I’m not in “I’ve had too many drinks to be able to ask substantive questions” mode. That’s a pretty good place to be, lemme tell ya…

So you're currently on One Tree Hill, where you're kind of an elder...

Daphne Zuniga: An elder?! [Bursts out laughing.] Yes! I love it. Hey, it's better than "grandma"!

Exactly. And, of course, you started your career as a teen actress. What was the experience like for you versus what you're seeing with the kids of today?

Um... I don't know, actually! Because I can't speak for what it's like for them. But I think that the business is really different. Back in the '80s, when I started, it was - I think, unless this is just sort of glorified memories - a case where I came up with my pals, you know? We went to... Oh, this is the difference: I was in acting class with Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Meg Ryan, Johnny Philbin, Eric Stolz, Meg Tilly, Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter Horton... 

That's a hell of a class!

It was a hell of a class! At Peggy Feury's The Loft. That's the difference. We loved that class, and that woman and her husband Bill expected so much from us as far as our craft, as far as, like, "You've got to do it here before you can do it on the screen." And when that ended - she died - I think that whole era ended. I continued class through the mid-1990. Larry Moss… Penny Allen I coached with. Maybe that kind of thing exists now? But I don't see a collective group of young actors loving a class, obsessed with it, and staying at it until, like, two in the morning, and still having auditions or a movie or TV career.

And I feel like that's not their fault. It's just that times are different. Just like in the era before me, you had the Actor's Studio, you had Stella Adler, you had the Neighborhood Playhouse. I mean, those amazing actors were, like, "Movie? What are you talking about? I've got to do this first!" There's a dedication and a love and a place where you can spend your time doing what you love to do. That's the difference. I think now there's so many media outlets, and it's more about what the job is that you're going to get. So that's the difference I think I see.

I know that it was The Sure Thing that put you on my radar, but was that actually your first film?

That was the first year. I did a horror movie as my first one when I was right out of UCLA. It was called The Initiation, and I remember because it was my first First Class ever on a plane. We shot in Texas, so I went there for a month, and I played an evil twin and a good twin. So that was good for the serious actress. [Laughs.] "You get to play two parts!" 

And then right after that I did a TV movie (Quarterback Princess), I did Vision Quest in that first year, I did a couple of Family Ties episodes, and then I ended the year with The Sure Thing.

Did that feel like a transitional moment for you when you did that film?

Yes, but because I was just starting, I just thought, "Oh, you just do whatever comes your way and whatever part you get by auditioning." But because I was doing Family Ties - and I think I was set to be a recurring on there - Michael J. Fox said, "Oh, you're gonna go off and make movies now, are you?" And that's when I kind of realized... Because he hadn't done movies yet, of course. And I thought, "Oh, I didn't know I had to pick. I thought I could do that and come back and be with you guys!" But back then people were doing one or the other.

I talked to Mel Brooks a couple of months ago...

[Giddily.] How is he?

He was great at the time! But we were talking about various key moments of his career, and I said that there's an entire generation out there who thinks of his definitive work not as The Producers or Blazing Saddles but Spaceballs.

Well, that's his fault. [Laughs.] He doesn't have anyone to blame but himself!

He said that young girls will come up to him and say, "I grew up wanting to be a princess because of Spaceballs!"

He should tweet that, so I can hear that!  [Laughs.] To this day, I still get Melrose Place, but people will always say Spaceballs or Princess Vespa. Even now on Twitter, when most of my followers are One Tree Hill fans, even they know Spaceballs. And people will say, "That's not you, is it?" And I'll have to go, "Uh, yeah, 25 years ago!" 

You mentioned Melrose Place. You'd obviously been focusing predominantly on film up to that point. What led you to shift back to television? Was it just too lucrative to turn down?

It was because... [Hesitates.] Well, I don't think I had worked in...maybe up to a year, but several months, anyway. And I love to act. I just love it. I'm a workaholic. I don't think I've ever actively stopped working, and I never want to stop. I love it. The crew are my family. I'm not married - although I'm madly in love with someone - and I don't have kids, so that's my family.. And when I jump in... Like, when I showed up for One Tree Hill in Wilmington, I literally came with five bags, going, "Where do I move in?" They're, like, "Um, you're going home on Saturday, and then you'll be back later." I'm, like, "Oh, you mean I can't live with you guys?" [Laughs.] 

But I remember that I hadn't worked in long enough that when I got the call from Darren Star, who I knew already...  Some people were saying, "Are you going to do TV? Do you want to do TV?" I thought about it, and I went, "You mean I get to go to work every day? Hell, yes, that's what I'm doing!" [Laughs.] If it's a matter of going and shooting something for three months - because back then we shot movies in three months - and then having however many months off, then hell, yes, I'm going to the set every day, because that's what I love!" So it wasn't like some masterplan. It wasn't even a big transition. It was just kind of a no-brainer to me. And we didn't know that that show was going to last so long. We thought it was going to be cancelled after the first year! But then it just kept going..

With One Tree Hill, you obviously enjoy the routine of a series, but were you prepared to go back into the routine of an hour-long drama?

Yes, I mean, I've always wanted to do more comedy since Spaceballs. That's why I kind of wiggled some comedy into Victoria, and then Mark and the writers just kind of went with it and gave me more comedy as Victoria. Even though she's a total bitch, she's got great lines. [Laughs.] But, yeah, I've been doing dramas for awhile, and it was an ensemble, so I knew that it wouldn't break my back, since it wasn't just, like, two people. I don't know how actors do an hour drama when it's only two or three actors, unless after awhile you get it in your deal where you, like, only work three days, and they've got to shoot around you. Because it's grueling!

Speaking of comedy, I saw the Hallmark movie you did with Greg Evigan, Mail Order Bride. That's definitely a comedy.

Yeah, there's comedy in there, and then I did another one for Hallmark, A Family Thanksgiving, with Dan Payne, a Canadian actor. And I co-produced that one, because I wanted comedy. Physical comedy. If I could go back, if someone asked me what I wanted to be, I'd say Lucy, from I Love Lucy. I love that kind of comedy, so I like to put in a little bit of physical comedy wherever. 

I'm enjoying the fact that networks like Hallmark and Lifetime are continuing to give work to actresses even thought they're "past their prime."

[Snorts.] And I know what you mean, but that's such an insane way to put it: "past your prime." I think scripts now are... I mean, back in the '30s and '40s and '50s, women worked forever. But they had such outstanding roles. I think that's coming back, though. Slowly but surely. You look at these women who are in their forties, and they're getting lead roles on TV. Yeah, I've done my share of Lifetime and Hallmark, and I love that. I love that they're interested in stories that are written by and for and to be viewed by women...because we are 51% of the population, by the way! [Laughs.] And we have really interesting perspectives. You don't have to blow up another car to get our attention. So, yes, I love that. 

Lastly, One Tree Hill is obviously in the home stretch. Do you have plans for the future? Are you looking to jump back into another series? 

I'd love to do another series. So I'll go take meetings and audition for pilots for pilot season coming up, but I'm very proactive, so I'm developing a couple of things with my producing partner and writer here, Christine. We have a TV project and a feature. And then I have another TV project. A book's got an option. Like I said, I definitely love to work, so wherever that is... We'll see!