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interviews
She's No Pretender in Discipline Area
The
Miss Parkers have one thing in common, besides sharing surnames -- Andrea Parker
plays the imperturbable Miss Parker on NBC's "The Pretender" -- a
penchant for discipline. Ms. Parker uses her hour-long commute at 4:30 a.m. to
do vocal and breathing exercises to keep Miss Parker's voice deep so she sounds
a bit more malevolent.
"She is the antithesis of my personality," Ms. Parker said laughingly
about her sang-froid character on the Saturday night suspense series. Case in
point -- Ms. Parker loves talking baby talk with her 8-year-old cat, Kitten.
"I have a very silly cat voice that I do so he knows when I'm speaking
especially to him, you know?"
Miss Parker wouldn't know, but I would.
Question: That's how I get with my kitty, Poco. That's my little sugar
bit.
Answer: Poco. Oh, I love it. I call mine Sugar Lickin' and Chicken Soup.
Q: What's this about you taking up stunt driving for this role?
A: My character's very much in control so she's always doing the driving
-- pulling up to an abrupt stop or peeling out, just little baby things, but if
I'm comfortable doing a reverse 180, pulling up to an abrupt stop, then it's
going to be a walk in the park. So, I get out every couple months for an intense
weekend. I love the smell of burnin' rubber, baby. It's the most intense
adrenaline rush I've ever experienced.
Q: Your day starts so early. When do you work in exercise?
A: I get up at 4 o'clock to be on the set at 5:30 or 6:30, so I try to be
10 or 15 minutes early so I can stretch out. And some days I'll do an intense
cardiovascular workout and, other days, leg lifts, a few sit-ups and some
stretches will be fine. I was trained classically many years and actually danced
professionally for a few years with the San Francisco Ballet. I know all of the
exercises and workout practices that work best for me.
Q: The cardiovascular you do at home?
A: Oh, my goodness, I go crazy over here. I can be exhausted and panting and
wanting to give up, and if the right song comes on, I turn into an animal. I
mean, Jennifer Beals, move over, 'cause I am a dance machine. I'm a long drinka
water, baby, so look out.
Q: Do you eat or drink anything from the time you're up until you leave
the house at 4:30 every morning?
A: I definitely need a big dose of caffeine. I'm a tea drinker, though.
Then I'll have vanilla yogurt with granola or Grape-Nuts and some banana. To be
honest, there are other days when I show up on the set and I want the teamster
breakfast -- well-done French toast and crispy bacon, but I won't eat the whole
plate. If I'm going to be bad, I'll eat only as much as I need to satisfy myself.
And then I nibble throughout the whole day.
Q: On what?
A: I make sure and eat a lot of organic fruits, vegetables, protein and
as much water as I can get down in a day. I have to force it down my throat, but
the results are amazing [for] your skin and clarity of thoughts. I do have a
protein shake every day with peaches, mangoes or papaya -- nothing acidic, no
orange juice. Strawberries are about the only fruit that you'd want to put in
there that has a seed in it. You don't want to put in boysenberries or
raspberries or you'll be spitting with every sip and that's very unattractive.
Q: Especially with the camera in your face.
A: Exactly. Yeah, that looks good in the close-up. And I throw in protein
powder and a scoopful of lecithin. I drink one of those between breakfast and
lunch when I'm working. Lunch, I eat light so I won't feel the need to take a
nap afterward. I eat a lot of greens -- salad or vegetables and, God, I have a
passion for potatoes, or maybe some pasta. I'm not real picky as long as there's
some vegetables or salad, rice and beans. Then between lunch and dinner I need a
little pick-me-up because there's an hour there where I start to crash so I'll
go for a cut-up apple and I'll dip it in peanut butter.
Q: What do you do about dinner?
A: I live for dinner, and I like a lot of it just because I've eaten like
such a bird all day long. I don't know, there's something very freeing about
having a big plate of food in front of you. I like chicken, turkey, fish, red
meat, whatever, bring it on. And I don't just go to the market and pick out a
chicken. I go to the health food store and pick out an organic chicken.
Q: What about veggies and greens?
A: I eat everything, but it has to be prepared just the right way for me
to get it down. I love tomatoes, but if they're not blanched and don't have a
little bit of salt on 'em, I want nothing to do with them. I despise peas, but I
love split pea soup. Isn't that weird? One of the freedoms of being adults is
making your choices and, damn it, I never have to eat peas again in my whole
life if I don't want to and just maybe I won't. You know. But I make up for it.
I love green beans, carrots, corn, all kinds of lettuce, and I love seaweed.
Q: What do you do for exercise when you're on hiatus, when you have more
time to yourself?
A: My favorite is to swim in the ocean, find a little bay where there's
not a lot of waves and I sprint-walk in waist-deep water. It feels good and
you're cooled down because you're in the water. You wear a little hat so your
face doesn't fry and, oh, my God, your ass just feels like the bionic woman's.
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