Hallmark Channel
Life on Liberty Street Press Kit
May 2004

Annabeth Gish: Questions & Answers

When Annabeth Gish was a girl, she wrote a fan letter to legendary actress Lillian Gish, in which she declared her desire to be an actress. The return letter from the silent screen star wasn’t very encouraging. "She said that acting can be a harsh kind of living," Annabeth recalls, "that there is a lot of competition and not enough work to go around."

Gish, star of the Hallmark Channel Original movie Life on Liberty Street, cherished getting the letter, but she was undeterred by the warning. Today, two decades later, she’s glad she didn’t listen. "I love the process of making movies," she says. "Getting to lead a creative life and getting to collaborate with other creative people can be quite rewarding. But it’s not just that. I met my husband, my soul mate, on The X-Files. [They married in October 2003.] So there’s an example of how my career choice has been a huge, huge blessing."

No life-changing new relationships like that were formed during the making of Life on Liberty Street, in which Gish portrays a nurse whose work with brain trauma patients softens her bitter outlook. But she says doing the movie was a thoroughly satisfying experience. "I have a good feeling about the material and the story," she says, "and I’m hoping that it gets the attention that it deserves."

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What attracted you to this movie and to your character, Denise DiFiore?
I think the fact that she is a tough woman at the beginning – a feisty, fiery nurse who is embittered about her life. But she’s a good mother and a good nurse and she fights for what she believes in. That sort of strength in her, that kind of verve, was something I hadn’t ever played yet. And my character’s journey is that she sort of heals herself from being a very hardened woman to softening herself through her work and through this individual who has suffered brain trauma. She becomes a better person through her work. And putting a message out there that people can soften up their edges – I think that’s really important.

Was playing a mom, which was new for you, also part of the draw?
Absolutely, yes. That tapped into a new vein for me. I’m not a mother yet. As close as I can come is we have a golden retriever rescue. Her name is Lola. We got her from a breeder. Someone had returned her because he said she pressed all of his rage buttons. I can’t imagine how a golden retriever presses anybody’s rage buttons. But she was scared of men and her teeth were all broken down from being thrown rocks. It was horrible, but she’s doing great now. She’s our best friend.

The movie focuses on a character with brain trauma. Do you have any first-hand experiences with someone with this condition?
No, I don’t. I don’t have any direct experience with it, thank God. But one of my best friends from high school and college is an ER nurse and she kind of put me in touch with a few people who know about brain trauma. Of course, my character doesn’t know a lot about it at first either. So in a way, I got to learn as my character learned.

Did you enjoy the collaboration with the Hallmark Channel?
I love the Hallmark Channel. I think the products they put out are very positive and meaningful and I was excited to sign up. They have a built-in quality cachet, a niche they’ve made for themselves, and it’s all about heart. In every Hallmark piece, there’s a message that is hopeful and heartfelt. It’s not the most edgy, daring material. But there’s definitely a place for it.

After you costarred in two seasons of The X-Files as Agent Monica Reyes, they pulled the plug, even though the show was still creatively very strong. Do you miss doing the series?
I loved it. I especially loved working with Robert Patrick (as Agent John Doggett). He’s a good guy. My buddy. And I feel like I could have kept playing with him. Unfortunately, we were trying to fill some big shoes (original cast members David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson). So we really didn’t have a chance. But I loved it and I learned a lot. Working on that show taught me a lot about endurance. Because doing a show like The X-Files is like doing rep theater for nine months. You just don’t stop.

Do your ties in The X-Files, a modern-day cult classic, seem to be the thing that fans ask you about the most these days?
No. It’s funny, because most people, still, to this day, it’s all about Mystic Pizza. Still. After, my God, 15 years. I was 17 when I did that movie.

Your costar in that film, Julia Roberts, is one of the most famous actresses on the planet. Is that level of success appealing to you?
Actually, I keep my head down. I am not like a big Hollywood type. I come home to my husband. I have wonderful friendships. I just enjoy my life. But I don’t buy into everything else about this business. I’ve seen too many horrendous stories of people rising and falling. I would rather maintain a steady flow. That’s not a bad thing – to be able to say, after 20 years, that you’re still flowing.

Did you always know you wanted to be doing this?
Based on the fact that my second grade teacher had a piece of paper on which I was practicing cursive writing and, on it, I wrote, "I want to be an actor when I grow up," I think it was pretty much always there. Everybody in my family sings, dances, entertains recreationally. I think there’s probably an entertainer gene in your DNA.

After Life on Liberty Street, what’s next for you?
I have a movie coming out in early summer called Knots. It’s a feature film, a little independent movie. It’s a nice, light-hearted, romantic comedy. Or a sex comedy is what they’re saying. I play a woman who is married and then, in the course of the movie, determines that she is a lesbian. So that was a total departure for me.

You like to play all kinds of characters, don’t you?
I’m just looking for good material that has stories that are moving and characters that are complicated, like real life.

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