Tea Leoni: The Truth About Tea

Q: You went to a number of privileged schools. Will you put your children in private or public schools?

A: Given the state of California public schools, I'd put them in private schools. We can afford it. I'm not going to play with my child's mind or education to make some sort of political statement. I think David and I will probably move back to New York to get access to certain schools. I can't imagine sticking my daughter in a car on the Pacific Coast Highway, the most dangerous highway in America, twice a day for umpteen years to get to a school. We grew up in New York, and there's something terribly important about seasonal changes, about your not being the biggest thing--your activities and choices are going to be made for you by this earth.

Q: When did you get the nickname Sarah Bernhardt?

A: That's from my grandmother. Once, when I was being sent to my room, I grabbed a piece of furniture. She was an actress. I think she knew Sarah.

Q: How well-known was your grandmother?

A: She did fairly well for that time, 1927. I'm trying to get a copy of a film that she did where she had top billing, over Clara Bow. But she left at age 28 disgusted with the business.

Q: And got involved with the founding of UNICEF?

A: Yes.

Q: When did she die?

A: She died in 1987, when I was 20. Oh, that was bad. I really wanted her to see what I was going to do. For her I wish I'd known. But I didn't.

Q: Don't you wear a certain pearl choker that was hers?

A: Yeah. They're the only thing

that she left marked behind for anybody, so I'm very attached to them. I'm not wearing them now because for Mother's Day I was given this string of sapphires from David.

Q: How did you end up being named after a Tahitian friend of your father's? Did you ever meet him?

A: My name was supposed to be Anna Lee West--my mother's from Texas. Dad said it sounded too much like a shitkicker, so he named me Tea.

Q: You described your mom as the most eccentric person you know. Why?

A: The closest that she's ever come to being like anybody else is when she has silly moments where she has to say it out loud, like "Doesn't this look neat?" And she can never stick with any of those things, because she's so utterly and totally her own gal.

Q: What does she think of your career?

A: I think she wishes that I enjoyed it more. She hears a lot of complaints from me.

Q: Does your father feel the same way?

A: No, my father's more blindly impressed and proud.

Q: And what about your brother, Tom?

A: My brother just shakes his head and gets a kick out of it. We drag him along to our premieres and stuff because he's Buddhist and we think it's funny.

Q: What does he do?

A: He's an antique dealer and lives in Ojai.

Q: How did you and your brother get along?

A: We didn't really fight, but we sort of bitch-slapped each other. At one point, when I was about 11, I did slug him. That was the end of our physical fighting, because he had on braces and his mouth burst open with blood. I was such a tomboy--trying to be another son for my dad.

Q: Are you satisfied with your looks?

A: Yes. More so after the baby.

Q: What's your best feature?

A: It used to be my neck.

Q: You've talked about your very aggressive nipples. I've never seen that in print before. A: Let me tell you, they've been humbled by their new job.

Q: Do you think you have an odd body?

A: Yes.

Q: Do you still cut your own hair?

A: Not so much anymore. I've made too many irreversible mistakes.

Q: Do you smoke cigars?

A: No. I'll be damned if I'm gonna slip up with a cigar and then want a pack of cigarettes.

Q: David has tales of smoking opium in Thailand and trying mushrooms. Do you have any good drug stories?

A: Yeah. None so interesting. I once ate a batch of moldy mushrooms and thought that all the trees in the world were growling at me, which then segued into one of the more beautiful afternoons I ever spent alone. That was up in Vermont.

Q: What's your favorite ice cream?

A: Buttercrunch.

Q: Are you still in therapy?

A: Sure, I still check in. David and I like to go together, make sure we're up to speed and on the same page. I'll always dabble. In this world, where things go so fast, it's a good idea.

Q: What's more important: a new couch or a personal trainer?

A: Oh, God, a couch.

Q: You're not into fashion, are you?

A: No.

Q: Do you really like to sleep in your sneakers?

A: Not anymore.

Q: But when you did, was it with a man in the same bed?

A: Yes.

Q: What's next for you?

A: I'm doing Jurassic Park 3. I could enjoy it and not be so scared that I'd need to complain to keep it at a distance. I was talking to David about my hesitation, always asking if it's the right thing to do. But what am I talking about? I've got this baby. I'm not just sitting there anymore. I don't care. What are they going to do, tell me they don't want me in their club? I don't want to be in the club! I'm ready to have some fun.

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Lawrence Grobel interviewed Dylan McDermott for the September issue of Movieline.

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