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 Andie
MacDowell is no stranger to TV or films, which is certainly
key to how she has established herself as both an accomplished
and critically acclaimed actress and a household name over
the past 20 years. Now, she is serving as the veteran actress
on ABC Family's new series Jane By Design,
with actors brimming with talent, passion and the desire
to break out as stars.
In the show, Andie stars as Gray Chandler Murray, Jane's
steely boss who is constantly keeping Jane on her toes when
she lands a job (while still in high school!) at Donovan
Decker, a hip fashion house. She's going to be a tough boss,
but she seems to have an attachment to Jane which already
makes her endearing.
PCM's Kristyn had the opportunity to speak with Andie MacDowell
on a conference call to discuss the show, her role, the
message it provides and much more! Just out everything she
had to share with us below!
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In your own career, what have you learned after working
with people like your character Gray Chandler?
The thing of it is that I think if Gray were a man people
probably wouldn't judge her so harshly. They were used to
having men being this powerful and this strong. You might
think he was a jerk too though. That's true.
But I have learned from working with a lot of women that
have to fight for their position. I think a lot of times
she's justified in her behavior, and then a lot of times
she crosses over a little bit.
I've met some pretty wild people in my life. I started
in the fashion business, and I've been working in an industry
where you meet all kinds of people. So I have a lot of resources
I would say from my historical time in life.
Based on what you've seen as an actress, at a high level,
what do you think it takes to be a good executive assistant?
Well I think what you expect, a lot of times, is for them
to be able to think for themselves, to read your mind almost,
to know you well enough to make the decisions that you would
make. You expect a lot. I mean really obviously you can't
expect anybody to read your mind, but that's sort of almost
what people start to want. After a certain amount of time,
you want someone that knows how you think and knows what
you want; you don't have to tell them.
What was it about this particular role that made you
decide to come to television?
Well honestly I think television is just a great place
to be. I think there used to be this sort of idea that film
was the most prestigious thing to do. I believe that that
has shifted a lot, and there's great work to be found on
TV.
I just feel really fortunate that I've found a place that
I feel like I have something to offer. That's important
to me, to feel like I may have something unique to offer
to a character that hopefully would have some kind of longevity
and you could bring something to the table.
The writing is really good. That's fun. You can't do good
work without great writing. You can't make a bad script
a good script. It's impossible. So the writing is just fantastic,
and I think the idea is a really good idea. It's a very
appealing idea.
When you began working with the cast, did you find there
was chemistry right away or did you guys have to spend some
time gelling with each other?
For me, it felt like I was walking into a place where
each one of these kids, they know how lucky they are. You
know the environment's harder now. The world's a difficult
place right now, and finding work-when you find a job and
you find a job that's good, you're ready to work. And that's
really the feeling I got from all of these kids. There's
nothing-they're just very ambitious, hard working, focused,
and really gifted and talented. So that's the kind of energy
I felt when I walked in.
And they were already just sort of just in the groove I
would say. Here I am the seasoned actor. I'm supposed to
know everything, and it was a little bit intimidating, I
have to say, because they were all so good. But on the other
hand, when you work with people that are really good, it
makes you good. So I feel like I'm in great company.
Did you look into anything or anyone in particular for
inspiration for the character of Gray?
I started off in the fashion business, and I worked with
a lot of really great fashion editors. She's not a fashion
editor, but she is within that sort of same realm of industry.
I worked with some really incredible, very powerful, very
strong fashion editors. There was one in particular that
sort of discovered me in way, whose name was Polly Mellen.
So Polly was part of my inspiration, and then I worked a
lot with Grace who is very quiet. She wouldn't be acting
like Gray, but I'm hoping there are elements, because there
is something very female and lovely about her.
So I would hope that I could have some of those elements
at some time, because I think anytime a character is just
one-you can't be just hard. You have to be soft and tender
too somewhere because that's only real and I don't think
anybody is all hard. And then a bunch of other people that
I know that are just really strong women.
How do you feel about comparisons made between a show
like "Jane by Design," and The Devil Wears
Prada, for example?
I just think that's an easy comparison. So if you want
to tell somebody what it's like-because I've even used it,
to tell you the truth. If you want to explain it to somebody
in a nutshell kind of what the show is, you can say, "It's
not really this, but it's kind of like that." And that's
the truth. It's not really that. It's only kind of like
it.
So it's not exactly that story by any means. There's much
more to it because she has the whole high school life going
on, and that is really an important part of the story. That's
one of the most powerful things of the story is being able
to see the difference between these two worlds, and that
wasn't at all in The Devil Wears Prada.
So you can compare it to it because it is about an assistant
and a boss and it is the fashion world. So those are really
the main similarities.
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