Answers with Katherine LaNasa

Answer 1

You had a baby in March! How is Eloise doing?

Thank you! She's good. I fell asleep yesterday while I was running lines. I was on the phone running lines with someone and the next thing I knew, the person said "Hello?". I had fallen asleep!

Answer 2

Satisfaction is being called the "most provocative show of the summer." Do you agree with that statement? If so, why?

Hell yeah! I think Satisfaction is really fresh and really original. I've read the scripts, and particularly when you get to episode 105 or 106, it just gets crazy! It just totally explodes and the characters become really complicated. I think it starts happening in 105. My biggest episode is 106 and Stephanie Szostak is always telling me "No, it's episode 106." Right around there, in the middle of the season, it just gets complicated and fun and all the characters end up intertwining with each other and it's almost like a thriller. I think that, and the fact that I've never seen a show about this type of material before. So it's exhilarating. I look at the stuff and I still can't believe we're doing a TV show about this. One one level, it's very provocative with the fact that they're doing prostitution and all of these affairs and cheating, but on another level, it's sort about finding one's self and what you really owe to yourself and finding your life path. But there's other things too. It's kind of about a lot of other things: how people connect, how people relate to each other and show people who they really are and get their needs met. Are we all just walking around being who someone else needs us to be so that we can feel safe and secure? There's a lot of bigger questions being asked too. I'm surprised on how they're able to knit it together in this racy package.

Answer 3

Do you think it's harder in your line of work to find the balance between work and home, to find the time to pay attention?

It's ok. Right now, we're making these 10 episodes, so I'm not in something that makes 30 episodes a year. Also, I'm not the lead. I think if I was Matt Passmore it might be a lot harder. It's kind of been an okay balance. I have to say, for me having this child so late in life, I find that she really balances everything. Having a new series is such a big thing that requires so much attention, and having a new baby is such a big thing that requires so much attention, that I can only be in the moment. I'm always like "now I'm gonna nurse the baby," "now I'm gonna learn my lines." I don't have time to worry about how I did it. It keeps me very present in everything. I'm oddly more relaxed than I might have been normally, because I don't have time to fret about anything! I can only go over here now and do this, then go over there and do that. I just hope that it's enough! I'm starting a new episode tomorrow. If this was a movie, I would have the script at least a month ago. I'm trying to put a shape to this. I finished yesterday afternoon and I start tomorrow morning, and I have the baby. I have such limited time to put together this new thing, so I just have to work on it as much as I can and call it enough. That's it.

Answer 4

How does Grant pay attention to you?

Every way. We have a pretty connected life, particularly having a newborn. He makes coffee every day, and I come to him with my fears and my insecurities and he talks me through those. I bring to him things that concern me and we talk to those things together. He also does nice things for me, and takes care of me. He really show his love in that way. Even little things, like taking care of my car, going to get something that we need and dealing with it. It's nice. At the end of the day, it's all the little things. He got the baby the other day when I was beyond exhausted, and he put her to sleep without even waking me up. That was nice.

Answer 5

How can married couples keep their relationships interesting and avoid falling into the problems the show portrays?

I think one of the things that the show touches on is just how kind of disconnected people can get because our lives are so busy, and we have all these other ways of not really connecting. You could put your kids to sleep, make dinner, clean up the dishes, maybe watch a TV show together and then you go to sleep. You never really turn everything off and just talk. When Grant and I get a minute to spend together, we just go to the bedroom and hang out in the bed and talk for a while. Just turn off everything. Even if it's for 30 minutes or an hour, it's nice to do. As much time as we spend together, if we didn't make an effort, that might not happen. People could feel disconnected, unheard or unappreciated. They leave their spouses prey to someone that will pay attention to them. I think it's really just about paying attention to each other. Everything needs attention. People, children, spouses, girlfriends and boyfriends, they need attention. It's really what it's about. To be heard. Someone told me once that their job as a mother was to witness and comfort their children and family. That's really kind of what it is. Being there and witnessing someone and paying attention to their lives. What's going on with them? How do they feel about their work? How do they feel about their day? How do they feel about themselves? How are they doing?

Answer 6

You mentioned Adriana's past. Do you think we'll get a glimpse of what happened to her in future seasons?

I don't know! They haven't told me that. I just have to make up something to understand who I'm playing. So, there's different things that I have to justify. We might see her saying she only believes in one thing, but acting another way. You know how we all do that. People think "this and that is BS" but it's because they really want it, and don't have it. Is that what's going on with her? Does she really want all of these traditional things that she acts as if they're so arcane? So, we'll come to find out. I'm sort of finding out along with you. Is that really her truth? Did something just happen that she's just jaded?

Answer 7

What is Adriana's motivation for going into this line of work?

I think that the character is a fantasy character, but if I were to try and understand her, I'd say she's a privileged person. She's very smart and probably went to a great boarding school. She's obviously well-mannered and well-bred, but I think she's just a deviant. I have a funny feeling that Adriana might just be so smart that she's bored, and I also think that she's deeply wounded. Something happened in her past that has made her a little disconnected and jaded. She definitely doesn't believe in any traditional sense of love or marriage. She's all the way on the other end of that spectrum. If you look at Heidi Fleiss, her father was a man of a lot of integrity and was well-respected. He had a lot of children, he was a doctor, and he produces a child that does something like this. I think that Adriana would fall into that same category. She was hardly someone that had to do this criminal behavior to get along.

Answer 8

In Satisfaction, you play Adriana, a "businesswoman/pimp." Are you having fun ordering men around?

I do like it. I do like it a alot! I end up getting involved with Simon in later episodes. Simon and I cross paths and it's just very fun work.

Answer 9

Do you think that 5 years ago, the show would have been completely rejected?

I think the show falls on the heels of Breaking Bad or Weeds, where a main character is living this double life. It also has a serial soap element to it as well. The way that it's a provocative thriller at the same time.

Answer 10

When did you last write a letter? To whom?

Well I don't really stick a letter in the mail! I have a son, and when I need to tell him something I'll put it in a letter, or e-mail it to him. Sometimes I e-mail my husband. Sometimes I just want to tell them something and it's just more permanent for them to read it, so I write them a little letter. So I guess I only write letters to the people closest to me.