CHRISTINE EBERSOLE from Royal Pains Interview

During out set visit of ROYAL PAINS, we also got a chance to talk to CHRISTINE EBERSOLE, who plays Mrs. Newberg.

Enjoy her interview, and don't forget to watch Royal Pains on Thursdays at 10pm on USA.

Can you talk a little bit about your character?

Christine Ebersole: My character, does anybody know my character's first name?

I don't think we have a first name yet.

Christine Ebersole: Isn't that fantastic! My character doesn't have a first name. It's just Mrs. Newberg. Isn't that great? Yeah, I think it's like—it's like Mr. Big, right?
I play Mrs. Newberg, I'm very rich and live in the Hamptons, probably just for the summer. I have other residences, but they're somewhat—some of them are undisclosed at this point. So, I have a house in the Hamptons in the summertime, and I'm a grandmother of a 22-year-old. That's showbiz. Yeah, I'm a grandmother of a 22-year-old.

Is the kind of over the top Hamptons character based on anyone you might know in real life?

Christine Ebersole: Well, actually, it's kind of after the fact because when I started playing the role and then kind of went away from it, I thought, "Oh, my God, this is just like somebody I know." So, it's one of those kind of—it was a little bit ass backwards, but no, I don't know. It's just sort of—it's just kind of felt like it was right. It was, it just feels like the part in me. Not that I'm bad in real life, but you never know. There are parts of me, I'm sure. You draw on what you know and what you have, so.

So, you're playing a diva by day on television and a spirit by night on theatre. Is it hard creatively to make that shift from filming television in the day and then going to the theatre?

Christine Ebersole: No, just in terms of energy. That's all, you know, really. It's just sort of a lot, a lot to do, and I have two shows today.

Do you ever sleep?

Christine Ebersole: Well, I try, you know, because I have three kids too. So, the routine is usually I get home, but then it's hard to get to sleep. So, I sometimes don't get to sleep till like 12:30 or 1:00 or something like that, and then I have to get up at 6:30 to get the kids off to school. So, then you're up and then your brain starts going. So, then hopefully maybe I can take a little nap before I have to go into the city.
So, that's the kind of a routine that I have, just like this morning, same thing. I was like, "Seven o'clock, all right. Well, I'm awake," and didn't go to bed till late, so it was hard to get to sleep and especially when you're not, when you're not at home. It's hard for me to sleep because my husband is not there to cuddle up to. Anyway, thanks for letting me share that. Okay. Well, it's good to know I have a good marriage anyway.

You're one of the few people on the show who have actually spent some time in the Hamptons. I know you were recently out doing a show at Guild Hall.

Christine Ebersole: Yes. It was a fundraiser. It wasn't actually at Guild Hall. It's like Frankenstein or something. Yeah, it was actually a fundraiser, so it ended up being in the Springs, you know, at a yacht club, which was really cool. So, our background was the—whatever that harbor is, you know, with all the boats there, really beautiful.

Do you spend a lot of time in the Hamptons, or you're just there for work?

Christine Ebersole: No. I mean, not—yeah, because I'm just one of those working stiffs, you know. One of the Clydesdales that just keeps doing show after show. But no, I've had the opportunity to go out and spend a weekend or whatever, but I've never spent the summer. I've never been able to do that. But it's a great place.

You said that your character is a grandmother? Do we get any more information on her?

Christine Ebersole: Well, in the next episode, I'm having, I'm giving my dog a Bark Mitzvah. A Bark Mitzvah. I don't know anything beyond that, except in the last episode that I was in, there was a huge, huge portrait of my dog, who is a King Charles spaniel. Not like in my real life.

Broadway is obviously keeping you really busy. So, why do a TV show to begin with? What was it about this that made you want to add that extra thing to your schedule?

Christine Ebersole: Well, it's kind of a no-brainer, really, because it's, first of all, I was just saying to one of my friends, "This is such a fantastic show and such a fantastic part." You know, there have been times when I've had to stand in front of a stove with a bathrobe, flipping pancakes, saying punch lines like, "Duck guano." So, luckily, this is not one of those parts. When you think I've made a Faustian bargain, and I've sold myself to the devil for the promise of riches, neither of which I got, so this was a no-brainer because it's a fantastic part. It's a fantastic show. It's such a well-written show, and the locations are fantastic. It's right in my back yard. I don't have to go to LA, and the people are so fantastic. That's another thing, can you imagine just going to work every day and just laughing all day long? I mean, what a great thing. So, that's kind of what we do. And then, not only that, you're laughing but you're looking at really beautiful things, like beautiful, you know, ocean and, you know, trees and the sky and beautiful grass and—what can be bad about that, you know?

How did they approach you about the role? How did the whole thing come about?

Christine Ebersole: I think I got an offer, right? I didn't audition for it, did I? I don't remember any more.

Any interaction between you and Campbell Scott coming up?

Christine Ebersole: I hope so, but I did get to meet him in, you know, ADR, in looping. So, I got to meet him there. So, hopefully. I'm sure that makes sense.

Who would be your dream guest star?

Christine Ebersole: Like the Love Boat, you mean? That's fantastic! William Shatner. That's who I want, William Shatner, yes. I want to rekindle my romance with William Shatner because I was on Boston Legal with him. Yeah. What a blast! Had the best time with him. So, yeah. Oh, there's just a whole pile. Well, let's start with William Shatner and go from there. And there's any number of possibilities, just with William Shatner alone there. He could have dropped in from space. Why not? Why not? Anything can happen in the Hamptons.

Do you think that there's an appeal in the Hamptons for people who don't live in New York City, don't really know anything about the Hamptons?

Christine Ebersole: Yeah, I do because it's about, it's a kind of a fantasy about rich people and at the same time being able to poke fun at them, you know. So, it's kind of what you don't have, what you could sort of dream of having, and know that they're flawed and could end up on the streets any minute.

Do we get to see Mrs. Newburg's wild side? Do you get to dance or sing?

Christine Ebersole: Oh, oh, I think so. It's a possibility.