You can never go wrong when you talk about two women kissing in the slugline of an article. Never. I’ll bet this one gets read two to one over the Tom Cavanagh interview I posted last night.

I’ve been a fan of Heather Graham for a long time. While most don’t think of her as a great comic actress, I think if you look at her movies she always holds her own and tends to stand out.

Opening tomorrow is Gray Matters which stars Heather Graham, Tom Cavanagh and Bridget Moynahan. The premise is Tom and Heather play brother and sister who are extremely close – they live together, can finish each other’s sentences, in fact some people think they’re dating. Soon after that misunderstanding they agree on the need to meet new people. When Tom finds Bridget Moynahan, Heather’s character Gray starts to have some unusual feelings. Not the I’m jealous you found someone before me, more like I’m also attracted to your girlfriend. The film is a romantic comedy…just not the regular boy meets girl, some confusion happens, and then it all works out type. It's more of a romantic comedy about coming out of the closet.

The interview was held a few weeks back and was conducted in roundtable form – meaning around ten of us were asking questions. If you would like to listen to the interview click here, otherwise the transcript is below.

Gray Matters opens in limited release tomorrow.

What is this fabulous ensemble you’re wearing?

Oh, I thought you were going to ask me about the actors in the movie (laughs)

No, I’m interested in what you’re wearing?

Are you serious?  Okay, I got this sweater from Diesel, and then this dress (underneath) I was going to wear just this but then I was cold.  It’s by Michelle Jonas and I got these boots at a Versace fashion show. I don’t know what kind of tights these are (beige colored fishnet stockings).

So I guess now you can talk about working with the cast.

Well, I really liked working with Molly (Shannon) because Molly is a good friend of mine so it was cool that we got to play friends.  Tom (Cavanagh) is really fun – he’s like, joke, joke, joke.  He’s just really a goofball and he let me physically beat up on him which was really fun. And Bridget (Moynahan) is a really cool, not actressy… she’s down to earth and really great and Alan (Cumming) is super charming and funny and I felt really honoured to be working with them.  Sissy Spacek is really a legend so it was really cool to have a few scenes with her and I’ve admired her for so long.  I think she’s one of the best actresses.

Were you nervous or worried about playing the role?

No, I was really excited.  I thought it was a really good part and I just felt really happy to be in it.

Was there any one scene that was more difficult to do than the other?

Well, I know that the director wanted to build up to the elevator scene where she wanted me to get emotional so I definitely felt like a pressure there because she wrote it about her sister and her sister was on the set and so I felt like, since it was such a personal story that they wanted me to do that scene in a certain way and that was hard but it was fun and the dancing scenes were hard but we rehearsed them a lot and that was really fun.  I love – I’m kind of a goofball, I love dancing in movies and it was really fun to rehearse that stuff and to do it.

What made you pick the role?

When I read the script I really liked the feeling I got at the end of it.  I liked what it was about – that it was about someone kind of learning to accept themselves for who they are and celebrating who they are.  I kind of felt like I could relate to that even though I hadn’t gone through the exact same thing but it’s hard to really learn about yourself and to accept all the different parts of yourself.  I thought it was a very happy story.

Did you and Tom talk about how you’ve both been on Scrubs?

Yeah, we did.  We never were in any of the same scenes on Scrubs but we talked about how great all those people on Scrubs are – like Bill and Zach and Sarah and everyone.

Scrubs is a very distinct comedy rhythm – did that help you for this movie?

Yeah, I guess Sue the director would talk about the 40s movies and those fast talking comedies of that time so we definitely - we watched some of those movies and we – both of our characters loved old movies so she wanted to bring a feeling of those movies. 

This character is klutzy and an excellent dancer – which part of the spectrum do you fall?  Klutzy or graceful?

Well, I’m klutzy and graceful and I work out a lot and I do yoga and I do Pilates and I’m kind of athletic and I’ve taken dance classes but at the same point I’m just a total klutz.  In fact, I think we were just traveling in Washington, DC and I think I said goodnight to them and then as I was getting off the elevator I went in the wrong direction and kind of tripped over and everyone was laughing at me.

Did Sue give you any pointers because this is such a personal story to her – did she give you other stories to base the character on?

Well, she would tell me a little bit about her sister but I actually hung out with her sister and I took her out to dinner one night and I was getting her drunk and asking her questions like, what was it like to kiss a girl for the first time?  What did you feel like up until that point and what did you think after?  I asked her a lot of those questions and I had a few friends that I asked questions to as well.

What was it like the first time you kissed a girl?

It was great! (laughs).

Did you have to have a drink before that scene (kissing Bridget Moynahan) or how did you deal with it?

No, to be honest, I thought, this will be kind of fun.  I just thought Bridget is so great and so beautiful and honestly I think we were both nervous and Sue (director) said we were giggling and a bit awkward but I just think it was sweet and it’s a sweet story.  It’s not like some raunchy big sex scene.

Last year a lot of gay movies did well last year – would you say that many actors are happier to take on gay roles these days because gay is hot this year?

(laughs).  I think that actors do, do really well when they get to play gay characters.  I think there’s a lot going on when you play a character like that and because of how some people in society react to that there’s a bigger conflict so that’s fun if you’re an actor to play that.

Rachel Shelley said that part of the reason she took the role was because she got to be smitten with you?  Did you return that sentiment?

Yeah!  She’s amazing and I think she’s so obviously beautiful and she’s a very smart, cool, interesting person. We were all talking about who could play that part because we wanted to get someone interesting and intimidating and also really sexy and she’s really, really great.

Is there anything on the cutting room floor?

There’s a really major sex scene between us that was full on hardcore x-rated. I don’t know why they didn’t’ put it in the movie (joking).

How did you like singing I Will Survive with Gloria Gaynor?

It was so fun.  That’s one of my favorite all-time songs – I’ve gone through breakups and played that song or gone to a dance club and it’s okay, I’m going to be fine!  So when I met her it was seriously like meeting a person who had played such an important role in my life so I was so surprised that Sue got her to do it.

What do you miss about being anonymous?

I still feel kind of anonymous sometimes and I really do like staring at people on the street but sometimes I think if I stare at people too long and they do a double take then I can’t really do that.  But I like watching people.

Do you prefer LA or New York?

I like them both for different reasons.  I think New York is more exciting and when you go out at night there’s more going on and it’s really fun to be around people that do different jobs but I have to say that LA is really relaxing and it’s great in the middle of winter to have a 75degree day and to go out in your backyard with trees and its so much less expensive and it’s just much more calm.

New York is a character in the film.

Yes.

Why is it such a good character?

I think the director has lived in New York and I think she loves New York and wants to do all her films in New York and I think there’s that moment where Alan and I are on top of the building and it’s that beautiful view of New York and she shows the Empire State Building and I felt when I was watching it, I just thought that having your life be a backdrop to your life and you go through all these different things and it’s what your surroundings… it was weird – I don’t even know what I’m saying but it’s a backdrop to your life and I could relate to all the things that have happened to me when I’ve been in New York and looking at it and it’s this beautiful backdrop to your life, I was looking at it thinking it was this beautiful backdrop.

I Tivo’d Emily’s Reasons Why Not and it took me a while to figure out it wasn’t going to be airing again – what happened?  Did you know already they were going to drop it?

They basically aired one episode and I guess they stopped.  They didn’t get the ratings they wanted and they were just like, okay, we’ll stop.

How did they explain that it was more profitable to not show five episodes?

It was a very bizarre. I don’t fully understand it. It made me just think – it was bizarre they were going to invest all this money and not try to build it more but I don’t know.

Will it ever be on DVD?

I heard it aired in Iceland (laughs).

This film features the most inappropriate thing you can do – make out with your beloved brother’s fiancé the night before they get married.  Were there moments in your life where you did something that was so brain dead and inappropriate that makes you wonder how you could have gone to that place?

I could relate to having that fear – you know when you really care about someone and they’re almost your whole emotional world and then you start thinking, what if they weren’t there anymore?  I’ve gotten into fights with friends where I did something selfish and stupid and I worried that I’d lose that relationship. I actually had one friend that got throat cancer two years ago and then he was fine but there was that feeling of, what if I lost that person?  It’s really scary.

You’ve been very involved in independent films – what do you like about independent films?  Are you more successful in those types of films?

I think I just – as an audience member I really like watching them because I think they often so more interesting and innovative things and they don’t have such a big budget so they can be a bit more daring.  I like watching things that are original and I think bigger budget movies can be really formulaic and you think, okay I’m watching this kind of movie and there are different actors but you’ve seen it four million times so Id rather watch something that’s more fresh.  And I think there are big movies that are fresh but they are fewer.

You’ve done well in comedy – have you always known you were funny?

I have a friend who always used to say to me, ‘You know, you’re really funny.’  I think I’m funny but unintentionally and if I try to be, I’m not.  I really like watching comedies and I really appreciate people that are funny so I’m happy to do stuff like that.

Are there qualities you look for in a first time director in order to gain your trust?

Well, I think she was very passionate and I felt she had a vision and as she was directing me she was very specific about what she wanted and that made me feel good because I felt like she could see the end product and we weren’t just screwing around doing whatever.  She really knew what she wanted and I felt she had passion for me playing the part too which is good for an actor and if you’re feeling a bit insecure and you’re trying something new and I’ve never done it but just to feel her enthusiasm and passion made me feel a lot more confident.

Is it different with a female director?

No, not really.  It’s fun having a female director – you can relate on some levels but it’s not actually much different.

What do you have coming up?

I had a movie at Sundance called Adrift in Manhattan and I did a movie called Broken and I’ve been developing three movies of which two I will produce this year and one next year.

You mentioned the elevator scene which is really important to the gay community.  It’s very political although your character wasn’t probably aware that it was political.  Did you prepare for that in any way?

I talked to Sue’s sister and I thought of it like this was the moment where I’ve been in denial and why have I been in denial?  Because I’m afraid of these things so it’s like the big fears inside that you don’t really talk about but in that moment I just let it out to my brother.

Was it hard for you to believe that someone could not know something so profound about themselves for so long? (that she was gay)

Well, I did ask certain people and some people said, yeah, I knew when I was a teenager and some people were like, I don’t see that happening but that has definitely happened to people and I know people – I have a friend whose father came out to her when he was in his 70s.  I think people come out at lots of different ages.

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