Brentwood Mag (10/02)
<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0448dfc3.jpg"> <div> <B>Return to </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id236.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2002 Articles"><U><B>2002 Articles</B></U></A></FONT><B> page</B></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="96da0d90.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="217" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> <I>Cover mailed to subscribers</I></div> <div> <B>Main Menu Options:</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="All About Mac"><U>All About Mac</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Harm Mac"><U>Harm & Mac</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id152.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MACnopsis"><U>MACnopsis</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JAG Timeline"><U>JAG Timeline</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Photos/Articles/Interviews"><U>Photos/Articles/Interviews</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id106.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Catherine Bell "><U>Catherine Bell </U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Insider Info"><U>Insider Info</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News/Gossip"><U>News/Gossip</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Episode Information"><U>Episode Information</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Trial Stats"><U>Trial Stats</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U>Links</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fan Mail/Email Owner"><U>Fan Mail/E-mail Owner</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id363.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JAG DVD Petition"><U>JAG DVD Petition</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Site Updates"><U>Site Updates</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=132 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0458dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336666" FACE="Arial" ><B>Mac on JAG</B></FONT><B> </B><B>|</B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mac on JAG"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id439.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Harpers Bazaar (12/02)"><U>Harper's Bazaar (12/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id383.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sophisticates (12/02)"><U>Sophisticate's (12/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id425.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Glamour (10/02)"><U>Glamour (10/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id413.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="People (10/28/02)"><U>People (10/28/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id408.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Canada TV Guide (10/02)"><U>Canada TV Guide (10/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id373.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vanity Fair (10/02)"><U>Vanity Fair (10/02)</U></A> | <B>Brentwood Mag (10/02)</B> | <A HREF="id423.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Series Mag (Sept/Oct. 02)"><U>Series Mag (Sept/Oct. 02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id243.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Short Hair (Autumn 02)"><U>Short Hair (Autumn 02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id244.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="In Style (8/02)"><U>In Style (8/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id245.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TV Crosswords (8/02)"><U>TV Crosswords (8/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id246.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TV Vue (7/21/02)"><U>TV Vue (7/21/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id247.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="GCB TV Guide (7/20/02)"><U>GCB TV Guide (7/20/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id248.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Star Mag (7/9/02)"><U>Star Mag (7/9/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id249.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TV Guide (7/6/02)"><U>TV Guide (7/6/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id250.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LA Daily (7/02)"><U>LA Daily (7/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id251.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FHM (7/02)"><U>FHM (7/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id252.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sophisticates (6/02)"><U>Sophisticate's (6/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id263.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="NY Post (6/20/02)"><U>NY Post (6/20/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id254.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nautiques (6/13/02)"><U>Nautiques (6/13/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id255.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Short Hair (summer 02)"><U>Short Hair (summer 02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id256.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Celebrity Hairstyles (5/02)"><U>Celebrity Hairstyles (5/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id257.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Daily Variety (5/24/02)"><U>Daily Variety (5/24/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id258.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="People.com (5/17/02)"><U>People.com (5/17/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id259.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Star Mag (4/23/02)"><U>Star Mag (4/23/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id264.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fox News (4/8/02)"><U>Fox News (4/8/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id265.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="NY Times (3/31/02)"><U>NY Times (3/31/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id266.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AskMen.com (3/02)"><U>AskMen.com (3/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id267.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Yahoo! News (2/02)"><U>Yahoo! News (2/02)</U></A> | <A HREF="id268.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Happenings (1/24/02)"><U>Happenings (1/24/02)</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=348 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0458dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>Brentwood Mag (10/02)</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><IMG SRC="af745ec0.jpg" border=0 width="325" height="492" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">HIGH FLYER</B></div> <div> <B>The sky is the limit for the JAG star who has made a career out of a part she wasn't meant to play.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Rarely, if ever, are actresses on TV allowed to come back from the dead. In a plot point generally reserved for soap operas and Crossing Over with John Edward, actress Catherine Bell got murdered during her brief stint on the show JAG’s first go-round on NBC in 1995. </B></div> <bR> <div> But she wasn't going to let a measly thing like death stop her. Call her crazy, but when the one-hour drama was re-sold to CBS a year later, Bell drafted a passionately worded letter to show producer Don Bellisario, suggesting that she'd be perfect for the lead role opposite co-star David James Elliott, who currently plays Lt. Cmdr. Harmon “Harm” Rabb. Impressed with her persistence and ability, Bellisario rang Bell, deciding to bring her back from the dead as a different character, Lt. Colonel Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie — a feisty Marine investigator who injects a strain of sexual tension into the show that even Benny Hill would have a hard time mustering. </div> <bR> <div> “I think it’s all fun. Beauty and sexuality, you know, the whole interplay between men and women is all fun, healthy and part of life,” admits a very friendly Bell, who speaks to me via phone in her 2000 Porsche Carrera, on the way home from the Valencia set of JAG.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="af8c72c0.jpg" border=0 width="199" height="300" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Since defying TV’s laws of probability, Bell still rides the JAG wave, which now rolls into its eighth season on CBS. And while the hottest three letters on TV might be “H,” “B” and “O,” JAG has consistently occupied a substantial niche on a network that prior to CSI, was known more as the geriatric society of the big three networks than anything cutting edge.</div> <bR> <div> Blessed with the type of sex appeal that could make any ambitious, young corporal trade in his mettle for a wedding ring, Bell’s “Mac” works for the Judge Advocate General’s office — an elite wing of the military that prosecutes and defends officers who have been accused of crimes. </div> <bR> <div> With “military” being a word constantly in the forefront of the cultural lexicon since September 11, the drama has seemed even timelier, with fictitious variations of real-life plots involving military tribunals and the Taliban. Amidst it all, Bell’s performance comes off as determined and tight as the uniform she wears — which in a drama heavy with testosterone, affords the male audience something to make eyes at other than F-16 fighter jets. </div> <bR> <div> How does playing an intelligent, strong-minded and responsible individual affect public perception? </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="af94a970.jpg" border=0 width="330" height="407" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">“People do think I'm a little older and more mature than I actually am…[In reality] I get a little wacky and my character never does,” say Bell, anxious to demonstrate more range as an actress. Taking notable steps toward expanding the scope of her image, Bell recently donned very little in a photo shoot for a certain men’s magazine, exposing sides of herself most have never seen. </div> <bR> <div> The result?</div> <bR> <div> “Literally within days I got spotted 10 times more on the street, which was really wild. I definitely noticed my increased visibility, especially by young males.” And so did they. Speaking of the decision to pose in her skivvies, “It was an important thing for me to do at this point to make sure people knew that I wasn't older, conservative and stuffy.” </div> <bR> <div> Perhaps nothing she’s done has been more revealing than her part as nude body double for Isabella Rossellini in the 1992 film Death Becomes Her, a place where she met her current husband Adam Beason. Yet, even as Bell’s curves may act as a contributing factor when it comes to the glut of fan mail she gets from military personnel, she coyly avoids any question as to whether she’s a sex symbol. </div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="afa5df40.jpg" border=0 width="349" height="500" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Asked whether there’s anything uncomfortable about providing the fictionalized version of events that have hit so close to home, Bell explains, “We have to deal with it because that’s what the military is doing, so as a military show it would be silly if we didn't.”</B></div> <bR> <div> “I don't know if I feel like one — occasionally, I hear that I am one,” offers the actress, tap-dancing around an answer so as not to sound arrogant.</div> <bR> <div> As the only child of an architect and Iranian-born nurse, Bell was born in London and speaks fluent Farsi. Shortly after her parents got divorced, her father died and she and her mother moved to the San Fernando Valley. Doing her time at the Valley prerequisite, Sherman Oaks Galleria, Bell enrolled at UCLA with intentions of becoming a biomedical engineer or doctor. Yet the more she contemplated the chemistry of the left brain, her heart and right brain kept telling her she was an artist, so she dropped out of college during her sophomore year and started doing print and commercial work as a model and actress. </div> <bR> <div> Although she did land a part in an American Express commercial for Mexican television, things were not coming that easy to Bell. Having admitted to suffering from the actor’s plague called “shyness,” Bell recruited a philosophy that to this day she credits for her transition into a headstrong actress. </div> <bR> <div> “I was having problems auditioning...[I had] fears and insecurities. So I took a course in Scientology and got some counseling that actually addressed it…The very next day I had my call back for JAG,” explains Bell, who, in the past, has publicly expressed disapproval over some of the backlash Scientology has received in the media.</div> <bR> <div> Exuding a jovial, down-to-earth demeanor, Bell seems grateful for the opportunities she’s been given up to this point. Though, what’s just as tangible is how wildly cognizant she is of bigger steps she has yet to take as an actress. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="afb03bc0.jpg" border=0 width="259" height="444" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">“The thing that you can't forget is that just because you're successful in television doesn't automatically mean anything — you still have to kind of start out from scratch in the film world.” </div> <bR> <div> Spending last summer attending between 30 and 40 auditions, by her count, it wasn't until late August when Bell scored a fortunate coup, landing a supporting role in next summer’s big Jim Carrey film, Bruce Almighty. After initially auditioning for the lead role (a part that Jennifer Aniston eventually got), Bell bumped into Carrey and his manager at a Paramount Pictures party, where they realized she was absolutely perfect — for a different role.</div> <bR> <div> Right place at the right time.</div> <bR> <div> Slated to play a Latina news anchor that becomes enamored with Carrey after she becomes aware of his God-like powers, Bell shoots her part in October, and has been preparing by observing news anchors and broadcasters in the interim. As for her kissing scene with Carrey — she says if she wasn't married, she wouldn't mind practicing that scene quite a bit in advance. </div> <bR> <div> Instead, she'll wing it and simply pop a few Altoids.</div> <bR> <div> — Gregg Rosenzweig</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Article taken from </B><A HREF="http://www.brntwdmagazine.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.brntwdmagazine.com/"><U><B>Brentwood online</B></U></A><B>.</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>