Jennifer Beals' Thrown a Curve By 'L Word' Final Season

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Jennifer Beals reveals she was "completely" surprised to find out that the final season of her "The L Word" series has been transformed into flashbacks. She admits to this column that she's been thrown "a little off-balance by it. It seemed very different from what we had done prior, but you kind of roll with the flow. We'll see what happens."

Asked whether she likes the way her Bette Porter character's storyline has been handled, she says, "I don't know how the show has been edited. It's completely different from the way we shot it, in a way, since it's all being shown as flashbacks."

The Showtime series, returning Jan. 18, completed its production in October, and "they just recently put the trailers together," she notes. She did not learn of the change from the producers. "Somebody else told me — Rachel," she says, referring to cast mate Rachel Shelley.

It might seem strange, to say the least, that the lead actress of the six-year-old lesbian drama series would be kept in the dark about such a wholesale change in the structure of the entire last season, but the Yale-educated Beals is circumspect about that.

"They didn't have to tell all of us, or any of us," she says. "The only thing is, it would help me with doing press. I really have no attachment. To me, after it's done, I rarely watch it. All those people in the studio that were there when we wrapped — all the crew members, the production team, everybody — they're all responsible for what we accomplished. Ilene Chaiken," she says of the show's creator-exec producer. "It's not me, it's a collective. That's the beauty of film and television."

As for what is next, Beals, who has a 3-year-old daughter with husband Ken Dixon, says she's "taking a little time to relax. I'll find another project, and I hope it will be as satisfying as 'The L Word,' and we'll see. I'm not in a huge hurry. I've been reading scripts with women characters who are not drawn very thoroughly. To be on a woman-centric show and then read scripts where a woman is an ancillary character is a rude awakening."

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Consumer electronics transcript (Jan 2007)

LESLIE MOONVES:
Thank you, guys. Thanks for behaving. They've always been way ahead of the curve. By the way, CBS is also investing in companies and Web sites that foster community, as in the case of the latest product from our next presenters. Two nights ago, the show, The L Word, premiered its fourth season on our premium cable network, Showtime. For those of you who haven't seen the show, it's about a very close-knit group of women.Here's a quick look at what you can expect to see in the new season.


We have just launched a new Web site, born right out of this show, called OurChart.com. This is one of the first examples of a media company taking its traditional assets and building an application around it for its online audience.
Here to describe what I mean are the creator and the star of The L Word, Ilene Chaiken, and Jennifer Beals.

ILENE CHAIKEN:
Leslie is talking about community, which is the explicit and motivating premise for our project.

JENNIFER BEALS:
Which is called Our Chart. It's a social networking site for gay women and their friends, inspired by a storyline on The L Word, but also, by the way, in which our show's viewers from the moment we debuted on Showtime swiftly and passionately anointed The L Word as the focal point for their community, claiming it as their own and congregating around it all over the country and all over the world, in clubs and house parties, and, of course, on the Internet.

ILENE CHAIKEN:
And those social networking sites are all the rage these days, everybody wants one, but as it happens, we're not just jumping on a bandwagon. This idea of community and interconnectivity has been our central thematic motif from the very beginning when in our pilot Alice demonstrated her theory of relationship connectivity.

JENNIFER BEALS:
Which she later evolved into a radio show on KCRW, LA's popular independent radio station, and eventually into an online site, much like the one we're about to show you.

ILENE CHAIKEN:
A classic case of life imitates art.

We looked at this story, and we went to our friends at Showtime and CBS and said, we really should do this, don't you think? It didn't take much convincing. Not only is the spending power of the gay market currently estimated at up to $641 million, gay consumers are more likely to use their credit cards for online purchases.

JENNIFER BEALS:
More importantly, our viewers want to tell us what they think about our show. They want to process with us, talk about their own relationships, talk to each other, and let us know how better we can reflect their community back to them, and model it for the rest of the world. And they want to tell Ilene how craven she is for breaking up my character, Bette's relationship with her girlfriend Tina. Ilene says she's going to listen when they talk to her on Our Chart.

ILENE CHAIKEN:
I'm going to put my ego aside, and with the help of Our Chart, I'm going to totally let the fans weigh in on the direction our L Word stories are taking.

In any event, the Internet is an ecosystem in which we all benefit from shared resources, shared enthusiasm and shared interests. The unique opportunity behind which CBS and Showtime are supporting us is in creating a new kind of social networking site, one that marries the rich, beautiful content of an established media venture with innovative, interactive user-generated content in what we think will be the ultimate online destination for this vibrant and engaged community.

JENNIFER BEALS:
This is the OurChart.com homepage.

ILENE CHAIKEN:
If you're a registered user, you log in. If not, you have the option to join and create a profile. I'm already logged in.
This control panel is like a portable console that lets you connect with your friends, nomatter where you are. Say I'm reading a blog post or watching a video, all I have to do is drop down my control panel and I can message anyone on my friend's list or even add friends without even leaving the page I'm on.

JENNIFER BEALS:
The L Word Insider offers our fans unprecedented access, podcasts from The L Words writers' room, behind the scenes exclusives, special deleted scenes.

ILENE CHAIKEN:
And most excitingly, original material from Jennifer, and our two other partners in this venture, Leisha Hailey and Katherine Moennig, like these beautiful black and white photographs Jennifer has been taking on and off set, from the very beginning of our show.

JENNIFER BEALS:
Here is our main blog called the Hookup, and our featured invitational guest bloggers, we call them Guestbians, because our site, just like our show, is not exclusive to lesbians. Everyone, gay, straight, or other, is invited to join in on our conversations, including all of you.

ILENE CHAIKEN:
Exactly. Our Chart members are the main thing. On our homepage we feature three items, Who's Who, Who's New, and an editor's selection of interesting items and discussions from personal pages called Off the Charts. And, of course, there's the Chart itself. Right now we're looking at My Chat, a visual representation of all my friends. We'll navigate to Leisha's chart from here, which moves her to the center and shows all of her connections.

We could actually navigate through the entire chart moving from friend to friend, provided everyone was actually connected, which I think is ultimately true. We can also use the chart to display info from my full profile. This is my actual profile page where I manage all of my personal information, friends, photos, videos. I wish we could show you more, but like in television production, there's never enough time to say everything you want to say.

JENNIFER BEALS:
The Our Chart social network is a logical extension of Alice's chart from The L Word, created expressly for the real life L world out there, so that, as Alice says on the show, we all can reach out from the alienation of modern life in order to make connections and form lasting relationships. We hope Our Chart fulfills that purpose for a large and growing community. Thank you.

LESLIE MOONVES:
Thanks, Jennifer and Ilene. It's truly exciting to think about the possibilities that our content opens up.

A word on Our Chart. It just launched, so go easy on it. It's in beta. I think media needs to get used to putting up content that is not quite complete, letting the audience fill it in

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The Flash is Back: Alternative Nutrition Helps Actress Jennifer Beals Beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
ImmuneSupport.com

06-04-2004

By Jennifer LeClaire
Source: Better Nutrition, March 2004
Jennifer Beals has enjoyed a healthy career in show biz for the past two decades. The diverse performer has worked alongside stars such as Denzel Washington, Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway--but the accomplished actress didn't always enjoy perfect health along the way.

While Beals was physically fit, she was also physically ill during the late 1990s. That's when the thespian endured a non-publicized health challenge that would forever change the way she viewed nutrition.

Daunting Diagnosis

Beals was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus and chronic fatigue syndrome, which drained the "Flashdance" star's energy levels for months. Beals also suffered from thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid gland that contributes to fatigue. She even tested positive for lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the body and typically causes achy joints, arthritis and fatigue.

"I went to one of the top endocrinologists in New York, and he couldn't figure out how to help me," says Beals, who has since fully recovered her stamina. "The doctor told me I was fluctuating so rapidly between two poles that he didn't know what to give me and suggested that I see an alternative doctor."

A weary Beals took the doctor's advice and sought out alternative approaches to fix her fatigue. The first step was shunning sugar and weaning herself from wheat, an experience Beals reckons is similar to the experience of withdrawing from drugs. She admits that she was "unpleasant to be around" during that time, but the bigger disappointment was her lack of recovery.

"I went to Vancouver to do a film, and I was still really tired all the lime," says Beals, who was starting in a Paramount TV film series called Amanda America at the time. "I thought to myself, 'How am I going to get through this?'"

Life-Changing Results

She was pondering this question in a hotel lobby in Canada when sire saw a book on a coffee table that offered her some hope. That book was Eating Alive by Dr. John Matsen. Matsen proclaimed the body's natural ability to heal itself by attaining homeostasis, or balance. His theory' is that our bodies are wise, self-adjusting organisms capable of monitoring and correcting imbalances, fighting invaders and repairing damage. So when homeostasis reigns, the body is healthy, but when there is imbalance, the body is prone to sickness and disease. According to Matsen, it boils down to digestion.

"I started reading Dr. Matsen's book in the hotel lounge, and I thought, 'Wherever this doctor is in the world, after this movie, I'm going to see him'" explains Beals. As fate would have it, Dr. Matsen was in Vancouver, and she booked his next appointment.

Three weeks later, she was feeling like herself again. "I completely changed the way I ate, and I also took supplements," she says. "It was amazing. That experience made it so clear to see how the digestive system is such a huge key in wellness and health."

Healthful Lifestyle

The health challenge was a turning point in Beals' attitude toward nutrition. She still avoids sugar, wheat and caffeine, three of the culprits responsible for her ailments. She has substituted these things with healthier options such as oats, fruits and green teas. Beals no longer eats as stringently as Dr. Matsen recommended because her digestive system began working so well that her metabolism skyrocketed, and she was losing weight too quickly.

But her nutrition habits aren't the only filing that Beals has changed over the years. Her fitness philosophies have also evolved since her Flashdance days when she was 19 years old and dancing in torn sweatshirts and legwarmers. Beals' maturity is displayed in both her acting roles and her exercise routines.

"When I was younger, I enjoyed being strong, and I loved it when my heart was very strong, but I think it was also about submitting to the cultural idea that if you're a 22-year-old woman, you have to look a certain way. I'm not into that anymore. But I do appreciate it when my clothes fit."

When it comes to exercise, Beals likes variety. One staple of her fitness program, however, is yoga, because she believes stretching helps muscles work more efficiently. She's also a big believer in cross-training. Hiking with her dogs, running on the beach, doing Pilates and skating also bold periodic places in her activities, but swimming is her current aerobic activity of choice because it's fun, quiet and stimulates right-left brain integration.

Better Nutrition

Of course, the actress, who now stars in the Showtime Original Series, "The L Word", has had to make her share of fitness and nutrition sacrifices during her career. The slender Beals gained 20 pounds for her leading roles in both Devil in a Blue Dress and A House Divided. While she says losing the weight "wasn't a problem" after Devil in a Blue Dress, shedding the pounds after A House Divided proved more difficult.

"It was hard. It was really, really hard," she admits, noting that she tried several different diet regimens at the time.

Eventually, she returned to the diet prescribed by Dr. Matsen, which relies heavily on food-combining theories. She also started running 3-4 miles along the Malibu beach near her Los Angeles home almost every' day with her dog. The diet and exercise helped her lose the first 10 pounds in 6 weeks. The next 5 pounds, however, were a little bit more stubborn. Beals eventually conquered the extra weight by running 2 hours a day for several weeks, and says she kept the last 5 pounds on because she felt more comfortable at that weight.

"For me, staying in shape means having some kind of cardiovascular ability and flexibility," says Beals. "But being in shape doesn't mean that I have to be a size 4 or a size 6 anymore. For me, it's more about being healthy."

Looking Forward

Beals has always been about being healthy and fit. Growing lip with two brothers, she says being adept at sports was a "matter of survival." But Beals isn't hung up on age any more than she is on weight. As she enters her 40s with a new husband and two stepchildren, she isn't longing for the days of her youth and hopes other women aren't either.

"There's no point in wishing for something that you can't have," she says matter-of-factly. "I would recommend meditating. I think that's the single most important thing that I do. More than stretching, more than the way I eat, there's something about understanding who you truly are. The essence of everyone is so beautiful that it's startling."

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The New York Times
THE CHARACTER
Jennifer Beals and the G Word
By MARGY ROCHLIN

Published: May 1, 2005
Isabel Snyder/Showtime
Jennifer Beals had her choice of roles in "The L Word."

EARLY in the second season of Showtime's hit series "The L Word," the curator Bette Porter, played by Jennifer Beals, distractedly smashes her shiny black sports car into an S.U.V., then ends up in a shouting match with the driver. "You're going to be one sorry [expletive]," the man yells. Surpassing him in volume, she hollers back with self-pitying, unhinged ferocity, "What makes you think I'm not already?"

However, a jarring bit of improvisation ended up on the cutting-room floor. "At one point, I was shoving him, he was shoving me back and I was ready to haul off and hit him," said Ms. Beals, 41. "It was great, really great."

Ms. Beals's enthusiasm for the part has been evident since 2002 when Showtime approached her with an offer to pick one of two roles: the glamorous but controlling Bette or her more docile life partner, Tina (ultimately portrayed by Laurel Holloman). "I chose Bette because I liked her acidity," said Ms. Beals, who despite having appeared in more than 40 films and television shows, has had difficulty shaking her image as the girl with the soulful dark eyes and the ripped sweatshirt who was a welder by day and a knee-pumping exotic dancer by night in the 1983 film "Flashdance."

Her role on "The L Word," a groundbreaking ensemble drama about a close-knit group of out, well-to-do lesbians, certainly exposes viewers to the full range of what Ms. Beals can do. Last season her character's brief dalliance with a female construction worker built the foundation for this season's story arc: Tina's moving out and finding a new lover. Lonely, guilt-ridden and filled with self-loathing, Bette has boozed it up, faltered at her job, lashed out at strangers at intersections and had sex with a woman she'd just met in a bar, all the while struggling to figure a way to get Tina to forgive her. But Bette is also now dealing with her father's prostate cancer.

"Bette has to wear one hair shirt after the next - it was emotionally grueling," Ms. Beals said. Though her co-stars enjoy watching "The L Word" en masse, Ms. Beals doesn't attend the parties and has not seen the show except for four rough-cut episodes given to her by the rest of the cast along with a threat: "They said if I didn't watch them, they'd never speak to me again."

When she said this, dogs could be heard barking. Ms. Beals was speaking by telephone from her home, which, she said, is "in the middle of nowhere," far outside of Los Angeles. There she lives with her second husband, Ken Dixon, whom she prefers not to discuss in interviews. (Ms. Beals was married to the independent film director Alexandre Rockwell for 10 years.)

Her vagueness did not extend to all subjects. Since Season 2 wrapped in December, Ms. Beals, who majored in American literature at Yale, has studied Sanskrit and taken a remedial sewing class. "I just learned how to make drawstring pants," she said, then added lustily, "Woo hoo!"

She also confessed to jitters over the show's next season, which starts filming in Canada in three weeks. "There's always the fear that you don't really know the character," she said, then shared a trade secret. "I'm very dependent on wardrobe. With Bette, it's her cuff links. As soon as I get them on, it's magic - everything comes back to me."

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JENNIFER BEALS ON YOGA
The Beginning: I started out six years ago with the idea that I needed more flexibility, and it just grew from there - there's so much more to it.
The Routine:: I practice all different kinds of yoga. Now I'm really starting to enjoy Iyengar yoga, in which you hold each pose for a longer period. Yoga is highly addictive. I have probably four yoga studio schedules in my car and, wherever I am in town and if I have a break in the day, I'll go to whichever one is closest.
The Payoff:: Once you've completed a wonderful class, you get a sense of the deepest, purest part of yourself. You feel like you are connected to everybody else in the world.

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POWER UP SPEECH

I think I am an actor because I have always loved the idea of being part of a story. When I was a young girl, when my mother would tell me a bed time story I would beg her to make me a character in the story. Put ME in the story I would say. And as a result when she wasn't reading Greek myths to me she would make up stories with me in them. Jenny walked through the forest. Jenny fought dragons, and in another more practical story Jenny always counted her change when she went to buy milk from the store. There were a variety of fictions. I think from an early age we all see our life as a narrative and the narratives to which we are exposed oftentimes shape the narratives we create for ourselves. Through our imagination and through exposure to the imaginations of others we are constantly in the process of creating ourselves.

As I got a little older and was more aware of television and magazines I searched for images of girls that looked like me. As a biracial girl growing up in Chicago there wasn't a lot there, positive or otherwise. I mean, I had Spock. That was kind of it. . My theme song was Cher's Half-Breed. As for being a female, the only women who had any kind of power were either witches, or scantily clad blonde genies running around furniture to escape certain rape from some horny guy. Really weird. Given the choice, I guess I'd be a witch.

Somehow my story wasn't there. I was too young to start reading Faulkner, I hadn't seen Imitation of Life and so I wasn't aware that I was supposed to be the insane, oversexed tragic Mulatto gal. Certainly my otherness sometimes was so palpable it was a wonder that anyone could see me. I was that invisible. And certainly when society fails to write your story there is an unspoken message that the story is not worth telling. And yet somehow--I think it was either the Greek myths with all the powerful shapeshifters and half-human, half-beast deities or the Jenny makes perfect change storyline-I thought perhaps, just MAYBE I was different for a reason. Like it wasn't some horrible mistake to go undocumented in the world.

As an actor I have been very aware of the stories of which I am a part. As an actor I have been very aware of the times when I am able to play the 'other' and happy to have those opportunities the majority of which have come from Showtime. When I met with the producers of the L Word, led by Ilene Chaiken to talk about the show my character Bette was initially not biracial. I suggested that the character be made biracial so I could serve all those people who were like me and had never seen themselves represented except for maybe in a Benneton ad. Ilene embraced the idea because she is that kind of spirit. She knew that I too wanted to feel a sense of belonging- not just belonging in a corporate sense but belonging in a true sense both as an individual and as a part of her story. I am so happy, so honored that I am a part of Ilene's stories week after week, and that we have people like Rose Troche and Guinevere Turner to help tell those stories.

I am extremely grateful to my family at Showtime, Matt Blanc, Gary Levine and Faye Katz. I am particularly indebted to Jerry Offsay who gave me so many opportunities to play in an array of amazing stories including Twilight of the Golds and A House Divided. I am grateful to him for suggesting me for the part of Bette. I am equally grateful to the innovative and groundbreaking Robert Greenblatt for using his vision to guide the L Word to the next level. His knowledge and enthusiasm have ignited the second season and I feel very proud to be a part of the L Word.

The notion that I am part of a narrative where I can offer up some sort of mirror, however imperfect to someone who may have never before seen themselves represented is very exciting. To know that you EXIST and then to know that you exist in a larger, beautiful context and then finally to know that WE ALL exist as one larger, extended group is very fulfilling. To elucidate those connections that lead us all into the state of belonging to the family of humanity is one of the things the L Word strives to accomplish.

To love, to love to love, even when you think the heart is exhausted by anger and fear and hurt and disappointment and the latest presidential election. To love. That is the larger task which connects us all. That is the narrative to which I hope we all can strive.

Love is large, love defies limits. People talk about the sanctity of love...love is by definition sacred. Not some love between some people but all love between all people. How can anyone say one person's love is more sacred than another person's? if indeed it is love it is sanctified. If it is indeed love the right to marriage is not questionable. In my mind nothing pleases God more than love. I do not think it pleases God to codify bigotry. I do not think it pleases God that fear guides the hand of the law in the name of a cultural war.

Desmond Tutu once said that the great problem of our age is one of belonging. Who is the insider and who remains on the outside. Who will exact the spoils and who will suffer. These groupings are realities but they are also fictions put forth by people who benefit from the politics of division. The audience who watches the L Word are a diverse group. And what does that mean? Despite all the shameful efforts to divide this country over issues like who gets to choose, who gets to call themselves a patriot and who does not and who gets to marry and who does not, people, not just gay people, not just horny hetero guys but a lot of people are interested in the stories about a group of lesbians in West Hollywood. And in those stories about a group of lesbians in West Hollywood people recognize their own humanity.

It has been said, "History is written by the victors". I take this to mean we can make ourselves victorious by writing, and then rewriting our own stories. In a country and culture so dominated by media, by the manipulation of words and stories, telling the tales of people whose stories historically have not been told is a radical act and I believe an act that can change the world and help rewrite history. Imagine if all of our stories were told? Like the Chart on the L Word one day all the narratives would intertwine and we would discover the power of our collective imagination and we would see that to be victorious is not to have won simply for your own sake but for the sake of others.

Again thank you to POWER UP for the encouragement.

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A NIGHT OUT WITH: Jennifer Beals; Rounding Up the L Girls

FIRST things first. The actress Jennifer Beals claims she had no idea that the off-the-shoulder sweatshirt she immortalized in the 1983 cult classic ''Flashdance'' is now as ubiquitous as Ugg boots.

''I honestly hadn't noticed,'' said Ms. Beals, who was sitting atop a horse named Spirit on a dirt trail in Griffith Park overlooking Hollywood last Monday. ''But then I've only been to Fred Segal maybe three times in the last 10 years.''

After her turn as an alluring steelworker cum exotic dancer in ''Flashdance,'' Ms. Beals studied American literature at Yale and starred in several small films. Now, at 40, she is likely to win back the public gaze with ''The L Word,'' Showtime's racy new drama about a group of glamorous and sexy lesbians in Los Angeles. The show, which is already drawing heated media attention, makes its debut next Sunday.

On ''The L Word,'' a gay ''Friends'' meets ''Melrose Place'' (there's even a coffee shop, called the Planet, where they all hang out), Ms. Beals plays Bette Porter, a high-powered museum curator trying to find a sperm donor for her girlfriend.

''Doing the sex scenes with women isn't really any different than with men,'' Ms. Beals said. ''They're both about levels of intimacy.'' Ms. Beals was decked out in a black rabbit fur cowboy hat and an alpaca poncho that she picked up on a recent trip to Patagonia with her husband and friends.

On Monday evening, Ms. Beals had decided to go on an ambitious five-hour horseback trek from the Sunset Trail Ranch in Hollywood, over the hills and under the freeway, to a restaurant in Burbank and back again. It was her way of relaxing before the premiere party for ''The L Word'' at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art the next night. (She had invited other cast members, but they opted out of the ride.)

At 7 p.m., Ms. Beals and a friend, Isabel Snyder, and two trail guides rode up to the Viva Fresh Mexican Restaurant and tied the horses to a chain-link fence the guides kept calling a hitching post.

''Luckily, I did yoga this morning, so my hips are open,'' Ms. Beals said as she climbed out of the Western saddle.

Inside Viva Fresh, Ms. Beals ordered mineral water and a vegetarian burrito. A few minutes later three of the ''L Word'' cast members pulled up in a car. ''Horses are lovely but I don't want to get on one,'' said Mia Kirshner, who plays the token straight girl confused about her sexuality.

''I was getting my eyebrows waxed,'' said Katherine Moennig, who said she channeled Warren Beatty in ''Shampoo'' for her character as a carousing hairdresser.

As Ms. Beals's co-stars sipped margaritas, the conversation turned to the research required to pull off the steamy sex scenes. (Only one of the actresses on the show, Leisha Hailey, is a lesbian in real life, Ms. Beals said.) The producers gave them dozens of clips from movies like ''Bound,'' in which Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly had a notoriously explicit affair.

''We all wanted to make sure the sex scenes didn't come out looking like lady-touching,'' Ms. Kirshner said.

Ms. Beals, Ms. Moennig and Erin Daniels, another cast member, rolled their eyes. ''It's a myth that lesbian sex is all gentle and sweet,'' Ms. Beals remarked.

Ms. Daniels started giggling about her boyfriend, whom she's dated for a month. ''He's happy I'm having sex scenes with women and not men,'' she said. ''It's a very primal thing. Women can't get each other pregnant; so men on a deep biological level aren't threatened. But then again, he hasn't seen the show.''

Ms. Beals said she had recently seen Jennifer Lopez's video in homage to her Maniac dance in ''Flashdance.''

''After the premiere of 'Flashdance,' I remember going into the bathroom and crying because I knew people thought the character was really me,'' Ms. Beals said, breaking into a smile. ''Now I'll never be able to compliment a woman on her skirt again without her thinking I want to have sex with her.''

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PLANET OUT
The L Word: an interview with Jennifer Beals

by Greg Archer

It was bound to happen. When a TV nation has been "Queer as Folk'd" and "Queer Eye'd" all the way to the Clinique counter, it stands to reason that the flip side of gay maledom has to come out of the closet sometime. This month, it's a post-Ellen estrogen parade.

Welcome to "The L Word," Showtime's head-turning, perception-busting new series about a group of lesbian gal pals living and loving in L.A. Created by Ilene Chaiken, the show boasts one of the most impressive, captivating gaggle of female thespians ever to share the boob tube: Jennifer Beals, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner and Pam Grier. Hot? Yes. But the real coup, at least creatively it seems, is where the show promises to go: into emotionally deep waters with storylines dripping with drama.

In one corner, there's the committed lesbian couple (Beals and Holloman) wanting to start a family. They're surrounded by new neighbors (Mia Kishner and Eric Mabius), a bisexual journalist (Alice Pieszecki), a hairdresser (Katherine Moenning), a closeted tennis pro (Erin Daniels) and Bette's (Beals) musician half-sister (Pam Grier), who's also a recovering alcoholic.

Already generating buzz for its concept and its appealing cast, "The L Word" also delivers a dramatic Jennifer Beals, who seems to officially rise above the ashes of the fickle pop-culture wreckage of "Flashdance". Beals takes creative risks here as she morphs into the in-love go-getter named Bette. And while everybody at Showtime is zipped lips about particular story arcs destined to raise eyebrows, Beals maintains that "The L Word" isn't just about lesbians. It's about people; it's about relationships; it's about love -- however it shows up.

The new series looks intriguing.

Yeah, I'm excited.

What's so captivating about "The L Word" in your opinion?

It's about how we find the things we enjoy in life. It's about relationships. It's about the people we love, the city we love, how we stay alive with joy.

Tell me what is so intriguing about playing Bette.

Well, you know, I think she is a complete Type A personality, somebody who is very driven, very organized. She's a very focused person, but at her core, I think she is much more diffident than she appears, and that dichotomy was interesting to me. That attracted me to the role. What attracted to the project was the fact that it could make a difference in a person's life -- that it was the type of project that could change somebody's mind and could save somebody's life. Not too be too dramatic, but it's true.

You mean, just by people experiencing these characters in certain situations, or is it more the gay theme?

Well ... you think of a young girl in the middle of Kentucky or somewhere, who doesn't have any access to an extended community, and to be able to see herself represented in some way, shape or form gives her a cause to celebrate rather than be ashamed, which I am sure is what the government would want her to be.

Tell me what we can expect to see happen with your character and what will happen with her relationship with Tina [Laurel Holloman]. On the show, your characters want to start a family.

I think her journey is really about what it takes to start a family and where the relationship should be in order to set the foundation for family. And how to do that when you are pursuing a career -- or not, in Tina's case -- and balancing work with a relationship.

One of the things you said about this show was that it gets to the heart of who we are and why we are so intrigued with the mystery of sexuality and who we are attracted to. Can you elaborate on that?

Well, that was in response to a reporter's question about who was gay in the cast, which I thought seemed an "interesting" question to ask at the time. I think the reason she felt so compelled to ask it is that the mystery of sexuality is so profound, so that when you are playing a character, people want to know where the line is drawn -- when reality blends with fiction.

Sexuality is a mystery -- why do you think so?

It's the mystery of where we come from and where we are going and who we love. ... It's much more complex than race.

The whole premise here seems deep and dramatic. Looking at some of the roles you've taken over the years, would you say you are drawn to deeper things?

I think I always have been. I think it's whether, financially, I am able to fulfill that. I think all people are attracted to things that deepen them in some way, don't you?

Yes. For me, it's writing.

And that act -- going deeper -- in and of itself, is dangerous. Because you can't go deeper without some kind of danger to yourself. You don't know what you may find.

How is it working with what appears to be an amazing cast?

Really exciting and really fun. They have all been supportive. Whenever we had big group scenes, people would come to my house on the Monday before we had to shoot and we'd rehearse so we wouldn't have to worry about the scene. I think everybody cared very deeply about their work and their characters and each other -- and how the scenes played out.

What do you love most about acting?

The danger.

Do you mean exploring something that you quite don't know is there?

Yeah. It's dangerous. It's kind of like jumping out of a plane. You don't know what's going to happen. You know the lines, but you don't know what's going to happen.

Is it easy to turn this character -- any character -- on and off?

It's usually easy, but there was one scene Laurel and I had, which appears later in the season, that was emotionally very hard to let go of. It was very disturbing.

What inspires you?

Everything. Anything. All kind of things.

You love life?

Most of the time.

What bores you?

I don't understand the concept of boredom. I don't get that one. Way too much to do.

What makes you laugh?

My dog. It's a lab-terrier mix.

What make you cry?

A lot of things -- and it's usually self-induced. Right now, the U.S government is making me cry a lot. I have huge anxiety about it. It's a horrendous time. The Patriot Act makes me cry. You know when librarians are saying "No" that something is going on that is wrong.

Are you very political?

I think everyone is political if you are alive and breathing. Because every choice you make has something to do with politics, or the environment -- whether you choose to recycle, whether you vote or not. All of it is political. How you treat other people on the street. The personal is political, period. And I don't think I thought of myself as overtly political, but I do realize that every act I do has a political consequence.

Do you have any thoughts on the gay-marriage issue?

Well, I think the very fact that people would think that marriage was designed to be about love between two people ... I mean, really, it was about property and men making sure they could secure property. So, to say to an entire group of people, "No, you can't get married because now we are going to pretend it's all about love and the American family," is bogus. In fact, it's about legal rights.

I mean, if your partner is dying in the hospital, you should be able to help him pass. If you built a life together, a home together, you should be able to have that home. It's incredibly absurd and incredibly self-righteous to deny people that -- that your love doesn't count as much as our love. You know, if people want to get married and enter into that institution, they should be able to do that at their own joy and at their own peril.

That's interesting, and it reminds me of something a dear friend said, which was that you can say you dislike anybody -- you can "hate" anybody -- but the minute you love somebody, everybody has something to say about that.

Oh ... love is the most dangerous thing in the world.

What do you think is one of the most challenging things about marriage?

Making sure that you leave room for the other person -- and to set your ego aside.

What's something most people don't know about you?

Probably something I wouldn't want to tell you.

How about something quirky?

I am a thumb-wrestling champion.

Nice. When I say the name Pam Grier, who plays your half-sister on the show, what comes to mind?

Oh, I see somebody who is laughing and singing and riding horses. She's an excellent horsewoman.

How about Ilene Chaiken?

Somebody who has a great passion, who is disciplined and mischievous. Intelligent.

Laurel Holloman?

Laurel is patient and kind and free-spirited.

Mia Kirshner?

Mia is the queen of mischief. She's a very intelligent woman -- and prone to flashing new directors and making prank phone calls.

Fun.

Trouble.

The best advice you've been given?

The worst thing they can say is no.

And the best advice you've given?

I once told Gwyneth Paltrow not to give out her address in an interview.

What's the most interesting thing you learned about yourself lately?

How to swim better. I should stretch from the middle of my back, not the shoulders, because it opens my lungs more.

What could TV use more of?

Better executives. People who aren't at the service of the government or a corporation -- and you can put an equal sign between the two. I don't feel like I can watch the news, including CNN, and get what's really happening

What do you hope for as "The L Word"unravels?

Well, it's a groundbreaking series in that it's the first of its kind, and I hope that it is widely accepted, not only by gay people but by straight people. And ... I hope that George W. Bush will not be able to make a whole group of people invisible.

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PLANET OUT
The L Word: an interview with Jennifer Beals

Beautiful "L Word" star Jennifer Beals recently sat down with PlanetOut entertainment editor Jenny Stewart and show producer Ilene Chaiken to talk about the Bette-Tina breakup, celebrity crushes and, of course, the jail scene.

Director Rose Troche apparently made a videotape of various onscreen love scenes for the cast to watch. Was this helpful?

Yes, she made a cassette for us of a series of both lesbian and heterosexual love scenes, and she thought some of those scenes worked and some of them didn't. She wanted us to see and judge for ourselves which ones worked and which didn't -- and why.

So what were some of those movies?

"Bound," which worked really well, "Claire of the Moon," "The Hunger." And when we watched them, the ones that worked, regardless of the director, were the ones where the actors weren't fearful. When somebody was fearful, you could see it right away. It takes you out of the story, and that's to be avoided at all costs.

So this tutorial helped you?

Well, it wasn't a tutorial. However, there was an "alleged" tutorial given to us by a woman named Iman, and interestingly enough, we talked about sex for about three minutes, and the rest of the hour was spent talking about politics and class. Which is very telling!

Ilene Chaiken: She was supposed to be a "sexpert." We were there to talk about lesbian sex because we were just starting the pilot and we were a bunch of people who, presumably, had questions. We wanted to have an open forum. And what happened was, we got there and I think we all realized we knew everything there was to know about sex! [Laughs.]

Jennifer: [Laughing.] Yeah, pretty much!

OK, well I want to talk about your performance in the jail scene. Was that hard for you to do?

No, because I just watched the Genet movie and I just imitated the guy in the movie!

What's the name of that film?

It's called "Querelle," and it was clear that the episode, or at least the jail scene, was an homage to that film. I had watched the film and I said to the director Lynne Stopkewich, 'See this guy, and see what he does to the wall? I want to be that guy, I want to do this.

What was the most challenging episode for you this season?

The finale. Absolutely the finale.

A lot of people were surprised when you took a lesbian role, but you actually do have a gay background -- you were in "Twilight of the Golds," and you played a transvestite in a movie called "Sons."

Yes, I loved doing "Twilight of the Golds," and "Sons" was a lot of fun.

Is that movie available on video? I'm sure that's something that everyone's going to want to see.

I think "Sons" is available on video. I hope so.

Do you think Bette and Tina are a good couple?

Bette and Tina are an excellent couple. [Looks at Ilene.] And I think you are a hussy for making me have an affair!

Wait, Bette hasn't had the affair yet.

Hello! What do you think the jailhouse scene was?

No, because you didn't technically have sex!

Oh, listen to Bill Clinton over there!

I don't want you to have an affair! Oh, well. OK, what do you think attracted Bette to Tina in the first place?

I think at first, when Bette met her, she fell in love with Tina's beauty. And then I think ultimately, as far as being in love, I think that she's so different from Bette, she's so grounded and very big-hearted and so generous with people so easily, you know? And I think that Bette is so much more judgmental, and things like that are a little harder for her. And I think that [looks at Ilene again] they should be back together![Laughs.]

OK, are you ready for some personal questions?

Yes, I'm having fun.

What is your current relationship status?

I'm married to a man.

What's the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for Jennifer Beals?

My husband does so many romantic things for me, it's absurd. But I remember one day I was on my way home and I had called him on his cell phone and he knew that I had not had a great day. And when I got home, he had a gazillion rose petals in the doorway that spelled out "I love you." Yeah, and he made the entire doorway this mandala to love, you know, before I had gotten into the house.

Well that's pretty impressive. How about you? What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for someone?

Hmmm -- I don't know. I guess you'd have to ask them!

When was the last time you had a crush on someone?

A couple years ago I had a big crush on Eddie Vedder. I told my husband, "Do not let me be in the same room with Eddie Vedder." He said, "Don't worry, I won't." [Laughs.]

Is there one particular characteristic that you have consistently been attracted to in a person?

A sense of humor

What is your least favorite physical feature on your body?

[Laughs.] I'm not going to tell you. Only my costumer knows for sure!

You've played a wide variety of characters throughout your career. Which are your favorites?

Daphne Monet from "Devil in a Blue Dress" -- she's way, way up there. And I like Bette a lot. She's hard sometimes, so I like that.

What are the favorite films you've done?

That's really hard, because they're all so different. I like "Devil in a Blue Dress." I love "Twilight of the Golds." I like "A House Divided" a lot. "Vampire's Kiss" I think is really good -- it's hard.

Getting back to "Twilight of the Golds," if you were to become pregnant and you found out your child was going to be gay, what would your main concerns be? What thoughts would be going through your head?

Making sure that when my child went to school people were enlightened enough not to torture them, you know? And I wouldn't want them to feel lonely or outcast ever in any way. And no matter where they were in the world, I'd want them to always feel incredibly confident about who they were and proud.

That's a great answer. Thanks, Jennifer.

Thank you!