HELGENBERGER ROLLS WITH THE CHANGES
Scripps Howard News Services / Reading Eagle
July 16, 1995
The former K.C. on ‘China Beach’ plays a molecular biologist in the surprise hit ‘Species.’
The flaxen-haired Marg Helgenberger has changed a lot since she played the brittle K.C. on ‘China Beach.’
There’s a good reason, she says, as she smooths the skirt of her blue-and-white checked sundress over her slender legs. Helgenberger is now the mother of a 4-year-old son.
“Oh, you become a much better person,” she says, leaning forward. “Things start to make sense to you and you see a continuum of life. And you see what life is for and about.”
The Nebraska-born actress – who once worked in the corn fields picking tassels of corn – was never exactly a prima donna.
When she was discovered by a talent scout in a college production of ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ she didn’t wing off to Broadway with a dog-eared copy of Stanislavski under her arm. She finished school first.
Then a stint on the soaper ‘Ryan’s Hope’ sent her to Hollywood, where she snagged the role in ‘China Beach.’
It’s quite a leap from the camp-following prostitute to molecular biologist, but that’s what she plays in the current sci-fi thriller, ‘Species.’
This is her second science-fiction foray. She starred in TV’s ‘The Tommyknockers’ recently, and that’s fine with her (though her secret longing is to play an action heroine like Linda Hamilton in ‘Terminator’ or Sigourney Weaver in ‘Alien.’)
These are strong women, she says, and she likes that because Helgenberger herself is strong and rooted and provident.
She wasn’t always that way. She is inclined, she says, to sit back and let things happen to her. ‘But this business is too competitive,” she shakes her head, “and one has got to be more aggressive and go for things. Those are the ones that succeed. Talent is such a small fraction of what makes a successful movie star. Because it’s so much about other things,” she says, waving her right hand in a sweeping arc, “drive, passion, and whatever you want. That’s probably No. 1.”
Married to actor Alan Rosenberg – who plays Cybill Shepherd’s ex-husband, Ira, on ‘Cybill’ – Helgenberger laughs when she talks about the differences between them.
Grinning, she says, “My husband gets by on talent and his personality. He doesn’t network or stay in shape. That’s fine, just sit back and watch ESPN or maybe play golf. He’s very smart and funny and people love him.”
One of those people is Helgenberger, who considers herself more driven. “I’m much more disciplined about staying in shape and taking care of myself, whereas Alan couldn’t care less. He’s a Jew from New Jersey. I’m a Catholic girl from Nebraska – we couldn’t be more opposite.”
Though she has been working for 14 years in an environment that’s light years from her hometown of North Bend (population 1,200), Helgenberger sees it for what it is.
“It’s a hard business,” she says. “It’s hard on a person emotionally, psychologically – and it can be hard on a person financially because there are ups and downs. It’s a field I chose and succeeded in, but it’s not always easy. I’m constantly having to deal with that, especially being a woman. I’m not 20 years old anymore, and a woman’s life span in this business is very short. It’s a cruel business to women. Thank God I got that message early, back in my late 20s.”
Helgenberger is 36 but she realizes that show business often panders to youth.
“Thank God that one of the things that got me by is that I’ve always tried to improve myself and be a better actress,” she says.