Viewing Single Post From: 4.06 Kung Fu Fighting

Viewing Single Post From: 4.06 Kung Fu Fighting
oncetherewasaway	Aug 12 2007, 02:14 AM
McEditor Posts: 1,625 Group: .Grey Girls. Member #23 Joined: October 25, 2006	PODCAST Podcast 4.06 “Kung Fu Fighting” 11.02.07 - Brooke Smith (Dr. Erica Hahn) joins us to discuss joining the cast. Well, last night was Dr Hahn’s first night on staff at Seattle Grace Hospital and the sparks were flying. So, in honor of Grey’s newest cast member, today we bring you a special interview with none other than actress Brooke Smith. And looking forward to next week’s episode “Physical Attraction, Chemical Reaction”: George and Izzie’s romantic chemistry is put to the test, Mark develops a crush on a fellow surgeon, and Callie’s role as Chief Resident is in jeopardy after she delegates much of her job to Bailey. C: OK, hello everyone, my name is Chris and welcome to the Grey’s Anatomy podcast. We’re here today with Brooke Smith. BS: Hello. C: How are you doing there? BS: I’m OK, I worked pretty late last night, but I’m OK. C: So are they working you really hard? I mean obviously you’re part of the cast now, it was just announced in the last episode, and it’s just full throttle from there for you? BS: Yeah, they were easy with me on the first one, and now it’s all out chaos… no! I uh, last night was… You know it’s erratic, what can I say, sometimes I don’t work for a couple of days, and then sometimes I’m here for... I think yesterday was almost 15 hours for me. And it was a marathon OR session so that’s always, you know… C: So how hard are those sessions when you’re actually shooting them? I’ve heard it said before that there’s a nursing staff that’s there to hand you the proper tools, but like, how difficult is it when you’re actually there shooting those scenes? BS: Well I think it’s totally cool, I have to say. I get really into it and I try to get to the point where I actually believe that I’m a surgeon. It’s really great that we have Boky (sp?), you know whenever she’s there it just feels totally real, because she calls me “Doctor” and it just gets me so excited… You know yesterday I had to run in and get a gown on and do it all, you know, as if I’ve done it a million times and correctly, so, I find all that stuff really challenging. And then you have to talk and hit your mark and, you know, it’s a lot! C: It’s a delicate dance, I’m sure. BS: Yeah, it’s like an obstacle course, a little bit. C: You seem like you really enjoy the lingo. Did you do any research for the role of Dr Hahn? Did you go and see any open heart surgeries or anything like that? BS: You know, I saw an open heart surgery but it was way back when I came to do the surgery… well I didn’t come for that reason, but I ended up doing the surgery on Denny. So, when I was here that first time, Linda Klein said “Would you like to go see an open heart surgery?” which uh, I didn’t think I really wanted to see, but it was Patrick who said “Oh, you would totally dig it, you should go.” So, I did. It was totally intense and wild, I mean, what an experience, where else would you actually get to go and stand in the room and watch a man have open heart surgery. So, I did that, and then recently I’ve been hanging out with a woman who’s the head of cardiothoracics in a hospital, and I think it’s interesting to hang out with a woman who does it, because there aren’t many, let me tell ya. C: How would you describe Dr Hahn? And before we get to that question we actually have a clip… Richard: Erica Hahn. First day. Hahn: First day indeed, and a mountain of paperwork to prove it. Richard: Derek Shepherd, you know Erica Hahn. Derek: You’re the new Burke. Richard: And this is Dr Mark Sloane, Head of Plastics… Erica Hahn. Mark: Ah, the new Burke. Derek: Hmm, welcome. Excuse us. Hahn: Interesting guys. And by interesting I mean ridiculously attractive. Do you hire on looks alone or is actual skill a factor? Richard (laughs): Good to have you here, Erica. Hahn: Good to be here, Richard. BS: Wow… should I respond, to the clip? C: Yeah, feel free to respond to the clip. Coming out of that clip, how would you describe your character? BS: Well, I think it’s slightly irritating to her to be referred to as “the new Burke”, because she is the only Hahn, you know, she is her own person. She has constantly been compared to him. I think she was competing with him when they were in college and clearly I think cardiothoracics, and I think surgery in general, can be a man’s world so I think she feels a little… She’s kind of got her heavy metal jacket on coming into the hospital, and now all these men… happen to be very good looking. It’s kind of a boy’s club and for them to refer to her as “the new Burke” doesn’t sit so well with her. C: Now before the clip you mentioned that it’s very rare for a woman to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. How does that weigh on Dr Hahn and how does that affect you, the way you play the character? BS: I think you’ve got to be pretty hardcore to get through 18 years of training to become a cardiothoracic, especially if you’re one of the very few women. She’s learned to sort of, be one of the boys. The other thing is also this eternal thing of women wanting to have it all. I think, and this might be wrong, I’m still learning about Hahn, but it seems to me that she chose work. She decided, whenever she decided, that she was gonna do her work and not really have a life, necessarily. C: I’m hoping that we’ll discover more about that. Now, my question for you though, is how much do you know about Dr Hahn and where she’s going? BS: Oh God… nothing! It’s really true what they say. I don’t know anything, and already it’s just happened with this latest script where I sort of had a certain idea and then you get something in the script and you go “Oh, does that line up with what I was thinking”… and I constantly run into the writer’s room and say “What about this? Is this right?”, or “Am I getting warmer?” and they’re like “Nooo, cold, cold… go the other way.” C: Well, one thing we definitely know about Dr Hahn is that she doesn’t like Cristina Yang. Why do you think that is? BS: Well I wouldn’t say that she doesn’t like her. I think that she doesn’t like anyone making assumptions, and I think it’s… first of all, hearing the information that she slept with these men turned her off a little bit. She lost a little bit of respect for who she thought Cristina was, because in an earlier episode I said “You remind me of myself. You’re driven and ambitious and cold and focused”. So then when I heard that, I thought “Oh God, is she just sleeping her way to the top?” And also the way that she just assumed that she was going to get in on that surgery, I found a little disrespectful to me. I think she’s got to show some respect to the person who’s been around a little longer. I’m not exactly sure. It’s an interesting dynamic, because I think also she sees a lot of herself there, so I think she wants to make sure… You know the woman that I have been hanging out with, the surgeon; she told me once that some of the attending surgeons she worked with when she was a resident were so hard on her. I mean, really just crushed her, and I said “Well, was there anything good about that, looking back” and she said “Well, yes, because they taught me everything I know.” I think it’s a little bit of that. She’s going to try to get Yang to figure out exactly how badly she really wants this. C: So we can definitely expect some butting of heads in the coming episodes, to say the least? BS: Yeah, I think so. But it’s very complicated, there’s a lot of different things going on. C: Now, I know that I’m very excited to have your character on the show, but what has the audience reaction been like to your character? I understand that it’s shifted over time too, from when you were first introduced last season, and there was the competition for the heart between you and Burke too; when you showed up again to operate on Denny. BS: I think people were very attached to Denny, which I understand, because I remember I was doing a play that first time… after the first time that I came and the whole Denny storyline, I had women waiting for me after the play, literally saying “Why did you take that heart?” Meanwhile it was mine, hello, there were two donors and Burke’s died and that’s the way it goes, sorry. I hope they don’t hate me too much… C: How much like your character are you? Because I remember I was just watching “In Her Shoes” and I was completely surprised because I thought you were 180 degrees different from Dr Hahn. So how similar are you to Dr Hahn? BS: You know, I don’t think I’m that similar, I have to say. She’s very challenging for me. One thing I think that’s interesting that I’ve been hearing, apparently people think I’m very confident and cool. I’m glad they think that, I’m glad I project that, but on the inside I don’t feel that way, so that’s interesting. I didn’t do good in school, I don’t feel like I’m as sharp as she is. She’s the kind of woman who meets ten people in one scene and she can turn around and she knows all their names, and I am so not like that. So, then also I’m a pretty emotional person and I think she’s a little afraid of getting into any kind of emotion. She’s a little bit more of a scientist. C: Well that perfectly leads us to the next clip that we have… Mark: Dr Hahn… I heard a crazy rumor about you. Hahn: That I’m performing open heart surgery on a man who’s wide awake? Mark: That’s the rumor. Hahn: That’s the truth. Derek: Oh, I perform awake brain surgery all the time. Hahn & Mark: Not the same thing. Derek: Oh. Mark: You ever heard of a Gentleman’s Evening? Hahn: I’m sorry? Derek: The Chief is hosting a Gentleman’s Evening. Mark: We’re pretty sure it doesn’t involve porn, but we want to be sure… Derek: Mmm… Hahn: Right. Are you two… a couple? Derek & Mark (LOL): No!?! Hahn. Just checking… C: So coming out of the clip, do you want to talk about that a little bit? BS: Ahh… yes! You know, I think she’s playing with them a little bit, because I think that she has probably run into similar types of men… and I think that women, and I don’t mean to speak for all women, but you learn to use your strengths and Dr Hahn is trying to throw them off balance. I think there’s a little bit of that. There’s always that expression around here, “Game On” you know, and it feels a little bit like that. They’re being so cool and witty and funny and relaxed, and let me just show them how good I can be. C: Were you a fan of Grey’s Anatomy before you came on the show? Had you seen it, were you familiar with the characters? BS: You know it sounds ridiculous, but I really haven’t had a television for years. So honestly, it wasn’t anything personal; I just had never really watched it. But since then, I’ve gone in and talked to the writers and said “Well, what about this” and they’re like “Well that happened in Season 2”, then they said “You should really check out the show – it’s good!” So they gave me all the DVD’s, and I’ve been watching them and I’m totally hooked and I totally get it now. I’m in the middle of the 2nd Season in my viewing, so… I totally get it. And it’s interesting because just now I was doing some interviews, and people were talking about Izzie and George, and where did that come from, but I’m telling you if you go back look in the 2nd Season, there’s little hints of it, I think. I mean I found them there. Anyway, I am a huge fan of it now and even last night’s episode that I watched… I’m very interested in Bailey, I want to see what happens with her and her family, I’m a little nervous about that. And what was the other thing I really loved last night? It was George! And I was there for God’s sakes, I walked out of the room and TR did this beautiful work when he was trying to convince the man to take his daughter’s heart. So it just sucks you right in. So I’m totally a fan now. C: What’s it been like working with everyone? Did they welcome you in immediately or were they like “Yeah, we have to put her through the wringer, just like Hahn’s going to put everyone else through the wringer”? BS: Oh yeah, they’re hazing me. No! They’re totally welcoming. You know, that’s what’s so weird about it. I feel like I should be more freaked out or something, but it’s very relaxed and it just feels right. I don’t know how else to say it. Everybody’s great and I get very excited when I have to work with the different actors. I’m hoping I get to work with Sara a little more, because we just did a little bit of stuff together for the first time. I feel great to be here. C: Well I think it will definitely be interesting to look back a season from now and see where your character is and see what hints were dropped in these first episodes. But, sadly we will have to watch week to week and wait to see what happens. BS: As I will! So, we’re all in it together, what can I say. C: Well, thank you for joining us on the podcast today, we appreciate it. BS: OK, thanks. C: Alright, Brooke Smith. Posted: Nov 2 2007, 03:00 PM - NoTroutForMe / Amanda :wub: Edited by oncetherewasaway, Jan 31 2009, 06:57 PM.


4.06 Kung Fu Fighting · SEASON 4