Dana Delany first
hit the big time as a wide-eyed nurse on ABC’s
Vietnam War drama China Beach. Now she’s
back on the alphabet network, stirring up trouble on
Desperate Housewives as a tyrannical new
neighbor with -- what else? -- a deep, dark secret.
Was it tough joining a show in mid run, with such
big personalities already on it?
It was a little bit like trying to board a train
that’s left the station. But I’ve been
around a long time, and I’ve never worked on a show
that’s run so smoothly. All the kinks are
worked out. Whatever rumors there were in the past,
the actresses have worked it all out.
What’s the story on your character, Katherine Mayfair?
Katherine and her daughter, Dylan, used to live
on Wisteria Lane 12 years ago. She was friends with
Susan and Mary Alice, but she left under mysterious
circumstances. Now she’s back with a new, younger
husband and a daughter who doesn’t seem to be
the same girl she left with.
Do you mean that literally—did she get rid of
her daughter?
Well, that’s sort of the mystery this
season. Dylan used to be best friends with
Susan’s daughter, Julie, but now she can’t
remember anything about her time on Wisteria Lane.
Katherine’s a real queen bee. Is it fun playing
the bitch?
[Laughs] It is. I guess I’m dense,
though, because I didn’t really pick up on that
when I was first looking at the character.
She’s definitely the über-housewife, and she has
no problem telling everyone in the neighborhood the
right way to do things. Which of course means she and
Bree are butting heads. Katherine has a malevolence
about her, but I didn’t want her to be too
mustache-twirling. I tried to strike a balance.
She’s not getting on so well with the gay neighbors.
Yes, but it’s not about them being
gay—it’s about their taste! She can’t
stand the fountain they have in the yard, so she becomes
president of the neighborhood association just so she
can have it removed.
Marc Cherry said he envisioned Katherine as a cross
between Dallas’s J.R. Ewing and Melrose
Place’s Amanda Woodward.
I hadn’t heard that, but Marc loves pop
culture, so that makes sense. She’s an amalgam
of a lot of different characters. I remember in one
scene Marc told me to do this one thing, and I thought,
Oh, that’s so Mrs. Danvers from
Rebecca!”
Nathan Fillion plays your husband on the show. It
must be tough doing sex scenes with him.
We haven’t done any yet! I keep telling
Marc to get us in bed together, but so far, nothing.
They’re not playing up the younger man–older
woman angle, which I’m glad about. I usually go
for younger guys anyway, so I don’t see what
the big deal is. And Nathan played my lover in
Pasadena, so we’re very comfortable together.
Which is harder to survive: Vietnam or Wisteria Lane?
[Laughs] I think they’re more
alike than different, actually. The dangers are
subtle—you never know for sure if someone is
your friend or your enemy.
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