Issue Number 997 | Dana Delany | Advocate.com Dana Delany  |  | Advocate.com

||  Short Answers  ||
Dana Delany
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.
By Dan Avery
From The Advocate  November 20, 2007
Dana Delany

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.

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Be the first to comment on this story.

Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max.):

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

Comments that do not concern specific articles in The Advocate or on Advocate.com will not be posted or published. See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.