From "24" to "Dead Like Me," Laura Harris finds prime roles

Photos courtesy of Showtime

From "24" to "Dead Like Me," Laura Harris finds prime roles

By MOLLY SHALGOS

Laura Harris is having a great day on the Canadian set of "Dead Like Me." The interview on my side, however, is running a little bit less smoothly.

After interruptions from an angry little brother who wants the phone, an errant cleaning lady who can’t find the vacuum, and a fight with a tape recorder that refuses to cooperate, I’m ready to get up and kick a wall. Harris, however, doesn’t allow any of these hitches to get to her. "I hope you have a better day," she says, her voice full of sympathy, and the statement does wonders for my mood.

Harris’s voice is one of the things that got her career off the ground. Initially, she began by doing voice work on shows like "My Little Pony," playing a character called Bright Eyes. Since then, she’s branched out into film and television, playing pivotal, character driven roles in such films as "The Faculty," and possibly most recognizably, her role in the first season of Fox’s acclaimed one-hour drama, "24."

Her experience in working on "Dead Like Me" has been quite a bit different from her work on "24," though. "There are differences [between working on a network show and a cable show]. It’s completely different kinds of one hour drama, for one thing, and cable allows us to not be subject to advertisers. We shoot thirteen episodes in a row [on "Dead Like Me"], unlike "24." But that’s about it. You know, it’s varying in subject matter. But, I don’t know, "24" was also pretty risky for a network. So we were spoiled there."

However, when asked if she has a preference between working in film and working on television, Harris pauses thoughtfully. Her eventual answer shows her true dedication to her job. "My preference is the best story I can find. I mean, I’ve been really lucky. I’ve done some awesome television. Awesome. And I love the stories, I love the challenge. It all depends on finding a story that you just love. Besides, crappy television is so much worse than a mediocre movie."

Fortunately for Harris, her current role as ex-1930s starlet Daisy Adair on "Dead Like Me" is anything but crappy television. Daisy entered the show halfway through the first season as a reaper who transferred in from New York, and was quick to brag about her many, many sexual encounters with the stars of the 1930s.

"Her coping mechanism is to sort of talk about that starfucking a lot, which is not the best way to initiate yourself into a new group. And she thought that it was," Harris laughs. While it won’t win her any places in the Hall of Fame for making friends and influencing people, Daisy does rattle off a pretty impressive list of conquests. Clark Gable, Babe Ruth, and Errol Flynn are just a few of the names she mentions.

When asked about her own personal preference from Daisy’s many lovers, Harris doesn’t even have to think about it before she answers, "Definitely not Errol Flynn. That one shocked me!"

Over the course of the season, however, Daisy began to slowly reveal her more sensitive side. She’s long been the fantasy object for Callum Blue’s slacker Mason, and towards the end of the season, it seemed as though she might begin to reciprocate his affection. Harris, however, has another take on the relationship. "Daisy and Mason have great affection for each other, but I’m fairly confident that they’re not going to be together. It’s not a sexual affection," she says.

While she’s quick to write off the possibility of a Mason/Daisy romance, she does admit that among her favorite scenes to shoot are "any time I get to kiss people." With Will and Grace’s Eric McCormack filming several guest spots as one of Daisy’s love interests this season, it looks as though she’ll have ample opportunity to shoot a few more favorites.

As for her hopes to the future of the show, Harris has pretty simple ones: she’d love to come back for another season, and she hopes that the show remains as interesting and challenging as it’s been for the past two seasons. For herself, she hopes to continue to act and find parts that give her something to work with.

When Harris isn’t busy filming "Dead Like Me" in Vancouver, she lives in L.A. Her downtime is spent listening to bands such as the Black Eyed Peas and the Beatles, and watching an occasional Golden Girls rerun.

With the interview coming to a close, Harris gives me a tip for dealing with stress in situations like this. "When I get frustrated, I go, "Errrrrrganomics!" When I laugh and ask for the story behind that, she explains that ‘ergonomics’ is her favorite word. "If you buy a car, the steering wheel and the chair, if they say it’s ergonomically designed, it’s good for your body, it fits your body. And when I get frustrated, I say "Errrrrrganomics!"