“There’s a part of me that thought, really good actors become series regulars – and then ‘Newsroom’ came around and I thought, do I want to be a series regular on a show that pays the bills but people won’t be talking about years from now, or guest star on a show that I think people will be talking about years from now? I like being a guest star! It’s quite a muscle, having to prove yourself over and over again.”
Since she had worked with Aaron Sorkin (the creator of “The Newsroom”) on “The Social Network” did she have any advantage getting her role on “The Newsroom”?
“It was just a regular audition, except it was on a camera at Sony Studios. None of the big shots were in the room; it was really low pressure. And then something like six weeks went by and I get a phone call from my manager saying, “It looks like you’re in the running for this.” I was like, great! It was [an audition] that you do and you forget about it. Then I’m told by my agents that [co-executive producer] Scott Rudin said, “I want Adina Porter. Why isn’t Adina Porter booked yet?” So they were like, “Okay, let’s book Adina Porter!” So that’ what happened and I’m really glad that Scott Rudin is a fan, and I don’t know if it was because of “Social Network”. Scott’s quite a theater person, so I think it’s because all the stuff I’ve done in my life has just added up to this!”
If you haven’t seen the show “The Newsroom” you may not know that it is a very controversial show. So when she started to move forward with the show did she know it would be so controversial?
“I guess so, yes, because we’re talking about politics. If you’re going to talk about politics, then there are going to be folks who are with you and folks that are against you.”
The reviews of the show when it first aired were not that great. Was this something they had talked about on the set?
“There are a lot of theater people on the set, and I think they all got the same note in Acting 101: you don’t read reviews. So no, it wasn’t like, “Oh, man. Now we’re gonna be bummed because everyone is not jumping up and down and loving it.” I kind of thought, whoa! Okay, some people want to pull Aaron off his pedestal a little bit, which made me defensive for Aaron, and more excited to be involved with it, because it must mean we’re getting under people’s skin.”
With that said what was it like to be working with Aaron Sorkin?
“I [admit] I’m intimidated by him. There’s a part of me that thinks that because I don’t have a huge part, that he either doesn’t know I exist or thinks, “I’ve got Jeff Daniels, Jane Fonda, and Sam Waterston to worry about. Adina, who?” Then last season, we were doing some extra scenes to pop in here and there. Everything was done, and we were brought in just for, like, three days to do some extra background work in the newsroom. I’m at the assignment desk and Aaron walks over to me and says, “Welcome home!” He walked away and I just started crying. I said, “Makeup, come over here and fix me up!” He didn’t have to say that. It was time for my close-up and I really appreciated that. So if he’s just walking by and he doesn’t say hi, it’s because he’s got a thousand things in his head. It’s not like, [sighs] “How can I recast her?” [laughs] We would get together at his house to watch the show during the running. “Sundays at Sorkin’s,” and we’d all barbecue and watch the show and hang out in the pool. Lots of fun! So I think it’s a blast working with Aaron Sorkin.”
So with the second season of “The Newsroom” coming up what can she tell us about the new season?
“I’ll just say that I cry at table reads. There was one table read where I was at the edge of my seat. I thought, okay, we’ve turned into a thriller. It’s pilot season when we’re doing all this, and my agents are sending me out on stuff, and I’m being pinned for stuff, and then after a table read, I’ll write my manager, “This is the best show on television!” I want to be part of this. I’m excited by it.”
We also really want to know what is going to be happening in the new season of “True Blood”?
“I don’t know! They just called me in for the next episode.”
So what will be happening with Lettie Mae towards the end of the season?? Does she know what it will be?
“No! I don’t know. That’s how I am with “True Blood”. In the first season, I would ask other people, “Am I in this script?” This one, I just wait for the phone call. So the phone calls come and now it’s all about making sure that I can try to do both shows.”
Since “True Blood” is such a fan base show how has it been like to be involved with a show like that? Also what kind of adventures has she had because of it?
“I get these looks, where people are like, “Did we go to high school together?” Then they have the realization that I’m Tara’s mother, and it’s like, “Oh!” It’s fun. It helps sometimes at the airport. [laughs] Getting through security; maybe I don’t get profiled as much as I used to. [Some people say], “Wow, you look so much better in real life.” But maybe I’m projecting. Maybe every once in a while, someone is smiling at me and it’s because they think I’m an attractive person, and it’s not because of Lettie Mae. Or it might be some other show that I’ve done. So I kind of project sometimes and I want to make people feel at ease. So I go, “Hi!” as they’re staring at me. “It’s okay, how are you!” And they might think, “Why are you talking to me? I don’t know you. I just think your kid is cute.” [laughs]”
So when she does get the chance to come back to “True Blood” does it feel like she is back home?
“It’s lovely, yes! Home… “Newsroom” really feels like home. I kind of get a little nervous if I’m not there for a while. Like, “I’ve got to get back!” But [on "True Blood"], it’s like, “Hey! Adina’s back! Lettie Mae’s back!” So yes, it feels comfortable. Once I was there and I was being a little picky, and I said, “Where’s my seat-back? I’ve got a seat-back! I don’t wanna be just a guest star, come on!” [laughs] And they found it!”
Now some of you may not know this but she has two children that she adopted. One is a six year old and the other one is a two-and-a-half year old. So did she go through the same organization each time?
“No, different organizations. The first time was with Adoption Network Law Center. That one is run by lawyers. We didn’t do a lot of research. A friend of ours said we should go there. It was in Orange County and it was an experience where the lawyers do everything, and then you get a phone call from the agency when you’re matched, and you can say yea or nay. We had signed up in December to be part of this adoption agency, and three months later, I’m working on “House” and I get a phone call from my husband. I just so happened to be in the trailer at the time, and he says, “We just got a phone call from the agency. A baby is being induced on Saturday” — it was Wednesday — “and we have until tomorrow to make our decision, whether or not we want to move forward or not. I’m feeling really good about this. Can you make yourself available so that you can talk to the birth mother to see if it’s a good match?” And I go, “Okay!” The person was in another state, so that we could coordinate this three-way phone call. We talk on the phone with this young teenage girl, and at the end of the 45-minute conversation, my husband and I talk again and we think we want to move forward. So it’s gone from an ordinary Wednesday to a huge, life-changing Wednesday. On Friday, my husband had left to go to Ohio so that he could be there and meet the birth family. I’m working, and I have to tell someone. So I tell the makeup artist what’s happening. When you tell the makeup artist something, word gets out. [laughs] She talks to the producers. The producers changed the schedule so that I could get my scenes done on time, so I could catch a flight to Ohio, so I could get there for the birth of my son. I’m not a recurring guest star; I’m a guest star — but I found out that two of the producers also have built their families through adoption. And also Hugh Laurie, I think, pulled some strings. So after I finished the scene, the producer comes out and gives me this list of things that I’m going to need. You need to go to the Pump Station to get a sling, if you need a night nurse, all this information. So incredibly sweet. I arrived at the hospital an hour before my son was born. I wasn’t supposed to be in the [birthing] room, but I was sitting there in the waiting room, and the birth mother’s mother came out and said, “Would you like to join us inside?” I said I would be honored. She took my hand — this is a woman I had never met before — and we went into the birthing room. She and I held hands behind the birth mother’s head and we all breathed and helped push Jack out into the world, and I got to hold him first. And that’s how my baby boy came into the world.
I just finished working with ["House" creator] David Shore on a pilot, and I wanted to go up to him and say, “Do you know what ‘House’ did for me six years ago?” But I never had that private moment where I could do that. I’m always thankful that “House” was sweet enough to change the schedule around so I could be there for my son’s birth.”
It’s nice that she was able to open up a little bit about her personal life and her other TV shows she works on. You can read the full interview here.
Also “True Blood” premieres on June 16th and “The Newsroom” on July 14 both are on HBO.
Source: Iconic Interview – “Adina Porter: The Newsroom, True Blood, and Motherhood”
Image Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images