Paul Haggis, who's now a big movie guy, cast me as a lawyer in 'Family Law.' When that series ended, I thought that I would be going on more auditions and booking more jobs, but everything just came to a screeching halt.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I've never worked on a lawyer show for a long time, but I imagine the actors all start acting like lawyers.
I've wanted to be an actor for such a long time that I haven't had anything else in my thoughts. I think my family would have quite liked me to be a lawyer.
I left 'L.A. Law' after five years when my contract was up because I felt I had done all I could do with the character. I didn't walk off the show with a three-picture deal to pursue this wonderful film career.
I think if I weren't an actress, I might have made a halfway decent attorney! I like the way they think.
I had no idea 'L.A. Law' would be so mega. I knew it was a big show, but I was just one actress in a group of many good, award-winning actresses.
I gave myself two months to book a job. One month later I was cast on 'Modern Family.'
I remember in high school thinking that I wanted to be a lawyer, and now I realize I saw that movie 'And Justice for All' when I was a kid and thought, 'That's what lawyers do, and I want to get up and yell and scream in the middle of a courtroom.'
I left 'Law and Order' because I really honestly did want to do movies and did want to be a movie star since I was a little girl.
I think I've been lucky, being my frequent appearances on Court TV have brought to me another level than just the actor guy.
Well, I was coming off of being on 'Law & Order,' and I was a little worried that it might be the end of my career - I've never been one of those actors with a lot of confidence that the next good job will come along.