THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

The Human Rights Campaign and Showtime teamed up to launch season 3 of The L Word, bringing together thousands of fans across the country for an evening of celebration and education. L Word creator/executive producer Ilene Chaiken and star Pam Grier made guest appearances at the Atlanta premiere event, while new cast member Daniela Sea made a splash entrance in Washington, D.C. Cast members Laurel Holloman, Leisha Hailey, Kate Moenning, Erin Daniels and Alexandra Hedison helped kick off the Los Angeles event. The premiere was a huge hit with fans who are thrilled to support HRC and check out the L Word this season. Nearly 500 individuals hosted house parties to screen the events at home, while more than 15,000 people joined us at nearly 40 events nationwide. Photos by Kevin Weaver, for the Human Rights Campaign

Leisha Hailey used to be one-of-a-kind. When Hailey joined the cast of Showtime's The L Word three years ago as bisexual journalist Alice Pieszecki, she was the only out actor on the show. But with season three, which premiered Jan. 8, she was joined at last by other openly queer talent including Alan Cumming, as bisexual The Planet manager/party boy Billie Blaikie, and Daniela Sea, as Jenny's ( Mia Kirschner ) new gender-bending lover, Moira. So, you see, Hailey's not one-of-a-kind anymore. And she's fine with that.

'Yeah, I can handle it—I think it's good for the show,' Hailey says. 'It makes it fun. And it's not like before I ever felt like an outcast or anything like that.'

Alas, her character, Alice, endured some outcast moments during Season 2. She and tennis star best friend Dana ( Erin Daniels ) fell in love, made a go of it, and found that things weren't working out. Their breakup lead to the pill-popping, irrational and obsessed stalker Alice has become at the start of Season 3. More romantic strangeness follows: by Episode 6 Alice becomes distracted by a new romantic interest: Uta ( Erica Cerra ) , a lesbian vampire. In between checking mirrors for a reflection, Alice realizes that Uta is damn good when it comes to sex, and she can finally get over Dana. But fate has a twist in store for Dana that will bring Alice and all of her friends together … she has cancer.

Born in Okinawa, Japan, and raised in Nebraska, Hailey trained at NYC's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She garnered her first following as one-half of The Murmurs, an alt-rock band with Heather Grody. The Murmurs contributed music to, and Hailey appeared in, 1997's teen lesbian classic, All Over Me. Once she landed the role of Alice in The L Word, Hailey turned her focus to acting, and since then The Murmurs—which became Gush—have split up. Hailey recently stepped behind the camera to executive produce a documentary about teens raised by gay parents, Raising Teens, which will air on LOGO and MTV in 2006. And Hailey can regularly be seen as a man-hungry yogurt-eater in a series of Yoplait TV commercials.

To discuss The L-Word, Alice and bi-curious yogurt, I spoke with Hailey by phone.

Lawrence Ferber: How was making Season 3 different from making last season?

Leisha Hailey: I really feel like we got back to the first year feeling this year. Last year there was so much pressure. Because we had done so well the first year, we came back full of anxiety. Everyone was trying to top it somehow, or worried about topping it. It was odd. But this year we came back and were ourselves again and the energy was great. It feels like a really tightly run ship.

LF: Alice has quite an arc so far this season. In just the first six episodes she goes from being a complete stalker psycho to hooking up with a vampire.

LH: Yeah, it's a great year. I feel really lucky because there's so much to play with. I go from one end of the spectrum to the other, which is really fun for me. It's rare that you see people taking getting dumped and turning psychotic. And as much as it looks crazy, I've seen people react in those ways.

LF: Have you ever reacted that way?

LH: I've never stalked anyone, but I've felt that angry. It makes you feel like you're losing control, after severe heartbreak. Not that I've ever acted on it, but I can understand where that came from.

LF: Do you know which writer brought the vampire idea to the table?

LH: I feel like [ show creator ] Ilene Chaiken told me that Quentin Tarantino pitched the idea.

LF: Have you ever met a real vampire?

LH: I haven't. It would be interesting. But I know there's a whole lesbian vampire scene. I've seen pictures.

LF: What sorts of other ideas have been pitched but didn't fly?

LH: I think there's a lot of that, but it doesn't get to us [ actors ] . I haven't been in the writer's room [ lately ] .

LF: I heard they have the real lesbian love/sex chart in there. Are you on it?

LH: They do. I am! It's accurate. But I haven't looked at it since the pilot.

LF: And does your set of branches look like a bonsai tree or a weeping willow?

LH: Yeah, it's nuts.

LF: Was Alice closer to you when you first started playing her, or now?

LH: Now. Not the crazy stuff, but maybe the longer you play a character you sink into it, or the more of yourself comes in. I'm not sure. It definitely feels like I relate a lot more now.

LF: Do things going on with the other characters ever correspond to events in your own life or ring particularly true?

LH: Yeah. I think they touch on a lot of things. I guess for some reason I really relate to Bette and Tina. Maybe because they're a domestic couple …

LF: Aren't they such fags? Always breaking up, having affairs, getting back together …

LH: Yeah, right. Well, who's not having an affair on the show.

LF: Point taken! Who has been your best onscreen lover so far?

LH: Erin! For sure. The vampire was great, but because Erin and I are so close it made it fun to go into work every day.

LF: I heard that some cast members cringe if they suspect the writers might pair them up with an actress they've come to know as a close friend. Like, 'Oh please don't let us hook up, we're like sisters!'

LH: Yeah. [ Laughs. ] Certain people were like 'No, don't put us together.' But once you are together it's funny and makes work a lot of fun.

LF: Have there been actual romances on-set?

LH: No. Not that I know of.

LF: Are there pranks played on set, like during a scene where you order a coffee at The Planet you're given something disgusting?

LH: No but I'm going to use that next year! Yeah. Pranks definitely go on but I can't think of one offhand.

LF: How does the cast respond to the glut of L Word gossip out there?

LH: It depends. It's not like we all sit around reading the message boards but you hear things. It's just funny because you have no idea how things start. It's strange what people come up with. But it's pretty entertaining.

LF: Do you have a favorite bar in Vancouver?

LH: Yeah, we go to this place all the time called Rodney's. It's like a clam shack. We love it.

LF: What has it been like with Alan Cumming on set?

LH: I love him, he couldn't be nicer. He's funny, witty, and makes the whole room laugh. Especially at the table script read-throughs every week, which aren't always the liveliest things to do. A lot of times you have to play characters that aren't in the room. Alan is great with those.

LF: It's funny to see you cooing about men in those Yoplait commercials.

LH: I know, it's funny. Especially with the same girl in every commercial. She likes the L word.

LF: Have you ever asked if your Yoplait character could become bi-curious, or is that more of a Dannon yogurt thing?

LH: Yeah, it may be that. That's something I started doing years and years ago and sometimes out of the blue they'll call and I'll do another one.

LF: So The Murmurs and Gush are in the past. You've completely shifted from music to acting, then?

LH: Yeah, definitely. I think it was hard for me at first to figure out what was happening because I had spent so many years doing music. But acting is what I always wanted to do. It's hard to let something go you've concentrated on and put so much energy into, but I think now I finally made peace with the fact that this is what I'm going to try and do.

LF: How does Heather Grody feel about this?

LH: We're great. We didn't have a sad ending or anything. At that point we had been together almost 12 years. So she continued on. She's great.

LF: What can you tell me about the Raising Teens show you exec-produced?

LH: I co-produced it with Lara Spotts and Sam Counter .The 'gayby boom' [ of gays having children ] is fairly new. So it was about finding teenagers who were products of gay marriages that had been there from the very beginning. We wanted to talk to the teens and find out what their experience has been like. We found three fabulous kids and went through their journeys and talked about what it's been like and what it's like today.

LF: Was it hard to find the kids and parents? And will this lead to more behind the scenes activity?

LH: It really was. It took like three months just casting the kids. We had to find teens that had an arc happening at that time in their life so it wasn't only talking heads where they just tell us about the past. So we could actually follow them going through something. I really liked the process of filming and meeting the families, but the producing part is not so much my thing. Too office-y for me. I'm too creative for the phone calls, e-mails, that type of thing.

LF: Have you considered becoming a gay parent?

LH: No. I don't think so. Not for me. I don't see myself with kids and never really have. But never say never. I guess what scares me is the thought of getting older and not having any family around. That's creepy.

LF: Back to L Word, what else is going to transpire this season? Will Alice end up with a partner?

LH: I probably shouldn't answer that.

LF: Well, do things get easier for Alice?

LH: It only gets worse!

LF: How's your own love life these days?

LH: Oh great, I'm totally in love! It's been five years. Her name is Nina. She's really happy I'm on a show I love so much and she loves everyone on it.

LF: Would you like Nina to do the vampire thing?

LH: No!

LF: You're going to become a star with vampires and other nightcrawlers, though.

LH: I know! I want to be loved by the vampires.

See www.thelwordonline.com .