Leah Remini Interviews

How old are you?
I am 31 years old.

Any new projects? Films?
Right now I do not have any plans for a film. Not that I don't want to do one, just no one has asked yet. I am also a little picky. I have very specific people with whom I would like to work. I just have to convince them to want to work with me!

How did you get started in acting?
I got started in acting when I was about 16. I had a day job. I really can't stress how important it is to have a job that just pays the rent. You don't want to be desperate for an acting job, just for the money. So, I met an agent (who's first advice to me was to lose the accent) and she started sending me out on auditions. It was like a year or two of rejection after rejection before I got a part. I have been working ever since. For those who want to go into acting, I suggest you start acting. Get involved in school performances, Community Theatre, anything that gets your feet wet. READ!! Read books on acting, plays. Educate yourselves on the business side of things and also the creative side. DON'T listen to people who tell you why you CAN'T! Believe in your goals and purposes and GO!!!!!!! Be good to yourself and others. You WILL get there if you really want it.

What are your hobbies? What do you do in your spare time?
In my spare time, I usually spend doing normal life stuff. I spend time with my family, boyfriend, friends. I work out (although I hate it). Ya know, that kinda thing. Nothing special.

Of the various shows and episodes you have done thus far, what is your favorite?
I really liked all the shows, but if I had to pick, it would be "Best Man", "Paternal Affairs", and "Cello Goodbye"

What is your daily or weekly routine when shooting "The King of Queens"?
Our daily schedule goes like this. On Monday we do what they call a Table Read. That is all the cast sitting around a table in front of the CBS Network executives, all the writers (12) and the Sony Executives and we do exactly what it sounds like, we read the script. We then start rehearsing the show. Tuesday, we rehearse and then present what we did to the writers at the end of the day. The writers then give us notes on the acting and what they think we need to change. Wednesdays, we rehearse any changes the writers made in the script and perform it again for the network and the studio. Thursdays, the cameras come in and we rehearse where we are going to move on what line and the cameras have to rehearse that. Fridays we come in and do hair and makeup and we again rehearse for ourselves and cameras and then at 7:00pm we shoot the show in front of the audience. I gave you guys a very simple outline of our week. It's really a lot of work for all involved.

What is is like to work with Kevin James and Jerry Stiller?
Jerry Stiller and Kevin James are great to work with. I think they both are brilliant!!! They keep me laughing. They are both the sweetest men I have ever worked with. I am a very lucky chick!

Who are some of your favorite actors/actresses?
Well, I like a lot of actors, so I'll just name a few: Meryll Streep, Sally Fields, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, Julia Roberts, Ed Harris, John Malkovich, Giovanni Ribisi, Benicio Del Toro... I think this gives you a pretty good idea.

What kind of music do you like to listen to?
I like the usual pop and R&B, like Brandy, Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, K-Ci & Jo-Jo... I like 'N Sync, Britney, Destiny's Child, that kinda thing. I must confess I haven't bought any of their CD's, but I probably know every word to their songs. By the way ladies, I recently took my niece to see 'N Sync - they really are the nicest guys. Joey took care of us the whole night. Chris gave me tickets - because something got messed up - and they all took pictures with my 4 and half year old niece and they really didn't have to, as they were very busy!

I'm loving Alicia Keys right now. I did buy her CD as well as Missy Elliot. I like Snoop but I really miss him and Dre together. P.Diddy's newest release is good, Nelly, Pink and so on and so on, I do miss, Boys II Men, TLC, Az Yet, En Vogue... I also like No-Doubt, Aerosmith, Led Zepplan, Bon Jovi - still a fan of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On me", Pat Benatar, etc. You get the idea.

You know I grew up with people like, The Sugar Hill Gang, Donna Summer, Lisa Lisa and The Cult Jam, Cover Girls, New Edition. I still like the same kind of music. By the way, if you said "who?" to any of the above, I'm probably way too old for you to even talk to me! ... Menudo, yes, that's right! I didn't speak Spanish but loved Menudo growing up. New Kids... Okay not really growin' up, but it was in the "90's".

I also like slow heartbreaky songs if I'm in a sad kinda mood, it adds to the drama of the moment if I'm driving - I do little mini music videos in the car when no one's looking. Where I just sing the song like the guy I'm hurting about is in front of me. Then I realize how stupid I must look and the mood changes pretty quickly, like Carley Simon, Carol King, Whitney, the Waiting To Exhale soundtrack... whatever works.

I also like adult contemporary music like John Secada, Gloria Estafan, Whitney Houston, etc. I vary depending on my mood. I also like Salsa. I like Mark Anthony and anything my boyfriend sings. You'll all know him one day. He'll be coming out with a C.D. soon.

What famous people have you met and what were they like?
I first started to list all of the people that I have met through the years and for a few of them I was thinking, "He's a jerk," or "She wasn't too nice," so I decided not to list them. I've met a lot of very cool people in this business, some not so cool. That's what's disappointing about meeting people you have idolized for a long time, is you finally get to meet them and you realize they are human just like you. Sure they may have more money and have private jets, but at the end of the day-they have heartbreaks just like you, they have family that passes away just like you, they have pimples (there's just a make-up artist to patch it up) just like you. But at some point you gotta wash your face right? They are just getting along in life. Money does not buy you a personality. So, if you ever meet your "star," don't expect too much.

At this point, I personally don't want to meet anyone in particular - I mean don't get me wrong, if Tom Cruise wants to hang out with me, I'm not gonna say no, but I will bring one of my friends or a family member who desperately wants to meet him. This is what gives me the biggest joy is to be able, because I'm on a show, to make my niece's dream come true - to meet 'N-Sync, or to have my friend Nilda meet Marc Anthony because she's "his biggest fan" - and to have my sister meet the old love of her life Jordan Knight (who is a sweetie). This is what it's about for me at this point.


nachzulesen auf www.leahremini.net

usweekend.com

Leah ReminI, 28, has found sitcom success as Carrie Heffernan, Kevin James' sassy wife on the CBS hit The King of Queens (Mondays, 8 p.m. ET). But achieving stardom took her a while. (Remember her star turn in the 1989 Who's the Boss? spinoff Living Dolls? We didn't think so.)

Payback time: "Being on a hit show is weird for me. Now I'm cocky. I can tell all the people who wouldn't see me or hire me, like [Murphy Brown creator] Diane English, to kiss [off]."

Quit whining: "I love what I do. I'm sick of actresses complaining about how they're not treated as well as the men. Stop going on David Letterman and showing your [body]. Maybe then we'll be treated equally."

Cast karma: "I love working with Kevin James. He always teases me. His first show is a hit off the bat, that bastard. [Laughs.] He doesn't let me forget that. And I love that Jerry Stiller [who plays Remini's dad] has no idea how funny he is. He really has no clue."

Mother knows best: "My mom watches everything I do. And she criticizes me. [Laughs.] I do a talk show and she calls up. Does she say, 'You were good or funny'? No. She says, 'Leah, you said 'my sister and me.' It's 'my sister and I.' You sound illiterate.' Thanks, Mom."

Struck by an Angel: "I couldn't get enough of Charlie's Angels growing up. And I had to be Kelly [Jaclyn Smith] whenever we pretended as kids. I saw Jaclyn Smith at a restaurant recently. She's still perfect looking. And she wasn't wearing makeup. How can she be that beautiful after all this time?"


nachzulesen auf www.usaweekend.com

cnn.com

By Daniel Sieberg
CNN

(CNN) -- Leah Remini is unapologetic about her brazen attitude toward life and her acting career.

A caustic wit pervades nearly everything she says; expletives pepper her sentences, reinforcing the stereotype of a tough-talking New Yorker. But asked if she'd consider toning down her Brooklynese, Remini pounces.

"No. Are you trying to give me a hint that I should drop it? I can lose the accent; I just have to really focus on what I'm saying. And I have to talk slowly."

That distinctive New York sound helped land her first acting job in an episode of "Head of the Class."
And Remini has since become a recognizable TV actor, costarring in the CBS Monday night sitcom "The King of Queens."

The show has wrapped for the season, and Remini has been contemplating her next career move.

For now -- and despite calling herself "technically impaired" -- Remini keeps herself busy with two Web sites: a fan site she periodically helps update, and a joint business venture with her friend and fellow actor, Jackie Guerra. JackieAndLeah.com is a retail site for jewelry and accessories.

But Remini says she wasn't fully aware of how demanding that commercial site would be.

"You learn as you go. You think it's so easy to just throw up a Web site, but it's really not, because style, especially fashion, is changing every couple of months."

'People don't understand'

Even her work on the sitcom can be draining, says Remini. She says she feels many people don't understand the daily grind of doing a weekly TV program.

"I've always had a show that went seven episodes or 13 episodes or whatever. And I've never had a show (before 'The King of Queens') that's gone past a first season. It really is a lot of work. It's getting up every morning and going to work. It's not, 'Look at me, I have a little sitcom.' People don't understand the life that we (actors) live."

On how she deals with the social order of Hollywood: "It's hard to find people who are very real and people who care. You find those few friends in this business that you can really trust."

Remini says she finds solace in her steadfast practice of Scientology. She says it often has provided guidance during troubled times in her life and has helped her to be more "normal."

Although Remini is aware of the controversy that sometimes surrounds Scientology, she says she's unfazed by it.

On criticism of Scientology: "If somebody is going to get turned off about something because of what they read or heard, then that person's not smart enough to even enter a church. If you're really against something, then know what you're against."

"I can see how people might trip out about it. But I've been doing it for so long."

'As a daughter and as a person'

Remini dropped out of school at 14, with a caveat from her mother that it was OK to dodge academia only if she was going to achieve some form of greatness in life. Her mother's words have continued to ring in her ears.

At the beginning of her working life, Remini had a variety of jobs, including being a waitress, selling car insurance and working as a telemarketer for a solar heating company.

On her relationship with her mother: "Being very close to her, I don't want to do anything to disappoint her as her daughter and as a person."

But Remini persevered and says she has learned to highlight her strengths.

She also says her Jewish mother and Sicilian father instilled a sense of strong family values in her -- along with a droll outlook on life.

A recent photo shoot perhaps best sums up Remini's strong sense of humor, self deprecating all the way. She agreed to pose -- rather scantily clad -- for a recent insert in the men's magazine FHM: Girls of TV.

But Remini says the experience wasn't completely glamorous.

"I was freezing my a-- off with that little rock thing they had me on. ... I was slipping off of it ... it was freezing. I also had the same look on my face in every picture. 'Oh, look at me, I'm a tigress. This is my sexy look 2-14.'"

Remini's boyfriend later chided her about the shoot, asking when she was going to pose for Playboy.

On seeing herself in the FHM spread: "My mother said, 'Why do you do this s---?' And she asks me why I have to curse so much."

Far from thinking of herself as a sexual icon or model, Remini says she's a cluster of neuroses on the inside and an impenetrable wall on the outside.

"I don't know if it's the way I come off ... like, 'Don't even think about coming near me.' My look is hard, I guess. But inside, I'm going, 'Oh my God, is my zipper up? Do I have a booger in my nose?' That's my inner monologue."

Laughing at life and herself, Remini says she remains grounded through her family, some members of which operate a restaurant near Los Angeles. Not blinded by Hollywood lights, Remini's relatives tolerate no snobbery from her.

"Everybody is kind of normal in my family. Nobody really gives a s--- what I do. Like, 'We have to exclude Leah from the festivities because she's a big sitcom person.' No."

Although no descendant of royalty, this "King of Queens" star says she'll continue to strive for a noble existence.

"I try to be a good person. I know what my downfalls are, so that's a good thing."


nachzulesen auf www.cnn.com

fhmus.com

Brooklyn-born Leah Remini − sexy Carrie Heffernan on the hit show The King of Queens - was transplanted from her native New York to LA at the tender age of 13. After adjusting to the smog and surfer-dude lifestyle, Leah set her sights on showbiz - and we're all grateful she did. At first she got stuck doing bit parts on a variety of TV shows - Who's the Boss, Blossom, Cheers - and now the 30-year-old has finally landed a starring role and a hit show. FHM sat down with Leah and found out that even the posh LA lifestyle can't take the Brooklyn out of the girl.

You dropped out of school at 14. What did your mother have to say?
My mom was going through a divorce and had three kids. I was like, ÂI canÂ't do this, Ma. I want to be an actress, this is not getting me to my next level. And IÂ'm not learning, because IÂ'm getting my ass kicked every day.

You were a bruiser?
Oh, totally. I got in a lot of fights. A lot of people thought I just had a mouth and they were going to kick my ass. My older sister was very tough, so I knew if I couldnÂ't kick a personÂ's ass, eventually she would jump in and help.

Presumable, youÂ've given up the fighting lifestyle now that youÂ're a famous actress?
ThatÂ's pretty much done. But we were going to kick this guyÂ's ass who worked at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a café out here. This guy started talking shit to us  and he worked there! I have this stance where I put one foot in front of my other foot and then I got this thing that I do with the fingers up, the Italian horns. And then I say, ÂOh, no, you are not saying that right now!Â

So the prospect of star stalkers isnÂ't a problem?
I think IÂ'd feel bad for the person who tries. IÂ'm not just going to go down easy. TheyÂ're going to find his ancestorÂ's bone marrow beneath my fingernails. IÂ'm going down with a fight.

Have you ever missed out on a part because of the casting couch crap?
No, and IÂ'm a little insulted! IÂ'd be really flattered. How would you feel if you hear some guy really hits on everyone, really overboard with the sexual innuendo, and then you show up and he doesnÂ't do anything?

What roles have you flat out objected to?
Oh, they wanted me to play a lesbian, with Cameron Diaz, and they were all so excited about Cameron Diaz.

Why in GodÂ's name would you pass on that?
What, her best friend lesbian who canÂ't get laid? If IÂ'm going to play a lesbian, sheÂ's going to get laid every day! They tell me itÂ's a breakout part. Right!

YouÂ're co-star Kevin James is a cool enough guy, but isnÂ't it a little unrealistic for a girl like you to be with a big portly guy?
You ever been in New York? How many little petite girls do you see with these big Italian men? All the time. If I were living in New York, IÂ'm sure IÂ'd be with a burly guy because thatÂ's what youÂ're attracted to growing up, with the cross and the rope chain, and heÂ's got to have a Caddy. I just donÂ't see it as a stretch.


nachzulesen auf www.fhmus.com

stuffmag.com"

Princess Leah

Leah Remini, TVÂ's hottest housewife, finally loses the fat guy and shows us who really rules the roost.

Stuff, February 2002
by Scott Seomin

Today is a good day. Leah Remini  the adorable Brooklyn-born star of CBSÂ' The King of QueensÂ−is massaging my foot. ÂIÂ'm cuddly, but only to a point, so rubbing feet is good, says the girl next doorÂ−that is, if you live next door to the Playboy mansion. As her character Carrie Heffernan, sheÂ's smart, sexy and tough enough to tear my foot off. Nestled on her comfy couch with my tootsie precariously perched in her paws, I proceed cautiously. ItÂ's a long hop home from her house in the Hollywood Hills.

STUFF: TheyÂ've done an E! Celebrity Profile on you. Do you watch that stuff? The Richard Simmons one was great!
LEAH: Of course! I especially loved my motherÂ's shitty comments. Let me refresh your memoryÂ−though IÂ'm sure you taped it. She said, ÂWhen Leah was hired for Living Dolls, a show about models, I said, Â'Leah? A model? Where are they going with this show?!Â' And hereÂ's my older sister on E!: ÂLeah got conceited when she got Living Dolls, but I kicked her in the face and let me tell you, she never did it again. This is the shit that my family tells people.

My family thinks no woman could ever love me. What do you think?
We have little checklists, us gals. First, you have good shoes and hopefully you have cologne onÂ−I canÂ't tell because of my allergies. And youÂ're not trying too hard to look cute. And then you were very at ease when you arrived. You werenÂ't trying to be someone youÂ're not. You didnÂ't think, LeahÂ's a feisty New York girl, so IÂ'm gonna go, ÂHey, bitch, whatÂ's up with you?Â

You swear a lot. What if I were to start talking all potty mouth in front of you?
Although I do have a sailorÂ's mouth, itÂ's not attractive to me to hear men cursing. That kinda talk is not charming. And I hate when men say Âtitties. As in, ÂShow me your titties.Â

I didnÂ't know sailors had such pretty mouths. Any other useful etiquette tips for me-um, men?
You should have a silent power. You should know when to allow your woman to get the best of you. You should know when to say, ÂYes, my love. I was wrong, and you were right. ThereÂ's so much power in that. When you have to be rightÂ−just to be rightÂ−you make yourself look like an idiot. I love men who know when to put their foot down and when not to.

What mistakes do most men make?
Men stop trying after a while and get lazy. It manifests in watching ESPN and pulling shit out of their ears. TheyÂ'll stop seeing you as somebody who should be wooed or somebody they should shower for. YouÂ've got to ask, five years after youÂ've met, what would you do if you just met her today?

What can we do to improve relations with the fairer sex? And by fairer, I mean hotter.
WeÂ're at a time when men have been de-balled, because women can make the same amount or more money than them. So youÂ've gotta step it up with consideration. ItÂ's so simple. Do something fucking charming for your woman when you donÂ't wanna get laid.

Do you get a lot of that Âwait till the gameÂ's over treatment, or do guys treat you like a queen?
Men have just come up to me and asked for my number right away. That doesnÂ't work. You have to know somebody and have a conversation. I was in Starbucks with my sisters, and a guy said, ÂHey, you gals are cute, and IÂ'm from Texas. Like IÂ'm gonna say, ÂTexas? YouÂ're not from around here, so I should have sex with you. It was so obvious that he was trying to get sympathy that he was new in town. He asked me for my numberÂ−when I refused, he asked my sister for hers.

Do you have any favorite stops along the male-anatomy tour?
Well, thereÂ's the obvious part, which, frankly, is the only reason we keep you around! The trapezius muscle, the shoulder, is very sexy to me. When you see a man in a robe and itÂ's exposed, itÂ's very, very nice.

Exposed? This is a good start. What else do you find sexy?
Cleanliness, cologne, genuineness, attentiveness, integrityÂ−all very sexy to me in a man. Compliments that come out of nowhere are sexy. I love a man in a suit. Men should stay clothed, even if they have nice bodies. I love police officers, firemen, the usual girl stuff. But IÂ'm not into fantasy role-playing, like I want my guy to dress up and arrest me. And I like talking dirtyÂ−I do.

So you want a clean cop who talks dirty. What turns you off?
Men who wear big socks and high-tops. Men should not wear sneakers unless theyÂ're going to work out. And men who forgo underwear. You gotta know whatÂ's going on down there.

Aside from tube-sock shopping, what are your ideas for a perfect date?
A perfect night is when I would have my period. Because men do really sweet things when they wanna get laid. So all the sweet things heÂ'd be doing would be done with me knowing heÂ's not gonna get any.
I guess thereÂ's only one logical follow-up question: Why do women spend most of their lives in the rest room? ThereÂ's a lot involved in going to the bathroom for women. You guys just whip out your dick, and then you may or may not wash your hands. When IÂ'm being gazed upon by you across a table, I wanna know that thereÂ's nothing hanging outta my nose or that my lipstick isnÂ't on my teeth.

Do you find men to be as meticulous as women are?
Why do men need to scratch their balls in front of women while they watch SportsCenter? Why? That hand is eventually gonna get to me. Every time IÂ've started a relationship, I think, This oneÂ's not a ball scratcherÂ−heÂ's different. But all of Â'em turn out to be ball scratchers, big time. You guys save the cologne-wearing and the nice part of you for strangers, but we get the ball scratching at home.

So youÂ're saying that women are always on their best behavior?
Maybe at first. When we meet someone and are in love, we show that guy that we match our bra and underwear every day and always have our toenails done. And then after a year, we start wearing our ugly underwear and our bras donÂ't match. Then we stop shutting the door when weÂ're peeing. ThatÂ's something to look forward to.

Besides the underwear, what are some of the other perks of being a woman?
We get to pass shitty stuff off to men. The guy has to kill the spider and get the dead mouse outta the pool.

YouÂ're the latest hot sitcom wife, so to speak. Who were your role models?
I loved I Love Lucy. I loved their relationship, because he was so tolerant of her. And The Honeymooners because Alice didnÂ't put up with RalphÂ's shit.

Were there any you didnÂ't like?
Jane JetsonÂ−I didnÂ't respect her. She allowed her daughter to be kinda slutty.

What would you be doing if you werenÂ't a big, fancy TV star?
I would be an investigator or a lawyer, because I love to interrogate the shit out of people. I do it on a daily basis.

WhatÂ's the one thing our readers shouldnÂ't do if they run into you after this comes out?
Approach me and say, ÂHey, I liked your titties in the magazine.Â

Impossible. That would have meant they didnÂ't read the article. Motormouth


Leah is the Quaker State motor oil girl. But what does she really know about cars? Apparently, everything.

STUFF: WhatÂ's a fuel injector?

LEAH: ItÂ's a mechanism that delivers gas evenly to the engine. Before electronic fuel injection, there was the carburetor. Cars with carburetors can still get their engines flooded.

Lucky guess. ÂHead gasket has a nice ring to it. What the hell is it?

ItÂ's part of the block, between the two halves of the engine.

Anybody who took shop would know that. What is oil viscosity?

This refers to the oilÂ's thickness, its ability to flow. Old motor oil becomes thicker, like tar. You certainly donÂ't want that. You want one that will keep those pistons and cylinders moving easily.

Being smug is not an attractive quality. How much will you charge me to change my oil while wearing nothing but overalls? IÂ'll fax you a quote, and then our people can have a conversation about it. WeÂ're becoming friends now, and I donÂ't want money to come between us.


nachzulesen auf www.stuffmagazine.com