Who she is: The elegant and stunning Wendy Crewson has made a career out of playing smart, strong women thriving in a man's world. In America she is probably best-known as the no-nonsense wife to Harrison Ford's President in Air Force One or as the wickedly unsympathetic physician in The Doctor. There must be something about higher office and healing the sick that appeals to her, as she can currently be seen in the hit television show 24 as the doctor and love interest of President Palmer, played by Dennis Haysbert. Hopefully, her Dr. Anne Packard is a little better at her job than the brisk physician she played in The Doctor, a role that apparently made an impact on those in the medical community. "A friend of mine is the head doctor in the emergency room at Oakland Children's Hospital, and she'd go to conferences where they would show clips of how not to behave, and it would be me in The Doctor," Crewson said, laughing.
Playing the truth: Landing the plum role on 24 was made extra sweet for Crewson because she didn't have to audition. She recalled, "I just got a call saying, 'Would you like to do this role?' And I thought, Is that a trick question?" She added that it's thrilling to work alongside Haysbert. "Not to kiss and tell, but it's every bit as great as you'd think it would be." Crewson was able to tell little else about her character, as 24 is notorious for keeping its storylines secret. "Here's the whole thing about these characters: you don't know who you are, they haven't been written ahead, they don't know who you are. So it's sort of a week-by-week revelation. It's a little weird, but all you do is play the truth of the moment. And whatever comes along down the line, it is what it is."
Also a fan: Crewson was a fan of the show from the first season, when her good friend (and fellow Canadian) Leslie Hope starred as Kiefer Sutherland's wife. "I was really hooked on it, and I was so mad when they killed her," admitted Crewson. "But I sort of got sucked back in during the second season and couldn't stay away." Hope also warned her about the fanaticism of 24 fans, something Crewson had never experienced. "I've never been on a popular TV show before, so this is a whole new experience for me," said Crewson in an interview the day before the 24 premiere. "I'm going to get my grocery shopping done now, just in case."
The loving wife: In addition to playing the love interest to two presidents, Crewson also starred as governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife in The 6th Day. "I am the power behind the throne. Just call me Lady Macbeth," she joked. "I'm always somebody's wife. I've played wives to the best of them. Those parts are hard because you know what you're there for. You're there to support your leading man in every way you can." But she isn't complaining. Asked if she finds such roles limiting or frustrating, she instantly said, "No. I love it. First of all, it takes all the onus off you. The movie's not sitting on my shoulders. I can have fun. It gives it sort of a sense of holiday. It's nice to be there, they're always great actors who are generous and kind, and because I get that cache from those big movies I can come back to Canada and do leading parts in our movies and TV dramas. I have to say it's been a nice balance."
Crewson, who recently won her fourth Gemini Award for the TV film The Many Trials of One Jane Doe, has played a wide variety of roles in her native Canada. "If you were just working in the States, those kinds of roles get frustrating if that's all you're doing and that's how people see you. But I have this nice little outlet where I can run out and do some big dynamo part and I'm OK going back to L.A., hanging around and sipping cappuccinos with Harrison."
Gibson's girl: In addition to her work on 24, Crewson will be seen in the upcoming films A Home at the End of the World with Colin Farrell and The Clearing with Robert Redford. She is also off to Romania to shoot a miniseries for London's Channel 4 about the trafficking of young girls in Eastern Europe. Considering some of the big-name co-stars she's worked alongside, is there anyone she's dying to collaborate with? "I'm wondering when Mel Gibson's going to need a good wife. I auditioned for Ransom when the part was smaller. He was so cute and so fun I thought he would be great to work with." But don't Gibson's movie wives tend to suffer some horrible death? "I can die, I don't mind," said Crewson with a laugh. "I've died before. As long as we get to kiss a little first, I'm OK."