Academy Award nominee and Emmy winner Barbara Hershey (“The Portrait of a Lady,” “Black Swan”) has had a long and varied career that has now brought her to “Damien,” A+E’s sequel to “The Omen.” Following the Antichrist as he slowly realizes the truth about himself, the series affords Hershey plenty of opportunities to play menacing. The actor talks to us about starting her career with “Gidget” and everything that happened after.
Tell us about your role on “Damien.”
I play Ann Rutledge. She’s one of the most powerful women in the world, but she’s always operated in the shadows. From the beginning, she’s been guiding Damien and protecting him and making choices for him that he’s totally unaware of. The human part of him has blanked out the horror of his childhood, so he has no memory of what has transpired. And I thought, How interesting, how would you react if someone told you that you were the Antichrist?
How did you get your SAG-AFTRA card?
I played Skip on “Gidget.” I played Sally Field’s girlfriend. It was actually fun, and she was really sweet.
What do you wish you’d known before you started acting?
Acting itself was always something, from my earliest memories. So on the acting level, when I came to a set the first time, the camera was my friend, I knew that, but what I wasn’t prepared for was all the interaction with the crew and what to do with my energy throughout the day. A lot of it involves waiting and do you drop the scene and then get back into it, or maintain where you were and exhaust yourself? Learning how to gauge myself was something I had no knowledge of and wasn’t prepared for at all. I would drag myself home at 17, exhausted because I didn’t know how to gauge myself and had 150 eyes on me! I thought you just got there and acted!
What is your worst audition story?
I came in to read a role for a pretty famous director, and the role I was reading opposite was a man. They were just sitting at the table, the director and two casting ladies, and they had another girl who was going to read the man’s part. I said, “Could I have a man read opposite me?” They grabbed some intern and sat him down and he read opposite me, and while I was reading, the two casting ladies started chatting at the table. I stopped. I was astonished. I just waited. And then I looked at the director, and his eyes were down on the script and he had this smile on his face. I wish I’d gotten up and excused myself and left, but I kept on. But that was really insulting. And I didn’t get the role. But at that point I didn’t want it!
How do you typically prepare for an audition?
Auditioning is treacherous by its nature for an actor. It’s a dangerous situation to put yourself in in terms of your self-esteem. So what I did was I got to act the role for a day, no matter if I got the role or not. I went as far as I could in terms of experiencing the character for that day. And then whether or not I got it, that was what it was. No one could rob me of having that under my belt.
On whom do you have an acting crush?
Can it be someone who just passed? Because the hero of my life, and I never got to meet the guy, was Philip Seymour Hoffman. I just couldn’t get over him, the kind of actor he was and the humanity, no matter what he was playing. That was a talent like I hadn’t witnessed in a long time.
Which of your performances has left a lasting mark on you?
They all have. When I reach down and find [a character], the door opens, and once that door opens you’re richer as a human being. It’s not like one has left an indelible impression whereas others haven’t.
In the alternate universe in which you aren’t an actor, what would you be doing?
Probably a painter? I love nature and animals a lot, so I could be something happily in that world. But in terms of the arts, I’d be a painter. Not an easy thing to be!
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