Interview with Alex Hedison

Other interviews: Curve Magazine (March 2006), SHE Magazine (Feb 2006), Curve Mag (Sept 2006),

Artworks Mag (Sept 2006), Standout Mag (August 2006)

November 13, 2005

Alex was gracious enough to grant a phone interview to answer questions from her fans. We spoke about the past year, the L Word and her life. Here is what she said:

FOA: This hasn’t been an easy year for you. How are you doing?

Alex: I’m doing o.k. It’s been very difficult. I don’t believe things happen for a reason but we can choose how we react when things do happen and then make a purpose out of it. So this has given me the opportunity to rediscover myself in certain ways and for that, I’m grateful. Really good things have happened for me. It’s been a hard year. It takes time.

FOA: Are you dating?

Alex: Not really. I’m not ready. I don’t take relationships lightly. I’m very loyal-- even to myself. It takes me a long time to process things. If I were to date someone now, I’d only be partially there. I just can’t.

FOA: Do you get asked out all the time?

Alex: No, I don’t actually.

FOA: Do you have a date for the L Word premiere?

Alex: No, I don’t.

FOA: What is your “type”?

Alex: Preferably female. Smart, funny, kind. I’m very picky. Someone who is unique, for sure.

FOA: Would you ever date a guy?

Alex: I’m unlikely to date a guy. I’m not opposed in theory, but I would be very surprised if I ended up with a guy.

FOA: What about butch/femme?

Alex: I don’t believe in that- in those roles. I know some women who on the outside seem masculine identified but really- they’re the biggest girls I know. Also, the toughest women I know are straight. I can’t subscribe to those definitions.

FOA: Do you have any other acting gigs on the horizon?

Alex: No, I don’t have any other acting jobs on the horizon. When I was an actress, my life was determined around my working in that capacity. I was auditioning all the time and working on a lot of things that paid well but I didn’t care about. I wasn’t happy and felt to a certain degree that I was wasting my time. My life will never be about that again but that’s not to say that I won’t act again. When it’s the right thing and I’m working with great people, I love it but there are so many other things I want to do as well. The L Word just happened to come around at the right time and I was in a place where I actually wanted to do it. Getting out of LA for 2 months was also very attractive to me at the time.

FOA: Is there one thing that you’d rather being doing out of photography/directing/acting?

Alex: I am a photographer. I’m an artist. I’m interested in directing. My photography is what I am mostly concentrated on now and have been for years.

FOA: Your photography tells a story. What is the (Re)building story?

Alex: The whole show is literally about being stripped down to the roots and building yourself from the ground up. The picture with the blue door- it represents a house that was once lavishly done, but then you open it up and all you see is demolition. In the exhibit, you see a lot of construction sites, foundations- the foundation is where the value of your house is. I spent 6 months out on construction sites taking pictures.

FOA: What about the picture entitled February 14?

Alex: I took that photo on this site that was amazing. Everywhere you looked there was rebar sticking up from the ground. The foundation hadn’t even been poured. In the photo you see the repetition of all of those lines, layer upon layer. But then you see this small red ball floating in the background. In the photo it’s this odd glowing red thing on the side of the frame that your eye, despite all of the steel barriers, gets drawn to. I saw this as the heart of the piece and the date I attached to it as a title felt appropriate.

FOA: How can we see your short film?

Alex: I’ll send you a copy!

FOA: How did the L Word thing happen?

Alex: They asked completely out of the blue. Showtime liked my audition. I was on a plane 4 days later to Vancouver.

FOA: The scenes from the L Word are apparently very revealing and intimate. What was it like to do those types of scenes?

Alex: It was scary, but ultimately very good. It’s not like anything I’ve ever done before. Or anything I thought I would ever do. If people say “I thought she was really private”- I am. But it was the right thing for me to do at the time and I’m glad I did it. But doing the actual scenes was weird. Here you have Rachel Shelley [Helena] who is straight as can be, playing a lesbian. And then you have me, who looks gay, playing a straight woman. People are going to watch it and say “Yeah, right!!”

FOA: You seem to be a private person and tend to be freaked out by too much attention. Are you prepared for all the attention you might get after the L Word season 3 starts?

Alex: I don’t know how much attention I will get, actually. I’m sure there will be some but I can’t imagine it will be that big a deal. So I guess I’m not prepared. I hope it’s positive, whatever it is.

FOA: Will your parents watch it and how do you feel about that?

Alex: I am terrified of people watching. Not just my friends and family. Everyone. I feel like I need to be sedated for the months of February and March. My friends are already giving me grief about it.

FOA: What is your coming out story? How old were you when you admitted it to yourself and then how about your family?

Alex: I always knew. I came out when I was 18. I’ve only dated women since then. I came home at Thanksgiving break and said “Mom and Dad? I’m gay!” Since then, I’ve always been out. Always. Truly, truly people are as comfortable with you as you are with yourself. It’s hard to talk about pets, work and weather when you want to talk about your girlfriend and what’s really going on in your life.

I don’t know whose parents were raised at a time when the perception of being gay or having a gay kid was a great thing. It was hard trying to redefine those perceptions for myself and then for my family too. It was a challenge.

FOA: What about your sister?

Alex: I’m very close to my sister. I knew I was gay in high school and was privately tortured about it and my sister always knew I had some big secret. When she would try to talk to me about what it was I’d say “I can’t tell you, I can’t tell you.” I was very dramatic about it. She thought I had murdered someone. When I told her, she said pretty disappointedly, “You’re gay? That’s your secret?” She was totally cool about it. Much more so than me. Parents take a longer time. They want you to be happy and that might not be their idea of happiness. Like, when I told my grandma, who I was very close to, that I was gay, she said “Oh honey, it’s a vagabond’s life!” After a while, when she saw that I wasn’t out on the street, holding a stick with a bandana tied to the end of it she was fine. (FOA: laughing) Over time, they’ve become O.K. with it. We are extremely close.

FOA: Does someone that you potentially date have to be a “Hollywood” person?

Alex: No. It doesn’t matter. As long as she could understand my world. I grew up here. My parents are in the business. A lot of my friends are in Hollywood, but they aren’t famous. I have friends who are writers, producers, actors and friends who aren’t in the business at all.

FOA: How would you meet someone?

Alex: I don’t know. I guess through a friend, maybe? I don’t go out to bars looking to meet a girlfriend.

FOA: Who cuts and styles your hair?

Alex: I cut my own hair. Usually with kitchen scissors.

FOA: Shut up.

Alex: No, really! Its just hair! Leisha Hailey cut my hair too a couple of times. A horrible day for me would be sitting in a salon reading People magazine. Its just hair, it’ll grow back. I just don’t care about it that much. If I’m having trouble with the back, I’ll just grab someone to help.

FOA: Someone off the street?

Alex: Like if you were standing there, I’d say “Can you cut this chunk of hair in the back for me?”

FOA: What are your days like?

Alex: It’s a curse and a blessing to be in charge of your own schedule. Sometimes I’m shooting a lot. I love taking pictures of people- publicity, headshots. Like this past week I had the AFI Film Festival, so this past week was all about the festival, screenings, and receptions. I’m doing something for Logo for December- talking about the past year, with funny people like Kate Clinton and Mayor Rus.

FOA: How many pairs of jeans do you have?

Alex: 8?

FOA: What is your favorite brand?

Alex: Levis. Vintage Levis.

FOA: Do you have any other things, like shoes, that you like?

Alex: Yes, I like shoes, but it’s a waste of time for me to buy anything nice. I was just thinking I need to take all my nice clothes out of the closet and give them away. I don’t even own a dress. I don’t own a skirt. I don’t own a nice suit. I never have the occasion to dress up. I wear jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers every day. When you see me out dressed nice, its something borrowed- something I just threw together kind of desperately at the last minute.

FOA: What is your favorite Starbucks drink?

Alex: Double cappuccino, short cup with half foam and half milk.

FOA: What is your favorite genre of movie?

Alex: Independent. I was home last night, and the Titanic was playing on TV. I watched it for the first time. I never see big movies like that. I really prefer to see things that make me think and feel in a more complex way. Netflix- that’s my serious relationship right now.

FOA: What is in your CD player in your car right now?

Alex: Keane, I am listening to that obsessively. Turin Brakes.

FOA: Are you frequently followed by paparazzi or can you still move around relatively anonymously?

Alex: I am completely anonymous. I am not a celebrity like that. It’s O.K. to be recognized for something. But I have no interest in having my every move watched.

FOA: What is your biggest pet peeve?

Alex: When someone is inauthentic. Be who you are- whatever you are.

FOA: Do you lurk around the message board?

Alex: Sometimes. Not as much as I used to. At first, it was great. Everyone deserves to have a website when they are going through a break up. It was nice to read some of the things people said. I’m not a big internet person. I have email, but I don’t surf the net. I’m so busy but I do drop in now and then! I’m always curious about the sightings.

FOA: Last time I checked there were people from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Denmark and Mexico checking out fanofalex website. What do you think about that?

Alex: It’s great! But I don’t take it personally. People don’t know that much about me, because I’m not putting that much out there. So, when you identify with someone you don’t know, it’s more about yourself, something in yourself that you are identifying. That being said, it’s really nice to feel supported and to know that there are people out there who are rooting for you and who admire you for whatever reason. So hi and thank you to the people out there who have been so supportive!

FOA: When will we be seeing you “out” again?

Alex: I’ll be at a Power-Up event at the end of the month to present an award to Ilene Chaiken. Then I’ll be on Logo in December.

FOA: Thank you, Alex.