Written by Robyn Landers
Ms. Masterson spoke before an audience of about 30 on Friday November 22, 1996 at the Atlantis/Ontario Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She talked about some of her other work, including Acapulco Heat, and a role as a snake handler in one of Stevie Ray Vaughan's last music videos. She got this last role after realizing she was on the verge of losing the audition by offering nothing distinctive, so she blurted a lie about being a snake handler. That got their attention, and got her the part.
She's also a lead player in the "EON 4" scifi series which takes place on the Internet. In this she portrays a present-day astronaut. She had a role on ER in the Emmy-award-winning "Come Hell or High Water" episode. (She played the mother of the girl in the car accident who insisted on a certain plastic surgeon, thus incurring a sarcastic remark from her husband about her lop-sided breast job, in response to which he incurred a slap in the face.)
In a week or so (early/mid December 1996) she can be seen on an episode
of Sliders. This is a possibly recurring role which she quite enjoyed.
Producer Ambition
Her ambition is to be a producer. She's producing
a documentary on the 50th anniversary of the Cannes film festival,
as well as an inspirational series for inner city kids.
Deep Space Nine
She quickly turned the time over to the audience for questions. Of course the subject of the DS9 Raisa teaser shot was raised. The promotional clip for this episode showed her in the massage room nude (not frontally) from the waist up, but when that scene appeared in the actual episode, she was wearing a towel or robe. The original script called for the topless shot, which was to be done tastefully of course seeing as DS9 is a family show, but she was apprehensive seeing as she refuses all nude scenes (and thus turns down a lot of work). After the episode was finished, and the promotional teaser was released, the powers that be declared the scene too provocative for ST, so the scene was re-shot.
She's looking forward to what happens with Leeta and Rom. That combination was apparently planned a couple of years ago. She felt that Leeta and Bashir made too much of a cutesy 90210 type couple. The audience agreed.
On DS9 she spends 3.5 hours in make-up, hair, and wardrobe.
One of her favourite pastimes is watching Nick at Night. Her favourite show is [CENSORED]. (She begged audience members not to divulge it on the Internet.) She described some of the characters she has played as being like [CENSORED] or [CENSORED] from that show.
When asked if she would encourage her young child to become an entertainer, she said absolutely not. She became more serious at this point, and less the fluffy L.A. babe, while describing how the acting business provides too much of a conditional love wherein you're only acceptable if you're working. Entertainment is superficial, that's not what it's about, and there's a much deeper value to people.
Her fan club's charity (to which all fan club money and some of the money you pay for her photographs goes) is "Caring for Babies with AIDS".
At the end of her talk she signed autographs on an assortment
of Leeta and Chase photographs.
Hits as of December 31, 1997