It’s safe to say
that the majority of the members of the male population on Earth who’ve
caught a glimpse of CATHERINE BELL starring as a seductive television
news anchor in Bruce Almighty, or as a crime-busting American Marine
investigator in the hit television series J.A.G admire her not only
for her prolific action prowess, but her stunning physical beauty as
well.
But, Bell is also unique in the way that
whatever endeavor she has pursued – whether it’s a starring
role alongside Jim Carrey in a major motion picture, a lead part on
TV or her latest mission, as the voice of an animated mother in the
new Persian-English DVD Babak & Friends: A First Norooz, - Bell
makes her work distinct and different, always rising to the occasion
and immersing herself in the project the way only a consummate professional
and passionate actor can.
The brown-eyed girl that grew up in the
Los Angeles, California suburb of Sherman Oaks and attended an all-
girls’ Catholic school is the offspring of an English father and
a Persian mother, a synergy of European fairness and Middle-eastern
exoticness. She captured the eye of Hollywood from the start and is
one of the hottest celebrities, literally and figuratively, around.
Bell attended UCLA and modeled briefly in Japan before returning to
Los Angeles to dabble in the acting realm. She garnered guest spots
on sitcoms like Friends and Dream On before starring on J.A.G Though
the show had been axed by NBC, CBS revived it, and with Bell performing
the role of “Major Sarah ‘Mac’ Mackenzie” opposite
male lead David James Elliott, the series flourished.
Recently, NYLA Magazine was invited
to visit Bell on the set of J.A.G, and we got to spend some time,
one-on-one, with the dashing diva as the cast and crew of the show
were taping an episode.
For the longest while, our readers
have been writing, e-mailing and calling us since we announced that
we were going to be interviewing you, and they all wanted to know
one thing: Will you marry me?
Okay, okay. So that’s not exactly
how it all went down. It reads a bit more like this….
How did you get involved with Babak & Friends: A First
Norooz?
The people responsible for this great project called my representative
and wanted to know if I’d be interested in doing it. I immediately
jumped on it because I thought it was a great idea and a great way
to educate both American kids as well as Persian-American kids, and
help get rid of any misunderstandings about our Persian culture. I
think it’s so cool that [Dustin Ellis] had this vision and he
wanted to get it done and got so many great people involved.
More and more, you seem to be identifying with your Persian
roots. That’s awesome.
It’s always been on my resume that I speak Farsi, from the beginning
when I started acting. Unfortunately, there has always been some negative
attention on terrorists, even on my show, J.A.G., with Middle-Easterners,
Indonesians, etc. When the J.A.G. producers found out that I speak
Farsi, and they had me speak it on the show, and word got out there
and people starting finding out more. I’ve always been very
open about it, [and] I think I’m beginning to realize I love
my culture, but I don’t know as much as I’d like to about
it. I grew up in America, in L.A., and I was growing up with the Western
culture.
Same with basically everyone else, including me, who grew
up Westernized. Although we’d like to, we don’t know much
about our culture because we grew up in this one.
And it’s a beautiful cultural! Just by looking at the history,
you can see that, and that’s what I learned from the cartoon,
like, “That’s the ancient Persian Empire! And the king
and the royal history!” I can’t wait to know more about
it and for my little girl to know more about it. I am getting more
and more into everything Persian.
You’re very much a pioneer in the Persian community,
with all that you’ve done, with the grace of a strong, talented
and confident woman. What advice do you have for others who want to
follow in your steps?
Be proud of who you are and where you’re from, whatever or whenever
that might be. You’ve got to know who you are and be who you
are.
Tell me one new Persian custom or tradition you learned from
Babak & Friends.
I didn’t know about the jumping-over-the-fire ritual, Chahar
Shanbeh Souri. We didn’t do that when I was a kid. But the following
Sunday, I went to my aunt and uncle’s house and celebrated the
Persian New Year.
Read more about Catherine Bell and what she has planned for the
future in the October 2005 issue.
-Mayar Zokaei
