Autumn is upon us

When Autumn Reeser got on the phone yesterday morning for a tele-conference with Funfare and journalists from India and Malaysia, first thing I asked her was why she was so named.

“Because I was born on the first day of autumn,” said Autumn who is in the cast of the Tom Clancy-like thriller Last Resort which premieres at 10 o’clock Monday night, Oct. 1, on AXN. Hailed by critics as the best new show of the fall, Last Resort deals with political intrigues, nuclear missiles and Navy seals gone rogue. Exciting. Promising.

Asked what she found attractive about her character, Kylie Sinclair, in the conspiracy thriller, Autumn (Entourage, No Ordinary Family, etc.) said, “Kylie is a strong woman, ambitious and outspoken, willing to get what she wants. I love her for that.”

Recently seen in the neo-noir film The Big Bang as the love interest of Antonio Banderas, Autumn lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their little son Finn (only one and a half years old), plus their dogs Sadie and Gatsby (named after the character in the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel).

“I have a toddler so I haven’t been able to go to D.C. which I would have wanted to as part of the research. But as part of the preparation, I’ve done quite a bit of reading about Washington and politics, and trying to learn more about the world that Kylie lives in. I was looking for a drama this year and Last Resort is it.”

Told that she must be good at time management, beautifully balancing herself between acting and mothering, Autumn answered, “You know, it’s a struggle, and challenging I would say. Some days are gonna be easier than other days. This week because we’re launching the show, I haven’t been able to spend as much time with Finn as much as I wanted to, and I feel guilty about that. Some days, I spend a lot of time with Finn and I felt guilty that I wasn’t able to keep up with my press commitment. So you just do your best every day and set your priorities in order.”

In the first episodes, most of the cast are in the boat, including Emmy-winning Andre Braugher (Men Of A Certain Age, Homicide: Life on the Street), Scott Speedman (Felicity, Underworld) and Daisy Betts (Persons Unknown, Shutter) and Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day).

Didn’t she feel, uhm, left out?

Laughed Autumn, “I’m terrified of submarines, actually, it’s a major fear of mine. So I’m quite happy to not be in a submarine. I do hope that at some point in time, Kylie will make it to the island. Hmmm, I’m okay staying on dry land.”

But what does she find so scary about submarines?

“Oh gosh, you’re closed in and you are underwater. That’s a double whammy!”

Autumn started acting at age seven. Didn’t she miss the thrill of growing up a “normal” child?

“I started in theater but not in television until I was 19, so I went to the same elementary school and high school with the same kids. I actually had the so-called quintessential American childhood. I was the cheerleader and I was secretary of the French Club and I was very involved in other school activities. On weekends, I was involved in theater because it has been my passion. I practically begged my parents to let me move to L.A. so I could pursue a career in acting. But my parents said, ‘No, you cannot do that. You’re gonna have a normal childhood,’ so that’s it.”

Any role models that she looks up to?

“My sister. I really admire my sister because she’s a poet and a writer and she has a very pared-down life. She and her husband live in a small house with a garden, and she spends a lot of time writing, and I admire that. My life is so sort of high-flying and flashy sometimes and it’s not necessarily good for you and not necessarily what I want even if society tells us that that’s what they want. I try to incorporate my sister’s life into mine.”

So there you are, Autumn is upon us and let’s enjoy her company.

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