Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/6065
LIVEMAGS.NET JANUARY>>10 19 Righetti has made her rounds in the industry, from the O.C. to Friday the 13th, but she has since settled into her role as a somewhat uptight and morally pious agent who sticks to procedure, yet is invaluable to the group of investigators. The Mentalist combines criminal investigation with some psychic overtones. The series stars Simon Baker who plays Patrick Jane—an easy-going yet incredibly perceptive investigator. Righetti, on the other hand, plays Grace Van Pelt who is not easy-going at all and approaches actions by the book, providing a healthy contrast to Patrick. For a new show, it has done incredibly well in the ratings. What takes many programs years to garner, The Mentalist has gathered a strong fan base in its first year, which thrust it into a second season. In this innovative new show, Righetti's talents help keep the show compelling and audiences wanting more. LIVE: When did you know that The Mentalist was a hit? aMaNDa: You know, that's a tough question to answer. When we premiered, our first episode got bigger numbers than the network had anticipated. But it took me about half way through the first season to really settle into the idea that it was a hit show. TV is such a strange bird because you can open really big, but if your numbers fall off - then you don't last. So it was great to know that coming out of the gate we were doing so strongly and gaining momentum. Now that we are about half way through the second season and the numbers are still holding strong I think I am finally accepting the idea that we have been really successful beyond what the network thought we were going to be. LIVE: Explain a little bit about your character, Grace Van Pelt. Do you see yourself in her at all? aMaNDa: Grace is different from me, but I understand her. The sort of uptight do-gooder thing, there is a part of me that enjoys playing that because it's something different that I've never really done before. Her awkwardness in this rookie position that she is in and her trying to find her feet on the team is really fun to play. I think on her moral grounds, I can relate to her. LIVE: Your show flirts with using psychic abilities. Have you ever been to a psychic and what do you think about all that stuff? aMaNDa: I have been to psychics, a long time ago. I sometimes wonder how much of that stuff they plant and because your attention is on it, it ends up happening. It's hard to tell how much of it is them throwing out a bunch of generalizations. I don't know that I have had anything really profound told to me by a psychic that came true. It's one of those popcorn adventures I guess. LIVE: Do you watch yourself on TV? aMaNDa: I do once in a while. It's really weird seeing me on TV, I don't tend to do it alone. If I watch it's because it's on and other people are watching it with me. I cringe when I come on screen though. I'll say, "Oh, I should've done that different or I should have made a different choice." I am very critical of myself. So, I sometimes watch but I have to be in the right space to digest it. LIVE: Besides The Mentalist, what is your favorite TV show? aMaNDa: I'm really into Curb Your Enthusiasm and Californication. I also watch a lot of (David) Letterman. Once in a while I'll catch a classic movie. I actually watched Unforgiven the other night, a Clint Eastwood western. LIVE: So, you were in the remake of Friday the 13th and you killed Jason. How did that feel? aMaNDa: (sarcastic) It felt amazing. We had a lot of fun filming that movie. You know that whole ending was actually reshot, it wasn't in the original script. We had filmed the movie and after they had tested it they found that the audience wanted a bigger "hoorah" moment from my character. So then they wrote in the whole killing of Jason and of course Jason never dies. It was a lot of fun. We went back to Texas to shoot but instead of it being nice and warm, it was awfully cold. We really worked it out in a different way than it was originally written. I think I'm finally accepting the idea that we have been really successful, beyond what the network thought we would be.