Frozen in Time: Tyne Daly on A Bread Factory | Interviews

Is that how it usually works in movies that you've done?

Yes. The last film I did was "Spider-Man Homecoming," and I was sworn to secrecy because it’s a [air quotes] “big deal.” We went on these enormous sets with nothing on them, maybe a little element over here or there, but the rest was going to be drawn in later. It was the kind of work where I felt very much like a piece of machinery, you know? It was not very satisfying in terms of what I know about acting, what acting’s supposed to be. 

And there’s this lovely kid, Tom Holland, in his full-body condom that he couldn’t pee in all day, terrified! He’s there with some fans – that poor kid! God, I was terrified for him! I didn’t actually see what he looked like until the wrap party because it always took him hours to get into the suit, hours to get out, and he didn’t even have a catheter! I thought it was child abuse! [Laughs] 

But that’s the state of the art in terms of great big cartoon movies. It’s less about us. 

So a film like this is my antidote. They pay you no money at all. They pay you lovely money to do Spider-Man. But this is about characters and situations that are deeply human and not at all cartoon-y.

Have you given up on movies as an art form?

No! I’m here, ain’t I? [Laughs] But I will say that a lot of American films being made today are not made for actors. 

And beyond that, being in a film, any film, is like being frozen in time. I like being on the stage better. I worked with David Lindsay-Abbaire on Rabbit Hole, I did a brand new musical two seasons ago, It Shoulda Been You. It wasn’t all new plays, unfortunately, because Broadway is afraid of new plays. It’s what the traffic will allow, always, but I managed to play a season. I did Mothers and Sons, by Terrence McNally. It’s been rich for me in New York without television, except...well...I shouldn't tell you this... 

Don’t make me stop you!

My insurance was cancelled from [Screen Actors Guild] because I hadn’t earned enough dough, and so I had to call up Sharon [Gless] and say, “Sharon, put me on your show!” She was doing whatever that thing was on USA, "Burn Notice". She got me on it so I could make my medical.

How has TV changed since you were doing "Cagney and Lacey"?

TV has changed a great deal since then. It's changed a great deal just in the last decade. We worried fifteen or twenty years ago that scripted TV was over because of reality shows, which have gone on far too long. But now they’re declaring a new golden age in scripted stuff. My kid brother – my kid brother? [Laughs] He’s 61! – he’s over on CBS doing "Madame Secretary". The speed at which they do stuff now, the having 11 or 12 people who are all part of a repertory group, it’s not like what we were doing between '82 and '89. It’s just a different rhythm. 

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