A Little Romance Talk With Amy Brenneman

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Amy Brenneman Picture
Fans already had a little taste of Private Practice in a two-part episode of Grey's Anatomy earlier this year, and got to meet Dr. Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman) and Violet's love interest, Alan (D.W. Moffett).

But D.W. Moffett has his own show on the CW, Life is Wild, so Amy Brenneman doesn't know what's up for her character's romance. Still, here's what this acclaimed actress had to say about the upcoming series.

"Remember Carlton the doorman?" she joked.

"I don't know. I know that [Violet] is hung up on Alan in a pretty serious way for the foreseeable future so I really don't know if it's going to be re-cast. I have a great imagination so if you don't want to spend the money, that's okay. No, I think that is her mother lode right there."

Amy Brenneman used to headline her own successful TV series (Judging Amy), so she didn't really need to go back down that road, she says.

"They canceled Judging Amy and about two weeks later, I gave birth to my son. So really TV was not the first thing on my mind and I was tired. I have been doing some movies. I did some theater and I really thought it's going to have to be the perfect fit for me because I had such a great thing going."

"It's just going to have to be at a really high caliber and also, frankly, fit with the lifestyle of having two small children. So it's interesting. I passed on some stuff where I would have been the series lead. Then, as a woman, you are left with being a wifey for the guy, and I don't want to do that."

Then there's Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, who is known for giving all her supporting players something to do.

"The amazing thing about what Shonda does is she tells these stories in a true mosaic fashion and she spins themes so you get your chunky stuff to do and this amazing stuff to do but we share the load. It's such a gift on so many levels and I think it makes for better storytelling because you don't have the traditional lead everybody is supporting. It's constantly shifting and that's kind of unique. I was really excited when this came along."

In choosing the show, Amy Brenneman acknowledged that it was a pretty sure thing. ABC wasn't going to pass on the spinoff to Grey's Anatomy.

"For me, because it was fairly sure it would be on the air, that's the deep thinking that had to go on. It wasn't just a pilot. It's like, this probably is going to go and it may go for a while. As somebody who was on a TV show, it's like okay, really think this through. It's not on a whim. It's actually a real job that may go on for a while. So it felt important. It felt like this is not just oh, you try to do a pilot and who knows what's going to happen? It was exciting."

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.

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Private Practice Quotes

I think I can see your arteries closing up from here.

Jake

"Never talk about your penis when you hug another man."

JACKSON

Private Practice Music

  Song Artist
Song Lost The Mary Onettes
Down In The Valley The Broken West iTunes
Song Message From Yuz The Switches