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Bonnie lass

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

After all, the 39-year-old actress, an Irish-American Catholic, grew up in a working-class Chicago neighborhood with six siblings and enjoyed a rich home life that seldom wanted for humor or activity. How difficult could it be to play a perky, resourceful Illinois mother of 12?
According to Hunt, it wasn’t hard at all. In fact, she says all she had to do was consider how her own mom and dad would handle the on-screen mayhem that ensues when her character goes on a book tour to promote her memoirs/parenting guide, leaving her football coach husband (Steve Martin) home alone with a dozen kids. After careful consideration, Hunt seems pretty sure her own father would never have let his wee ones run amok like Martin does in the movie.
“My father walked into the room and you didn?t get away with anything,” recalls the star of “Jerry Maguire” and “Stolen Summer.” “If he was home with us for two weeks, it would have been boot camp. There would have been no back talk, no sneaking out, no causing any trouble. But I think the moments I could relate to were the dinner-table scenes and certainly the moments of tenderness with the children. The little moments of me talking to the kids where I could hug them or smile because are certainly reminiscent of my mom.”
Asked if she would ever consider chronicling her own story in a book or film, Hunt admits she is reluctant to so blatantly exploit her youth or family life for comic material.
“I tap into that every time I write,” the actress explains, “but to tap into it in a commercial sense about my own experience feels kind of icky to me. My story and my journey comes through all of the characters that I write and the ones that I play.”
Growing up in a large family is not Hunt’s only connection to “Cheaper By the Dozen.”
“I’ve always had an emotional attachment to the original (1950) film and the book from my childhood and I was lucky enough, four years ago, to write one of the early drafts of the film,” the actress said. “I knew Steve was going to be doing the movie and I’d always wanted to work with him. I read the script and even though it was vastly different from my writing of the story based on the original family, it still had a nice joyful presentation of family.”
In addition to working with Martin, Hunt found herself acting opposite more than a dozen other actors of varying ages and degrees of experience. Fortunately, Hunt, who also plays a mother of three on her hit ABC sit-com, “Life With Bonnie,” is fond of children.
“I love being around kids,” she said. “I have 15 nieces and nephews. When you’re in show business, there is something really refreshing about seeing the movie process through a child’s eyes. They’re playing pretend and it’s all an adventure for them.
“There is also the responsibility of setting an example. It makes for a nice day. The kids are all so unique and have a different story and a different place. It’s like being a schoolteacher for three months. You just get the joy of seeing them change and experience and learn from it and form friendships.”
Hunt says she believes the key to working with child actors is to remember they are children before they are actors.
“I think as an adult it’s your responsibility to be an example to the younger people around you, but I also had an emotional response to each and every one of them,” she said.
A family movie that was fun to make and is sure to be a big hit this holiday season isn’t all the actress has to celebrate these days. “Life With Bonnie,” Hunt’s fifth attempt at a TV series, has been renewed for a second season and last week earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
“I feel really lucky to have a second season,” Hunt said. “We’re doing television in such an efficient, creatively respectful way. . . . We want to maintain our integrity. I think if we were making movies we could do that on a much higher level, but as far as the show goes, I’m really proud of it. I think we are really doing something different.”
In talking about why she is so dedicated to making people laugh and playing characters to whom regular folks can relate, Hunt again returns to her family.
“I remember as a kid my dad watching ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ ” she said, “and that one moment when he was truly laughing at Barney or something that would happen on the show, and this father of seven kids, who was struggling to make ends meet and had the weight of the world on him and was such a good man, in that moment, would forget everything and just be laughing and that is the gift you want to give if you can.”
Explaining her interest in creating entertainment that will stand the test of time, Hunt confesses she would like to make another film to follow up her well-received directorial debut, a 2000 romantic comedy-drama starring Minnie Driver, David Duchovny, Jim Belushi and herself.
“I was fortunate enough to make ‘Return to Me’ and I’m so proud of that movie,” she said. ” I tried to make something that was timeless without trendy references. I wouldn’t let there be one Starbuck’s in a shot. Even Carl Reiner on the ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’ tried to keep it timeless. We’ve spoken many times about writing and there aren’t a lot of trendy references and that still holds up. It’s not like you’re turning your head and going, ‘What does that mean?’ “
While her schedule might seem exhausting to most, Hunt says she loves it and would not have it any other way.
“I’m a multi-tasker just from childhood,” she said. “I read a book with a walk-man on, while I’m watching TV. That’s the best way for me to comprehend what I’m reading for some reason. I started out as a nurse. I worked in an emergency room where there are high-level decisions made in an instant and you’re working with a team very quickly and very efficiently. And that’s why, when I’m doing so much on the set (of the sit-com,) it just feels very natural to me. It feels like one job: the job of storyteller. “
“Cheaper By the Dozen” opens Christmas Day.

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