The Linden Ashby Worshiping Page

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This event was broadcast LIVE with Real Audio! Unfortunately, the Real Audio version that went with this transcript has been lost forever :(

HSHost2 says "Welcome to Hollywood Spotlight on realhollywood.com! My name is April and I'll be your host for this evening. Joining me in the studio tonight is my producer Peter and our fabulous typist, Michelle. If you would like to ask our guest a question this evening, it's very simple. Just type in /ask a space and then your question. If you're using "Excite's VP chat" you need only click the "something to say" icon at the bottom right corner of your screen. We are all very excited about our special guest this evening, actor Linden Ashby from the hit TV series, "Melrose Place"and the motion picture "Mortal Kombat" Welcome to Hollywood Spotlight,Linden! Thank you it is exciting to be here."

HSHost asks "Linden, I've been a fan since "Loving", I was so excited to see you on Melrose Place. Will you be coming back?"

LindenAshby says "No plans to right now but you never know. Never say never."

SRT5 asks "LINDEN I AM A STUDENT OF DRAMA SCHOOL WHAT ADVISE WOULD U GIVE TO ME ABOUT THIS KIND OF WORK"

LindenAshby says "First of all there are so many other easy things to do in life besides be an actor but if you have to be an actor. I say have to not jokingly...but if you have to stick with it and perseverance is half the battle. Persevere. Stay with it. There is an attrition rate that is tremendous. People come and go and if you stick with it."

SRT5 asks "LINDEN IN WHAT OTHER MOVIES/SHOWS HAVE U APPEARED IN BEFORE LOVING?"

LindenAshby says "Loving was my first TV show. I had done a lot of theatre in New York, but Loving was my first TV show. It was in 1984."

SRT5 asks "DO YOU WRITE THE FAN LETTERS AND WHERE CAN WE SEND YOU A FAN LETTER"

LindenAshby says "Do I write them? I try to answer as many as I can. I don't have any special place to send them but probably to the Gersh Agency in Beverly Hills, California is the best place."

Tovarisch asks "Have you ever visited your Internet fan sites, and have you considered having an official site created?"

LindenAshby says "I have looked at the Linden Ashby worshipping page or something like that. I am not a big Internet guy. I check the stock market and e-mail...I would definitely consider a site. Let's do it."

HSHost asks "What was it like working with Farrah Fawcett in "Poor Little Rich Girl"?"

LindenAshby says "It was an experience. That was my first job in Hollywood and it was Farrah and Ryan and I just went, holy ****! It was him storming off the set threatening to punch the director and her getting freaked out. It was like living in a tabloid."

HSHost says "HOW DID YOU FOCUS?"

LindenAshby says "This was, honest to God, two to three weeks after I got to town. My first day of work, my only other job on TV was a soap opera and they just do five four three and you act. The first thing I filmed on this mini series is I dive into the pool, swim across and get out and eat breakfast. They said rolling and I dived in. The director said next time, wait until I say action."

SRT5 asks "MY SISTER ELLI WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU ARE SINGLE AND CAN YOU SAY A Hi TO HER"

LindenAshby says "I am not single. Been married for 13 years. Yes, I can say hi to you. Hi, Ellie's sisters. I don't want to do anything like Jack Wagner."

SRT5 asks "WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A CAREER OUT OF SINGING LIKE JACK WAGNER DID"

LindenAshby says "I played rock n roll for awhile in the late 80s. I loved it, I played guitar, sang, wrote, had a band in L.A. and we chased a record deal. We had a good time. It is every boy's dream to be a rock star. It wouldbe amazing to make a living doing that but it is pretty good making a living as an actor. Now, if I could make a living as a race car driver/rock n roll..."

SRT5 asks "LINDEN HAVE U SEEN DEEP IMPACT AND DID YOU LIKED IT AND WHAT OTHER MOVIES HAVE U SEEN LATELY"

LindenAshby says "I did like Deep Impact. I liked it quite a bit. I have seen a bunch of moves lately. I have got to recommend Living Out Loud. It is fantastic."

HSHost says "Is that with Holly Hunter?"

LindenAshby says "It is with Holly Hunter and she should get an Oscar nomination. It is an intense movie but well worth seeing is American History X. Totally flip flop, I like the Waterboy too."

SRT5 asks "TELL ME FEW WORDS ABOUT THE CHARACTER YOU PLAY IN THIS DISNEYS MOVIE"

LindenAshby says "I play a guy named Dr. Blare Bainbridge. Say that fast five times and you are a better man than me. He is a criminal psychologist from New York and one of his patients murdered his live in girlfriend and hew as framed for it. You don't know this in the beginning so I am probably giving stuff away. He moves to a small town and start his life over. Not talk to anyone, see anything, etc. Sort of just lick his wounds. He finds that living in a small town it is not possible. A murder happens and it looks like he might have done it. We don't know if he did it or not. Ricki Lake becomes his friend and they flirt and I like her spunk. She has Mr. Murphy who is a cat and is a sleuth. Tucker the Dog is her sidekick. It is fun and good for the family."

Tovarisch asks "Mrs. Murphy's Cats will be airing on the 13th; anything you can tell us about the movie?"

LindenAshby says "It will air on ABC on Sunday night. The Wonderful World of Disney. I think it is neat. I remember watching it when I was a kid. I have kids and to do something for them was a real treat."

Tovarisch asks "I read you're a Bob Marley fan; any other favorite singers/bands?"

LindenAshby says "I am a huge Bob Marley fan."

HSHost says "I have a Rott named Bob Marley.."

LindenAshby says "Yeah, I am actually going to KRock Almost Acoustic Christmas tomorrow night. It is a great concert where every band you want to see you get to see in two nights. I am into the alternative rock scene right now."

SRT5 asks "linden i am in europe and i am watching the ep from mel place with you inside can you tell me why you left the show"

LindenAshby says "I left the show, it was the end of a year and contracts and they wanted to cut back on the show and I thought that was fine. I loved working for Aaron and Melrose but the problem was I came in as this character and it took so long to develop and they wrote this sort of sneaky, roundabout way and there was no payoff. The writers hooked into who I was and they started writing a romantic story line between me and Megan and it worked really well and the viewers responded in a positive way."

LindenAshby says "Then, the time was up and they said we have to get you out and they flip flopped and....Next time I am going to say you have to really develop this guy. I have done 14 shows and people were still asking who is this guy? Suddenly, when I hooked in with the think with Megan and it was true love. People went gosh, that was great. When it flip flopped in the end and I sleep with Lexie, people came up to me and said I would have bet a million dollars that your character wouldn't have done that."

SRT5 asks "IAM WATCHING THE SHOW FOR MANY YEARS NOW I THINK ITS GREAT BUT ONE QUESTION WHY ALL THE CHARACTERS ARE GOOD IN THE BEGINNING AND THEN THEY BECOME CRAZY PERSONS"

LindenAshby says "I was kind of crazy and then became good and then crazy. I don't know. I think it is more fun to watch someone being bad. I think at the same time you have to balance those with good people. I don't know, sneaky is not my best thing. I can do angry, whatever, but sneaky, you have to waffle and I am a black and white guy. Right on."

HSHost asks ""Mortal Kombat" is one of my favorite movies."

LindenAshby says "Right on."

Tovarisch asks "What styles of martial arts have you practiced, and is there any that you'd consider your favorite style?"

LindenAshby says "i studied Karate for a long time and whenever I travel on the road, I will find a Tae Kwon Doe studio because they are everywhere and I study Wing Chong."

HSHost asks "Have you ever done any modeling?"

LindenAshby says "You know what, hold on, my kid's are in here."

HSHost says "How old are they?"

LindenAshby says "They are seven and a half and six. They decided that this is the best place in the whole house to come and sit under my feet. Welcome to the glamorous life of Linden Ashby. She literally sat under my feet and then those ink pens with the little ball in it, she was shaking it. I have never done any serious modeling. When I was in college, I did pictures for the May Company in Florida. It paid $40 bucks and hour and I thought it was amazing. I was working in construction making $5 bucks and then I modeled and got $40 and it ruined my perspective. I said I can do this, just stand here and smile."

squeekie asks "What do you think makes a good Character and Script?"

LindenAshby says "I think a good script is more important than anything else in the entire process., A good script is entertaining and you want to watch, be it terrifying, moving, heartbreaking, educational...entertainment comes in all shapes and sizes. A good character is one that is compelling to watch and moves the story along. That was pretty articulate, huh?"

guest206 asks "What do you enjoy watching on TV now?"

LindenAshby says "I don't watch much TV. This season, I have been watching Spin City. I am a huge Seinfeld fan so I watch the reruns. We do watch a lot of cartoons. We watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Help!"

HSHost says "You probably watch a lot of cartoons?"

LindenAshby says "Yeah, the cartoons and all that kind of stuff and MTV and VH1.1 have satellite so I watch a gazillion movies and the NFL on Sundays. I am a guy."

Tovarisch asks "Is there any particular writer or director that you'd really love to work with?"

LindenAshby says "There are about 50 of them. There are so many people out there making great films and TV. It is a huge laundry list."

LL69 asks "where did you grow up?"

LindenAshby says "I grew up in Atlantic Beach, Florida, close to Jacksonville, right on the beach. I was kind of beach country. We had a ranch so I was split between being a beach bun and mucking out stables. I stayed until I was 18 and then I moved to Durango Colorado to school and then I dropped out of school, which I don't recommend but them I went to New York."

SRT5 asks "linden would you play in a romantic comedy"

LindenAshby says "Well, watch on Sunday night and you tell me. I am 38."

LL69 asks "how old are you?"

Tovarisch asks "You mentioned you had a Rottweiler...any other pets?"

LindenAshby says "I have a dog named Chariie. He is half Doberman and half pit bull. He is a pound dog. We thought he was half Doberman and half Labrador. They assured us then we went to the vet and no Labrador. He is a spring dog he has a lot of energy."

SRT5 asks "LINDEN WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR CHRISTMASS"

LindenAshby says "My plans for Christmas, I am going to Whistler, British Columbia. We ski in Colorado all the time and I own some property in Telluride and we ski there. This year, we thought with the Canadian dollar being as beat up as it is we would go to Canada."

HSHost says "I love Steamboat!"

guest206 asks "who is your favorite comedian?"

LindenAshby says "My favorite comedian is Dennis Miller, I don't know if he is a comedian but he is a good social commentator. I think Jim Carrey's physical comedy is amazing. As far as stand up, I used to love Kevin Meaney but then he got skinny. There is something to fat people are funny. I saw Colin Quinn and I laughed. It was low brow humor but I laughed my ass off. He was hilarious as a stand up comedian. Good, my endorsement will probably help him out a lot, hah! Also Chris Rock."

guest206 asks "do you really get a joy out of acting?"

LindenAshby says "I do, I don't necessarily get joy out of show business but I do out of acting, i get a joy out of getting up in the morning. It is a one way ticket and we have a limited amount of time here and you should make the most of it."

squeekie asks "Do you prefer serious roles or comedic roles?"

LindenAshby says "I prefer good roles. They are few and far between so I don't care if they are drama or comedic."

guest206 asks "Have you ever taken or passed up a role that you later regretted?"

LindenAshby says "Yeah, for different reasons. I had just done Mortal Kombat and I got a bunch of offers to do low budget martial arts movies

and I did some of them and I didn't do a few others, and I thought I would get pigeon holed. Looking back, I go it wouldn't have mattered. I should have taken the money and run. I have passed up much but there was Jerry McGuire but I passed. Tom took it. Just kidding."

Tovarisch asks "I'm a huge fan of your martial arts moves. Spy Game was a favorite. Any more action work upcoming?"

LindenAshby says "Thank you. Spy Games was one of my favorites. Absolutely, I think I am going to go in that direction. I enjoy the physicality of it. You can go to work and come home sore. Better than digging ditches."

LL69 asks "have you ever been to Minnesota?"

LindenAshby says "No. I thought about that for a second. I think I have flown near there but I haven't been there but I would like to. Am I being invited?"

Sid asks "do you like to go on location or do you prefer to work on a sound stage?"

LindenAshby says "Location. It depends on what it is. If it is a series I like to be in L.A. You get to go to great places on location but I have been to some bad locations too."

LL69 asks "what's your favorite place to go?"

LindenAshby says "My favorite place is the beach. Give me a good beach with good waves and I am a happy camper."

Tovarisch asks "What would you say is your favorite movie? Not necessarily one you were in, but just fall time."

LindenAshby says "That is another thing that is a tough question. There are so many great ones. I loved the original Hustler. I loved The Best Years of Our Lives. I loved It's A Wonderful Life."

Tovarisch asks "What kinds of things did you watch growing up? Monster flicks, westerns...?"

LindenAshby says "I watched ...I am a product of the 70s. I love McQueen, Redford, Newman, Peter Sellers and Chariton Heston and Planet of the Apes. There was a cool show called West...and John Wayne too."

LL69 asks "what's your favorite kind of art??"

LindenAshby says "I am definitely lean towards modern art..abstract too..I actually am a huge collector. That sounds so pretentious. I like to buy paintings and I live with the motto that you should buy one piece of art every year that you love."

HSHost says "Who is your favorite Artist?"

LindenAshby says "That is another tough question. There are so many. The ones I can't afford usually."

Sid asks "how do you see the film biz changing in the next ten years?"

LindenAshby says "I see the film business, I don't know how it will change. I see the TV business changing quite a bit. I see the networks getting smaller shares. The syndication and cable markets are becoming huge. There will be good stuff but spread all over everywhere. Like UPN and WB and Pax and TNT and HBO and Showtime...you name it, they have great original programming. You will see more quality stuff but you will wade through a lot of crap too."

guest206 asks "What has been your most challenging role to date and why?"

LindenAshby says "Most challenging isn't the most enjoyable. I did a terrible movie, I won't say the name. It was challenging because the director had it in for me. I worked for like two weeks and said I am out of here. Then I saw the independent film where the actor says he is walking. The producers then go to him to say that what is going on. I was so bad in this movie. I was talking out of the side of my mouth in the end. My agent even said that he saw the movie and he thought I was really bad and the movie was bad. It is hard to find an agent that will tell you the truth? What do you say?"

HSHost says "Say "it was so great to see you up there"."

LindenAshby says "I have an understanding with my friends. I don't play sneaky wishy washy. They know, don't ask unless you want a true answer. I like going to see things before it opens because you can say something because what is the point at a premiere when it is too late to change it. I think that is probably why they invite me because I don't pander."

SRT5 asks "linden what is your op about the television now and back in the 80s do you think there can be good shows like moonlighting for ex"

LindenAshby says "I think Ally McBeal is a great show. Another show I love is Sports Night. Very very cool show. Sure, there can be great TV. I don't think the 80s was a defining decade of much. I don't think it was the r golden years of TV but I think we can definitely have great shows like that. It is all about writing."

Tovarisch asks "I've heard you're planning on doing another project with your wife. Any word on that?"

LindenAshby says "Not right now. Don't know but I would really like it. It was funny, we read and tested for something together and I was about 10 years too young for the part but we had the best time doing it and got a good response. I love working with her because first of all, I like her. We have worked together by running our lines...we feed off of each other. We have a repartee that is unique to married people and it is a lot of fun to work with her. Also, she is brutally honest. She cuts to the chase."

HSHost says "How long did you work together on Loving?"

LindenAshby says "Linden what are you doing there? No, no no no. And I do the same thing with her. We were cousins so we weren't romantically involved and when we became romantically involved, they stopped writing scenes with both of us in them. We were both on for about a year and a half."

Tovarisch asks "Do you have a favorite beach? Someplace where the surfs real liquid Drano? ;)"

LindenAshby says "That would be drain pipes at Zuma in the winter. I guess he is talking about hollow waves and pipeline is not bad for that sort of thing."

LL69 asks "what's your favorite place to eat?"

LindenAshby says "My favorite place to eat is ...I am not a food nut, ever since I was a kid, I wish I had a hatch in my stomach I could open and throw food in. I thought eating was a waste of time. I hated it. I love Sushi and there is a guy here in the valley. Sushi Nozawa is great. Also one across the hill on Sawtelle between Santa Monica and Olympic called Sasa Bumi. Once you eat the sushi, it spoils you for other sushi."

HSHost says "Is it hard for you guys to go out?"

LindenAshby says "I don't have that level of celebrity. It is a good thing and a bad thing. I will look different from project to project and I get much more..l know I know you. With Melrose there is a recognizability but my hair is darker and longer now and the people that generally come up, I love it. I am very grateful."

LL69 asks "do you believe in witch craft?"

LindenAshby says "I don't know. I am pretty much of a Missouri person. Show me. I hope it is good witchcraft or don't point it in my direction. I believe in evil and I believe in good."

guest206 asks "Do you have an interest in the paranormal?"

LindenAshby says "Yes, very much so."

Sid asks "what is something you wish people would ask you that they never do?"

LindenAshby says "Why in the beginning of movies where the popcorn guy and he is dating the Pepsi girl and then he goes to the counter and buys candy and the whole theater is eating little candies and popcorn it is like cannibalism. It bothers be every time I see that."

LindenAshby says "Who was asking about paranormal and witchcraft."

HSHostZ says "It was just a guest how logged in. Thanks for coming on."

LindenAshby says "Thanks for having me."

HSHost2 says "Linden, thank you so much for joining us tonight. It was a pleasure to have you on the show!"