Sasha Alexander and Angie Harmon star in 'Rizzoli & Isles.' (TNT)
Angie Harmon plays detective Jane Rizzoli on the hit TNT show "Rizzoli & Isles." The Dallas native and former model, who got her break in ‘Baywatch Nights,’ is happily married to ex-NFL player Jason Sehorn, the mother of three girls, and a proud Republican. Harmon spoke to Fox411.com about her uncanny resemblance to Ali McGraw, being a working mom and the parties she would throw in the White House if she was the first lady!
FOX411: Were you worried about taking another role in the law enforcement area?
Angie Harmon: No I think with ‘Rizzoli & Isles,’ yes, there’s the aspect of the cop drama but there’s also the humanity of our back stories and our lives and our families. It’s not strictly quote unquote a cop show. As an actor all we want to do is act and play people. I read the script and saw it was a character that was not only a homicide detective but a daughter, a girlfriend, a friend, obviously that’s going to be a lot more interesting than the usual procedural show.
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FOX411: I have to ask something. Are you Ali McGraw’s secret love child?
Harmon: We have met and it was literally like looking in a mirror. I can only say thank you so much because she is such a beautiful lady and not just physically. I mean that spiritually, emotionally, just who she is as a person is quite extraordinary. So even to be put in the same sentence as her is a really great honor. I can only hope to live up to her standard.
FOX411: You have three daughters. Does your husband, ex-New York Giants football player Jason Sehorn help?
Harmon: Yes he does which is really lovely. I’m so blessed. Jason works in my off season and I work in his. He’s an anchor on ESPNU and now that college football is over we both have time off. It’s just us and the girls. We don’t have help. We have help when I’m shooting simply because it’s the summer vacation but the rest of the time it’s just us. On summer vacations Jason can only stand going to whatever girly teapot store so many times a week.
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FOX411: Does Jason ever worry he’s turning into a nine year old girl?
Harmon: No, you could put a pink bow on him and sit him in a pink teapot miniature chair at a tea party, and I have actually walked in and seen that and it’s still no.
FOX411: Does he have a favorite Princess?
Harmon: If he does, I don’t know. He probably likes ‘Cars’ best and ‘Despicable Me’ comes in a close second, because there’s three in that one and those three are very close to how ours are, so we always have a good laugh about that.
FOX411: Are you sometimes amazed at how they bicker?
Harmon: I’m an only child so the whole fighting thing, I don’t understand one bit. I’ll pick up the older two from school, the baby’s home. They’ll hug each other for about 20 seconds and then it becomes bickering and crying and complaining. It literally makes me feel like my uterus is going to fall out. I don’t understand it one bit. Every time they start I’m like, ‘You’re best friends.’ That’s all I say to them.
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FOX411: You and your husband are Republicans. Does that make you feel like you’ve got three heads in Hollywood?
Harmon: Here’s the thing about that. When I quote, unquote came out I had no idea I was doing something that was detrimental to my career. It never occurred to me. I’m an American. I’m going to have an opinion as everybody else does and I was asked a question. The fact that it was turned into that I was a gay hating racist was just heartbreaking. It was really horrible. The fact that most of my close friends are gay. After I quote unquote came out as a Republican, one of my dearest gay friends said to me, ‘You’ve got to go on a T.V. show and tell everyone you like gay people.’ I was like, ‘Why?’ He was like, ‘Because you’re a Republican.’ I was like, ‘I’m sorry who’s stereotyping who?
I did, I went on ‘Chelsea Lately,’ and told the whole story and Chelsea was awesome and as far as me being quote unquote racist, thank God I had Whoopi Goldberg and Sheri Shepherd on ‘The View.’ Whoopi’s exact words were, ‘I’ve known that child since she was 18 years old, there’s not a racist bone in her body.’ Thank God I had these women to stand up for me.
Look our forefathers moved here for freedom of speech and wanting to be able to have their own opinion. I don’t care if you’re Republican or a Democrat or a Liberal, getting crucified for the way you think or believe, obviously if it’s not hurting anyone, it’s just Un-American.
If someone’s not going to hire me because I don’t think the way they think, ok great, its America go ahead but I promise you there are a lot more Republicans in L.A. than people think. Believe me I got all the phone calls of support. I know there are. We’ve become so intolerant of each other that it’s just sickening. It’s just heartbreaking. United we stand, divided we fall. We have got to learn to be tolerant of each other. It’s pretty obvious we’re not going to al think the same way but we’ve got to learn to appreciate every American for the fact that they have the right to think the way they do.
The Democrats have the right to think the way they think, the Republicans have the right to think the way they think. I might not understand everything a Democrat or liberal thinks but hey let’s be honest, I don’t understand some of the things the Republicans think, but that doesn’t make me some dumb hick that doesn’t have the right to live here.
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FOX411: You guys spoke at the Republican Convention in 2004. Senator Sehorn perhaps?
Harmon: I tell you my husband would be the most incredible Governor, Senator, President, he’d be fantastic. Can you imagine the parties I would throw in that house? They’d be fantastic, and we’d be smart enough not to spend the taxpayer’s money, so it’d be okay.
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