Miracle Laurie

Miracle Laurie is originally from Huntington Beach, CA - part of the "OC" as it is referred to now. She’s acted in theatre since the age of 7 and has her degree in Drama from U.C. Irvine. She had her first piano lesson at the age of 5 and has been a Polynesian dancer pretty much since she could walk. She has been lucky enough to dance with such Hawaiian Greats as Bill Tapia and Rev. Dennis Kamakahi . She modeled for a few years and even appeared on the cover of Teen Magazine. A few years ago she and her man fell in love with the ukulele and formed Uke Box Heroes - a very groovy ukulele cover band. Currently, she’s living the dream as Mellie/November/Madeline on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse.

Miracle recently stopped by the Two Doctors Radio Show to talk to the panel (Kenn, Jim, Frank, and Jeff)about her character in season 2 of Fox’s Dollhouse, how she got the role, and what it is like working with Joss Whedon.

Kenn> We had the show come back a few weeks ago with a great episode, then we got to see the return of your character the 2nd week. But the ratings weren’t as good as maybe everyone would have liked. What’s the mood like around the set, or have you talked to any of the other cast members?

Miracle> I’ve only talked to a couple. A lot them were actually shooting that day and didn’t get to watch it live, but I sure did. I was with family and friends, and all my buddies watched. You know, our ratings weren’t super last year, so I don’t know that any of us are terribly worried. Obviously, the better they are, the better chance we have of getting the back nine, and of getting a full season, so of course we want the best for the show. But I think that Fox saw that our fans love us no matter what, and will buy the DVDs, and watch it on iTunes and Hulu, and they’ll find it anyway they can. I think that Fox knows that, and I’m hoping that eventually the point becomes moot, if we don’t get the crazy good numbers that I think we deserve. We just wrapped episode six and it’s outstanding. Every script just gets better and better, and it’s all about character, which I think is the heart of the show. I think it’s going to be great, and I’m not worried. I don’t think any of us are.

Kenn> That’s great to hear, and I think we’ll breathe a collective sigh of relief here. What was it like to have the character come back?

Miracle> It was great. As we know, last year in episode 12, she got released from her contract by Paul. So we get to see what it’s like for her to live in the real world now, knowing that she was at this place for a few years, and she feels about it. And we see how she is coping with the loss of her daughter, because that still turns up in actual fact. We kind of get to meet Madeline and her world and see where it goes from there.

Jim>Without revealing spoilers, are you going to be interacting with Paul Ballard at all in the 2nd season?

Miracle> Yeah, and it’s not a spoiler, so I can say it. Some of the promo pictures were just released, so I’m not giving anything away. They do, and it’s interesting. I kind of get brought back into the dollhouse pretty quickly; not necessarily as a doll again. But you can see that Madeline/November is still a part of the dollhouse family in a way. I think once you connect, you’re always connected at some level. But you definitely get to see her interact with Paul again. And it’s awkward for him to say the least.

Jim>It seemed in the first episode that Paul was interacting with Echo, and there’s definitely a relationship there, more than just “I want to protect you.” There might be a love going on, and if that’s the case, do you sort of cause a complication with that situation?

Miracle> It looks kind of complicated. The thing I got is that he really does want to take care of her. But that’s been the same since last season. He had this crazy fixation about Echo, and this connection that he couldn’t put his finger on. I think now that he is in the dollhouse, it’s just more readily available. He can take care of her. In that last episode, he was the client. They’d imprinted her as his FBI partner, so they could bring down the Jamie Bamber character. So that’s sort of love, and if this is flirtation, I just think men and women flirt. That’s the way it is. Of course they may get together, but she’s a doll. She’s not a person of her own mind. So I think to manage that would be a bit of a risk. But you never know with Joss, he likes to do the twisty turny. But I think in this episode, it’s just him wanting to take care of her. But when he meets me, it’s going to be awkward, he was in love with me, and Mellie was in love with him. But I’m Madeline. I don’t know who the hell this guy is. It’s clearly awkward for Mr. Ballard, which is always fun to watch.

Jeff>Back in episode 12, there were some promo pictures showing November and Sierra at the lair where Alpha had taken you. Was that footage cut, or was it just shot for promotion.

Miracle> I was a little bummed, I was like “That’s the hottest I’ve looked all season, and you cut it!”I was so bummed. It was really fun, In the begging of the episode, when they realize that they’ve lost Echo as well, they imprint Sierra and I as the bounty hunters. So that scene is still there. But we did two or three scenes I think as bounty hunters, in that gear you saw in the promo pics to go and try to find him, but actually they’re all on the deleted scenes if you buy the DVDs, and the is one really fun interaction with me and Paul, where I clock him with my gun. It’s hilarious. We did shoot all of that, and it was a favorite for everyone involved, but there was just too much going on in that episode, so it had to get cut. But you can see it in the deleted scenes.

Jeff> I’ll track that down. Can you tell us something about this webseries that you are involved in, The Cabonauts? Miracle> Hayden Black produced it. He also did a series called Goodnight Burbank, which was a breakthrough for him. Then he created this sci-fi musical comedy, which was a hoot and holler to me. It takes place in the future. It was cool, I got to dress up in a fun, funky outfit, and get a little fro-hawk. It was very, very out there, and very goofy. James C. Cleary, who played Clem, the loose-skinned demon on Buffy played my husband in the webisode, so we were guest stars on the show. (The show also stars Star Trek’s Nichelle Nicholls) It’s not going to be a permanent gig, we were just lucky enough to be the first guest stars on the show, and it was a good time. I think it’s going to be released in October, and I have to update my website of course.

(Check out the trailer for The Cabonauts)

Frank> I always like to get on the lighter side of actors, and people that I talk to on these shows. So, if you had a favorite movie, what movie could you watch over and over, and over again?

Miracle> I’m kind of known for my love of really, really bad 80’s movies. I have watched over, and over, Staying Alive, which is the sequel to Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta. Don’t tell anyone, but it’s one of my favorite movies ever. And Clue, I think, is a good one. And a new one, because I really like heist movies, the Inside Man with Denzel Washington, and Jodie Foster is in it. I kind of watch that. But we all have these movies that when they are on TV, we just can’t help it. I love the classics. I love the old black and whites; Jimmy Stewart, Danny K. Anything they were in, I could watch on a constant basis.

Frank>We heard you do some music on the ukulele, can we get the inside on how you go about that?

Miracle> Sure, yeah. I grew up in the Hawaiian community as a Polynesian dancer, and a few years ago, my two sisters, my mother, and another woman friend of ours formed an all female Hawaiian music group. This other woman and I were their dancers. We went around and did that for awhile. My younger sister said you’ve got to try these ukuleles, you’re going to love it. I said no, these guys are the singers, and I dance, and I’m cool. She said, no, you’ll love it. When I picked it up, it just filled me with so much joy. She taught me one little 4 chord song, and I just couldn’t put it down. It just instantly made me happy. If you have any kind of musical training, it’s much easier to pick up than you’d think. Of course, being good at anything takes practice, and my fiancé and I were working on stuff. But anyway, I fell in love with it, and my fiancé, Christopher May picked it up and he was kind of a natural. We started just playing Hawaiian music together, because that’s all we really knew on the uke. Then one day he said, “Wouldn’t these songs sound great on the ukele?” So we pulled down the sheet music from the computer, and just started doing a bunch of 60’s, 70’s, 80’s 90’s cover tunes. It was just rockin, and we thought, “Let’s make it a group.” So we’re the Uke Box Heroes. And we’re really trying hard to get stuff up on iTunes and that kind of stuff and get some gigs coming up later this year. We’re going to be back in New York in October for a convention, and we’re going to try to get some gigs out there, so we’ll see if we can turn it into something. I know we have quite a few MySpace fans that keep track and really love our stuff, so we’d love to meet and play for them.

Kenn> How big of a deal is MySpace in trying to start a musical career? Do you find that really helps you having that visibility to get stuff out there?

Miracle> I’m kind of, to be honest, not so bright when it comes to my computer. It’s all been a learning process for me. But MySpace was created for musicians. That’s it’s purpose, and it’s very accessible to put any of your stuff on there. We have a Mac and use Garage Band. I’m sure PCs have programs too that you can use. It’s really, really simple. You put some pictures up there, and do a little bio and contact information. We have other friends that have great little bands around town, and they can upload their whole calendar on there, so it’s really great. What I’ve noticed is that a lot of bands and musicians friend each other, and go seeking out new artists in their genre or others. I just think it’s a great community, and a great base to build a community in the musician world. I’d say that anyone that is thinking about it should get their stuff up there as soon as they can, and start friending people and building relationships. Then the fans can find you too.

Kenn> It sounds like a really fun thing you are doing. I didn’t know that about you until I was reading your bio, and saw that, so it’s neat to see the page there.

Miracle> Great, I’m glad you like it. I was doing a convention back in England earlier this year and a lot of our MySpace friends are from there, and were at the convention. They said, “Did you bring your ukes, would you mind playing?” And Chris and I actually got to do a couple of tunes each day. They just loved it, and it was so fun to meet people that we’d met on line in person. It was really, really wording, and we just do it because it makes us happy. And it makes other people happy, so it’s good to be able to do what you love whether you get paid or not.

Kenn> Being a part of a Joss Whedon series has to be cool. How did you feel when you first heard you had this role? And was that a big deal, or did you know his work from Buffy and other things?

Miracle> Yeah, I came into Buffy a little late. A friend of mine introduced me to it, and I completely fell in love. I thought it was one of the most interesting things on television. Then when I was getting my degree down in Orange County, I’d drive up to LA and every once in awhile I’d go to these casting workshops. One of their casting directors met me when I was just nineteen, and brought me in to audition for Buffy the next day. I didn’t get it, then she brought me in several times over the remaining years of the show. I’d get call backs, and get really close, but no cigar for a long time. And then Angel came and went, and then Firefly came around, and I was up for the role of Kaylee. I think I was one of the top 8 choices or something, then they went with Jewel, which was brilliant. For me, the love affair has lasted a long time whether they knew it or not. So it was just a matter of time before something worked, and I saw the breakdown for November, and read the sides that I had to audition with. I just thought, “This is mine, and if I don’t get this job, it’s my fault because it’s meant for me.” You rarely, truly feel that way as an actor, that this is mine. I tried not to freak out for the audition when Joss was sitting across from me, and I did it, and Joss loved it. The rest was history. I’ve just been ecstatic since day one. The first day on set, I almost had a heart attack, I was just so excited. And Joss has a great crew. He’s been around long enough that he doesn’t have to put up with things from people that he doesn’t want to, and he has people that have worked with him for seven years; his artistic directors and writers that he knows. And he has new ones that are really, really great and have a lot of potential. It’s just a great atmosphere, and the rest of the cast is outstanding. It’s fun to be a part of it in any way. Amy Acker and I used to joke that we’d work craft services if they’d let us, to just be a part of everything. It’s a dream come true.

Kenn> The next question I had, I think you just answered. It was kind of a surprise for me when Mellie turned out to be a doll, and I guess I’d been missing the spoilers for that. So you went into it knowing that you were going to be a doll going in?

Miracle> Right. I was cast as November, so they knew forever that I’d be a doll. But Mellie was kind of just a happy accident. They had a whole other idea of how to bring me into the story and into the show, then in that same episode to reveal that I was a doll. They were just going to get it out of the way, but have a cool twist to it. But Fox didn’t like it, they thought it was confusing and boring, and the whole episode was re-written. So they thought that maybe we can have this girl be a plant, but she doesn’t know she’s a plant. When you are a doll, you believe everything that they tell you. But Mellie was just a total fluke, and it ended up being what I thought was one of the coolest plots of all last season, and a great way to help Paul’s story.