The Women of Nip/Tuck

The Women of Nip/Tuck, Unaugmented

Nip/Tuck, the edgiest series on television, is back and it's still as sharp as a surgical scalpel. We scheduled consultations with three of the series' sexy leading ladies--Joely Richardson, who plays the put-upon Julia McNamara; Kelly Carlson, the red hot porn producer Kimber; and Jessalyn Gilsig, Christian Troy's AIDS stricken sex addict amour--and came back with some unaugmented conversations.

Joely Richardson
Do you get excited every time you get a new script and you get to see all the unexpected twists and turns the writers have found for you?
Richardson: "Always--and not just my character but the other characters as well."
Are you at the point where the writers solicit you for ideas for Julia?
Richardson: "I got to suggest ideas. I think we all get to suggest ideas--whether they get taken or not is another issue. It was my suggestion that Matt wasn't her son [with Sean], because I thought if Matt is their son there's no mileage, where if Matt isn't their son it makes everything more complicated, and maybe they'd had that idea before but I was the one who said 'I think it's got to be Julian's son."

What's coming up this season for Julia?
Richardson: "You know I can't tell you this! All I can tell you is that Julia gets out of the kitchen and gets out of her marriage."

How do you describe your personal style?
Richardson: "I'm more toward the classic style, I think. Styles are ever-changing, but I think now people are thinking about classical styles at last, because we've all seen how faddish it is."

Do you style yourself or have some help?
Richardson: "Up until just recently I picked everything out myself, but recently I started working with Jessica Pasteur."

Who was your very first TV crush?
Richardson: "Nick Nolte--He was a really good-looking guy and he was in Rich Man, Poor Man, and I saw it as a kid and I thought 'Ooo, he's cute.' And it was really weird years later when I ended up working with him. I never told him."

Kelly Carlson
Are the writers soliciting any ideas from you for your character?
Carlson:
"That's an interesting question because last year I came up with the idea for the hand, the fortune teller telling her she was changing. I did come up with a couple little things, not actual storylines, and I don't know if we're going to use them but I do think about it--A LOT--and present them to Ryan Murphy. 'Um, well, do you think maybe I could--I mean, you don't HAVE to…' It's not really a good argument, but he's like 'No, it's great.'"
What's happening with the Kimber doll [the sex doll made in her image]? You had it at one point--
Carlson: "My godparents have her. They They're keeping her safe."

How do you describe your own personal style?
Carlson: "I'd say sophisticated with a hint of glitz to it. I like to stand out but I also like to be very safe. Everybody knows I always wear black or white, so I'm not risky--or risqué--at all, but I do like to show a little skin as long as it's balanced."

Are you your own stylist or do you have someone who helps you out?
Carlson: "My godmother, who's the most incredible dresser-she helps me a lot. But she actually OWNS the Armani stuff. I'm the borrower."

Are you doing anything new exercise or dietwise?
Carlson: "I work out three days a week with my trainer John, and I just drink a lot of water and stay away from the sugar. When you don't eat sugar and you drink a soda, you're like BLECH!' I eat everything in moderation, I don't really diet, unless I'm not working out. You know? If I'm working out three or four days a week, I can--like I had mashed potatoes today, and it's all about--oh no, I ate at Louise's in the valley, and I had mashed potatoes, they're my favorite food, so I have to be responsible and work out because it's my responsibility to be fit on Nip/Tuck, so I can have a job. Quite frankly. So it's all just a balance."

Who are your professional role models?
Carlson: "I have my favorites for different things. I love Meryl Streep, I love Sharon Stone. I love Demi Moore because she's so good with emotional scenes. They all fit into different categories and they all inspire me."

How long does it take you to get ready for a red carpet event?
Carlson: "Two hours. I take my time. I worked for MAC cosmetics for six years, so I always do my own make up, and I grew up in a house with a salon, and I always do my own hair. And I even do it a lot on the show. I'm lucky."