Jane Krakowski
The name behind the face
by JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ, 9/98

What's it like to play the secretary people love to hate?
"I've heard it all," says actress Jane Krakowski, when asked about fan feedback to her "Ally McBeal" alter ego, Elaine Vassal. "That she's annoying. A nympho. A gnat they want to swish away." But Krakowski -- a veteran of soaps, Broadway musicals and feature films -- is unfazed. "I'd rather elicit a reaction than just have people be OK with me, or not even notice me," she says. "That's the key to Elaine -- she wants to be invited to the party. She wants to be noticed."
In the real world, getting noticed has become an unavoidable fact of life for the 29-year-old New Jersey native, thanks to the "very unexpected" success of "Ally McBeal" (the award-wining show airs on Fox Mondays at 9 pm ET/PT). If the show hasn't made her a household name, she's become a household face.

Her Background

Reflecting on her career, Krakowski says, "I've had busy times as an actress and I've had not busy times as an actress. ... I appreciate when jobs come like this -- especially when the work is this good." If that sounds like something spoken from a seasoned pro, it is. Krakowski, who is single (she has a boyfriend, but the relationship is "so new" she declines to give his name), has been working since she was 15. That's when she was cast as T.R. Kendall, a troubled teen on the soap "Search For Tomorrow." She chalked up two Emmy nominations in as many years before making her Broadway debut (on roller skates, no less) in "Starlight Express." That led to her Tony-nominated role in "Grand Hotel." More stage work and small parts on television and in movies followed.

Working with Calista Flockhart

"I am completely proud to be on this show," says Jane Krakowski. The same goes for working with star Calista Flockhart, who plays Ally McBeal. Although Elaine and Ally haven't always seen eye to eye (it's been reported that they'll date the same guy this season, in fact), Krakowski considers Flockhart a close friend. The two have known each other for years, and Krakowski's best friend was Flockhart's college roommate.

"I have a great connection to Calista," Krakowski says. It turns out they share the same agent and, during a day off in 1997 from respective Broadway shows (Krakowski in "Once Upon a Mattress"; Flockhart in "The Three Sisters"), they flew to Los Angeles together to audition for "Ally." That they both got the gig, says Krakowski, "was a very rare, very happy outcome."
Krakowski says of working with Flockhart, "My favorite scenes -- or I should say the most complex scenes -- in 'Ally' have been with her, because a) she inspires that and b) [the show's creator] David Kelley has an amazing way of understanding woman-to-woman relationships."
As for Flockhart's flighty, flaky, miniskirted alter ego? She bears little resemblance to the real thing. "Calista's the anchor," says Krakowski, adding that Flockhart's success -- and her Best Actress Golden Globe -- didn't go to her head. "She never wavered on the top priority, which was the work -- day in and day out."

New Projects

Physics has it that a body in motion will stay in motion. And that has proven to be the case for Krakowski since she landed her role on "Ally."
During hiatus from the show this year, she filmed the independent feature "Go," which was directed by "Swingers" helmsman Doug Liman and features "really cool up-and-comers" such as Scott Wolf, Katie Holmes and Breckin Meyer. She's also recorded a Paul Simon tribute album due out this fall.

But if Elaine Vassal seems like a girl who can't say no, Krakowski has no problem nixing offers she isn't truly, madly, deeply in love with. She turned down a job with a big-name star in a big-budget film that she prefers to keep nameless. (Imagine Elaine being discreet about anything!)
"Lots of things have been coming in," she says, adding that Hollywood has already started to typecast her. "I was sent a lot of scripts for a bunch of roles over the summer, but they seemed to consistently be very similar to Elaine. I didn't really want to do anything like that."
One project she desperately wanted -- and landed -- was "Dance with Me," which opened in August and also stars Vanessa L. Williams. What made this romantic dance movie so special? "I started dancing when I was 3," she explains. "It was the passion of my life. A leotard was like a second skin."

Life After "Ally"

When asked if she can imagine life after the show, Krakowski says, "I think 'Ally' is a great show and I would hope it would go on for a long while." But she concedes that Allymania can't last forever. "Who knows? I don't know if it's too much of a moment kind of thing. I don't know if it will stay in favor," she says. "As long as [the show's creator] David Kelley will stay, though, I think we'll be all right."

In the meantime, Krakowski promises that -- except for a new lawyer played by Portia Derossi -- the show hasn't changed much. So the outrageous Elaine is up to her old tricks? "Absolutely," she says. "In fact, she had another great invention in the first episode that was moved, so it'll show up later in the season." Stay tuned.