By SP

Dana Delany was a guest star in one episode of the third season of The L Word as Barbara Grisham, the married senator from Massachusetts and a closeted lesbian. On the Forum of her Official website, the actress wrote excitedly to her fans on July 18, 2005, “I also was in Vancouver to do an episode of ‘The L Word.’ I don’t want to give anything away, but I will tell you that all of my scenes were with Jennifer Beals and I play a Senator. Everyone treated me great and it was fun to be back in Vancouver with some of the old crew from ‘Pasadena’.”

Dana Delany is one of the Hollywood stars that inspire instant respect and admiration in her fans. She is not afraid of what may be perceived as unconventional and risky, but she’s also “… unapologetically choosy about her work,” as we can read in an article Shake, Rattle and Roll, Dana on Roll (1999). As Delany said in that article, “Whenever somebody asks me to do a project that doesn’t feel right, I just can’t. People say they haven’t seen my work in a while but it’s by choice.”

Not only it has to feel right, there is also something special that Delany is looking for in the scripts, as she mentioned in her AOL Chat about Shake Rattle and Roll (November 5, 1999). She said that she’s looking mainly for “A three-dimensional character. Surprises. Spare writing and edge.”

Dana Delany is known mainly for her Emmy Award winning role on the TV show China Beach (ABC, 1988-1991). As we read in Delany’s biography from her Official website, “The significant break for Dana occurred when she was cast as Colleen McMurphy on the highly acclaimed China Beach, airing from 1988 to 1991, bringing her intense media attention. This role not only garnered 2 Emmy awards, but 2 other Emmy nominations, and 2 Golden Globe nominations.”

According to the article Choices of the Heart and Translations (1995),  “… after lots and lots of auditions, she won the China Beach part over one other finalist: Helen Hunt, now of Mad About You.” In this article Delany said, “I’ve never mentioned it before … But now I can say it, because she’s a big star.”

In AOL Chat about Shake Rattle and Roll, Delany mentioned that Colleen McMurphy was her favorite character and that she loves to do the period pieces because, as she wrote, “I like dressing differently, acting differently and talking differently.”

Talking about this role, the actress also mentioned in the same chat that Colleen McMurphy “… taught me to be more compassionate. I never believed in altruism until I met nurses who had served in Vietnam.” In fact, Delany went to Vietnam and also visited the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Vietnam Women's Memorial in DC. She wrote about it in her Chat on Prodigy (1997) when she said, “… I’ve been to both. I know the women who got the women’s memorial put up. It’s always a moving experience to go there...”

In the same Prodigy chat Delany was also talking about the emotional aspect of her work on China Beach series and how the intensity of making it affected her personally. The actress said, “I always feel like when I’m working hard, it’s the most enjoyable. So at the end of the day I’d be exhausted, but I’d feel calm, like I’d been well-used. And that’s a good feeling. I think we should all feel that way about our work.”

All in all, the Dana Delany’s role on China Beach “might have been the launching pad for Delany as a major film or TV star,” as we read in the article Choices of the Heart and Translations.

Colleen McMurphy made Delany’s career sky-rocketing but even since 1970’s the actress appeared in many TV series and films, as well as on stage and Broadway shows.

In her Chat on Prodigy Delany spoke about her love for acting and the first time she appeared on TV, “I’ve wanted to be an actress since I knew I could get my father’s attention! Which was about three. The only other thing I've fantasized about was being an FBI agent. I read a lot of mysteries as a kid … My first job was a commercial for Carefree sugarless gum, and my first acting job was for Love of Life soap opera.” However, the actress also mentioned in that chat she doesn’t believe “that children should be actors.

I've seen too much damage done.”

Delany’s Official Website biography provides a lot of additional information on her adult acting career.

“Her early career included a TV role on Love of Life (1979), performing on Broadway in A Life (1980), then back to TV on As The World Turns (1981). The west coast production of the controversial play Bloodmoon (1983-1984) took Dana to Hollywood. The next few years consisted of parts in various films and TV guest spots, including an appearance on Moonlighting (1985) and 3 notable episodes of Magnum P.I. (1986).”

“Leveraging this newfound fame, Dana appeared in feature films such as Light Sleeper (1992), Housesitter (1992), and Tombstone (1993), and TV movies such as Promise to Keep (1991), and Wild Palms (1993). Dana still took on controversial roles such as Margaret Sanger in the TV movie Choices of the Heart (1995), Mistress Lisa in the 1994 feature film adaptation of the Anne Rice book Exit to Eden, and an Emmy nominated role as a gun-owning mother in an episode of the TV series Family Law (1999).

Speaking of Exit to Eden. It was a role that Delany certainly enjoyed making, even if the movie wasn’t received well by the critics and the audience. In the article From China beach to Broadway Dana Delany takes on Brian Friel’s ‘Translations’ (1995) Delany shared her thoughts on her role in that movie. “I’m sorry it didn’t turn out well, but I had a lot of fun … I think I did very brave work in it, things a lot of actresses wouldn’t have dared try. In a way, I’m glad I’m not a star who feels she has to maintain an image. I don’t feel that responsibility.”

As we continue to read in Delany’s biography on the Official Website, “The latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s showed Dana's preference for projects that challenged her. Thus, she focused on roles in such TV series as Pasadena (2001) and Presidio Med (2002); TV movies like True Women (1997), Resurrection (1999), A Time to Remember (2003) and Baby for Sale (2004); and feature films by indie film producers, such as The Outfitters (1999), and Spin (2003).”

As an actor, Delany likes to immerse herself in her roles, to study them and to live them. As we read in the article Shake, Rattle and Roll, Dana on Roll, “Dana Delany is a woman who will go to any length for a role.”

When Delany was preparing herself for her role in True Women, a true story about female pioneers on the Texas frontier, she talked about it in the article True Women: True Frontier (1997) in Denver Rocky Mountain News. “Delany said she and the other actresses ‘delved into’ the characters of the women. ‘We did more than simply learn how to fire a rifle, ride a horse and speak with a Texas accent … We spent time in a library near Austin (where filming was done) soaking up valuable background material.”

In her Chat on Prodigy Delany also talked about her acting and how she tries to make it real. She said that she likes “those rare moments when it’s pure truth. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it’s magic … I just believe what I’m doing, and I’m very clear about what my character wants. And if I find myself acting, I stop.”