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B&TF: True. Well, back to the convention for a second. You know, before each convention, Sean puts out polls and asks us who we want to see. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been here so many times; everybody wants to see Laurel again. You’re always at the top; either first or second…next to Kate because you know everyone loves Shane.

LH: (laughing). I had no idea.

B&TF: Yeah, it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been here, we still want to see you.

LH: I had no idea. I don’t even know. Somebody told me that on OurChart I had 42 thousand hits or something like that.

B&TF: It’s true. Tina’s thread is the biggest on OC just because the fans love you…

LH: They do? It’s so awesome (laughing).

B&TF: You have a lot of followers because Tina is one of the “most” favorite characters to many fans.

LH: I had no idea. I thought it would be Kate or Jennifer. It’s just awesome. OurChart is a great website, so is the l-word.com and AfterEllen.com.

B&TF: Thank you. By the way, speaking of OurChart. We know that Jennifer, Kate and Leisha sometimes contribute to its contents. Were you ever asked to be a part of it?

LH: Yes. I did an interview with Ilene Chaiken on OurChart.

B&TF: Yes, that vlog thing when you were wearing the “I see you” t-shirt.

LH: Yes. I’ve seen everybody’s been wearing that t-shirt (laughing).

B&TF: Well, when we saw that video, we researched the origins and found out about the organization and we found out it was for charity so we all decided to buy the shirts and donate to charity.

LH: Did you, guys? That’s so great.

B&TF: Yeah, we were like, “If Laurel’s behind it, it means something so we have to support it.”

LH: (laughing) Yes, it’s things like that that are totally cool. Here’s the thing. At the end of the day when the show is over I’m just Laurel, the actress. I’m just trying to focus on what’s important, and last year what was important was my adoption and I was offered the lead in a movie but I dropped out to do the adoption. I never auditioned for it. It was a straight offer. I wanted to be back working and do things like that but again, I feel like I’m in this really great place, reaching between the balance in my life and the balance of my work and I don’t want to be concerned about the work all the time. And I want to be really, really careful about what I do now. I think for woman getting older as an actor you need to have a lot of faith that there will be something there for you to do and as an artist I have to faith in that. Pam Grier is probably one of my biggest inspirations and she has the most amazing attitude. She’s one of my favorite people to work with and she’s been in the business for a really long time. She’s super savvy and she lives her life to the fullest. She’s just an inspiration to me and I just think about how I want to be when I get older and what I want to do and I just want to try to find that balance, you know?

B&TF: Thank you. Okay, now a Bette and Tina question.

LH: Bette and Tina question? No…really? (laughing)

B&TF: You know I have to ask at least one (laughing). On Ilene’s “Secret Ingredients” videos she was doing after each episode during Season 5, she mentioned that both Jennifer and you were a little nervous to do the love scenes because of the expectations of the fans and so many fans wanted their favorite couple to reunite. How was it for you to film those scenes?

LH: I wasn’t nervous. I don’t know, I think we’ve just done a lot of sex scenes and I think for me at that moment the priority was not to be repetitive or if we were going to bring something back, to do it in a really beautiful way.

B&TF: I was talking to Rose Troche about the second love scene in that episode because it was basically a mirror image of the Pilot love scene and Rose explained that it was done on purpose as a nostalgic moment for Bette and Tina.

LH: Yeah, I think whenever anything comes about Bette and Tina, they really listened to what Jennifer and I had to say because we’ve been living in the character’s skins for so long. Sometimes the writers get overwhelmed at how many characters they have, they have a lot to do and I think that if there’s something untrue…like it was something in Season 6 that reminded me of the way Tina would have behaved in Season 1 and I just said, “I don’t see myself behaving this way because I’ve spent six years creating this arch, can we change it a little bit?” And Ilene was awesome. She said, “Yeah, it’s a great idea. I think you’re right.” By the same token, it’s also good to listen to the director and a writer because you’ve got to make sure that your ego is not making that decision. You need to find that balance.

One of the issues was that my character had a moment of jealousy, which I actually really enjoyed playing, because I like playing those little mood scenes but my character handles it in a different way and then realizes that the end doesn’t bother her or what’s real. And Tina’s this character that’s super comfortable in her skin and super comfortable with who she is and being jealous would make her uncomfortable because this is a trait she doesn’t want to have. It’s an ego trait and I think what you end up seeing is that she’s not threatened at all by Elizabeth Berkley’s character because she isn’t a character she respects. I think it’s not so much about the situation but it’s about the trust that you have in your partnership.

B&TF: So basically Tina has trust in Bette now…

LH: I think it’s something that has to be explored based on Bette’s history. I can’t give you any answers because I can’t really reveal anything but I think that’s a really important thing to explore, especially partnerships when there’s been a betrayal or someone has trouble with the monogamy aspect. There’s always a character that needs lots of attention, attention through work, attention through this and then there’s a character that just needs love, and I understand that and I see that dynamic in lots of partnerships. When something comes up and Tina feels like, “God, Bette’s used to having a lot of attention and she needs it” and that’s something that frightens her but I think what she realizes is that it’s also something that she loves about her. I think that if you love your partner, you have to sort of dig deep and accept certain things. Attention is not necessarily a bad thing. I understand it because in my life I tend to need more attention than Tina did. I’m very different from her. Actors need a lot of attention (laughing).

B&TF: That’s true; I think we all need attention (laughing). So, you know that you have a lot of followers, TiBetters. How does it make you feel that Jennifer’s and your characters are the most popular couple on the show?

LH: I don’t know if it’s the most popular. I don’t know if that’s the fact but I know there are a lot of Talice fans.

B&TF: Fans even petitioned for Jennifer and you to have a spin-off.

LH: I don’t think that it would happen. It’s flattering that people would want to keep seeing us. The minute they wrote the Pilot they knew that they had a couple with a strong chemistry, they had a really strong couple that tried to have a baby and have this very strong family; and I think we kind of an anchor for the show and as a couple we are trying to be role models and we’re trying to have the fairytale, happily ever after, you know.

B&TF: You’re trying to have or you’re having it?

LH: I don’t know. I think you’re always trying. Marriage takes work. It’s not just that you showed up to be married and then it’s happily ever after. You have to work on it for the rest of your life.

B&TF: True. What does it mean personally for you to be a part of such a popular couple?

LH: You know, I just play the character and I do the work. It helps with the writing and the storylines for me to still have issues that come up with that couple. I just connect to them because I’m in the partnership and connect to how difficult it is to work on it and to also connect to the real world when you have a partner to go through life with and not be alone. It’s great to walk in those shoes as a character and then have people really respond to that or relate to that because they’re either already in a partnership or because they want that type of partnership. Again, this is flattering but I don’t wake up and think about it every day. It’s just an aspect of the character, just an aspect of who she is.

B&TF: So there are, of course, people who want Bette and Tina to be together but there are also some fans who wants to see Tina with somebody else, like Helena or Sam from Season 5…

LH: Yeah, that would be great. I wish she had dated a little more but I think it’s just more of a Laurel thing because it’s more of an aspect of my own personality but Tina is more of a relationship person or she’s more of a loner person and I think the casual dating is just not her. She could never live Shane’s life. But I have a different upbringing and they are different people. Tina is just more careful about who she connects too and when she connects; she usually starts from some sort of emotional core. I do think when she has the sex scene with Brenda, she loses herself in it and she thinks, “Wow, I can actually have physical pleasure even if I don’t want to call her the next day, it’s all right.” And I think that was a good thing for Tina to go through and it would be neat to see more of that happen. It’s not in Tina’s personality, though. I wish she had gone to a bar and just picked up a twink but she doesn’t need that attention. That’s the kind of attention that Bette needs. You know what I mean? This is the power trip of it and Tina doesn’t see it as a power trip. And then it’s also so strange to her because she doesn’t act on that type of anger, energy or the sexual power of that. She’s just not a predator.

B&TF: In Paris you mentioned that we will finally learn something about Tina’s family. Why did it take six years to bring it up?

LH: I said the same thing, why did it take so long?

B&TF: Yeah, we even have information about minor characters but not Tina.

LH: It was very frustrating to me.

B&TF: So, we are going to have some information.

LH: Yes, at the very, very end.

B&TF: Is it good?

LH: It makes sense.

B&TF: It makes sense, okay. How often do you and Jennifer improvise your scripts?

LH: Not so much between me and Jennifer but the big group scenes are very improvisational.

B&TF: Since Season 5 is your favorite season, what is your most favorite scene from that season?

LH: The Kiss…SheBar Kiss.

B&TF: Mine too. When I saw it the first time, I cried. And I cried after the second time, too because it was such a wonderful, beautiful moment. When Jennifer explained yesterday [during Q&A] that Bette’s crying wasn’t scripted and was sort of improvised by her, I thought it was just all these emotions.

LH: Jennifer is a great crier. It’s such a great scene and I really loved it because there’s a part of Tina that kind of takes care of Bette in that little moment, like it’s going to be okay.

B&TF: Kind of a nurturing moment?

LH: Yeah, when she kissed her on forehead and rubbed her hair. Jennifer and I don’t tell each other what we’re going to do before our scenes so you have a natural reaction to what happens in those scenes. I didn’t know what was going to happen and I didn’t know what it was going to look like, but I really liked the whole scene. I liked the way Tina’s kind of lonely and depressed and she doesn’t really expect Bette to kiss her at all.

B&TF: The song was perfect, by the way.

LH: This song is my all-time favorite song.

B&TF: Mine too.

LH: It’s such a beautiful song.

B&TF: Actually, when you listen to the whole song, it basically explains the whole Bette and Tina relationship in a way.

LH: It really does. As soon as heard it I was like, “Ilene, what is that song? I love it.”

B&T: They are signaling to me to finish, so I just want to confess that traveling for The L Word, interviewing the cast and writing about it has been one of the happiest times of my life. Sorry, I might cry because I’m really emotional right now.

LH: I think it’s good to be emotional. I’m a big fan of crying. When you cry you feel better.

B&TF: Unless you get puffy eyes and a big red nose, like me. Anyway, the show’s ending and for many fans it will be a sad time because we lived and breathed it for six years. What is your advice on how we can let go and basically move on after it’s over?

LH: Create more shows.

B&TF: You think there will be another show like that?

LH: Write a show, write your stories.

B&TF: Well, we do have a lot of writers on our website.

LH: I noticed that (laughing).

B&TF: Do you read anything?

LH: I just go back into my life. It’s really hard to focus on yourself that much. That’s not my nature; do you know what I’m saying? I don’t want to be on the Internet all the time, looking at what people think about the character. I have two kids, so I want to focus on somebody beside myself.