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That's true. Well, next question I've asked everybody who I talked to already. Kate and Leisha both were saying that when you play a character for so long, you kind of blend with the character. So when you started playing Tina, did you bring your own personality into the character or you actually turned into Tina? Like, I remember one of your interviews where you said that when you played Randy Dean, two months after you were still sort of acting like that character.

LH: Yeah, it's different. That's what happened to me on a film, I think, because the prep was so intense for a movie. Not to say that you wouldn't prep very hard for a TV show, but there're so many elements, you get so many re-writes on TV. You really get re-writes every day that you shoot, so you have to stay a little more open and a little looser. In the feature you prep really, really, really hard and then you go really hard and fast and then you sort of miss the characters that you fall in love with and the character goes away. You have some residue from the character. And when you're on TV and you're still shooting such a long, long, long span of time and the storylines are always changing and developing, it's really different. It's my first long commitment to a television show, so I'm not really sure where the lines start and end. I think, I brought a lot of myself to Tina in the beginning and then I think there's was a lot about me that started to change and I brought that into Tina too. And there were a lot of things in Tina that I wanted to change, even if they actually weren't likable. I actually wanted her to be a little bitchier, more unpredictable.

Not a girl next door anymore.
LH: No, no way. It's just sort of been hard for me as an actress to keep repeating that and even in season 5 there are some aspects of her that sometimes are likable and sometimes they aren't. I wanted to embrace that because I feel like you can never judge your character when you're playing them to do it really well and you can't worry about your vanity and likeability, I think, to be a true artist. You have to work with where you find the truths are and not worry. Like, sometimes I feel like you watch something and you're like, "God, why does this person always sort of get watery eyed and cry on every take?" It's boring, you know what I mean? Because every actress can cry, of course, that's why we're there but it's more interesting to watch someone hold back or like try not to cry when they are about to. There're so many different ways to play things and sometimes it's more interesting to play something that sometimes is uncomfortable to watch. What I like about Ilene is that's what she writes. I think she helped me grow as an actress because I've done some things on The L Word that I've never done in any film.

Because of all the different scenarios and different storylines.
LH: Yeah, even the final scene of season 1, which is very uncomfortable to watch but I'm so quite proud of getting it done.

It was very powerful.
LH: Yeah.

 

At this point I was given a two-minute warning and Laurel explained that she had to fly out that night, so I only had time for a few more questions.

 

You were asked about that tractor scene during Q&A. It was actually one of my friends and a TiBetter as well.
LH: I have to be honest; I don't remember it very well, because if it's not, like, Bette and Tina then I don't really pay much attention (laughing).

Well, it sort of connected to Bette and Tina storyline because Bette stole that sign, "17 Reasons Why", and then assembled it later.
LH: But it's a cute fun thing to do to Jodi and I was like, I don't want to watch that cute fun thing that she does to Jodi. Why do I want to watch that? (laughing again)

Do you think, personally that this was a romantic gesture?
LH: Oh yeah, it's romantic.

Because I found it kind of ridiculous.
LH: Oh, really? I think it's romantic. It's visual; it's a TV show. It's a visual thing to do on TV.

I guess, though I don't agree with that.
LH: Bette is an artist too. It's very appealing to Jodi's sensibilities and it's smart, so.

Well, Bette did this grand gesture to Jodi to win her back and she knew her maybe for a couple of months but in 7 years with Bette and Tina we never saw Bette doing anything grand for Tina, at least from whatever they showed to us, except for, like, bringing her flowers. So the question is, if Bette will prove to Tina that she still loves her, does she have to do some kind of a grand gesture, as well and if she will, what would it be? I mean, when Bette finally realizes that Tina actually is the love of her life and she wants Tina back.
LH: Nothing. I don't think it's that easy for either one of them. I'm still not sure that Tina would want her back either. It's not like a ping-pong paddle, it's not like one breaks up and then the other's available. Tina's obviously missing Bette, but then she may start dating so it could be other people in the mix. It's not as simple as Bette doing a grand gesture. It's literally not about that's where they're at. They're really at the place where they both have to earn it, have to talk about it, and have to process it. So it's not about any kind of thing like courtship or romantic in the beginning. It's literally about the continuation of a relationship, do you hear what I'm saying? They are not courting each other, so no, no grand gestures. Talking about the mistakes you've made and the only thing that those characters can have left right now to talk about. They have to talk about how they behaved because people can't behave that way and then get back together and assume things are going to work again.

Will they talk in season 5 about that?
LH: They might, yeah.

In the new promos that they showed to us, there're a lot of intense conversations going on between Bette and Tina.
LH: Yeah, it's going to be more.

So when you said we might be happy, in what sense TiBetters might be happy?
LH: I don't know. I don't know what the TiBetters all want?

We want Bette and Tina back together.
LH: There are different ways of being together.

In what ways do you think they might be together?
LH: I don't know, it's just so many different ways.

What ways are they going to show us?
LH: I can't say that or I might get fired (laughing).

One more question then. Can you describe Tina in one sentence?
LH: Complex.

 

Well, it was one word, and then Laurel was gone with the wind so she wouldn't miss her flight. I was left alone in a room, smiling like an idiot and reliving those few wonderful moments with my favorite actress from the show. She was amazing and very nice. I had more questions left to ask her, so I hope I will have that chance again during L4 Convention in London next year.