Hollyoaks actress Linda Gray talks about working with Dallas star Larry Hagman
She reveals the actor who played the infamous JR Ewing would make her laugh every day
For this week's My Life interview, TV Magazine speaks to Hollyoaks star Linda Gray.
I had a very strict Catholic upbringing. It was very: ‘Good girls don’t do that.’ This was a time when you were seen and not heard. Inwardly, I was very outgoing, but on the outside I was very shy. I was a very sheltered and middle-class young girl.
I have a very hard time with stars now who don’t sign autographs. I grew up opposite MGM [in California, USA], the biggest movie studios ever, and the stars were so kind. After school, I would walk across the street in my uniform with my girlfriends and sit on the kerb, and all the movie stars would stop and sign. I’m sure it was a pain for them but they all did it. Now when I see someone who doesn’t, I think: ‘If it wasn’t for those fans you wouldn’t be here.’
The day that changed my life was the day when my sister, Betty, died of breast cancer. She was 43. That was in 1988. It was mind-boggling that someone could be here one minute and gone the next. It showed me the fragility of life and how fast it can go.
I used to yell at people on the freeway who cut me up. Now I’m working on taking a breath and not saying those bad words. I used to be yelling at them: “You jerk!”
I’ve learnt from working on Hollyoaks that they still shoot even when it’s raining. I had a scene where Tabitha is sitting on a bench eating cold fish and chips. I was wearing thin tights, a little coat and a dress. Who sits there eating cold fish and chips in the rain? All I wanted was my hot water bottle.
Larry Hagman [Linda played Sue Ellen Ewing opposite Larry’s JR in Dallas] could always make me laugh. People have asked me over the years what was the funniest thing that happened, but Patrick Duffy [who played Bobby Ewing] and I could never answer that. It was an everyday occurrence. He felt it was his job to keep the humour up on the set.
I didn’t used to like selfies, but I like them now I’ve found a selfie light you can use with them. Otherwise it’s hard getting selfies right because someone always ends up looking a little distorted.
Fans make gifts for me. Some have been very generous. A lot of artists have done sketches – wonderful caricatures of me. Others have done portraits, watercolours. They’re lovely. I’ve received many of these treasures over the years.
The Bond producers have never asked me to do a Bond movie. I wish they would have called me.
I have always wanted to meet your Queen. I have great respect for her. When I arrived in Texas [to make Dallas] in 1978, it was a very male world. But by the time we did the reboot [in 2012] there were so many women that were now CEOs of companies. So to know of a woman who has been ruling a country for so long, the Queen should be very proud.
My perfect Saturday is when there’s no schedule – when I can just sit around with my friends and family and appreciate them and my surroundings. Very simple. Nothing crazy.
I’m the legs on The Graduate movie poster, but I didn’t get to meet Dustin Hoffman. In the Sixties, I was working as a model, and a photographer I worked with said: ‘I just need a quick shot of your legs for a movie poster.’ So we worked for an hour for the money ($25), but Dustin wasn’t there.
Hollyoaks Weekdays, 6.30pm, C4 & 7pm E4
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