Memories From The Set: Ann Dowd

Nabbing a role in the 1994 adaptation of John Jakes' post-Civil War novel — as part of a varied cast that included Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Billy Dee Williams (the Star Wars films), Genie Francis (General Hospital) and Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) — meant that Dowd had to shoot in San Antonio, Texas, in period gear. "It was a billion degrees," she recalls. "We were in corsets and petticoats. People were going down left and right." The high temperatures meant lots of sweating, which didn't agree with the temporary hair dye in Dowd's 'do. "We're filming, and I hear the direct yell 'Cut!,' and he's looking at me very strangely," she says, laughing. "The color is running down the sides of my face! So yeah, we had to retouch it."

Dowd appeared in a Season 1 episode of the CBS medical drama, an occasion she remembers as the first time she met Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights), who directed her episode and, much later, The Leftovers' pilot. "He's heaven on Earth," she says, remembering that they "crashed into each other" in a hallway. "I loved him, working with him and just being part of that experience."

It's ironic that Dowd appeared in a seventh season episode about teens who move faster than the human eye can see, given that what she remembers most about the supernatural drama is its leisurely shooting pace. "I thought to myself, 'They must have a ton of money, because they are taking their time!'," she says, laughing. Typically, shows race to cram as many scenes into a day as possible. But in Mulder and Scully's realm, Dowd recalls, "I remember thinking, 'Wow, this is what happens when you're successful. Everything slows down!"

Playing Kim Kelly's rough-edged mom, Cookie, "was a complete blast," Dowd says, adding that having writer Mike White — who played her addled son, Chip — on set became something of a problem. "I couldn't turn around and look at him, because I would just burst out laughing." Dowd also fondly remembers her "delicious" on-screen daughter, Busy Phillips, and being wowed by the amount of young talent at the short-lived series. "I don't know why that show didn't go longer, because it was beyond," she adds.

The details of one of Dowd's multiple appearances on the NBC police-and-fire drama is a bit fuzzy, thanks to her having the flu while shooting. "I literally thought, 'All I need to do is not pass out,'" she remembers. Though the presence of her good friend Molly Price — who played Officer Faith Yokas — was a comfort, 'It was a constant 'I think I might go down,'" she says, laughing. "I was delirious."

"They are a great and very smart group of people," Dowd says of the actors populating NBC's long-running procedural franchise. And she should know; she appeared in three hours of SVU in addition to four of the original Law & Order. Jerry Orbach, in particular, helped her nail one an L&O staple: the walk-and-talk. "The lines are not easy lines," she says, citing the story-driven (versus character-driven) nature of most of the dialogue. So Orbach coached her to work backwards from her end-of-scene mark so she'd know how to pace the dialogue. "Little clues like that were just helpful and kind."

Dowd must have something saintly about her — at least when it comes to making an impression on casting directors — because she's played holy sisters in both HBO's Louie and Fox's House. "I come from a Catholic family. I have two wonderful aunts who were nuns. I grew up in that era of Catholic schools and so on," she says before adding that she has no idea why she was tapped to play such religious women. "You got me, kid!"

"You can't say mean things in an interview," Dowd says without a shred of sarcasm when the topic of ABC's ill-fated stewardess series comes up. When we assure her that TVLine readers are well aware of the period drama's troubles, she relaxes a little. "That was just a ship going down," she says, adding apologetically: "I'm trying to avoid airplane metaphors!" The actors and crew "were very nice," she recalls, but by the time she filmed her episode, there was a sense that "this is just not leaving the runway."

Dowd "loved every second" of her disturbing turn as Betty Childress, who'd experienced violation and incest for most of her life. Dowd credits the theater background of Glenn Fleshler, who played her brother Errol, for their easy time shooting some very difficult material. "When you've spent enough time in the theater" — as Dowd has — "you get the drill, you trust each other and you don't need to exchange very many words. That was a requirement, given their relationship, that we be comfortable with one another." Also helpful? The attention to detail the HBO series' set designers paid to Errol's home of horrors. "You step one step into that house, and your homework's almost done for you," she says.

Bill's well-meaning mother hasn't been seen on the Showtime drama in some time, and "I miss her," Dowd says, laughing. The reason behind Estabrooks Masters' absence? Dowd's participation in HBO's The Leftovers. "The scheduling was very tough to put together, second season, for [Masters of Sex]," she says. But there's always a chance that Bill's mom can make another appearance; as Dowd notes, "At least she's not dead!"

One of the biggest lessons Dowd has learned from being part of the post-Rapture HBO series? "You can never tell with [series co-creator] Damon [Lindelof]," she says, chuckling. After all, Patti's suicide seemed like a natural stopping point for the character... until she returned. "I was so upset when I first realized 'I'm not on this anymore,'" Dowd says. So when the news came that she'd be part of the current season, "I was thrilled." Now, if we could only figure out exactly what — ghost? vision? something else entirely? — Patti really is...