New Interview: ‘The Mentalist’ Star Robin Tunney Gives Us the Scoop On Her New Indie Flick

The website Bettyconfidential.com published a new Interview with Robin, in which she talks about The Mentalist, her latest film 'See Girl Run', her plans for the future, her fans... and I still can't believe it, she mentions me and Robin's Green Shades!
Thank you so much Robin!! This means a lot to me! I have no words, it's a honor to be your fan :)

You can read the interview HERE or click on Read More.
Thank you to the contributing editor of Betty Confidential Diana Denza for letting me know about the Interview.

Exclusive: ‘The Mentalist’ Star Robin Tunney Gives Us the Scoop On Her New Indie Flick

The seasoned actress dished on her new indie flick, ‘See Girl Run’, her recent engagement, and what she’ll be up to next.

Robin Tunney first had us under her spell when she played an outcast teen witch in ‘90s flick The Craft. Fast forward two and a half decades and she’s kicking ass and taking names as senior agent Teresa Lisbon in The Mentalist. And now, Tunney is showing off her softer side as a 30-something trying to find herself in See Girl Run, which is slated for a limited theatrical release on April 26, 2013. We chatted with our über-talented girl crush over the phone about what makes this new film so special, working with a group of dogs (her character, Emmie, runs a pet-sitting business), and her new fiancé.

BettyConfidential: What originally drew you to your role in See Girl Run?

Robin Tunney: I’d been doing The Mentalist at that point for over three years and to be honest, my first two breaks from the show I was so tired that I couldn’t imagine working. The schedule was so rigorous that I just wanted to sleep! But then I read the script and I thought it was a really accessible story, something that a lot of people could connect to and understand, especially people in their 20s and 30s who are wondering, ‘Did I make the right decision? Am I in the right place right now?’

BC: We saw the movie as a (rather late) coming of age story. Do you think the message resonates with 30-somethings because so many people are putting their lives on hold –at least partially– due to a tough job market, loans, etc.?

RT: Yes and no. I kind of feel like people have felt like this always. When you’re a full-grown adult, and you’re going, ‘Oh my god, this is all there is?’, you know that life is life and it’s pretty ordinary, whereas when you’re 16, 17, even 18 years old, you think you’re going to do all these grand things and life is going to be this huge adventure. Meanwhile, my character is picking up dog shit and married to a really nice guy, but he’s a really normal guy. Life has patterns and things get dull and all that stuff. But that’s life and I think it’s important to understand the beauty of it and live in those moments instead of thinking ‘what-if’.

BC: Do you have any personal opinions on Emmie and Graham’s relationship?

RT: It’s impossible to truly be close to somebody if you can’t let go of the past. I don’t think Emmie’s unhappiness in the relationship has anything to do with Graham. I think she’s at that place in her life where she’s feeling that her life isn’t as glamorous as her 15-year-old self wanted. There’s a line I say to my brother in the film, something like, ‘I always thought I’d fall in love with somebody who’d make the world seem larger.’ Graham makes the world seem smaller to Emmie, but I think he’s the real hero of the movie because he’s the best guy. He lets her go off and do her thing and then comes and gets her.

BC: The Betty team is full of animal lovers, so we have to ask: What was it like working with a bunch of dogs for your character’s pet sitting service? Are you an animal-lover yourself?

RT: I love dogs! My dog, who’s in the movie, is actually sitting next to me right now as we speak. I love animals; I absolutely love them. Working with 10 of them at a time I did not love, especially since it was a low-budget movie. We had no professional animal wranglers, and it was totally out of control trying to talk with all of these untrained dogs running around. Movie dogs are usually different; generally when you doing a film, they have highly-trained professionals. On The Mentalist, there was a representative for a goldfish. [laughs]

BC: Have you experienced any major “what-if” moments in real life?

RT: Of course! I totally identify with that and that’s part of the reason why I wanted to do the film. I think everybody has their moments, but I’m not sure that they act on them the way that Emmie did. With Facebook, for example, people look at boyfriends from the past and wonder, ‘If I had made different choices, what would my life be like right now?’ But that’s what life is; it’s a result of the choices we make.

BC: If you could give your character a piece of advice, what would it be and why?

RT: You know, I think it’s best to live in the present and be able to accept the beauty that’s in front of you and to come from a place of gratitude, as testing as that may be. People who live in the past avoid being in the present. That’s why a lot of young people are so invigorating; they’re enjoying themselves and are so excited about the future; people should try to keep that frame of mind throughout the rest of their lives.

BC: Adam Scott plays your character’s high school sweetheart in See Girl Run. What was it like to work with him again?

RT: Well, we don’t have a lot of scenes together in the movie, but I’ve worked with Adam for 10 years and he’s super talented. The first movie we were in, we had one scene together, the second, one scene together, and this is the third and we only had a few scenes together. It’s funny, because when we would go out in public, it was like a litmus test of who would say something to either one of us. The audience for Parks and Recreation is so much younger and hipper than The Mentalist, so if a geriatric person was coming at us, we’re like ‘The Mentalist!’, but if it was a hipster, it was definitely Parks and Recreation.

BC: Do you have any interesting fan stories for us?

RT: You know, I joke around that the core audience for The Mentalist is old, but I have this group of young female fans who make me these beautiful presents. It’s really moving. The group is basically headed by this Italian girl named Maria Novella [who runs a fan site called Robin’s Green Shades] and I’m really touched by the stuff they do. I don’t always think about how my characters affect people, but these girls look up to them so much. For the most part, people are so sweet. They make things for my dogs and send drawings –a lot of portraits, which you can’t hang up in your house because you’ll look like the biggest narcissist in the world.

BC: We know that you have a lot on your plate right now. What do you like to do to unwind?

RT: I like to exercise. I go to this place called Tracy Anderson in LA. My fiancé [interior designer Nicky Marmet] and I love to eat out a lot. I’m also obsessed with Gwyneth Paltrow’s new healthy cookbook [titled My Father’s Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness]; I can’t stop cooking things from it. I love to read. When we went to Costa Rica because I had a break from the show, I read a reimagined account of Zelda Fitzgerald’s life [titled Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald] and that was so good. And I read Gene Wilder’s autobiography [titled Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art] and the American Dream Machine, which were amazing. Let’s just say that I like to read a lot of books.

BC: What’s up next for you?

RT: I’ll be back for season 6 of The Mentalist in July and I’m going to take this break to plan the wedding. After the show ends, it’s going to be a weird time in my life because it’s so consuming. I’m so used to being incredibly busy and seeing Simon [Baker] and the cast every day; they’re like family. I think part of me is going to be really happy, but a bigger part of me is going to be really sad.

BC: We heard the exciting news that you got engaged this past Christmas. Are you busy planning the wedding yet?

RT: We’re just starting because I’m so consumed with work! It’s kind of hard to do both, and we’re just starting that up, but we’re both really excited. He’s such a good person, and we have to get this show on the road before he changes his mind. [laughs]

Diana Denza is BettyConfidential’s contributing editor.