Angie Harmon On 'Rizzoli & Isles,' David Hasselhoff, Being A Mom

Angie Harmon plays the beautiful model-turned-actress-turned-mom with the #1 show on cable, TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles. 

Texan Angela Michelle Harmon, married to former NFL player Jason Sehorn, was born in 1972. She began her modeling career when she was a child and, in 1988, won a Seventeen modeling contest. Harmon has since then worked as a runway model for well-known fashion houses such as Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani. She has also appeared on the covers of Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Elle.

However, a new career opportunity appeared for her when David Hasselhoff spotted her during a plane ride in 1995. She went on to star alongside Hasselhoff on Baywatch Nights, playing Detective Ryan McBride. Her acting career continues to ascend with the new TNT television series Rizzoli & Isles, in which she plays a familiar role as a detective, co-starring with Sasha Alexander. “I’ve had a couple of successes, and I’ve been in great films and really had fun, but this is certainly,” Harmon told Uinterview exclusively. “I don’t even know how to explain it. We’ve all worked really hard, and I’m really, really thrilled to be a part of it.”

Q: Your show is number one on cable now, but you had a couple of shows in there that weren’t as successful. What does it feel like to be on top?

A: I can’t really believe it. I mean, it sounds so good when you say it, and that’s sort of confirming it a little bit more. So, it really, really is gratifying and a blessing. I’ve had a couple of successes, and I’ve been in great films and really had fun, but this is certainly . . . I don’t even know how to explain it. We’ve all worked really hard, and I’m really, really thrilled to be a part of it.

Q: Your character is a blue-collar tomboy type. But, in real life, you’ve been a hugely successful fashion model and actress. Is there any part of you that has that tomboy side to you?

A: You know, I think there is part of that. I don’t know that I’d be able to access it. But to be very honest, that part of me has been gone for a very, very long time. Especially after my third pregnancy, I hurt my back pretty well – I did a pretty good job of it. I kind of haven’t really been able to get back into working out or doing the things that I would normally like to do. So is that me normally? No, absolutely not. I’m certainly more into dresses and heels and all of that, and my Vogues everywhere. That’s definitely more me. So [my character] Jane is a lot of fun to go to work and get into.

Q: It also seems like you have a strong interest in playing law enforcement roles. Is there something about that area that intrigues you, or are those just the types of scripts that people send you?

A: I think as actors, we just want to do any character. And when I say “character,” it’s in quotation marks. I mean the shows where everyone’s just standing around spelling it out for the audience – that doesn’t really interest me any more because you don’t know their backstories. You don’t know their personal stories. You don’t know what’s going on in their personal lives and things like that. So Jane is certainly more fun to play when it comes to that. I mean, yes, she’s a badass, and yes, she’s a tomboy, but she also has, you know, her daily life and the guys and her family and her mom and dad and her brother and all of that. It’s more like a person.

Q: The episode recently with the lesbian kiss got a lot of attention. What was it like filming it?

A: [laughs] Actually, the one that aired I wasn’t able to see. Did they have a kiss, or did they have just a kiss on the neck? The one that we shot, there was one where we actually kissed, and that’s where it just sort of happened. It wasn’t like we planned it. Missi [Pyle] and I were just sort of moving in for the kill, and all the sudden, we were just like, “Well, I guess she’s not gonna back away, and I kept thinking, ‘Well, she’s gonna turn her head at any time,” and it just sort of happened. That’s what made us laugh even harder. I mean, when it did happen, we ended up bursting out laughing. Everyone started chanting, “Season 2!” It was very funny.

Q: You’ve got such a great cast with Sasha Alexander, Lorraine Bracco and Antonio Sabato, Jr. on the show. What’s the interaction like between you all? And have there been any memorable moments on set?

A: I mean, we’ve had so many to just pare down to one. I don’t think I can do it. There are so many dynamic personalities and such a high level of ability that when I go to work and get on set with all of these people, it’s just way too much fun. I tend to say “really” a lot, and that always gets incorporated into Jane. Our crew was talking about how Maura and I could go out on the road and do a live tour that we would call the “Ra-Really Tour,” and it would just be us like basically doing a live theater, but I would just say, “really” the whole time. [laughs]

Q: Now you’re a mother, and part of the attraction of doing a cable show is probably that it’s a less hectic schedule. Both you and your husband, [Fox sportscaster Jason Sehorn,] are celebrities. How do you manage to juggle everything with your big careers?

A: You know, to be very honest, my little girls don’t know what I do for a living. They happened to see Agent Cody Banks the other day at their friend’s house, and they could not fathom it like, “What? Why is Mommy doing karate? And why is Mommy flying a helicopter? And why are Mommy’s boobs so big?”; So it was kind of shocking for them. I’ve kind of slowly been explaining it, and that’s kind of it, but to be very honest, we’re kind of blessed. I mean, when I have to go off for work, Jason can take the girls. When he goes to work, I can take the girls, and we’re both very helpful. We end up with even sort of more quality time than what we would normally have.

Q: You were discovered by David Hasselhoff on a plane. How did that happen?

A: Yes, he invited me to do a show [Baywatch Nights], and I politely declined. Like, ‘Uh, no, that’s okay. I’ve never had an acting class. I’m not going to run around in a bikini.’ And he was like, ‘No, no, you’ll play a forensic pathologist.’ And I was like, ‘Uh-huh, yeah. No thanks.’ And then actually, a friend of mine – that was with me on that plane – went in and auditioned for it, and when she walked in, he was like, ‘You were with that girl!’ And you know, all the powers that be that were around me were like, ‘Angie, you should do this. You’ve always wanted to be an actress. This is something that you love.’ And it’s worked out very well since then. So he’ll always have a place in my heart. He took a chance on a person that wasn’t very experienced at all, and not many people in this town would do that. [But] I haven’t talked to him in years.

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