King Solomon's Mines

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ALISON DOODY QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

By David Martindale

For Alison Doody, it has been the best of both worlds.  First, she enjoyed a successful acting career, highlighted by her performance as Dr. Elsa Schneider, the beautiful German archeologist, in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”  Then she suspended her show business life for nearly a decade to focus on marriage and motherhood, a decision she says she’ll never regret making.  Now she’s acting again – and happy to report that the work today has never been more rewarding.

“I must have an angel on my shoulder,” says Doody, who costars with Patrick Swayze in the Hallmark Channel Original movie “King Solomon’s Mines,” a rousing $50 million production that was filmed in South Africa.  “Because definitely someone’s watching over me.”

There’s simply no other way for this radiant Irish lass to describe her charmed existence.  “I’m really quite astounded,” she says.  “It’s difficult to get back into this business the second time around.  And to be given such a great opportunity once back, to be able to get my teeth into a great character like Elizabeth Maitland, it was a godsend!”

When Doody calls her “King Solomon’s Mines” character “my most memorable and favorite part to have been offered,” that’s saying quite a lot – especially given her status as one of Indiana Jones’ leading ladies and as a “Bond Girl” (she was Grace Jones’ sinister sidekick in “A View to a Kill,” Roger Moore’s final film as 007).

“I’m forever indebted to Hallmark for giving me the opportunity to be part of this,” Doody says.  “It was an extraordinary experience that I will never be able to relive.”

How would you describe “King Solomon’s Mines?”

This is a classic adventure tale that has an enduring appeal for people all ages.  It is good family entertainment.  I think that we have been truly blessed with the locations that we have used because we have shot in some of the most breathtaking and spectacular locations in South Africa.  I think that the sheer beauty of the country opens up the story and makes this series bigger and better than any previous version.

I also like the way that, although there is a lot of great action in this series, it is balanced by a really tender love story.  Quatermain and Elizabeth seem destined to be together, but theirs is a strange relationship because for every step forward they take, they take two back.  The gradual coming together of these two characters is fun to watch.

What was the initial appeal for you to play Elizabeth in this new production of “King Solomon’s Mines”?

I have always enjoyed playing adventurous women and Elizabeth Maitland is a wonderful character because she is no wilting wallflower.  I think that, given the time in which the story is set, she is a very determined and courageous woman.  She is not afraid of the challenges that await her and can hold her own even when the going gets tough.

Characters like Elizabeth – a woman who is so vital to the whole story – they’re hard to come by.  So I enjoyed it immensely playing her.  She certainly has her fair share of adventure in the story and fortunately I had a double for much of the rough stuff and particularly the action horse riding sequences and tumbling down the dunes.  

Patrick Swayze refers to his time in Africa as “a life-changing experience.”  Were you as moved by Africa as he was?

I think it was like that for all of us, everyone involved in making the film.  I think it’s the country.  I’m sure that everyone who has worked in Africa will come back singing the praises of the country and the people, who are so noble and humble.  It’s so steeped in culture over there.  And the beauty of the country, the wildlife, I think it does get into your soul.  It’s a wonderful place to reflect on everything in your own life.  When we were out in the Bush, that would probably be my most favorite part of making the film.  I liked Cape Town.  There were wonderful parts of Cape Town.  But when and if I return to Africa, I would like to go back out in the Bush.  I think that’s the real Africa.

Was it a difficult shoot?

Yes, it was tough.  It was hard.  In the Bush, they had these plants called jumping cacti and it’s as if they have little personalities of their own and were attacking the horses.  Their needles stick in and penetrate the horse and draw blood – and they actually keep driving into the horse unless they’re pulled off very quickly.  With the rocky terrain and being on horseback and having to deal with all those conditions, it was quite tough.  But I think it was fantastic for my character, because I was experiencing the adventure in much the same way that she was, so the story became very real to me.

You can’t get that on a Hollywood soundstage, can you?

No.  No, you can’t.  I think that’s why everyone was so moved by the experience.  I think Africa does that.  And it’s so vast and it just makes such an impression on you, the rawness of it and beauty of the terrain.  It was the perfect setting.  I haven’t seen much of the footage yet.  But (director) Steve Boyum showed me two scenes – rather reluctant was I to see them – but they were beautiful to look at.  I mean, what a backdrop!

Is your acting career officially a priority again for you?

Oh, definitely.  I’ve been so blessed, because since I’ve started “King Solomon’s Mines,” that’s really what has started the whole ball rolling.  And since then, I’ve been offered a number of things.  Of course, the richness of Africa while doing this movie has been very spoiling, but I’m quite sure I’ll find the right thing for me.  I also am very keen on doing theater here in Ireland.

Was there an important moment in life that compelled you to become an actress?

It wasn’t something I always wanted to do.  I was very interested in art, in painting and design.  So that was going to be a possibility, for me to go into a career in that area.  But the acting fell into my lap.  It was through a commercial that I had done that the director had recommended me to an acting agent, unbeknownst to me, and they contacted me and asked if I would be interested in coming to meet them.  I thought it would be fun; I went to London and I met them.  On that very day they sent me to Pinewood Studios to meet with the Broccolis, who were working with the next Bond film.  And I got the part.  It happened that simply for me.  The first audition I went for, I got.

And once you were making movies, you were hooked, right?

That’s right.  The film took us about six months.  It was quite a lengthy shoot.  And even though I was basically a sidekick, I was always called upon to be part of the scene.  And it was fantastic and I so loved it and I thought, “This is great,” and I decided to stick with it and pursue it.  And it rewarded me handsomely.  I have to say, the business has been very good to me.

And now, after your long layoff, the passion to act is back?

For the first time in my life, I am really enjoying my work.  I think, with some of my earlier pieces and my earlier work, I was just learning my craft.  And now I’m so much more at ease with myself, with what I want to do and the characters I want to play and the challenges I want to give myself.  I’m at a much happier place.  When I finished on “Major League II,” I kind of closed down completely away from the business and decided to purely focus on my family life.  And now suddenly the light has gone on again.  I have been feeling myself wanting to be very creative.  Especially with my children having a great deal of time away from my home now, with their own experiences and their own school time and things like that.  So it’s given me lots of free time and I’ve started to get very creative again.  I’m very content, I have to say, and very happy with being part of this project.  Because I’ll always have memories.  I’ll always be able to look back with great fondness on that whole experience.  I would be up at five in the morning and finishing very late.  And we would be working six days a week, under some quite harsh conditions and weather and everything else.  But I don’t think there was five seconds that I ever thought, “I don’t want to be here.”  

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