Two golden statuettes sit atop a small table in Kyra Sedgwick’s book-filled, high-ceiling living room. The first is the Emmy she won last year, after being nominated for the 5th consecutive time, for portraying pugnacious, persistent cop Brenda Johnson on TNT’s top-rated drama The Closer.
And the second?
The mention of it elicits throaty chuckles from Sedgwick. “It’s our little mini Oscar in hopes that one of us will maybe bring it home one year,” says Kyra, 45, who has been married to fellow actor Kevin Bacon for 22 years.
It’s safe to say that the future sure looks golden for Sedgwick. She is handing in Brenda Lee Johnson’s badge this season after playing her for 7 indefatigable years on the series. And yes, she’s a little misty-eyed about leaving the role that made Sedgwick, a career working thespian, a star. But she’s also invigorated and energized by almost being a free agent again.
“I just felt like, ‘Why not leave when we’re on top?'” says Sedgwick, clad in jeans and a loose purple top, and curled up on her comfortable sofa. “Seven years is an incredibly long time. For me, I wanted to do other things creatively.”
She’s not sure what that is, exactly. Sedgwick is itching to get back into theater. She has two films in the can: the horror flick “Dibbuk Box” and the thriller “Man on a Ledge}, out next year. And she’s developing a movie based on the National Book Award-winning “Story of a Girl”, with AnnaSophia Robb attached to star.
She’d also like to spend more time with her husband, after being away from their Manhattan home base for at least 6 months out of every year to shoot “The Closer” in Los Angeles. “Ultimately,” Sedgwick says, “none of the show’s critical accolades, the impressive ratings, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and wins could measure up against not seeing her better half every day.”
According to the show’s producer, “People can’t believe she’s leaving the show, but at some point, your personal life has to matter. Doing a show for seven years and being away from your husband for most of that — she’s been separated from her family for months at a time, and that’s something she takes very much to heart. She and Kevin never seem as happy as when they are together. You can tell when he’s around. She’s so happy and has more energy and smiles more. She’s just more herself.”
Sedgwick and Bacon’s kids, Travis, 22, and Sosie, 19, are out of the house: He’s graduating college this year; she’s away at school. So, the first thing Sedgwick will do when she’s back home for good and all alone with her hubby?
“I’ll probably worry about getting work. Knowing me, I’ll be like, ‘This is so great, I’ll be the lady who lunches and goes to exercise class and reads books.’ And then I’ll wonder why the phone isn’t ringing. There’s a lot of fear about stepping into the unknown,” she says with that husky laugh.
Playing Brenda Lee Johnson, a headstrong, in-your-face detective who specializes in eliciting confessions with whatever means necessary, exacted something of a toll on Sedgwick, who finds the character both fascinating and exhausting.
“She’s a bundle of contradictions, and she’s dealing with at least 10 very intense emotions in every episode. It’s a little hard to shake off. I find myself having darker dreams,” Sedgwick says. “I think sometimes when I’m home, I’m not 100% there, maybe, because I’m always thinking about her and the show.”
So being Brenda makes Sedgwick more aggressive, hostile, domineering? Sedgwick, all loose curls and wide eyes, shakes her head.
“It does definitely rub off in areas that I probably wish that it wouldn’t. I’m a little bossy, a little more controlling than usual — although I’m a controlling person, I know I am. I have these really strong images of terrible things happening to people. I can be walking across the street and imagine myself getting hurt.”
Has Sedgwick thought about how she’d like Brenda to close out the series?
“I wanted a really dark ending for her, but I don’t think James will have it. Go down in a blaze of glory. James loves this character,” she says. “The theme of this season is love and loss, which is appropriate. The season centers on her getting her comeuppance in terms of all the morally ambiguous ways she elicits confessions. The (expletive) will hit the fan.”
