Thorne: 'Rescue' Is a Racy 'Free-for-All'

Callie Thorne Snapshots

FILE - In this April 29, 2008 file photo, actors Callie Thorne arrives at the premiere of "Finding Amanda" during the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, file)

NEW YORK - APRIL 02: (L-R) Actor Michael Lombardi, executive producer Jim Serpico, actor Lenny Clarke, actress Callie Thorne, actor Adam Ferrara, actor Denis Leary, actor John Scurti and executive producer Peter Tolan attend the premiere of "Rescue Me" season 5 at Radio City Music Hall on April 2, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Michael Lombardi;Jim Serpico;Lenny Clarke;Callie Thorne;Adam Ferrara;Denis Leary;John Scurti;Peter Tolan

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NEW YORK - APRIL 02: Actor Michael Lombardi, executive producer Jim Serpico, actor Lenny Clarke, actress Callie Thorne, actor Adam Ferrara, actor Denis Leary, actor John Scurti, and executive producer Peter Tolan attend the premiere of "Rescue Me" season 5 at Radio City Music Hall on April 2, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Michael Lombardi;Jim Serpico;Lenny Clarke;Callie Thorne;Adam Ferrara;Denis Leary;John Scurti;Peter Tolan

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NEW YORK - APRIL 02: Actress Callie Thorne attends the premiere of "Rescue Me" with a special performance by Denis Leary at Radio City Music Hall on April 2, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Callie Thorne

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NEW YORK - APRIL 02: Actress Callie Thorne attends the premiere of "Rescue Me" with a special performance by Denis Leary at Radio City Music Hall on April 2, 2009 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Callie Thorne

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Actress Callie Thorne poses at Sex and the City by HBO Shop and Cosabella during the Fifth Annual LUCKY CLUB on May 13, 2008 in New York City.

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Actress Callie Thorne poses at Keds during the Fifth Annual LUCKY CLUB on May 13, 2008 in New York City.

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Actress Callie Thorne poses at Prescriptives during the Fifth Annual LUCKY CLUB on May 13, 2008 in New York City.

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It seems like Sheila's character is building up to some sort of major drama this season. Would you say that's accurate?

"There's a dramatic something. It's definitely an incident, not a meltdown. Where we find her in the beginning of the season and certainly in next week's episodes, she made the decision to reinvent herself and be this phoenix rising from the ashes, and what that starts to mean to her is that she's got to get rid of Tommy. Certainly in next week's episode, we see that come to fruition, and there's a lot of funny to it, but there's more of a dramatic high that comes with it."

That seems to be the way the show goes most of the time."Yeah, great dramatic highs and lows, but there's always a perfect amount of hilarity shoved in there."

Do you have any scenes with Michael J. Fox this season?

"I don't! I was terribly jealous of Andrea Roth [Michael J. Fox's love interest] when the first scripts came out where he was playing her boyfriend. I made a big stink about it, like 'Why can't he play my boyfriend?' I didn't get to work with him, but I've met him before and he's like a true prince. I personally think the stuff he's doing on our show is the sexiest he's ever been. Ever. I kept asking 'How is Michael J. Foxxy today?' It's like nothing he's ever done if you track back through all of his movies and TV stuff, this is the most out on a limb he goes with his acting."

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Watch Callie in a Full 'Rescue Me' Episode (Warning: Filthy But Great)

Is there a timeframe for the show to end?

"We were very lucky to learn ... FX, without having any kind of knowledge of what our ratings would be, picked us up for a sixth season. So we knew pretty early on while shooting the fifth season (22 episodes), that we were picked up again for I think an 18 episode sixth season. You never know when it's all going to end, but I'm certainly one of the cast members that hopes it's not in the near future because it's my favorite job I've ever had in my life. I'll be doing Sheila with a cane and a bottle of vodka as long as they let me."

Do you guys take pride with how much you actually get away with on the show? It's quite racy even for basic cable.

"Oh yeah. Both. I am sincerely shocked sometimes. Sometimes I think the day we go to shoot the network will say 'Absolutely not,' but then we get there and sometimes the network adds their own notes that pushes it even further. That's when the pride of our show comes through, because it means we're doing something right that we're allowed to go that far in terms of sex and swearing. That's obvious in any episode, but it has to do with trust the network and studios have in us."

How do you hold up with the guys on the show? Is it basically a curse-fest off camera as well?

"Oh, it's a f----ng free-for-all. [laughing] Andrea and I are the luckiest girls in the world that we're the only women regularly on the show. No one holds back anything and sometimes it's hideous and embarrassing, and sometimes it's a true laugh. All I do is laugh on set. Everyone's still really excited to go to work and that has to do with the environment that Denis has created for us. It's basically a big playground for actors. It's a dream."

Sticking to that theme, how much improv is there?

"Out of all the shows I've done, this is where I've gotten to do the most improv. Certainly in this fifth season, the writers have gotten to know us so well, they can write specifically for us. Usually we'll shoot once exactly what's in the script, and then Denis will come in and say 'Put the script down, let's play.' We know we start from A and get to E, so as long as we get to E, we play. Half the time, sometimes more, that's what winds up on screen. When everyone's on a roll and the rhythm is just right, a lot of times that's what they choose."

It seems like Patrick Dempsey and other TV actors get all of the "sex symbol" praise. Does Denis Leary [the show's creator and star] get enough credit for being a major sex symbol?

"You are right! I think Denis proves to be a bigger sex symbol than he gets credit for in a number of ways. Not only as a man and human being with all the things he does with the firefighters foundation and charity, he's an incredible family man, but then he comes in and writes and produces and acts in this show that's about firefighters who are like the sexiest things on the earth. He's so good at it. I think for many different reasons, not just because he's a handsome guy, he's definitely a sex symbol."

9/11 conspiracy theories played a part for the first time this season with Daniel Sunjata's character. Are you generally one to go along with conspiracy theories, or do you shun them?

"I don't want to say shun, but I'm not a believer. A skeptic. I very much respect Daniel Sunjata's theories and beliefs. What they've written for him in the show is what he believes in real life. So, in a couple of different ways it's pretty amazing they gave him the opportunity to express himself, but not by making fun of it or judging it, but having him have real conversations that he's had in real life. A lot of that comes to head for Sheila as a 9/11 widow."

How on Earth has 'Rescue Me' not won an Emmy? Or even a Golden Globe!

"I ask myself that every day! I've first been stunned that Denis doesn't get nominated for everything and anything. It would be a true treat to have the show be nominated just because it's nice to be called upon for how hard you work and what you bring to the table. But, it also sometimes does us well to be the underdogs. I've been on many underdog shows. I was on 'Homicide,' which was very rarely recognized. I was on 'The Wire,' same thing. But it comes with a very serious following of fans, which is great. I am hopeful about the fifth season because it's been said a lot in the press. It's the best yet, which is a rarity because the fifth season is when shows jump the shark. Because of the writer's strike and there was such an amount of time the writers and actors had to stew, Denis and Peter Tolan and Evan Reilly hit the ground running at full speed. It surpasses even our first season. The ideas and the troubles and the hilarities that happen surpass that."

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