Tanya Fischer Talks Punk Rock, Magic Tricks and Working with Bruce Willis

By Jett Wells Posted Dec 8th 2010 04:00PM

On TV, Tanya Fischer is the sexy, spunky Zoey Waters on the new CBS show 'The Defenders,' but outside the scenes she's just a midwestern girl who plays in a punk rock band called 'The Bambi Killers.' She's a jack of all trades, and she's been working at developing sideshow talents like magic and card tricks so she doesn't have to go back to waiting tables. To get a better picture of the hilarious actress/rocker, PopEater spoke with her about working alongside veteran actors like Jim Belushi and Bruce Willis, and how she built her imagination from hanging out in corn fields.

Where are you right now?
I'm totally walking to buy smokes, so I'm that weirdo who's not in a car right now. I don't care. Y'know, I've got legs, I can walk!

What is it like to work with Jim Belushi?
It's very exciting, because he'll keep you on the edge of your seat. Sometimes he'll go all out in a scene, and start throwing things, so you have to watch out for that, but in a good way. He's a pro. He's like an actor's actor. You can talk to him about the material anytime you want, and I really appreciate that coming from theater and off-off Broadway.

So you're also in the all-girl punk band, The Bambi Killers, right? Can I just say that's an awesome name, first of all? Was it your idea?
Oh, cool! Thanks! No, it was sort of a collective consciousness. It came from a few different places, of course there's the Sex Pistols record, 'Who Killed Bambi?' And also there was this ostentatious, eclectic pro wrestler from the 1930s. I believe he was from Austria? And he called himself 'The Bambi Killer' and he dressed up in costume. We dress up in costume too. We have a message: power of the mind, anti-brainwashing. That was my life-force in between the TV days.

Are you still playing music?
Oh, it's all connected. I hope to keep doing it all. It's just one of those things where we bring sideshow acts to the show. One of the girls is an acrobat, one is a designer and she makes all the costumes. We met waitressing at a nightclub in the Meatpacking District in New York City.

Check out a video of Fischer's band 'The Bambi Killers.' [Warning: Profanity]

You come off as a vibrant personality in your characters. What were you like as a kid?
Oh man, I am a total weirdo. I was forming close relationships with inanimate objects. I was probably that kid who couldn't spend an hour in the box. I grew up in the Midwest, so we had a lot of flat cornfields, which contributed to my imagination. A lot of the people I grew up with are still there because they stay there their whole lives. I was getting into all kinds of trouble; bless my mother's heart because she had the patience to not send me away.

Tell me a little about your first major credit, with Bruce Willis in 'Assassination of a High School President.'
He's a class act. It was my first studio film. Working with Bruce Willis is hilarious. We did a lot of various takes where I walk into his office late and he just improv'd and talked. I'm pretty sure he called me "a dumb stripper" or something, which is awesome! He's a cool cat, there's no way around it. He used to bartend a lot in Jersey and New York, and we talked about bartending a bit.

I wish you could perform some card tricks for me. Can you actually perform for an audience of kids?
Yeah! Children are the best audience because they believe you right away. And they're excited to see the simplest things, like the quarter behind the ear. I do perform in bars a lot. Let's say you're having a conversation with someone, right, and they're being a d**k, and you're like, "No, you're not even listening, you're so close-minded." And they're just so, "No, I'm not close-minded," and then you say, "Ok, well check this out. Where did that come from?" Or, "Oh, remember that thing that was in front of your face? Oh now it totally turned into something else! See! Anything is possible!" And then you walk away. I need as many sideshow skills as I can get in this business, because I'm a really sh***y waitress.

'The Defenders' airs Wednesdays at 9PM on CBS.

Tags: Tanya Fischer, The Defenders