Cheryl Hines in Suburgatory

Posted by Reinaldo Massengill on Saturday, June 1, 2024

Road to the Emmys 2012: The Supporting Actor & Actress

For years, Cheryl Hines has squeezed in plenty of film, TV and voice work while appearing on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Why add another series to her busy schedule?

“I really loved the pilot script, and it looked like a fun character to do,” Hines says of her role as Dallas Royce on ABC’s freshman hit “Suburgatory.”

The character reminded Hines of her sketch comedy days with the Groundlings. “On ‘Curb’ I was improvising, but it was a very dry sarcastic comedy, so I was attracted to this heightened reality of ‘Suburgatory.’ It was a 180-degree difference.”

Dallas is superficially superficial. She’s vain and loves designer labels, but is deeper than she appears.

“Dallas is misguided as a mother, and possibly as a person,” Hines says, “but when she started reaching out to Tessa (Jane Levy) in a maternal way, it made me realize Dallas is a good person and understands the big picture.”

Popular on Variety

Over the season, Dallas has grown from a privileged housewife to a newly single business owner, hitting many highs and lows along the way.

Hines credits writers and series creator Emily Kapnek with skillfully merging the show’s comedy and drama.

“They tackle some serious subjects — abandonment, divorce and loneliness — but do it in a way that’s funny but also very touching.”

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXJ%2Bjq2taJmnlr%2Blv46cn56qqaF6qbXNnqpmoZ5iwLau1Kuemqyfp8ZufZBqb2ltZWuCcXs%3D