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Interview with Kirstie Alley A note from the Special Olympics

After Kirstie Alley heard the story of real-life couple Donna and Ricardo Thornton, she was compelled to bring it to television in PROFOUNDLY NORMAL. "An actress named Joanne Baron brought the Thorntons to my attention by showing me the 60 MINUTES pieces on Donna and Ricardo," explained Alley. "[Joanne] had the idea of doing a story where I would play the social worker who worked with Donna, but what I really wanted to do was play Donna!" Read on to learn more about why Alley was drawn to the project and why she admires and "fell in love" with the Thorntons.

CBS: Why did you want to play Donna Thornton?
KIRSTIE ALLEY: She's not a victim in any way. That's why I wanted to play her, because she's not a victim. Donna's viewpoint is simplistic, but far from stupid. It's very astute. She's truly one of the most astute individuals and her perceptions of things are keen. She's amazing.

CBS: Why did you feel compelled to share the Thornton's story?
KIRSTIE ALLEY: They [the Thorntons] have endured such suffering -- they've seen sexual abuse and they've seen children die. They've seen children drugged and they've been drugged themselves and they've endured so much, and yet they've come through it all with such strong spirits and such hope. Here are people who actually endured more hardships than any of us would ever dream of enduring and they have hope about life. I fell in love with both of them. I fell in love with Donna's love of life and her tenacity and perseverance. She's my hero.

CBS: What was your first meeting with Donna Thornton like?
KIRSTIE ALLEY: Donna and I met for the first time when I came here [Toronto] to film. She came right before we filmed and then she came back one more time. But it's the weirdest thing. I don't say this very often, but I felt when I met her that I'd been around her for 30 years. I don't know what it is about her. She makes you feel very comfortable. She makes you feel like she will nurture you and take care of you instantly. She's just got that way about her.

CBS: What was your impression of Donna?
KIRSTIE ALLEY: Donna has such a spiritual spark to her. She's very astute. She's one of the most aware human beings I've ever met in my life. I loved her outlook on life and it meant a lot to me to be able to get to know her and to play her. I wonder if I was in the same circumstances or if the same things had happened to me, if I could have persevered.

CBS: How do you feel about portraying a living person?
KIRSTIE ALLEY: When you portray someone who is living, you're trying to capture some of the essence of the being. And Donna has a pretty fiery essence and a pretty strong presence, and so I'm trying to capture some of that. I'm trying to tie her down and steal some of it!

CBS: Do you feel a sense of responsibility in your portrayal of Donna?
KIRSTIE ALLEY: I feel an added sense of responsibility. I have a real hope that when Donna sees this, she's going to be happy with what I'm doing, and that it's going to feel to her somewhat like I've captured the essence of her personality and how she is. I really hope I can portray even a quarter of the life force this person has, because she's like a beam of light. She really is."

CBS: What was your vision for the movie?
KIRSTIE ALLEY: The primary thing that I wanted when we developed this movie was to show the quirkiness of their love story. They're both sort of volatile with each other. They love each other. And I was curious about what it would be like from the child's point of view. That was interesting to me, because I had never seen that. I had never seen a story about a handicapped couple from the child's point of view. And because it was very controversial for them to get pregnant and have a child at the time, because people thought that mental retardation would come with retarded people. Like it was genetic, which it isn't. So I thought that the interesting thing would be to see it through the child's eyes. And so this movie is sort of from the viewpoint of Ricky, their son.

CBS: What was your impression of Donna and Ricardo's relationship with their son, Ricky?
KIRSTIE ALLEY: They're very open with him. They've told him everything about their lives. They've told him about sexual abuse and drug abuse and whatever went on in the institution, whatever's gone on in their lives, they've told him, and that's sort of unusual. I think a lot of parents hold back about themselves or anything that isn't sort of sugarcoated with their children, so I think that's sort of cool that they've told him, that they've told him everything.

CBS: What was it like working with your co-star Delroy Lindo (Ricardo)?
KIRSTIE ALLEY: I really wanted him for this role. I just think he's ... perfect, you know? He has all the subtleties of Ricardo. If you spent time with Ricardo, I don't think that you would know that he was handicapped in any way. And Delroy has the ability to play those subtleties perfectly. It's a very fine line to walk and he's walking it fantastically.