Elizabeth Perkins, Dog Rescuer and Sitcom Star

How was working with Denis Leary?

Denis and I grew up about 40 miles apart, so I sort of knew what kind of guy he was. Our high schools played football with each other. I've always been a huge fan of his sarcasm. So I knew I was going to get along with him. I get Denis. It's the reason I decided to do the show.

This was your return to work after quarantine. How did that feel?

I feel really blessed to be able to shoot a comedy in the middle of all this lockdown-COVID-election-weather-pandemic craziness. I'm not shooting some nihilistic drama where the human race has been killed off, I'm up here in Montreal making a comedy with Denis Leary. We played The Moodys as post-pandemic: The pandemic has just ended and people are starting to get back to normal. Everyone needs that right now.

Did your dogs miss you?

My dogs went through a depression when I left. It's been really tragic. We're thinking of doing a short film based on a dog's perspective of having humans home all the time: Are humans ever going to leave? They're probably exhausted. I can't wait to get home. Not just for my dogs, I haven't seen my husband in almost three months, the longest we've been separated. There's a quarantine protocol, so he'd have to be here a month before I could even see him.

What kind of dogs do you have?

They're complete mutts. I'm a little dog rescuer. Dudley is about 4 and is 10 pounds, and L'il Pete, 3, is probably a cross between a wire-haired terrier and maybe a Chihuahua. He's a little guy with a skull deformation and encephalitis — can't walk up or down stairs and you can't really pick him up because he has vertigo. He's my special needs little boy and literally the sweetest dog that ever walked on the planet. They're like brothers. I had two rescue dogs before that: Buster and Lulu. I go for the personality, not the breed. I would never buy a dog because I know how many we're putting to sleep every month in L.A. County. I'm a big, big fan of rescue.

Did you have dogs growing up?

We lived on a farm, so we always had at least three or four dogs — always rescues. I was always rescuing, fostering. I think it's important for children to have animals in their lives, it teaches them compassion and empathy and how to care for something other than themselves.

Didn't you want to be a veterinarian, not an actress?

I was originally going to be a veterinarian. When I was in 9th grade I interned with a rural veterinarian; I helped him deliver calves. But I just didn't have the math skills. Veterinary science is harder than medicine for humans because you have so many different animal types. The math slayed me. It was not an option. There's still a part of me that's still, You should have worked with animals!

Instead you foster dogs?

One of my dear friends runs a rescue operation called Pet Orphans of Southern California. If there's a dog any of my friends finds, it's like, “We'll bring him to Elizabeth.” I've had many a dog come in and out of my house. I'm the one with bird feeders, peanuts for the squirrels — I'm that lady.

Have you had any favorite roles over the course of your career?

So many. I know it's not a great movie, but I loved playing Wilma Flintstone in The Flintstones. It was such a big budget movie at the time, and it was just so absurd going to work every day for six months with the Flintstone house and the Flintstone frying pan and the giant wig. I got to act with Elizabeth Taylor, so it was more like just going to play every day, nothing serious about it at all. We'd all be standing outside the sound stage as the Universal [tourist] tram went by, fully dressed in our Flintstones outfits — and that's just silly stupid fun, you know?

I loved doing Big [1988], because it was Tom Hanks and Penny Marshall — an iconic film that held up. Weeds [Showtime, 2005-2009] was great for me because I'd never played anybody like [Celia Hodes] before, evil and wicked and smart, but her own worst enemy and deeply troubled. I was allowed to just be as outrageous as I wanted to be.

How did you keep your career moving forward for more than 35 years?

I just take great work when it comes, regardless of how big or small it is. On This Is Us, I play Mandy Moore's mother. They asked me, “How would you feel about doing maybe one, two, three episodes a year?” I'm like, “That's good.” Sharp Objects [HBO, 2018] wasn't a large role, but it was just a great opportunity to work with Patricia Clarkson and Amy Adams.