Talking MOM with Beth Hall

mom2When Beth Hall (Wendy) became a Mom series regular this season, she reached a personal goal. In fact, during a recent telephone call to me, she admitted that it’s what she’s most proud of in her entire career saying, “I’m most proud of reaching this goal, of being a regular in a series. I guess that’s the goal of a lot of actors who want to do television.” Hall had no idea her role would evolve into a regular, however. “They liked what I was doing, I guess.” The character of Wendy was added to the series in a recurring role in Season Two.

A Stellar Career

Hall’s career has spanned nearly 20 years, and stellar performances include appearances on the likes of Murphy Brown, Frasier, House, and Mad Men. She confessed to me, though, that she has a soft spot in her heart for Mad Men, “I loved being a part of Mad Men, which is an amazing series. I loved playing Caroline.”

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A Lot Like Herself

Getting back to Wendy, I asked what she liked about the character. She admitted, “What I like about Wendy is she’s a people-pleaser. She wants everyone to like her, and she tries to do the right thing.” Hall confessed that Wendy is a lot like her in real life in that respect. “I think the fact that Wendy wants people to like her and that she tries to please them is a lot like me. She also likes to help people, and so do I.”

mom3A Side Job

Though she does not consider herself a “writer,” Hall has a writing partner and a short film called Flea Market to her credit. The project is a comedy about “a day in the life of a person at a flea market and the people that come to buy and sell. I’m sort of an antique dealer on the side, and so I have a lot of experience with it, the buying and selling.”

Though Hall’s favorite genre is comedy, she has no opportunities to ad-lib in her role as Wendy. “It’s all very well-written by the writers, and they like you to say it just the way they write it.” And that suits Hall just fine.

Mom, now in its third season, airs on Thursdays at 9 P.M. on CBS.