Christina Applegate

In the 90s, Christina Applegate endeared herself to critics and viewers as the dimwitted Kelly Bundy in the hit sitcom Married with Children. It soon became clear, though, that Applegate was only playing dumb. Since the sitcom ended, Applegate has shown she has the smarts to not only survive in Hollywood, but become one of showbiz’s most likeable stars.

As the daughter of a record-producer father and a singer-actress mother, Applegate grew up in the business and made her screen debut on Days of Our Lives when she was just three months old. Determined to make a name for herself, she quit high school to focus on her career.

In 1987 at age 16, she landed her breakout role on Married with Children, a part she continued to play for 11 seasons. Once the show ended, Applegate crossed over to the big screen with starring roles in the comedies The Sweetest Thing, View From the Top and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Proving her versatility, in 2004 the actress appeared on Broadway in a revival of the hit musical Sweet Charity. As well as earning universal acclaim, the gig also gave her a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress.

Despite her success on both the big screen and the stage, Applegate always wanted to return to TV. “It’s so hard with films [because] you don’t see funny women really headlining a lot,” she explains. “Television is female-dominated now. Look at Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty. All these shows have central female characters who are strong. It’s really amazing.”

Her wish was granted. In the hit sitcom Samantha Who?, the 36-year-old plays Samantha Newly, a career woman who awakes from a coma with no memory of her previous life. When she does start to piece together her past, she’s horrified to learn that she used to be a self-absorbed, catty diva. Taking her amnesia as a sign for change, she now tries to make amends for the damage caused by her former self.

When the series launched in the US, it became the season’s No.1 sitcom and was named Favourite New Comedy at the People’s Choice Awards. For her part, Applegate earned a Golden Globe nomination and is in the running for a Best Actress Emmy.

Were you looking for a sitcom when Samantha Who? came along?

No, actually I wasn’t. I was open to whatever and it really came down to finding great roles in a film or on TV. I had just finished playing one of the greatest roles on Broadway so it was about making sure I upheld that in some respect. This came along and I really loved the script and I loved the creator who was funny with a rapier wit and my taste.

Apart from the new-and-improved Samantha, we also see the old version of her in flashback. How did you approach playing the two roles?

People like bad Sam have such confidence and the focus on their goal is so singular that nothing is going to stand in their way. There is something so relaxing about playing bad Sam because she is so confident in everything she does. It’s always a nice part of the day when I get to play her! But [the new] Samantha is so wound up just trying to figure out who she is, I find I get very exhausted playing her.

Do you play them on the same day?

Yes, sometimes I have to go from good Sam to bad Sam and back to good Sam in one day — it’s just the way it is!

Sam’s friends and family seem to prefer the pre-coma version. Why does she stick with them?

It’s the only safety net she has, and unfortunately that net has a lot of holes in it! She can’t depend on herself because she doesn’t have any memories. These are the people who help her piece back her life, regardless of whether she likes them or not. But as we go through the series, she starts to find the beauty in each of them and really starts to build new relationships with them.

Have you ever wished you could start over? What would you rather forget?

I look back at my life and the good, bad and ugly have made me who I am so I embrace a lot of that. But if I had to do things over, there are some relationships I got into when I was younger that I probably shouldn’t have. I’d like to have a ‘do-over’ there!

How did Married with Children inspire your comedy talents?

Married with Children ended 12 years ago but that was absolutely my comedy training. Before that I really didn’t understand comedy, but then I had 11 years of practise. During that time I homed in on what my thing is. To do comedy, you have to release a lot of yourself and you can’t be so aware of yourself. [With Married with Children] I was able to relax and make fun of myself and not be afraid to look silly.

Will Sam ever get her memory back?

Our lives are filled with millions of memories so we can keep having these moments sneak back in, but she’ll never actually get it all back. That aspect [of her memory loss] becomes secondary as we go along, and it becomes more about the relationships she is having now including dating, friendships and the parent-daughter relationships.

You split from your husband Jonathan Scaech in 2005. Are you enjoying single life?

I’m not really dating yet. The show is all-consuming so working 16 hours a day leaves little time for a social life. But it’s kind of frightening for me because I never thought at my age I’d be going through a divorce; I never foresaw that in my future. So you’re thrown out there in the world after all these years of knowing what you want, you are very picky and that’s probably why I am still hanging in there just with myself.