Elizabeth Perkins on ‘The Moodys,’ Her Passion for Dogs Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close
Elizabeth Perkins Dog Rescuer and Sitcom Star
The star explains the boomerang-kids comedy The Moodys and her passion for pooches
Kharen Hill/FOX Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. The Moodys features a family of adults and grown kids back together under one roof This is the pandemic reality for many people right now
Elizabeth's rescue dogs Dudley (left) and L'il Pete (right). Courtesy Elizabeth Perkins I know. A lot of my friends are experiencing it, too. In the case of The Moodys we also have one who never left. You envision your kids coming back as this wonderful thing, and we're all going to get along — but you've become so used to being an that after two weeks, you're just sort of over it. What s your own situation
We have four children between my husband and me. We've been empty nesters for seven, eight years. It's fantastic. You do miss them, let's be honest. You romanticize them coming back, and then they're there, and all the food's being eaten, the place is a mess, wet towels on the floor, they're driving your car and not putting gas in it — all the stuff that bothered you before, when they were still in high school. They suddenly become obnoxious children with each other as well. has just ended and people are starting to get back to normal. Everyone needs that right now. Did your dogs miss you
My 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 , so he'd have to be here a month before I could even see him. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > 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 . 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. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. , 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 . 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 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 and Amy Adams. More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS