Episode 188 - Chatting With DeDee Pfeiffer About Cult Classics, Cybill & Coming Back to Hollywood – Part 2

On Part Two of Tony Miros’ fascinating conversation with actress Dedee Pfeiffer, Dedee takes Tony behind the scenes of The All-Nighter, the 1987 comedy starring The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs, and recalls becoming instant friends with Joan Cusack. She also shares some hilarious and outrageous stories from the production and what it was like working with a cast that included some wonderfully colorful personalities. Then there’s Red Surf, where Dedee reunited with her friend and former boyfriend George Clooney—long before he became, well… GEORGE CLOONEY. She reveals how they first met, how they dated on and off, and how George actually helped her prepare for the audition that landed her the role opposite him.

She also gets candid about her approach to acting and why she has always considered herself something of a “wild card” in the casting process. She recalls working with Joel Schumacher and Michael Douglas on Falling Down, where she completely reinvented the character of Sheila. She also takes us inside her unforgettable guest appearances on Friends and Seinfeld. And then there’s Cybill, where she landed the role of Cybill Shepherd’s daughter after going through the intense audition process of 1990s network television. She remembers working with the legendary Christine Baranski and explains why she still suffers from what she calls “imposter disorder.”

But beneath all the fun stories is an incredibly moving story of reinvention. She opens up about why she walked away from acting for nearly ten years, returned to college as a single mother, discovered she had dyslexia and a learning disability, earned her master's degree in social work from UCLA, and ultimately got sober. She explains how playing Denise Brisbane on Big Sky became particularly meaningful because it was the first character she ever played sober.

DEDEE PFEIFFER

With a career spanning more than three decades, DeDee Pfeiffer has established herself as a versatile actress whose credits include cult classics, hit television series, acclaimed dramas, and working alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. The younger sister of Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Pfeiffer, she began acting at 21 making her feature-film debut in John Landis’ “Into the Night” (1985), alongside Jeff Goldblum and her sister Michelle. She soon landed starring roles in the cult favorite “Vamp “(1986), opposite icon Grace Jones, “The Allnighter” (1987), & “The Horror Show” (1989).

Throughout the 1990s, she continued building an impressive film résumé, appearing opposite George Clooney in “Red Surf,” Michael Douglas in “Falling Down,” and Keanu Reeves in “Tune in Tomorrow.” On TV, she became a familiar face as a series regular on the acclaimed sitcom “Cybill,” starring Cybill Shepherd, and later starred in “For Your Love.”

In 2010, she made the courageous decision to step away from Hollywood and focus on her recovery from alcohol addiction. She returned to school, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and ultimately received her Master of Social Work from UCLA. She then dedicated herself to social services, working with people affected by mental illness, substance abuse, and homelessness.

After nearly a decade away, she made a remarkable return to television in 2020 with ABC’s “Big Sky”, portraying Denise Brisbane, a role created specifically for her by series creator David E. Kelley, who is married to her sister Michelle. A single mother of two sons, DeDee’s Hollywood story is anything but conventional.

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