“Acting is like digging a ditch, and sometimes you have to dig deep,” Rosemary Gore explained in a recent telephone interview. Speaking with the impeccable articulation and dramatic force she also brings to her film roles, Gore talked candidly and enthusiastically about her showbiz career. 

I first saw this talented actress in the horror movie Fear of the Dark. She played Alice Walker, a woman suffering nightmares about a serial killer who murdered her parents when she was a young child and is afraid the man also wants to kill her. Gore’s strong screen charisma impressed me, and so did her fine comic work in Oil & Water. Commenting on these two roles, Gore said, “Alice Walker was my first feature film role and probably my favorite dark one. I was exhausted and dehydrated because I worked so hard on that part. But the character I played in Oil & Water is the most like me -- no nonsense and by-the-book.”      

Other roles Gore enjoyed are the characters she portrayed in Baby Doll and Sylvia. “Baby Doll is a short horror film with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? overtones, and Sylvia is a play by A.R. Gurney that starred Sarah Jessica Parker and Blythe Danner. It’s about a man who falls in love with a dog -- and I played the dog!”

Who is Gore’s all-time favorite actor? “Bette Davis --  I completely identify with her acting, especially her dark roles,” she replied

When complimented about never “mumbling” her dialogue like more than a few actors do today, Gore credited her New York training. She studied at the Michael Howard Studio as well as with acting coaches Tim Phillips and Penny Templeton. “In New York, acting is about being very real and full of emotion,” she pointed out. “Just think about such New York actors as Kevin Kline, Kevin Spacey and Meryl Streep -- they are real and full (and never mumble!). In L.A., it’s just the opposite. When you go to auditions, if you give too much, you’re not going to get work.”

Gore also serves as a producer now. “I’m a Type A person and I want to work,” she declared. "I’m an excellent salesperson, very good at raising money and that’s what a producer does. I’d even like to have my own production company.”

When not acting or producing, Gore works in real estate and claims it keeps her sane. Born and raised in a little town in North Carolina, she currently lives in California but insists she hasn’t adopted Hollywood as a lifestyle. “I’m a normal person who likes to be at home at night with my husband, my three cats and my parrot,” she said. “I live by the Golden Rule and don’t want to change -- which reminds me of something bizarre I saw recently. In the desert of a National Park, there's a billboard for implants! Well, I suppose even iguanas have to look sexy these days.”

This funny, smart actress ended the interview with a surprising revelation about how problems in her childhood helped shape her acting ability. “I was very introverted, not popular, ugly, had no friends and was super-sensitive. Even listening to the news scared me. I think acting lessons are good for children like that. They can help them grow and accept their fears. And you have to experience problems and crises to play characters -- you have to become a receptor.”

Gore emphasized how important it is to keep learning. "I'm always learning because the more you learn, the more tools you have, the more you can do.”

You go, girl!