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Nebraskans bring heart to The CW’s ‘Dixie’

  • September 19, 2011 at 11:30 am

LOS ANGELES — when a New York physician sets up shop inBluebell, Ala., in the new CW series “Hart of Dixie,”  she learnsmuch about local culture from — wait for it — two Nebraskans.

Jaime King, an Omaha native, and Scott Porter, a formerPapillion resident, play locals who teach the newcomer (RachelBilson) how things are done in the South.

Odd? not in the least, the two say.

“I understand the mentality of what it is like,” King says. “Iunderstand the way they’re very steeped in their traditions, theway they were raised.”

Similarly, Porter says, “it’s pretty much the same as far as thepatience that people have with each other, the generosity of thepeople there and how protective they are of their communities.”

Besides, when he was in “Friday Night Lights” he had no point ofreference for Texas football. the surroundings helped. the sameshould be true for the new series.

“Hart of Dixie,” which stars “The O.C.’s” Rachel Bilson, will befilmed in North Carolina.

“The roles are perfect for us because this is the way that wewere raised,” King says. “The first time I ever saw a skyscraper oran ocean, I was 14 years old. the only thing I’d seen was thePlatte River.”

Unlike Porter, King got an early start in the entertainmentbusiness. She began as a model (moving to New York at 14), thensegued into acting.

Conversely, “Friday Night Lights” was Porter’s first TV job “andthe second pilot I auditioned for. Before that, I was beat-boxing,singing and dancing in a little off-Broadway show called ‘AltarBoyz.’ I beat-boxed in Tokyo for a year in theme parks, went to NewYork for my first pilot, read the script of ‘Friday Night Lights;and knew I was going to do whatever I could to get the role. I wasas green as I could be and I grew because of the people I waswith.”

Stars Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, he says, were his actingteachers. “I stole as much as I could from those amazingly talentedactors…and it’s done me well so far.”

Last season, Porter — who has relatives in Pender, Neb., aswell — played a pivotal role on “The Good Wife.” what was to havebeen a two-episode appearance grew into a 15-episode arc. Portertold producers he was interested in finding “something I could callmy own,” so he jumped, head first, into pilot season and landed”Hart of Dixie.”

“I was blessed to be on that show,” he says of ‘The Good Wife.”"And I’m always open to going back.”

“Friday Night Lights” holds a special place in his heart, too.Even though the series wrapped last summer, he has yet to watch thelast six episodes. “My character comes back in episode 7 and I justcan’t watch it.

“Almost all of the cast flew back for the finale, even if theyweren’t in it. (Executive Producer) Peter Berg had a quiet,introspective moment. He said, ‘This show is to be celebrated, notmourned. We went out on our own terms and nobody pushed usaround.’”

Now, there’s talk that a “FNL” movie could follow. Since theTaylors are living in Philadelphia, they’re close to Porter’scharacter — who lives in New York. “I’d give an arm and a leg towork with those amazingly talented actors again. They’re myfamily.”

That bond, King says, is something she found missing from films.”Rose Byrne told me I had to do a television series. She saidthere’s nothing like it — the roles for women are spectacular andyou get to act every single day.”

That timetable fits well with King’s new focus: directing.during the summer she directed a film, “Latch Key,” in Omaha. It’sabout a 14-year-old girl who loses her mother and can’t deal withthe stress. King also wrote the screenplay and hired all of heractors from Omaha.

“It was an amazing experience,” she says. “Now I want to focusmore on my work as director. I figure I can do that during myhiatus from this show.”

 Known for work in “Sin City,” “Pearl Harbor” and other films,King can identify with that “fish out of water” feeling Bilson’scharacter goes through in “Dixie.” when she first went to New York,she was shocked at lack of manners people had. In the Midwest –and the South — there’s more respect. “If we all took a moment tobe a little more thankful and kind to people, it could reallychange someone’s day.”

The series could do the same. both actors say it should changeattitudes about the South and educate viewers about small townlife.

“There’s a bit of eloquence to the South that the rest of thecountry doesn’t completely understand,” Porter says. “A lot ofpeople use the word ‘narrow-mindedness’ to explain the South butthere are a lot of beautiful, wonderful things…that we are goingto focus on.”

“Hart of Dixie” premieres at 8 p.m. Sept. 26 on the CW

Nebraskans bring heart to The CW’s ‘Dixie’

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