Ask Alexandra – May 2016

1) Hi Alexandra,

I am just curious, but are you in anyway related to Ashley Williams? She looks just like you. Also, I didn’t know you were an identical twin. That is so cool! I’ve always loved you as an actress, since I first saw you in Baywatch.

Denise

Hi Denise,

I am not related to Ashley Williams, although she is the sister of the wonderful actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley (married to the country star Brad Paisley).

I am, yes, an identical twin – my sister Caroline is not an actress, however. She is an author, with a New York Times bestseller out now called Gutsy Girl. She was a journalist, then a firefighter and she is also an amazing adventurer. I have modeled several characters I have portrayed on television on Caroline, including Lt. Stephanie Holden from Baywatch and T.K. Martin on Fire Co 132 (FKA LA Firefighters).

I am happy you got to know me when I was on Baywatch, but I was an actress for 10 years before doing that show and had wonderful opportunities working with great actors like Tom Hanks (I was “The Virgin Connie Swail” in Dragnet), Jeff Bridges ( I played a call girl in 8 Million Ways to Die), Kevin Costner ( I was Becky the hippy hitchhiker in American Flyers). They were all first released over at least 27 years ago and are good movies, so if you get a chance do watch them. It is funny how different I look, because I am so young in each of them!

Thank you for writing,

Alexandra

2) Alexandra,
I remember watching Deathtrain and Nightwatch on USA Network when it originally aired and really enjoyed it. Can you share some anecdotes from the set? How was it like working with Pierce Brosnan?

Terry Anderson

Hi Terry,

Death Train and Nightwatch were also released on DVD under the titles Detonator I and Detonator II.

The writer/director, David Jackson, wrote the part with me in mind, but when I went in to audition I was not feeling well that day and I was terrible in the audition! I asked to be able to read again and luckily he said yes and I got the role. We shot the first movie at the beginning of the war in Croatia – we filmed a few days in Slovenia and the fighting had already happened there and was moving south in what was then Yugoslavia. There were UN troops in our hotel and Pierce and I were playing UN soldiers in the movie, and I remember riding up in the elevator with some real soldiers and thinking Wow what I do for a living is so silly and has no real meaning compared to what these UN soldiers do.

Pierce has lost his wife Cassandra to cancer just a few months earlier, so there was a sadness about him. On the second movie, which we shot 3 years later after the war (we were the first production back in, after being the last out during the war), Pierce had met the woman who is now is wife (the wonderful Keely Shaye Smith) and it was very nice to work with him for a second time. There was talk of doing a third movie in the book series, but that never happened. I wish we had!

I loved shooting those 2 movies, not only because it was fun to be a kick ass woman, but also because the people on the set were all so nice. I ran into the director, David Jackson, at the grocery store just last month!

Thank you for writing.

Alexandra