10 Quick Questions for Nancy Travis

As an actress, you’ve done film, TV, theater and one-woman shows. If you could only choose one to do for the foreseeable future, which would you pick and why?

Oh gosh, I don’t know that I could pick one because I’m so nourished by all of it. I’m doing a play right now [The Children] in Santa Barbara. I love the immediacy of being onstage. I love having that audience connection and facing that terror of Am I going to remember everything? That’s a lot to keep in your brain, but I’m always rewarded. I also love making movies and television shows. It’s a whole different beast.

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If you weren’t an actress, what would you be doing?

I remember there was a distinct moment when I was in high school, and it was time to apply to college, and I thought, What do I want to do? I love the idea of teaching. I was in the community theater and in the school plays. I thought, I’ll go for acting. It was a conscious decision. I’m glad I followed my passion.

Now that you’re in your 60s, what advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?

I guess the advice that I would give — it might be advice I would give to myself now as well — is don’t sweat the small stuff. Don’t worry about the things that you don’t have control over. Things tend to work out. This is our shot at living this wonderful life. Just grab it with both hands and live it to its fullest.

It’s been 35 years since Three Men and a Baby was 1987’s number 1 film. Can you share a favorite memory from filming it?

It was such a charmed time because it was one of the first jobs that I ever got. The casting director brought me in and I auditioned and was told, “OK, that was very good.” But down the road they said, “It's not going to work out, because we want to hire an English actress.” And I said, “I can do an accent!” So I auditioned again and got that part. Leonard Nimoy was a wonderful man and a terrific director, and the guys were incredibly welcoming. It’s interesting how life circles around itself, because down the road, I did Becker with Ted Danson, and I did a movie of the week with Tom [Selleck] later. And I always see Steve Gutenberg at the supermarket. The world gets smaller and smaller in its own way.

You and your husband, filmmaker Robert Fried, will celebrate 30 years of marriage next year. Do you have a secret to relationship longevity?

Somebody once said [the secret to marriage] is not getting divorced. There’s that, but what is the secret? I think that we are very loving and close, but we respect each other’s independence and each other’s dreams. We are also both very much family people, and our family comes first. We come from the same places in terms of what’s of value to us.

Any bucket list items before you turn 70?

There’s so many places in the world I’d love to travel to. I would love to do a period piece, whether it’s a play, a film or a TV show. I would just like to wake up each day and be in good health. This is so cliche, but [I want to] be open and optimistic and to have the people I love be in a good place.