SEPTEMBER 2017 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 45
THE COVER
Taming the West
Jamie-Lynn Sigler takes a break from playing “New York-y” roles to help
a frontier marshal find Justice. But she’s not giving up bagels just yet.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler, the actress from
Jericho best known for her role as
Meadow in the hit HBO series The
Sopranos, has been busy of late juggling
film roles and adding to her
family. The doe-eyed, 36-year-old
spoke with the Press about how she
prepared for her first Western, her
just-revealed pregnancy, coming
out on MS and her favorite local
pizzeria.
LIP: You’ve dabbled in genres from
comedies to thrillers, but Justice is
your first Western. How was that
different?
JLS: I didn’t think I’d ever be
considered for a Western. People
associate me with being Italian,
which I’m not, and being New
York-y. To play this Midwestern
rancher’s daughter from the 1800s
was a dream because, as an actress,
you always want to play something
completely opposite of what you
are. And getting the opportunity
to be part of Justice, to work with
the people I got to work with on the
Bonanza Ranch in New Mexico,
was just magical.
LIP: In Justice, you play Melissa,
a teacher who tells a U.S. Marshal
that his brother was murdered.
How did you prepare?
JLS: I watched a lot of films that
were similar in tone. Studying a lot
about the times. What was the temperature
with society at the time,
the corruptness of government,
the ideas of slavery, of religion. Just
doing my homework.
LIP: What are some of your favorite
memories growing up on Long
Island?
JLS: Growing up on Long Island
makes me think of riding my bike
around West Birchwood with my
friends every day after school. And
there was so much to offer for me
as a performer on Long Island. So
many community theaters, dance
schools, acting schools, voice teachers.
I never had to go into the city
to feel like I would be getting any
more professional guidance than I
already was finding on Long Island.
It really had everything I ever needed
or wanted.
LIP: Your husband, Cutter Dykstra,
was born in Manhasset, giving
you both local ties. Are there places
that you must go when you visit?
JLS: My husband equates visiting
my parents with bagels and pizza.
My parents live in Plainview now,
so we’re always getting bagels
from Town Bagel and pizza from
La Piazza. They’re my two things
that I look forward to most foodwise
when I get home. A lot of my
friends from high school live on
Long Island, have their kids there.
It’s all about reconnecting.
LIP: Have you decided on a name
yet for your second boy on the way?
JLS: We’re toying with one, like
we did with our son Beau. We
chose, obviously, Beau, but we had
a couple of others. We feel like we
need to meet him and then figure it
out. We’ve got some ideas, but it’s a
D-Day decision.
LIP: You went public last year
about being diagnosed with MS
15 years ago. Was the reaction as
positive as you’d hoped?
JLS: I didn’t have any expectations
about what any type of reaction
would be. It was just an opportunity
to free myself up from this
secret prison that I had set myself
in. Ever since, it’s given me this
new-found purpose, things to do
with my life other than acting.
Trying to be an advocate for those
that suffer in silence. It does feel
better to know that other people
are understanding of what you’re
dealing with.
LIP: Before The Sopranos, one of
your first films was the mob-themed
A Brooklyn State of Mind, and now
you’re back in the genre with In the
Absence of Good Men, due out next
year. Can you talk about what draws
you to Mafia roles?
JLS: They just find me. I look Italian,
so I fit the part well. Martin Scorsese
is one of my favorite filmmakers
and one of my favorite movies ever
is Goodfellas. Maybe the universe is
getting me and understanding the
vibe of things that I like.
LIP: You’ve referred to the muchtalked
about series finale of The
Sopranos as brilliant. Where do
you think Meadow, AJ, Tony and
Carmella are today?
JLS: I think it all ended right there.
I wouldn’t say for all of them,
but for Tony. And I think it was
inevitable. If it didn’t end then, it
was going to happen. In many ways
that’s what the finale was showing
us. The family’s only choice was to
live in denial. It was no secret that
at some point it was going to catch
up to them.