B.L. You shot How To Deal in Toronto last summer, do you miss the city?
A.J. Yes, I love Toronto and I had a great time shooting there. I had lots of great meals in Toronto and there were a lot of great festivals going on when I was there. I had a fantastic time.

B.L. You play the mother of two teenage girls, no easy feat I'm sure. Were you looking for something completely different than your character C.J. on The West Wing?
A.J. Yes I was, absolutely. This role happened to come at the right time because I had about six weeks off for my hiatus from The West Wing and this was a five week shoot that fit right in perfectly. I thought 'well, that's too perfect' so I met with the director (Claire Kilner) and I had such a great meeting with her. I loved the way she thought and talked and how she wanted to approach the movie. I loved her ideas and then when she brought up Dylan Baker's name and Peter Gallagher and Mackenzie Astin, I thought those are going to be fun people to play with.

B.L. Yes, it does have an excellent cast.
A.J. Yes and we enjoyed each other's company very much. I really loved my part, playing Lydia. I loved that she was in turmoil yet she was still trying to be a mom and be positive for her girls, and it was just fun trying to juggle that around.

B.L. One of my favorite scenes involves you sitting at the kitchen table with your girlfriends shooting a video for a video dating service. Too hilarious! Who wouldn't want to say the things that Lydia says!
A.J. I know, it was fun shooting that.

B.L. Was that ad-libbed for you or was it all from the page, because she really lets out her true feelings at that point on how she feels about men.
A.J. It was pretty much scripted, but it came out different ways every time I did it because that's the way I work I never do anything twice the same. I just sort of thought of someone I'm mad at or somebody who dumped me and went from there. It was a lot of fun to play though. It's interesting to see the TV clip of it because they cut out all the good parts!

B.L. Mandy Moore, who plays one of your daughters, is such a sweetheart. Was there anything that surprised you about this up-and-coming young actress?
A.J. What surprised me was her confidence and calmness about her. There are a lot of things going on around that girl and she's so calm and confident. She is very brave as an actress and she is not afraid to make a fool of herself and she just goes and dives in. If it's not right she'll just go in and try something else. I am immensely impressed with her.

B.L. What about her young co-star, Trent Ford?
A.J. Yes, he's kind of gorgeous to look at. The two of them together are beautiful!

B.L You must be gearing up for another season of The West Wing. So spill the beans: will C.J. have another love in her life, because it was not right what happened to her last season, poor girl!
A.J.(laughs) I don't like what happened there either. I miss Mark Harmon; he was kind of nice to get to act with! I don't know what is going to happen. John Wells is taking over the show now and he's going to be writing and I'm sure he'll have a different style. He's a wonderful and very talented writer so I can't wait to see what direction the show will take.

B.L. So it's still fun for you working on the series?
A.J. Yeah, it's a great job. It's so unusual as an actor to have a steady job and after all these years I am still relishing it.

B.L. You have already won two Emmy Awards for your portrayal of C.J... is it something that excites you or do you still get nervous when the nominations come out every year?
A.J. Oh, it terrifies me! I'm like 'oh gosh,' it still makes me nervous.
****NOTE: Allison recently received yet another Emmy Nomination for Best Actress in a dramatic series for her portrayal of C.J. on The West Wing.

B.L. What else are we going to see from you on the big screen?
A.J. I did a little indie movie with Anthony Lapaglia called Winter Solstice and that will probably come out in the winter sometime. Beyond that I don't know, I'll try and fit in a few things here and there.

B.L. Will we ever see you back on the Broadway stage?
A.J. I can't wait to do that. I am going to, but I think it's just going to have to wait until after The West Wing runs its course because it's impossible to do a play in six weeks. With the amount of work I do I really need a little down time; I need some time to relax!