Katey Sagalis terrifying but don’t worry, it’s just an act.
As it turns out, her secret to success is to just keep on going.
I started as a musician, and then acting came as a second thing.
But then, I struggled through both of them.
It’s like what I tell my kids my older kids are both in the arts.
You have to be part crazy to do this.
… And then you have to have that [attitude] you might’t give up.
You have to really know, and you have to be able to handle rejection.
That you are still viable, even though somebody’s not recognizing you or giving you a job.
The whole boys' world thing is, I don’t know, it’s opening up a lot.
And it’s something we have to deal with, but it’s getting easier and easier.
I hope for younger women, it’s going to be not an issue.
That’s what I hope.
I wanted to know if there’s anything you brought from your career as a musician into your role?
It was a lot about how far you’ll go to get famous.
How much of your moral compass will you leave behind?
So, it’s kind of the misfortune that women have to struggle even a little bit harder.
[She] has lost [fame], and doesn’t know how to function without it.
She’s [struggling] because she’s not famous anymore, and she’s hiding.
It’s a big lesson in what we’ll do when we’re afraid.
It’s got to.
Igrew up in Hollywood.
I was born here.
My parents were in show business.
So I had a very realistic view of what this was and how hard this work is.
That it’s not all the glitz and glamor [we think] it is.
A lot of people come here thinking it’s going to be.
I wanted to ask you about your background.
Right now on TikTok, there’s a huge conversationabout the idea of “nepotism babies.
“It’s not all bad.
A lot of people are saying, “Wow, look at this talent in this family.
The kids are even more talented than the parents.”
I wanted to know, what was it really like growing up with famous parents?
My father [Boris Sagal] was a director.
My mother [Sara Zwilling] was a writer.
So, that was a really great thing [he did].
That’s the first thing that’s really hard.
So that paid off great.
And yes, that was a helpful nepotism.
What I know about it is because I also have children that are artists it doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t matter what your name is.
It doesn’t matter who your parents are.
It doesn’t matter.
Your talent has to stand on its own or it’s not going to happen.
It’s such a hard industry to break into, that if you have a connection, use it.
You’re not good enough.
It’s too hard.
Go find something else.”
In my case, my two older kids are very talented.
They barely tell people that I’m involved with them, and they get jobs on their own.
I would tell my kids the same thing.
It’s really hard.
Tell me about how you were fired by Bob Dylan.
Oh, that was a great story.
Well, I was all of 18-years-old.
I got the job by a fluke because of my friend who I was a singer with.
We made a record together, actually.
My friend, she lived on the beach near Bob Dylan, and she became a friend of his.
He was putting together a band after [The Rolling Thunder Revue Tour].
[My friend] brought me and another girl and said, “Here we are.
We’re going to be your singers.”
And he hired us.
So I never actually made it to the road with him.
I never made a record with him.
I always tell people that I worked with Bob Dylan because it was amazing.
We would all sit around after the rehearsal, and he’d play back the rehearsal tape.
And if you made a mistake, he’d look at you.
It was like, “Whoa, I’m terrified right now.”
But it was a great job.
Yeah, 100%.
She’s everybody’s TV mother.
So, which role do you think is closest to who you are and why?
Probably more Cate Hennessy.
To play these badass women is so much fun, and clearly I have an inner badass in me.
We all have those emotions, so it’s great to be able to dispel them and utilize them.
They’d probably call me a badass, but I’m a big mom.
I love being their mom.
So, that’s me personally.
Do you prefer playing a villain or playing the good guy?
Well, I’ve played more villains than good guys.
Oh, in [ABC’s “Rebel”] I was a good guy.
I like playing a good guy with an edge.
I felt like that was your character in “Shameless.”
That was so fun.
She was a mess too.
She was a messy lady.
It was absolutely tragic when John Ritter passed away.
That was one of the few times I cried while watching a sitcom.
I know that the writers worked it into the plot, but what was it like behind the scenes?
It was absolutely heartbreaking.
We feel like we all went through a life-changing experience.
It was a real tough call for everybody to decide to continue the show or to not continue.
And then when they made the decision to play it in real time, that dad really died.
And that was a brave choice … suddenly it was a single mom.
But it was really weird.
He was the whole show and such a big love vibe.
He was so great.
With all the range of projects you do, how do you decide?
How do you decide what’s the right project for you?
Well, first they have to offer me the job.
Sometimes I am, because a gig is a gig.
It’s not that way.
Choices are not that available.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
