smiley. tonight a conversation with kyra sedgwick. she continues her work as an environmental advocate. we are glad you joined us. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is right thing. by doing the right thing. to completely eliminating hungerwalmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out.

you. 5 and by contributions from viewers like you. thank you. please welcomethank you. -- please welcome kyra sedgwick. fans of "the closer" were sad to see it end. you can catch her in and neufeld -- in a new film called "the possession," based on real-life events. >> you are laid.

-- late. no piece of. >> i will give you $5 if you do not tell your mother. >> dad, look. can i get this? >> whenever you want. >> whoever had this did not want anyone to open it. >> are you ok? i feel funny. >> why is the box so important to you? >> i do not know. it just is. >> i have no idea how it got here. >> where are you?

>> the spirit is the taker of children. once the box is opened, people died. >> they cannot help it. >> beneath his wings, you will be protected. he will cover you. his truth. you let my daughter go.

>> i saw something in her. tavis: i am in full possession of this film. >> you do not even needed. >> this is the kind of thing i have to see in the middle of the day at noon. >> you are not alone. i used to get really scared when there was a kid. >> i have to see this in the daylight. i cannot go to a late-night movie and go to bed after this. it looks scary. >> it is scary. tavis: what interested you in a movie like this?

>> i have never done a horror movie, and i think it is something everybody should do. i really liked the script, because it is character-driven. it reminded me of the exorcist and "the omen," and there was some great acting to that. when you care about the characters you get more scared. is this story of this family breaking up. the box is a metaphor of this evil that comes into the family, and they are being ripped apart, and i love the director, who is a well-known and successful danish director, and i thought he had a great take on the material. i love jeffrey dean morgan, and the actress who plays the main character is extraordinary. they send me her audition, and she was amazing. tavis: there are two things you said i want to pick up on.

one is that every actress ought to do at least one horror film. >> it is just as john rajoy -- a genre i think is something people really want to see. it is a genre that can be compelling and inherently dramatic. i think it is cool. >> this is based on real-life events, which means what? >> the "l.a. times" picked up a story. there was a small box that is basically a dislocated spirit, and they sold it at a yard sale, and everyone who owned it, terrible things started happening in their family. people got killed or horrible freak accidents, and it went from person to person, and it

created havoc in the life of whoever has the box. tavis: you said you wanted to do a horror movie because you had never done one before. i assume there is a level of freedom you now have to explore stuff you have not done. >> i did shoot this before i finished the closer, but i loved a closer. it was an amazing experience on every level. it was so fulfilling creatively. it was one of the most creatively fulfilling experiences i have ever had. i left because i wanted to go out on top. i felt i was very important, -- i felt that was very important, but it was not an easy decision. as an actor, i yearned to do other roles. >> you said everything about this experience was good for

you. a little bird told me you were paid on the city of los angeles. initially you did not want to do it because you did not want to come to l.a. >> furs, i started acting very young, -- first, i started acting very young, so my ego was three affected by the business and whether or not i got parts, and you are only as good as your class project now, so when i came to los angeles, i used to call it the city of fear, because i was always auditioning and always waiting for the next thing. initially, i also did not want to come to the show, because it was so far away from home. it was a long way away, but i have learned to not just like the city but to love the city.

after seven years of trenton -- renting, i bought a house after finishing, which is so outrageous, which is part and parcel of the way we do things. let's do this. it makes no sense, but let's do it anyway. tavis: i am glad you had a great experience. i would hate for you to hate every minute of it. >> i loved it. tavis: when you first started, did you think it was going to resonate with the audience? >> i do not think you can ever know that, certainly to the extent that it did. tavis: what do you think the reason is? >> i think the reason is the characters. i think the characters were really well drawn. yes, if is a wonderful

procedure, and closing the case every week is great, but people do not come back for that. people come back because they really want to know what was going on with brenda. they really want to see the dynamic in the squad room. >> why was the accent so important? >> she was from atlanta. i feel it was part of what is armed people and made them underestimate her. when james talk about the project, he said it is unusual to have a southern person the smartest person in the room, and i loved that idea. i have a real respect for the south. i've loved southern people. i love the history, so i really wanted to tap into that and celebrate it, make it a huge part of her character. she was very much of southern lady. she hardly ever warpath -- wore

pants. she was old fashioned. >> did you ever get concerned at all -- this is always fascinating to me. there is a point on a particular series when certain individuals get typecast, and i am wondering how actors make decisions about when to let stuff go. going out on top means you have done this for seven years. as an actor, d you ever get concerned i am playing this character a little too long and i am going to get myself on a box i cannot get out of for the rest of my career? perhaps a couple of things to say. the character is so far from me that i do not think -- there are not going to be a lot -- anything i do after this is a stretch, because everyone will think that is what she does. i also do not think there are that many southern cops i am

going to get offered in the future. the other interesting phenomenon about my show is we were a phenomenal hit in the red states, not so much new york and los angeles, and that is a good thing for me. when i was doing it, i was frustrated, because it was not legman men. it was not like all the shows those hollywood people watch. i can remember my agent saying watches my show. in red?so strong \ >> we were never thought of as a cool show, and i think people underestimated it because it was a procedural, and i think tnt is more popular in the red face, but i love that. that makes me so happy. they are the middle of the

country. new york and los angeles, we ignore it. tavis: i want to ask what you thing that says about the industry. >> we have a narrow view. people in new york and los angeles have a narrow view of the way people behave, what is important to people. i do not want to get in trouble for saying this, but of race, acceptance of abortion, women's rights, and i think there is a huge difference between what people politically believe and what interests people in los angeles and what interests people in new york, and it is very different, and i think to ignore that is cutting yourself out of a huge part of your population, which i feel is

under represented, and i think that is the great thing about brenda lee. tavis: horror plays everywhere. most people know i have a political ideas and interests. it is no surprise to our audience, but you have run down a list of things. would you consider yourself a political person eminencies men are you politically active? >> i am politically active -- which you consider yourself a political person? are you politically active? >> i am politically active in that i try to stay involved. i read the paper. i have a passionate views in

that i try to stay involved. i read the paper. i have a passionate views about not quite a few things. -- about quite a few things. not quite a few things. -- about quite a few things.