Operation Bakula

You would not believe what I had to go through to find this one... (found it in an old email), so please pardon the formatting (or lack thereof)

L.A. Times Story

Cover Story

Operation Bakula

JUGGLING HIS DAYS AS SERIES STAR,

PRODUCER AND FATHER

By SUSAN KING, Times Staff Writer

Doing a one-hour action series is no walk in

the park. The

hours are incredibly long and the pace is

overwhelmingly hectic.

But not only is Scott Bakula starring in CBS'

new one-hour

series, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," which premiered last

week, he also is the executive producer of the

series that combines elements of comedy, action,

romance and espionage.

With a bemused grin, Bakula acknowledges that

it's "sheer

madness" to be wearing both hats.

"I guessed it was going to be pretty bad,"

says Bakula, 41,

relaxing in his trailer during his lunch break. "I

didn't think it would be as bad as it has been, but

yet at the same time, I am surviving."

Plus, Bakula adds, he has achieved

"mini-victories" for the

series in the midst of the daily grind.

"You find a little something that really

works," says Bakula,

who won a Golden Globe for his work in NBC's sci-fi

series "Quantum Leap." "Or a location that worked.

Or a great piece of casting. I am still teaching

myself every day: How am I psychologically going to

survive? How do you get through all the negativity,

all the notes, all the suggestions, all the help

you get from people who are not directly involved

in the project and enjoy the moments when things

work?"

"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" finds Bakula playing a

dashing

industrial spy who is teamed by his employer with a

sexy, freelance operative (Maria Bello). It's a

pinch of "Moonlighting," mixed with a little "Thin

Man," some James Bond and a twist: For security

reasons, neither is supposed to know anything

personal about the other, including their real

names.

On a recent afternoon, Bakula & Co. are

shooting a

nightclub scene in downtown Los Angeles. "We are

invading the rock 'n' roll world," explains Bakula,

who began his career on the Broadway musical stage.

"I am playing a backup singer. So I actually end up

singing a little bit and playing the piano."

Bakula was brought the idea for "Mr. & Mrs.

Smith" about

a year ago by creators and executive producers

Kerry Lenhart and John J. Sakmar. He'd been off of

"Quantum Leap" for two years and had a production

deal with Warner Bros. to produce, direct and star

in series and movies.

"They said, 'We are thinking about this idea

about two

spies who can't find anything out about each other

and they are infatuated with each other, but they

have no past,' " Bakula recalls.

"It was all very appealing to me," he says.

"The goal for

me, if I went back to TV, was finding something

that would be different from 'Quantum,' but at the

same time would offer me the same kind of variety

and interest and continuing excitement over the

years that 'Quantum' did."

"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" fit his demands. In the

case of

"Quantum," Bakula leaped into a different body each

week, but with his new series he can play four to

five characters per episode. "I am Mr. Smith, I'm

the bicycle delivery guy. So I get a lot of

opportunity. The sky is the limit with this show."

Bakula is eager to see how critics and

audiences will

respond to the series. "The hard thing about doing

this show, especially now, is that we are totally

in a vacuum," he explains. "What is the public

going to respond to in the show? So it's going to

be interesting to see when it finally gets out

there."

As for newcomer Bello, Bakula says she was

discovered

by Lenhart and Sakmar when she appeared in their

busted pilot for a new version of "77 Sunset

Strip." The producers brought her to the attention

of Warner Bros. and CBS.

The hope is that the Bakula-Bello combination

will cause

sexual sparks to fly, just as when Bakula played a

recurring role as a dashing reporter opposite

Candice Bergen on "Murphy Brown."

"There was something going on there," he says

of his

partnership with Bergen. "I can't explain it.

Chemistry is an enigma to me. I can't explain it."

Bakula will be seen in an entirely different

role next Sunday

in the CBS movie, "Bachelor's Baby," which he also

executive produced.

The actor cast himself in the comedy-drama as

a carefree

bachelor who discovers he has a baby son. Bakula's

real-life girlfriend, Chelsea Field, plays the

baby's mother, who has fallen on hard times.

Bakula's character volunteers to take care of the

infant until she gets on her feet.

"There's a lot of funny stuff in it," he

says, "but underneath

is this very heartwarming, really gentle but great

story about a man who all of a sudden comes to love

something besides his own single private life."

Coincidentally, Bakula and Field had a baby

boy before

production began on the film last February. "We

were kind of coming off of that. It was great

because the baby was on the set. Chelsea's mom was

there with us. It was great for me in the work

sense to have everyone with me."

Bakula made news of a much different sort

last month

when he got a restraining order against Tina Marie

Ledbetter, whom the actor claims has written him

numerous letters and called his publicist several

times accusing him of betraying his fans by leaving

his wife. He wanted to ensure that she didn't

approach him or his family.

"That stuff comes with the territory," Bakula

says. "I have

never really had any fan problems. Sometimes

boundaries get confused. You try and be as clear

and as honest and upfront of what the boundaries

are. This is my job, but I also have a life. I

recognize that a part of my life's freedom is gone

and it will be gone forever. But, also, I still go

to the grocery store and the movies and pump gas

and try to do as much as I can with my kids. All I

ever want to do is have enough space so I can still

do that with my kids. I don't want to live in a

cage."

"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on

CBS;

"Bachelor's Baby" airs Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. on CBS.