Undeniably pretty but not your classic, knockout beauty, Jenna Elfman is nonetheless a commanding presence. Indeed, she could well be the breakout TV star of the fall season.
Elfman is irresistible as Dharma, the free-spirited female half of “Dharma & Greg,” ABC’s new Wednesday night romantic comedy. At a press conference with TV critics, Elfman’s enthusiasm seemed genuine and infectious, allowing her to effectively take control of the session despite the presence of former “Chicago Hope” cast member Thomas Gibson (who plays Greg), series producers Chuck Lorre and Dottie Dartland and a heavyweight supporting cast that includes Susan Sullivan, Mitchell Ryan, Alan Rachins and Mimi Kennedy.
Asked to describe the essence of her appeal, Elfman plunged into a mile-a-minute but entirely coherent explanation, squirming in her chair and gesturing dramatically–as if her body could barely contain her energy.
“That’s one of those weird questions because I think I know, but then when you say it, it sounds really, like, kind of conceited,” she cautioned. “But I think I’m good at being me and not worrying about how I come off. I’m pretty comfortable with who I am.”
Elfman said the concept of “Dharma & Greg”–a show about two people from vastly different backgrounds who meet, fall passionately in love and get married within 24 hours–grew out of conversations with executives and writers at 20th Century Fox Television after the collapse of “Townies,” the ABC sitcom in which she co-starred last season with Molly Ringwald.
Because the new show was built around her, Elfman was in on auditions, most importantly the one for the role of Greg. She wasn’t sure what to expect.
“What I find as a woman, as an actress, is that a lot of times men in leading-men roles, they’re not genuine leading men. They do leading men,” she said, affecting a kind of sleazy, lounge-lizard expression.
In the auditions for Greg, Elfman recalled, “All these other guys were very much into themselves . . . I wanted to have fun, and they were just so worried about how they were going to do or maintaining who they are that they couldn’t play.”
Not so with Gibson: “He walked into the room, and it was just like, boom, like right there.” That connection has continued, she said. “In every scene, I look up and he’s right there for me, right there to play.
“And it’s so rare, and you don’t realize it until you actually get it and you go, `Oh my God! I’ve been missing this!’ “