HollywoodOn Productions: Janet Donovan & Brendan Kownacki
“I’m on the inherited staff from the prior Secretary of State,” Sebastian Arcelus told Hollywood on the Potomac at the premiere screening of CBS’ MADAM SECRETARY event at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington DC.
“I play Jay Whitman, her senior policy advisor who’s a bit of a hot head, a little direct. He’s a smart, very forward thinker, but he’s a bit results oriented. There’s a bit of a rub between her inherited staff and herself but they grow to really have an appreciation for each other. They think the same, they have the same intentions, but they also think a little different.”
Keith Carradine, Erich Bergen and Sebastian Arcelus – Photo credit: Courtesy of Heather Wines/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting
“It’s very interesting to flip the script and join the stage department and get to be a part of this amazing piece with this remarkable group of actors and storytellers and taking on world events in a very realistically fictional way,” he added. “It’s really ambitious in the best way. We’re dealing with some major issues and not doing so in a political way but in a new exciting and human way.”
Tea Leoni led the star studded evening that included Tim Daly, Keith Carradine, Erich Bergen who mingled with members of the diplomatic corps, media and prominent political figures at a reception following the showing of the first episode. Also on hand were Executive Producers Morgan Freeman, Lori McCreary and Barbara Hall to explain just what made the Secretary of State character appealing.
Tea Leoni and Tim Daly
Madeleine Albright, a.k.a. a real Madam Secretary, is known for the use of whimiscal pins to express/convey her feelings to her counterparts. She even has her own traveling exhibition: Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection. She didn’t disappoint. We’re thinking the broach perched on her left shoulder is made by local jewelry designer Ann Hand.
Madeleine Albright, Former MADAM SECRETARY
History of the pin: “I had an arrow pin that looked like a missile, and when we were negotiating the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Russians, the Russian foreign minister asked, “Is that one of your missile interceptors you’re wearing?” And I responded, “Yes. We make them very small. Let’s negotiate.” Or, after we found that the Russians had planted a listening device—a “bug”—into a conference room near my office in the State Department, the next time I saw the Russians, I wore this huge bug. They got the message.” Smithsonian Magazine
The new CBS series “MADAM SECRETARY” premiered Sunday, Sept. 21.
On the MADAM SECRETARY Red Carpet:
