Katharine Towne
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Katharine Towne on her starring TV debut in "M.Y.O.B.": "There's some horrible part of me that can't wait to see this show, even though I'm terrified. I mean, it's all me, all the time. You really have to like me, and I don't even like me all that much." --quoted in E! Online's "The Sizzlin' Sixteen of 2000".
Movieline's Jeffrey Lantos on Towne's childhood as the daughter of screenwriter Robert Towne: "Occasionally Dad's art intruded on his daughter's life. At Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, Kate was once asked if she was the model for Katherine, the child born of an incestuous coupling in 'Chinatown'. 'I said, "Listen jack ass, you wanna give me a complex?"', she recalls." --From the May 2000 issue.
Biography
Evincing an air of articulate self-possession that came across more as experienced sophistication than precociousness despite her relative youth, Katharine Towne was quite a catch in Hollywood: an attractive, smart and talented blonde hip to the ins and outs of the business. The eldest daughter of famed screenwriter Robert Towne, the actress initially wanted to be a writer, inspired both by her father's legacy and her own hatred of actors. Time and therapy led Towne to the realization that she was in fact a born actor; she had only been acting as a writer. From here she sought out training and soon began landing small supporting roles. Not many moviegoers caught her work in the festival screened independent "Girl" (1998), but her next feature "She's All That" (1999) was well-attended although her part was less than crucial. A similarly dialogue-light turn followed in Doug Liman's energetic "Go" that same year. She was featured to greater advantage in the silly romantic comedy "The Bachelor," playing chef Monique, a somewhat eccentric candidate to be the bride of Chris O'Donnell's commitment-shy titular character.
Although she had filmed a role in the unaired David Lynch pilot "Mulholland Drive" in spring of 1999, Towne did not make her television debut until October 1999 with a fearsome turn as a venomous vampire able to find the heroine's weakness on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (The WB). She was set to star in the midseason replacement series "M.Y.O.B." on NBC, an edgy, acerbic take on high school comedy created by "The Opposite of Sex" director Don Roos. Not unlike Christina Ricci's despicable yet oddly likable character in that feature, Towne's take on sarcastic runaway Riley Veatch was remarkably multi-layered yet still bluntly funny. Shot in one-camera style, nearly all of the show featured Towne and her cutting voiceover dominated the series. The actress proved to be the most watchable aspect of the somewhat uneven program. Shortly after the June berth of "M.Y.O.B.," Towne hit the big screen again with roles in three summer 2000 releases, the sexual preference deprogramming comedy "But I'm a Cheerleader," the eerily Machiavellian social climbing tale "In Crowd" and the Michelle Pfeiffer-Harrison Ford supernatural mystery "What Lies Beneath." The following year, she was featured in the touching romantic comedy "Town & Country," starring her dad's pal Warren Beatty.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Life Events
1991
At age 13, moved in with her father, acclaimed screenwriter Robert Towne
1997
Film acting debut with a featured role in the Seattle rock scene-set independent drama "Girl"; screened on the festival circuit in 1998 and 1999
1999
Guest starred on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as a tough bloodsucker who gives the heroine a run for her money
1999
Acted in Robert Iscove's teen romance feature "She's All That"
1999
Had a small role in "Go", Doug Liman's vibrant chronicle of Los Angeles nightlife
1999
Played Monique, a chef and one of the potential brides of Chris O'Donnell's titular character, in "The Bachelor"
2000
Was featured in the thriller "In Crowd", a look at the dangerous secrets of the inner circle
2000
Had a supporting role as the daughter of Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford in Robert Zemeckis' supernatural mystery "What Lies Beneath"
2000
Played Sinead, one of the campers sent to have her lesbian tendencies "rehabilitated", in the quirky comedy "But I'm a Cheerleader"
2000
Starred as a sarcastic runaway who must adapt to her nitpicky aunt and a new high school in NBC the midseason replacement sitcom "M.Y.O.B."
2001
Appeared in the romantic comedy "Town & Country"
Videos
Movie Clip
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Katharine Towne on her starring TV debut in "M.Y.O.B.": "There's some horrible part of me that can't wait to see this show, even though I'm terrified. I mean, it's all me, all the time. You really have to like me, and I don't even like me all that much." --quoted in E! Online's "The Sizzlin' Sixteen of 2000".
Movieline's Jeffrey Lantos on Towne's childhood as the daughter of screenwriter Robert Towne: "Occasionally Dad's art intruded on his daughter's life. At Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, Kate was once asked if she was the model for Katherine, the child born of an incestuous coupling in 'Chinatown'. 'I said, "Listen jack ass, you wanna give me a complex?"', she recalls." --From the May 2000 issue.
Towne on finding the character of Riley ("M.Y.O.B.") within herself: "I didn't do any research. You find what is closest; you use those emotions that are the same or similar. I know what it feels like to not belong, or you can't be where you want and it's not your fault, or craving normality or non-chaos. I also understand channeling that into aggression and sarcasm. Where else are you going to go with that when you're not mature? To go, 'Let's just pick the flowers we have and go on' -- that's really hard to say when you're 14 and you're just a mess." --quoted May 31, 2000 on Zap2It.com TV.
"I'd wanted to be a writer, which is understandable under the circumstances, but when I was 18 I realized I'd [only been] acting like a writer, which was discouraging in so many ways. I always thought actors were big fat morons obsessed with their own pretty faces. I was sort of ashamed to want to be an actress, because I'm not usually one to flock with groups. I sort of went to class, not to learn but just see if I could do it or not." --quoted to Zap2It.com TV, May 31, 2000.
