TV’s Lake Bell not a big fan of ocean

WILMINGTON (N.C.)—Lake Bell has a name that’s perfect for starring in a new underwater TV drama. If only she had the courage to match. “I’m not a big fan of the ocean because I’m scared of what lies beneath,” Bell said recently during a break in filming of NBC’s “Surface.” Among her fears: undertow and man-of-war jellyfish.
“But as a pseudo-action star, I have to jump in ... to literally jump in and go,” she said. “It’s cool to be kind of a bad ass. I’m not a bad ass, but I play one on TV.” And on “Surface,” that means working on the water - be it in the ocean, on a boat or hanging out poolside. Bell’s Laura Daughtery is an oceanographer who discovers mysterious sea monsters in the ocean.
The special effects are added in post-production, forcing the actors to interact with a piece of tape playing the part. For help imagining the creatures, Bell asked her former “Boston Legal” co-star William Shatner, who faced more than his fair share of aliens on “Star Trek,” for advice on acting with something less than human. His guidance? “He said to just make a lot of faces”.—Agencies