Grey's Anatomy guest star Mary McDonnell (Dr. Dixon) recently sat down to discuss her thoughts on the show and playing a character with Asperger's Syndrome. It's always interesting to hear it from the actors' and actresses' perspectives. Here's what she had to say...
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December 9th, 2008 8:54 AM
So she has the right idea but the expression is not going well on screen. While she is a great actor I really hope she does not become a regular her character just does not fit into SGH group. Plus I think they need to STOP adding characters, enough already. Focus on the great characters you already have and improve the writing and story lines for them or shut it down since it is just not working anymore.
December 9th, 2008 3:05 PM
I think it is hard to see her as a character on Grey's. I do think she is interesting though, because this is something that we definitely have not seen before. Everyone is always on their interns about not getting 'close' to their patients, and in her case its physically impossible. I'm interested to see where they are going to take this.
December 12th, 2008 1:39 AM
Now I would have to argue that Erica Hahn brought significantly more to the table in dynamics than Dr. Dixon does. That is not to say Mary McDonnell is not a brilliant actress--I said from day one she's first rate. I, however, find it hard for ABC to justify their reason for firing Brooke Smith as having played a character that had nothing to offer. I think Dr. Dixon is deserving of that title; where's the character foil?
January 4th, 2009 5:28 AM
I have a problem with this woman. I just don't like her. It might have worked better if they hadn't made her like Dustin Huffman in "Rainman". But then again. I just love Dr. Erica Hahn and no one else can take her place. SORRY!!! It is a shame that all us viewers that want Dr. Hahn back. Don't seem to matter to ABC or Grey's Anatomy. I myself and alot of others, have invested alot of time in the show and spent alot of time on different sites that carry Grey's news.
February 8th, 2009 1:05 AM
As a BSG fan, I'm in utter awe of Mary McDonnell as an actress - and, from what I've been able to glean through an outsider's perspective, she seems like a pure, absolute lass act of a human being as well.
But as a woman with Asperger's, I'm deeply disheartened by this portrayal. The character is the equivalent of Mickey Rooney's "Mr. Yunioshi" in Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's assembled from a collection of stereotypes that have very little basis in reality - particularly for Aspie women, in whom the orientation tends to manifest rather differently than men.
I can't even imagine that, as they were writing this, the writers talked to any actual adults with Asperger's - or anybody who's ever *met* an actual adults with Asperger's. From what I've seen, they simply seemed to be ticking off diagnostic criteria they had read somwhere, line by line.
What makes it particularly ridiculous is that there are some fantastic real-world examples of adult Aspies, such as Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, and Heather Kuzmich of America's Next Top Model. None of them conform to these silly stereotypes, nor do they bear the slightest resemblance to "Dr. Dixon." While I appreciate the writers' good intentions, their condescending, Orientalist-style approach really does more harm than good.
For a more accurate exploration of the reality of Asperger's I suggest this site: http://www.creative-minds.info/index.htm. It's probably the single most clear and comprehensive description of Aspiedom I've been able to find on the web.
February 8th, 2009 4:58 AM
Even the best actress on TV (just check Battlestar Galactica) can´t do anything with wa bad script. We´ve seen nothing to suggest she is the brilliant surgeon she was hired for in the first place. Please, let her go...or give her some substantial plot to play!
I really DO love Mary in other roles, but not in this one