ctress Nicole Sullivan, known by many for her years on
MADtv, may be having fun as the star on Lifetime’s
Rita Rocks, but what is she really mad about these days? Her 20-month-old son, Dashel. Here she shares with
The Cradle a refreshing look at everything from pregnancy weight gain to the paparazzi.
The Cradle: How did you and your husband, Jason Packham, choose the name Dashel for your son?
Nicole: Dashiell Hammett was an author that I’ve always liked – he wrote the Sam Spade character. I loved mysteries when I was a teenager, so I’ve always been a fan of his writing.
And I just really liked the name; I thought it was kind of cool. My husband and I call him Dash – that’s his nickname.
The Cradle: While you’re working on
Rita Rocks… what does Dashel do during the day?
Nicole: We have a full time nanny. We got her about a month before I went back to work full time. When he was first born, I was working so we had a nanny, but then I took about 6 months with him where I didn’t work at all and that was great. But then, you know, work beckons. And although I feel sad a lot of times about missing time with him, well, we’re paying a mortgage on a house with a pool… he’ll be really stoked about that in a few years.
The Cradle: Were you working while you were pregnant?
Nicole: I was working on a show with Jeff Goldblum called
Rain. Actually, I did a bunch of things and was even working three days before my due date on a show called
My Boys.
The Cradle: Did you have to hide your pregnancy?
Nicole: Oh, god, no. I’m not the 'hide-y' pregnant type. That doesn’t fly with me. You see it in every part of my body.
The Cradle: So, how was that, going through your pregnancy while in the public eye?
Nicole: What’s so funny is that I was blissfully unaware of how ridiculous I looked. You know, you think you’re really thin, and then you look back and go, "oh my god, look at that face!"
When you’re pregnant and you don’t have another kid, you’re just so bored. You’re just waiting for the kid to show up... so anything [like work] that takes up time or makes time go by faster is fun.
The Cradle: People are obsessed with celebrity babies these days! What’s it like being out and about with your son and having your photo taken by the paparazzi?
Nicole: Oh, I think it’s hilarious. I guess if I were really famous and had paparazzi around me all the time, I’d be irritated by it. But I just always like getting pictures of my kid. I love seeing him in magazines, "Look how cute he looks there!" So it doesn’t bother me one iota. The paparazzi, in as little as they bother me - which is very, very little - I always find entertaining. I find them perfectly polite and fine, and they’re gone within 5 minutes, so it’s never an issue.
The Cradle: How do you balance being a mom to a toddler and being an actress, working long hours on your television show?
Nicole: My hours are not too bad. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I basically have a 9-5, 9-6 kind of job. Thursdays and Fridays are longer days. But, the good news is, we get some time off in between, and starting in February we’ll be off for about 5-6 months.
Being on a sitcom is literally the best job in the world to have when you’re a mom. It’s really very convenient. I mean, it would be great to spend all my time with my kid, but then we wouldn’t be able to pay the mortgage. But you have to make it work, and as far as making it work goes, sitcoms are the best way to do it.
