Spotlight On: Alicia Witt

At the tender age of 8, Alicia Witt became a world-renown film actress after David Lynch cast her to co-star in the sci-fi film Dune along side Kyle McLaughlin. She played the iconic role of Alia, the younger sister of Paul Atreides. With such an auspicious start to her career, it helped launch her into an exclusive arena of acting professionals. Fortunately, she took a break to focus on school and did not return to regular acting work until she was 14, when David Lynch gave her a small role in the cult TV series Twin Peaks (also starring Kyle McLaughlin). In Twin Peaks she played Gersten Hayward, the piano-playing child extraordinaire. This brief appearance was a great way to showcase Alicia’s own piano prowess and afterward she played professionally at the famed Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel for a period.

Alicia Witt is also an accomplished piano player.

During the next 5 years, Alicia appeared in numerous films, fine-tuning her acting skills in such projects as Bodies, Rest & Motion with Phoebe Cates and Bridget Fonda, Fun with Leslie Hope, Four Rooms playing Madonna’s daughter, Mr. Holland’s Opus with Richard Dreyfuss, and Citizen Ruth with Laura Dern and Swoosie Kurtz. Never one to shy away from controversial roles or an opportunity to stretch the boundaries of character portrayals, Alicia played an array of challenging roles. Then, in a complete change of pace, Alicia took on a major role in the television series Cybill playing Cybill Shepherd’s daughter, Zoey. It was a light-weight, fun comedy series that ran for four seasons, reintroducing Alicia to mainstream American audiences.

After Cybill ended, Alicia returned to making brief appearances on shows like Ally McBeal and The Sopranos, and then went onto pursue the stage. She appeared briefly in the musical The Gift but then quickly moved on to feature film roles, with bit parts in Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, Two Weeks Notice with Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock, and The Upside of Anger with Kevin Costner and Joan Allen. She also moved abroad for a number of years, during which she wrote and produced two short films, Girl’s Lunch and Belinda’s Swan Song.

Finally, after tackling both film and theater work abroad in the UK and South Africa, Alicia returned to the United States in 2007 and promptly landed a multi-episode arc on the Dick Wolf series Law & Order: Criminal Intent (filling in for Julianne Nicholson who was on maternity leave). She also made a pivotal guest appearance in the hit drama The Mentalist playing Rosalind Harker, the blind-fiancée of the infamous Red John.

Most recently, Alicia has been appearing in the critically-adored television series Friday Night Lights as Cheryl, the amorous bartender/landlord of Tim Riggins and mother of beauty pageant-aspiring Becky. In a role that many other actresses would naturally shy away from due to its sensitive nature, Alicia has embraced the tough role and made it relatable and sympathetic for viewers.

Additionally, while on hiatus, Alicia has worked on a few independent films, including Peep World with Michael C. Hall, Kate Mara and Judy Greer; The Pond with David Morse; and Backyard Wedding with Frances Fisher.

Clearly, Alicia is a determined young woman who seeks out roles that will expand and enhance her acting experience. She seems to relish the taboo and does not hesitate if the subject matter is unusual. No matter how risqué or thought-provoking the role, from the first moment she lit up the movie screen, Alicia has been mesmerizing to watch. It will be a pleasure to see what she does next and how she shapes yet another piece of Hollywood history.

Friday Night Lights currently airs on DirecTV on Wednesday nights and will begin the rebroadcast of its 4th season on Friday nights starting April 30th on NBC.