TV

Jenna Elfman’s ‘Up’ for another laugh

Seventeen years have passed since Jenna Elfman first charmed audiences as the latter-day hippie in ABC’s “Dharma & Greg,” and she’s the first to admit that finding the right role as an older actress (she’s 42) has been a challenge.

After three failed sitcoms (“Courting Alex,” “Accidentally on Purpose” and “1600 Penn”), Elfman thinks the tide may be turning in her favor on NBC’s “Growing Up Fisher.”

In the NBC sitcom, which premiered Feb. 23, Elfman plays Joyce Fisher, an insecure, divorced mother whose ex, Mel (JK Simmons) is blind — and brilliant at hiding it. Joyce and Mel have two children. Henry (Eli Baker) is especially close to his father but daughter Katie (Ava Deluca-Verley) doesn’t want Mom trying to be her friend. The tension between the two is perfectly illustrated when Joyce tags along with her daughter at a rock concert — then realizes as a parent, that her daughter shouldn’t be there at all.

“Joyce is a fish out of water in her own life, through the divorce. And she needs to find out if she can grow outside the shadow of [her ex-husband’s] personality,” Elfman says. “Joyce misses social cues. And I think that makes her really fun to play.”

Elfman has come to New York to do press for “Growing Up Fisher,” which is filmed on the back lot at Universal Studios in LA. The reed-thin actress is sitting outside the “Today” show green room in a makeshift waiting area behind two red velvet curtains. She’s barefoot and wearing stockings; a pair of black-and-white heels on the floor beside her.

Elfman’s Joyce character is “a fish out of water in her own life, through the divorce. And she needs to find out if she can grow outside the shadow of [her ex-husband’s] personality,” the actress says.NBC

Parker Posey was originally cast as Joyce, but her scenes had to be reshot when producers changed their mind about the show’s direction. It’s hard to picture two more different performers — in size and style — playing the same role. But Elfman is well aware, perhaps too well-aware, of the caprices of show business.

“There’s no textbook on how to navigate a career, other than looking at how other people did it and what worked and what didn’t,” she says. “Everyone has their own, unique relationship to an audience. There’s timing. There was a massive shift in the television landscape [after ‘Dharma & Greg’]. Cable was coming up, sitcoms were dying out.”

While Elfman tried to find the right fit for her comedic sensibility, her co-stars went on to bigger and better projects. Her “Dharma” co-star, Thomas Gibson, segued from that series into the long-running CBS procedural “Criminal Minds.” Her “Ed TV” co-star, Matthew McConaughey, just won the Best Actor Oscar for “Dallas Buyers Club.”

“I love being blown away by surprises. Having people unleash their talent in a way that surprises people just when they thought had them sewn up,” she says of the McConaissance. “I would like people to believe I had an amazing performance in me, so I like to believe that other people have amazing performances in them.”

Elfman will soon return to the movies in the comedy “Big Stone Gap.” In the Adriana Trigiani film (based on her own 2001 novel), Elfman plays Miss Iva Lou Wade, a Southern eccentric in a small town in Virginia. The film co-stars Patrick Wilson, Ashley Judd and Whoopi Goldberg. She had a great time making the film, but keeps things in perspective.

“In most jobs you are rewarded for your performance. In this landscape you’re not,” she says. “You can do a great job and still get fired. And then you’re unemployed again. Luckily I’m fortunate enough to make enough money to hold me between those times.”

Having a good family life provides a more long-lasting comfort. Elfman has been married to actor Bodhi Elfman since 1995. They have two sons, Story, 6, and Easton, 4. “You have to have a partner,” she says. “My husband holds me up. You can’t go it alone. It’s like a buddy system. And life is like a complete freaking adventure. And if you don’t have a buddy, it’s hard.

“Any time you have your attention on something greater than yourself, you feel more sane. You don’t get too neurotic,” she says.

“Having kids helps me keep that balance.”