Paula Patton's new show attracted the "mama bear" in her.
Paula Patton
The 41-year-old actress - who has seven-year-old son Julian with ex-husband Robin Thicke - stars in 'Somewhere Between' as TV producer Laura Price, who gets the chance to go back in time to prevent her daughter's murder and find some answers, and she drew on her own maternal instinct to find inspiration for the character.
She explained: "It's just the mama bear kind of thing. It's the thing where if your kid is stuck under a car, you might find the strength to lift that car up because of the adrenaline. I think you start there and the rest is fiction.
"In life, you're always drawing from personal experiences and the way you see something and the way you feel. That's natural. Of course, if being a mother helps you understand something at that level, then that's helpful."
Paula fell in love with the idea of the show as soon as she received the script, and even if she wasn't part of the cast, she's still want to watch.
She told 'Entertainment Tonight': "I was lucky on this one. The script came to me and they said that they would like for me to play the role [of Laura] if I was interested. It moved my spirit and my soul and for me, these shows - or any kind of project - I really want to shoot something that I'd want to watch as well.
"It's a role that will stretch you or challenge you or make me scared or excite me. It was one of those things where the project came across my desk and I loved it.
"The fact that it's a mixture of genres and it doesn't necessarily follow all the rules, in that way, it's unconventional.
"I didn't know where it was going and I found the concept to be intriguing. We're always doing things we've seen before and trying new ways to tell [those stories] in a different way or a different note, but it definitely felt different."
Paula's only regret is that the series was only 10 episodes long.
Asked if she wants to do anymore TV, she replied: "I would love to! It was so hard to say goodbye.
"I was like, 'Can we do more?' I keep in touch but it's not quite the same as getting to play every day. It was a real joy."
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