Outfield Rookie

Maura Tierney

Actress
b. February 3, 1965
Telecity Superbas

[H]er acting is natural and true, inventive, graceful, and elegant in construction. In short, Maura Tierney is the most aesthetically pleasing actress I have ever seen.   --Adrian Foo

Maura Tierney's career has, after ten years, taken off. The Boston-born daughter of a politician father and real estate selling mother, she is the oldest of three children. After graduating from Hyde Park High School in 1983 Tierney attended New York University but did not graduate. In the 1980s Tierney appeared on television as "Darlene" in an episode ("My Best Friend's Girl") of the comedy Family Ties. In 1988 she landed the role of "Jillian Ryan" in the very short-lived Van Dyke Show (cancelled after two months.) Her big-screen movie debut

Tierney, Family Ties

occurred in 1991 with a small role (one spoken line) as "Cecelia" in Richard Shepard's directorial debut The Linguini Incident. Shepard was a friend from her NYU days (Tierney would also appear briefly as "Simonet" in Shepard's 1996 film Mercy. Her first lead in a movie also occurred in 1991 when she played "Molly Field" in the slasher movie Dead Women in Lingerie. "Molly" is a clothing designer and her illegal immigrant models keep being killed. According to one source, this film credit has been left off of Tierney's official resume. In 1994 she landed a television role in the comedy series 704 Hauser Street, a Norman Lear-produced spin-off of the successful All in the Family TV show. In Hauser, Tierney played Cherlyn Markowitz, the Jewish girlfriend of a conservative black student.

Early Publicity Still

In 1995, Tierney's career began its roll down the runway. She landed the important role of "Lisa Miller" on the situation comedy News Radio. She stayed with the show until it completed its last season in 1999. She then moved to the hit drama ER and played medical student "Abby Lockhart." In 1997, Tierney appeared in two popular films in primarily supporting roles. In Liar,Liar she plays "Audrey Reede" the divorced wife of lawyer and liar "Fletcher Reede" played by star Jim Carrey. As devoted mother of their son "Max," Tierney turns in a wonderfully moving performance that emphasizes her love and care for "Max" and his relationship with his father. It is a great performance considering Tierney has no children. She does have a dog named

Liar,Liar

"Rose Kennedy" however all Bostonians have dogs named after one or more of the Kennedys. That her father was an eight-term Boston City Council member no doubt helped her prepare for the role in her second film role of 1997 as political consultant "Daisy Green" in Primary Colors. Tierney's "Daisy" character was modeled on Mandy Grunwald, a real political consultant for the Democratic Party.

By 1999, Tierney was in a sharp climb. Not only did she join the regular cast of TV's ER but she appeared in three films. In Oxygen Tierney plays Madeline Foster, a police detective called in on a kidnapping case. Written by her friend Richard Shepard, the character she plays is described as a great cop with a darker more complex personal side. In Instinct also released in 1999 Tierney is "Lyn Powell" the estranged daughter of Dr. Ethan Powell, an eccentric anthropologist, played by Anthony Hopkins. Finally in 1999 Tierney gives one of her most remarkable performances to date as "Bridget Cahill" in Forces of Nature. Film fan and Tierney admirer Adrian Foo describes her performance:

Forces of Nature

Bridget and her fiancé Ben (Ben Affleck) share barely any screen time. Moreover, Sandra Bullock's character has the advantage of sharing two-shots with Ben throughout the whole movie. (Two-shots place both actors within the same frame, the effect of which is to visually establish a relationship between two characters; cross-cutting between two actors provides visual separation of two characters.) Yet, by the end of the movie, we know that Bridget 'owns' Ben and that he is hers and hers only. No one in the audience begrudges the marriage of Ben and Bridget, because they know there is a very palpable bond between them that just feels right. Despite their physical separation, Tierney succeeds in creating and strengthening a relationship with Ben that far surpasses that of Bullock's. That Tierney is able to accomplish all this merely through the judicious and subtle use of yearning glances and morally expressive acting is a mark of her greatness. [Link to complete essay]

Tierney & Morrissette

Tierney is starring in a just released (February 8, 2002) film called Scotland, PA. Written and directed by Billy Morrissette, whom Tierney met in 1988 and married in 1994, Tierney plays "Pat McBeth" in a 1970s-style retelling of the Shakespeare tale. The film was produced by her old friend Shepard and premiered over a year ago at the Sundance '01 Film Festival. To date reviews have been fair to good.

Maura Tierney is an excellent and talented actress and the Cosmic Baseball Association is delighted to honor her and her body of work with this Season 2002 Cosmic Player Plate.

Related Links

• www.mauratierney.com

• www.mauratierney.org

• Maura Tierney Land

• The Virtues of Maura by Adrian Foo

• Scotland, PA Homepage

• Films of Richard Shepard

Maura Tierney at the Cosmic Baseball Association Tierney is a Rookie. She was drafted by the Telecity Superbas in December 2001. Having been born in the city of Boston she no doubt is a Red Sox fan but we have no confirmed proof of this. We do note that in Liar,Liar her son's birthday cake is frosted like a baseball diamond.

Maura Tierney 2002 Cosmic Player Plate
URL: http://www.cosmicbaseball.com/maurat02.html
Published: February 21, 2002
Copyright © 2002 by the Cosmic Baseball Association
email: editor@cosmicbaseball.com

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