Naglaro siya ng Colleen sa "China Beach." Tingnan ang Dana Delany ngayon sa 66.

Halos hindi nakuha ng aktor ang kanyang papel sa breakout.


Dana Delany has been in the business of making television for decades. She first got her start in entertainment with guest parts on As The World Turns, Moonlighting, and Magnum P.I., but it wasn't until she booked China Beach that she became a household name. The ABC primetime drama aired from 1988 until 1991 and was about a group of medics, soldiers, and volunteers working at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. Delany's character, Colleen McMurphy, was an army nurse grappling with her own personal issues while serving in the war, and the actor won two Emmys for the role. But her acting career didn't end when China Beachwent off the air. Read on to see what she's doing now.

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She almost missed out on her China Beach role.

Dana Delany in 1990
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Delany told Entertainment Tonight in 2013 that her major breakout role almost never happened. She explained that there were two final choices and that China Beach almost went with the other—mainly, because the part of Colleen was written for a blonde woman. "I certainly looked wholesome, and I think it's safe to come out and say it because she had a huge career—it was between me and Helen Hunt," she said. "The two of us tested for it, and I really don't know why they chose me. I know there was a lot of consternation at the time; a lot of people didn't think I was right for the role. One thing I heard was that I wasn't pretty enough. You know, at that age you take that to heart. And I don't know why they finally chose me. I know that at the end, I was [series co-creator and executive producer John Sacret Young's] choice and that was that."ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

Another one of her jobs led to controversy.

Dana Delany in 1991
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Delany has continued to work regularly since hanging up her nurse's uniform. Most notably, she starred as Katherine Mayfair on Desperate Housewives, Megan Hunt on Body Of Proof, and Crystal Harris on Kamay ng Diyos. Her most recent projects include the CBS series The Codein 2019 and the HBO miniseries The American Guest in 2021.

The actor only appeared in one episode of the show Batas ng pamilya, but it ended up being a memorable one. In 2001, she played a mother whose son shot himself with her handgun. The New York Times reported at the time that CBS pulled her episode from their rerun schedule because Proctor & Gamble, a major advertiser, withdrew their support because the show's fictional law firm defended Delany's character's right to own a gun. The network reportedly pulled other episodes before they re-aired as well, on abortion rights, the death penalty, and other controversial topics, also per P&G's request. Delany told the Timesof the decision, "I was very disappointed. I wanted to know what Procter & Gamble's agenda is."

She turned down an iconic character because she didn't want to be typecast.

Dana Delany in 2019
Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

In an alternate version of television history, Delany—not Sarah Jessica Parker—played Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, its two movie spinoffs, and the sequel series, And Just Like That… Ngunit angChina Beachstar had a good reason for turning the role down when it was offered to her. Delany had previously worked with Kim Cattrall, who played Samantha on the HBO come, in a movie called Live Nude Girls, which is about a group of women who have a sleepover bachelorette party and spend the night talking about love and sex. Because of that, Delany was nervous that she would be typecast if she also played Carrie. Sinabi niyaThe Los Angeles Times in 2000 (via CNN), "[Sex and the City creator] Darren Star was a friend of mine, and he had joined up with [writer] Candace Bushnell and came up with this idea and he asked if I'd be in it. It was very much in the early stages, and I had just done Nude Girls and Exit to Eden, and I just said to Darren, 'I cannot do a show with "sex' in the title.'"

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She's opened up about the choices she's made in her personal life.

Dana Delany in 2021
John Lamparski/Getty Images

Delany has never married and doesn't have any children. At one point, though, it seemed as though she was interested in settling down. In 2007, she told More (via People), "Marriage has never been Isang malaking pakikitungo sa akin. Ngunit sa palagay ko handa na ako ngayon. Bago, gusto ko ng mga pakikipagsapalaran. Pakiramdam ko, sa ilang mga paraan, mas matalino ako kaysa sa sinuman. Kailangan kong magkaroon ng lahat ng kasiyahan sa mundo, upang makaranas ng maraming tao, at alamin kung ano ang gusto ko. Kailangan kong mag -evolve. Ngayon alam ko kung ano ang nagpapasaya sa akin. "

Habang hindi itinali ni Delany ang buhol, sa mga nakaraang taon, na -link siya sa Eagles Singer Don Henley , mga aktor Tratuhin ang Williams at Henry Czerny , at China Beach Producer na si John Sacret Young.

Samantala, nanatiling abala siya hindi lamang bilang isang artista kundi isang philanthropist. Siya ay isang miyembro ng board emeritus ng Scleroderma Research Foundation at nagsilbi siyang bise presidente ng Ang Creative Coalition , isang pangkat ng adbokasiya para sa mga taong nagtatrabaho sa negosyo ng sining at libangan.

Basahin ito sa susunod: Pinatugtog niya si Sylvia NYPD Blue . Tingnan ang Sharon Lawrence ngayon sa 60.


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