ENTERTAINMENT REALM

Why the military let a computer tech wiz like you go, I’ll never know.
–Abby’s husband Nick [Anthony Michael Hall]

Catherine Bell stars in Lifetime’s Last Man Standing as Abby Collins. She’s happily married to a local veterinarian [Hall] with a daughter. Nearly seven years before, she served in the Marine Corps Black Ops in Afghanistan as Lt. Abby Spencer. Her unit’s assignment to protect an Afghan chemist who would testify against Al Qaeda went terribly wrong and somebody “sold the guy out.”

Abby receives a photo of her unit of three with a note on the back: “You know what happens to the last man standing.” Then another unit mate, Jeremy Davis [Mekhi Phifer] calls to inform her that the other unit member, Sam Pratt, committed suicide. She starts having flashbacks. As Abby tells her husband that with only three in the unit, they got close. Shockingly, someone kidnaps Abby’s husband and insists she follow orders or he’ll be executed. Last Man Standing proves to be an exciting thriller with a surprise twist at the end.

Bell produced the film and her husband, Adam Beason co-wrote the script with Jolene Rice.

I spoke to Catherine Bell on Thursday.

Amy Steele: What do you like about Lt. Spencer?

Catherine Bell: Lt. Spencer is buried in her past and I really love that there’s this woman who has this beautiful, simple soccer mom life and this entire hidden event that you know nothing about until a former member of her unit dies and her husband gets kidnapped. Her former skill-set kicks in and she’s got to do everything she can to get him back and keep their daughter safe. I love it. Doing action heroes and action movies and doing my own stunts. It’s really one of my favorite things to do. I had a blast.

Amy Steele: How is it to go from playing an Army wife to playing a former Marine?

Catherine Bell: To me the best thing about acting is mixing it up. Going from playing a wife who started off being abused by her son and going through all this emotional stuff and then going into full on action mode and special ops, secret agent stuff. Maybe next I’ll be able to do a period piece or something completely different.

Amy Steele: How does being a producer change your connection to a project?

Catherine Bell: I’m always going to be connected to any project I’m doing as an actor because I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it. Being a producer, especially on something like this where we really created it from the ground up, that’s just a whole other level. Definitely even more passion and even more connection to it.

Last Man Standing premieres Monday, June 6 at 8 pm PT/ET on Lifetime Television.