Phylicia Rashad on Clair Huxtable: The iconic career mom celebrates 25 years of "The Cosby Show"

<img alt="IMDB" title="IMDB" src="http://a323.yahoofs.com/phugc/2Zeib2ROoW52/photos/d1cc8ca18eda4727f95f07aa9b45d5d5/mr_1d4515bbdf7e41.jpg?ug_____DEgIP9bT0" align="left" height="266" width="400">With the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/entertainment/gifts-for-the-tv-addict-306131/?selected=3#ypv-thumbs">25th anniversary of “The Cosby Show,”</a> easily <a rel="nofollow" href="http://astrology.yahoo.com/channel/entertainment/which-tv-shows-need-to-be-passed-down-through-the-generations-284937/#photoViewer=1">one of the greatest shows ever on television</a>, I was given the honor of interviewing Phylicia Rashad aka Clair Huxtable. As the wise and quick-witted matriarch of the Huxtable household in Brooklyn, New York, Clair quickly became a role model and highly enjoyable icon balancing the dual act of being a successful career woman and a very hands-on mother of five children. Likewise, after years of holding her own against comedic genius Bill Cosby, Rashad is quite an outstanding lady herself. Whether you’re a fan of the actress or the character (we’re head over heels for both), read on for an inside glimpse into TV history as it was made. <br><br><br><strong>Shine: </strong><em>Back when you were making the show, did you realize how groundbreaking and influential it was?</em><br><strong><br>Phylicia Rashad:</strong> When we started out, no, I wasn’t thinking like that at all. I was thinking about the work and how much I was enjoying it and how happy I was to be doing it and how much fun it was to be around everybody. I wasn’t thinking about the groundbreaking aspect of it at all, none of us considered it—maybe Bill, because he was the most knowledgeable of us all—but we were having fun! [Laughs] Even as that became apparent, it wasn’t something that I would dwell on. But the initial response to the work was the one continued. The joy of doing it. Being there. When you’re working in television you really are a little bit sequestered in that you’re working in a studio—when you’re doing a show that’s filmed in a studio or recorded in a studio—and your steer becomes that work environment. What is happening outside of it, one is not always privy to. <br><br><strong>Q:</strong> <em>What did you think when you first read the script and were introduced to the character of Clair Huxtable? </em><br><br><strong>A:</strong> The first scene that I read was a scene in which Clair was reading The Riot Act to her son about his homework and the condition of his room, and I wondered who had been hiding in my closet! My son was 10 years old at the time and I kept looking at the script saying, “didn’t I just say these things last week?” I thought, wow, I’ve never received a script of any kind where I wondered who was hiding in my closet. <br><br><strong>Q:</strong> <em>I’ve read that Clair was initially supposed to be a housewife but then was made into a lawyer, is that true?</em><br><br><strong>A:</strong> Actually that isn’t quite right. Initially she was bilingual and there was some indication that her occupation would be that of a lawyer, it was being entertained the possibility of her being an architect. <br><br><strong>Q:</strong> <em>What was it like working with Bill Cosby? </em><br><br><strong>A:</strong> It was a dream come true for many reasons. First of all, working with someone whose sensibilities were unique and in line with my own, someone who was very knowledgeable and experienced and spontaneous. But also was very generous. He really commanded the space by virtue of his own accomplishment and he was very, very generous with every aspect of that show. In the playing of it, in the way we handled the press and conferences, he was just generous on every single level, in the way he would interact with the young actors between scenes and takes, he was accessible. And working on a network television show was not all bad. [Laughs] Needless to say, it was great. <br><br><strong>Q:</strong> <em>What was the vibe on set? Was everyone laughing between cuts?</em><br><br><strong>A:</strong> It was a most agreeable set. Before working with this show I had, like most people, read all these accounts about fighting and people storming off the set and people getting angry—we had none of that. <br><br><strong>Q:</strong> <em>Did you ever ad lib anything? </em><br><br><strong>A:</strong> Oh yes, but not to the extent that Bill did. I didn’t have to. It wouldn’t have been the thing to do. But yeah, there was room for spontaneity. That’s what made it so buoyant. <br><br><strong>Q:</strong> <em>The Cosby show was one of the few sitcoms where viewers enjoyed the romantic chemistry between the mother and father as well. Do you think that was an important dynamic to show?</em><br><br><strong>A:</strong> It was an important dynamic to show, and the manner in which it was shown, it was light, you know? It was comedic and it was easy. It was easy to have your children watch. <br><br><strong>Q:</strong> <em>How do you feel abut Clair setting such a positive example for viewers on how to be a strong, successful career woman and also a good mother?</em><br><br><strong>A:</strong> Well, women had been doing that for quite some time, we just hadn’t seen it, you know? It wasn’t a modern invention, women since time immemorial had been doing that, it was just the first time we got to see it. <br><br><strong>Q:</strong> <em>How does it feel now being an iconic figure and a character people will look to for generations?</em><br><br><strong>A:</strong> As an actor you can do any number of things that don’t mean anything to anybody. When you’re privileged to have work that is entertaining and meaningful as well? That’s the biggest plus I can think of.