Found this on 411mania: http://www.411mania.com/movies/columns/62319/411-Movies-Interview:-Mädchen-Amick-of-Twin-Peaks.htm 

TONY: With Twin Peaks now on DVD in this amazing box set, what's it like to go back and watch yourself again? Is it strange?

Mädchen Amick: To me, it's burned in my brain, the whole memory and everything, as if we haven't even walked off the set. But, then to go back and watch it, I just see myself and go, "Aw, I was such a baby." That's the weirdest part about it.

TONY: Once you were hired on Twin Peaks as Shelly Johnson, what kind of research did you do? Did you do a lot of research on women in similar situations?

Mädchen Amick: You know, oddly enough, I had just gone through a situation back home in Reno, Nevada before I had moved out, and there was a family friend that was going through an abusive relationship, so I had already sort of experienced this whole dynamic between the two people and what it does. So, although everything that Shelly did was against what I would do, personally, you know, I'm a very independent woman going after her career, so I had to constantly remind myself and get back to that place, where there are women that just stay in these abusive and controlling relationships.

TONY: Shelly Johnson is a character who's going through a lot of pain and dealing with a lot in her life. As an actress, how do you go to a place that dark? Do you like to be alone on set in order to prepare yourself for your scenes?

Mädchen Amick: I do, yeah. I personally kind of separate myself from people, and I actually use music quite a bit. I just put on my headphones and play something that is sort of appropriate to how I need to be feeling. While filming the show, there was actually a really big moment in the diner, where I really break down with Norma, with Peggy Lipton's character. And it was really David that got me through that. He was directing the episode, and he just came up to me and he was trying to explain what he wanted and what he was thinking, and he kind of came up and grabbed my arm, and he said, "OK." And I went, "Alright." And he walked away. And he somehow telepathically sent me this, you know, very emotional thing that I went through. It was really quite odd. I think he's magical as well as brilliant.

TONY : On the DVD, it shows how they have these different festivals for Twin Peaks fans all over the world, and it's really quite fascinating. Are you surprised by that? I mean, when you were on the show, did you have any idea that it would become so popular, and people would still talk about it today?

Mädchen Amick: No, I had no idea. I knew it would be something special, because I knew of David Lynch's work up until that point. So, I definitely knew, like, "This is gonna be something." Now, it may not be accepted, but I knew that he was different enough, and I could feel and tell from reading the pilot that it was really something very different than what was on television. But I had no idea it would be that big of a phenomenon that quickly, and that it would last this long. I'm really, really happy it's last this long, because I really think it deserves it.

TONY: What was it like going to work every day on Twin Peaks? I mean, every day you know you're going to read something from David Lynch that's unique and different. That had to be a lot of fun.

Mädchen Amick: It was the first major thing I had done. I was sixteen and just moved from Reno, Nevada, and to me, I couldn't soak in enough. I couldn't drink enough of it. It was so great and just so inspirational, and then it then sent me into the rest of my career always looking at things a little bit differently.

TONY: On the DVD, it also shows what a nice guy David Lynch is. He's funny, charming, and really likable, and I've heard that from a lot of actors that have worked with him. It's funny, because his films are usually dark and pretty out there. When you first met David Lynch, were you surprised by his personality?

Mädchen Amick: Definitely. I don't remember when Dune had come out, but I remember that was a huge deal when I went and saw Dune in the theater, and I was like, "Wow, that's weird." So, I had this very different opinion of what I thought he was gonna be when I met him. And I absolutely forgot that whole idea within a minute of sitting down and talking with him. He's just a very special person.



TONY: I think the sign of a really good show is how it influences other shows, and Twin Peaks has influenced so many different shows on television today. What current shows on television really impress you and remind you of Twin Peaks?

Mädchen Amick: Oh, wow. I was a huge Sopranos fan. And I know I've heard that David Chase actually constantly refers to Twin Peaks as being very inspirational to him, and I think maybe there is a little bit of a correlation of just showing reality, period, the very raw reality of a story and characters. I was actually filming Dawson's Creek in North Carolina when I first tuned into Sopranos, the very first show. You know, there was nothing that caught my attention to tune in, I just happened to tune in bored in North Carolina, and just have been a fan all the way through.

TONY: On the DVD, you talked about how this was your first big show and first big break, and you've also mentioned that fact in this interview. What was it like being a young actress and going on auditions? It seems like a lot of pressure to perform and be ready for different casting directors, and you know that they're watching you.

Mädchen Amick: I think you probably would have to know me to know that answer. (laughs) You know, I have always been ambitious and driven, and I have a really clear idea of what inspires me and what doesn't. So, to me, at sixteen going in on all these things, I mean, you couldn't stop me. I just was out of control. I was auditioning from morning till night every day. I was modeling, I was doing commercials, I was doing music videos, and I just was so driven and excited by it. So, to me, I didn't ever feel the pressure, because I just was excited for the opportunity.

TONY: After Twin Peaks ended, how hard was it to move on after investing so much of yourself into the character?

Mädchen Amick: It was really hard. It was probably even harder even beyond the show and the part and working on it, because we became a family, all of us. It really became a community. There were so many actors and so many different storylines, and it felt like a little town. We were a microcosm of a town and a community, and that was the hardest part. And then once we then went and did the movie as well, that was hard for me. I'm like, "Oh, wow. So you just walk away and go do something else?"

TONY: As an actress, is it more freeing to be on television? On television, you get 25 or 30 episodes to develop your character. In a movie, you only have 90 minutes. What's that like?

Mädchen Amick: I think it's really rare. I think it's like the Sopranos situation and shows like that where they actually explore characters. I actually think that I get into the character more in films, because there's a clear beginning and end and an arch that that character goes through. Or, at least, I make the arch that that character is gonna through, whereas with a show, you're not quite sure where you're headed, because you're always kind of being led down this blind path. So, actually, as far as character wise, it seems like I've explored more characters in film.

TONY: I have a fun question for you: What was it like kissing David Lynch, and was he a good kisser?

Mädchen Amick: (laughs) Yeah, it was very sweet. I felt very special. I was like, "Wow! I was chosen to be the one that kissed David Lynch."

TONY: Are you still close with the cast today?

Mädchen Amick: You know, we come across each other, and we have moments where we keep in touch a lot. At the moment, I'm seeing Kyle McLaughlin all the time, because for the past couple of years, we've had shows on the air, so we're seeing each other at all of these celebrity functions. And there was a time period where I kept running into Peggy everywhere. I'd run into her in New York and L.A. It is a big community, and I've learned that as well as not to be as sad when you're leaving a cast of a show or a film, because you will come back across them.



TONY: Outside of Twin Peaks, do you have a favorite episode of television that you've done or something that you're really proud of? Do you have a favorite scene as well?

Mädchen Amick: Does it have to be television, or can it be film?

TONY: It can be anything.

Mädchen Amick: I did a movie with James Spader called Dream Lover, and I really loved that script and that film, and it was a really great experience. I'm trying to think if there was one specific scene. Well, actually, probably my favorite scene of that film is the very end scene, which nobody will ever see, because the studio re-shot it and changed the ending. So, it's this mysterious thing that will never be seen. (laughs)

TONY: What's changed about television since Twin Peaks?

Mädchen Amick: Well, I certainly think Twin Peaks had a huge amount of influence on the direction that television went. It really broke up this: Everything needed to be polished and lovely and sparkling clean and happy endings, and Twin Peaks just completely shattered that idea and said it can be the complete opposite and be just as interesting. And I think since then, I definitely have seen different things happening in television, and right now I feel like cable is really the thing that's pushing the envelope and it's really pushing everybody to just go farther and explore things and show the darker side to it. So, cable is the new Twin Peaks, in my opinion.

TONY: Shelly Johnson is a character that people really cared about, and they really got behind her. Did you find that people would come up to you in public and try and save you? Did they think you were really your character?

Mädchen Amick: They used to. Now, I get recognized from it, and they see that I was the actress that played Shelly on Twin Peaks. But back then, people were so into it, and I guess since it was such a huge phenomenon and we would run across so many different kinds of people, and there were people that were just so convinced that you were Shelly and that they needed to somehow get me to an abusive hotline or some kind of intervention. They were like, "OK, you're out and you're shopping now, so you gotta keep going. You can't go back!" That was very surreal.

TONY: I'm sure you've been asked this question a lot, so I hate to ask you it again, but do you have a favorite episode? Do you have certain memories that really stick out?

Mädchen Amick: No, actually, I haven't been asked that.

TONY: Oh, good. I feel better. (laughs)

Mädchen Amick: I think, for me, probably because it was so new and it had such an amazing feel with the pilot and maybe it's because it was an introduction into this new world and it just was so alive and vibrant, but I have great memories, especially of David, during the pilot. There were a couple of times, where there's a scene where Bobby and I are driving up to the house and we see Leo's truck and he's home, and we gotta back up and get outta out of it. And there's this whole sort of introduction to the two characters, and we were filming in the car when we were driving, and David didn't want to follow in some car and watch some monitor. He needs to be there with you. So, he laid down on the floor of the car right in front of us and watched the scene from down there. So, that was a very special memory. And then the other one was when I was watching a news broadcast in the house, and we needed to time it where when I clicked the TV off, the TV would go off. And nobody really had a remote for it, so there was a plug that somebody was going to unplug the TV when I clicked the thing. Well, David decided he was gonna do that. He, once again, climbed down on the ground. So, we were kind of practicing the timing of when I pushed the button, he would unplug it. So, I sort of like drifted off, because I sort of thought we were done, and I'm looking around at people lighting, and I'm kind of not even thinking about it, and I kept pushing the button of the remote. And David's down there plugging, unplugging, plugging, unplugging. That was fantastic. (laughs)

TONY: Finally, what are your plans for the future?

Mädchen Amick: You know, just to keep working and keep looking for projects that inspire me. I'm constantly teetering on that wanting to continue to work, but always going for material and shows that are different and inspiring. And I'm not afraid to take chances, so I just keep plugging away.

TONY: Thank you so much for your time. Good talking to you, and have a great weekend.

Mädchen Amick: Thank you very much.

Madchen seems like such a smart woman, not to mention beautiful.  And though the character Shelley is kind of a weak skank, she is also sympathetic and honest and it was very brave of her (Madchen) to be that, just as it was brave of Grace Zabriskie to portray a mother in that position, and Sheryl Lee as a victim of abuse. 

We don't really see actors do that in episode after episode in series anymore, do we? F*ck. Twin Peaks was great.