Keck's Exclusives: Jane Badler Vamps Up V
V
Even though she played lizard leader Diana to wicked perfection on NBC's original V from 1983-85, Jane Badler tells me she had to fight fang and nail to get cast as an all-new version of Diana on ABC's reboot. "From the moment I heard V was coming back, it was something I was hoping to be part of, but they tested a lot of people for this role," confides Jane from the Vancouver set. "A lot of years have passed, so it feels good to win something." While this is an entirely different take on Diana — reimagined as the wicked mother of Anna (Morena Baccarin) — Jane admits it's been challenging not to slither right back into her wonderfully over-the-top '80s performance. "I'm still the way I've always been — lots of hair and eyes. A bit Raquel Welch-ish."
When V returns in November, we'll see Diana imprisoned on the mother ship in a cell designed to look like the reptilian visitors' home planet. (Don't ask Badler to describe the details, as they'll all be added via special effects.) Who sent her there? None other than daughter Anna! "I'm the queen in exile, locked away in a dungeon for 15 years," says Jane. "It's mother abuse!"
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