VIRGINIA MADSEN SHARES HER RADIO DAYS

Virginia Madsen plays an angel in the film A Prairie Home Companion who visits the on-air studio of the popular radio show hosted by Garrison Keillor. The Sideways star who hales from the Midwestern city of Chicago was familiar with the variety radio program and says she would often sneak in some after hours listening to her favorite programs.

Virginia has not only acted in front of the camera but has done voice-overs as well for several animated films such as Scooby Doo and Stuart Little. She says she got her start using her voice on the radio.

“I listened to A Prairie Home Companion when I was in Chicago. I used to listen to Mystery Theater hosted by EG Marshall. It was on at 10:30 at night and I would sneak the radio under the covers in my room and my mom would always know the next morning because I was way too tired. She was like, ‘you’re listening to the mystery radio again. I was like, ‘it was a really good one about a murder and a decapitation.’ I just always fell into it, I had such a vivid imagination and I loved the voices of the actors on the radio. And so naturally I would be a fan of Prairie Home Companion.”

A single mother with her son Jack, Virginia knows all too well the absence of a real home companion.

“The first plays I ever did were on the radio. My school had a radio station and we did multi-character plays up in the radio station that would only just be broadcast around locally and I just absolutely loved it. It’s why I do a lot of voice-over today because I get to do a lot of crazy stuff that I could never do on camera.”

A Prairie Home Companion opens Friday, June 9rn

“Well television is all too often a home companion of Virginia’s because Virginia doesn’t have a home companion at the moment!”