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Martha Plimpton caught the acting bug early. Her parents, actors Keith Carradine and Shelley Plimpton, met while performing in the original Broadway run of _Hair _and, growing up, she often
accompanied her mom to rehearsals. Soon, she was insisting on tackling her own auditions, and at 15, she landed the role of Stef in the iconic 1985 film, _The Goonies._ Now 51, Plimpton is
starring in the Amazon Freevee series _Sprung_. She plays the matriarch in the unconventional family comedy about a group of former inmates who team up to use their criminal expertise for
good. _Sprung_ reunites Plimpton with her _Raising Hope_ costar Garret Dillahunt and the show’s executive producer Greg Garcia. AS THE CHILD OF ACTORS [KEITH CARRADINE AND SHELLEY PLIMPTON],
AND GRANDDAUGHTER OF ONE [JOHN CARRADINE], WAS IT INEVITABLE THAT YOU, TOO, WOULD ACT? There were certainly other options, but I don't know if I gave my mother any. My mother was
working in the theater in New York, and rather than stick me with babysitters, which we couldn’t afford to do all day, I was with her backstage. I don’t know if I was kind of a show-off or I
just like to perform; that’s how it came to be. YOU HAD A PANDEMIC REUNION WITH YOUR ‘GOONIES’_ _COLLEAGUES. DO TELL. IT WAS REALLY FUN, REALLY LOVELY. WE WERE ALL ON ZOOM READING THE
SCRIPT AGAIN AND THAT WAS KIND OF A RIOT. IT WAS LOVELY TO SEE DICK DONNER BEFORE HE PASSED [_THE GOONIES _DIRECTOR DIED IN JULY 2021]. THAT’S WHAT MADE IT REALLY SPECIAL FOR ALL OF US, WAS
HAVING HIM THERE AND GETTING TO ENTERTAIN HIM AGAIN AND DRIVE HIM CRAZY AGAIN ONE LAST TIME. Martha Plimpton and River Phoenix stared in the movie "Running on Empty" in 1989.
Everett Collection IS THERE A MASTER PLAN FOR CHOOSING ROLES? No. It’s hard to plan things out when you’re a jobbing actor. I’m a character actor, so I go toward what interests me, what I
think is going to be fun, what is going to be something different for me, something I haven't done before. And obviously, in the case of _Sprung_, toward people who I love and know are
going to be a blast to work with, who bring me joy and make me happy and make me laugh all day. WHAT’S YOUR GO-TO MOVIE WHEN YOU NEED SOME INSPIRATION? One of my favorite movies is _Gloria,_
the original 1980 version by John Cassavetes. I can watch that movie — and I think I do watch that movie — about four or five times a year. _Gloria _energizes me. To me, it’s the first
action movie I ever saw with a woman at the center. I love Gena Rowlands’ performance in that film so much. It’s iconic. It’s got that kind of action aspect to it, but it’s also so real and
so gritty. And also her fashion, her outfits, her Ungaro skirt suits are so spectacular — and her hair. IS THERE A MOVIE YOU MADE THAT YOU WISH MORE PEOPLE HAD SEEN? There were a couple of
them. I made a movie with Tim Blake Nelson that he wrote based on his play called _Eye of God_ in the late ’90s that I’m very proud of. Another one is a film I did a couple of years ago that
came out last year called _Mass_, which I hold very close to my heart. I hope that it will have a long life and many many people will see it. WATCHING ‘SPRUNG’ MADE ME THINK IT MIGHT BE FUN
TO HAVE A CRIMINAL MIND. TRUTH? The fun thing about this show is it sort of turns on its head who’s a criminal mind and who isn’t. I think of Barb, the woman I play on _Sprung, _as an
opportunist. Jack, played by Garret Dillahunt beautifully, turns out to be more of a criminal mind at least from experience — from his time in prison — than Barb is. Barb would just go in
there and get busted in an instant, but Jack’s got the know-how. Barb’s just in it for fun and to get hers. If you’re going to get packages delivered and they’re just going to be sitting
there on your porch, well … ‘SPRUNG’_ _WAS FILMED IN PITTSBURGH. IMPRESSIONS OF THE CITY? It’s a really, really great town. It is an incredibly photogenic city — it’s practically another
character in the show. There’s also endless variety that makes it just a fascinating location to film in. It’s also so rich in history and culture and the food is so fantastic. Martha
Plimpton and Keanu Reeves stared in the movie "Parenthood" in 1989. Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection