Peri Gilpin, who plays radio producer Roz Doyle on the NBC sitcom "Frasier," says she worked hard to lose an "unintelligible" childhood accent she developed while growing up in Texas.
It was a kind of rhythmic slang with her friends, Gilpin told the Associated Press. "I can't even do it anymore. We said our R's real hard. It was almost like Texan Valley Girls!"
Gilpin studied at the University of Texas at Austin and at the British-American Academy in London. For a brief time she was a makeup artist, but soon returned to honing her acting skills in repertory theater.
"I really love everything about Roz," the 40-year-old actress said. "I love that she gets to say what everyone is thinking and she gets away with it because she's smart."
With "Frasier" renewed until 2004, Gilpin hopes she'll be able to explore more facets of the character — but she's not complaining. "I'd rather have a little bit of great than a lot of mediocre," she said.