Celebrity crush: Alicia Witt

Today's entry is arguably a bigger name than the norm, especially in terms of the length of her credits list. But she's never quite managed to become a household name, and her niche of credits fits in well with many others here, so why not?

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Name: Alicia Witt (images -- some mildly NSFW | Web site | Facebook | Twitter)
Hometown: Worcester, Mass., according to her Wikipedia profile. (Just a few miles away from Ye Olde Podcaster's grad school home!)
Best Known For: Tons of TV and film work, including a co-starring role on the sitcom Cybill, a season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent paired with Chris Noth, and a recurring role in the fourth and fifth seasons of Friday Night Lights as mother to series regular Becky (actress and aspiring director Madison Burge).

Doctor Who companion and fellow celebrity crush
Karen Gillan may grow up to be Alicia Witt,
given all that time travel she's doing.

Film work includes a starring role in the horror film Urban Legend, a role as an awkward teen musician in Mr. Holland's Opus, and a starring role as a child in David Lynch's film Dune. (Most of her credits are as an adult, and those are the only ones listed below.) She played fellow crush Jena Malone's older sister in the indie drama Confessions of an American Girl and has tried her hand at writing and directing short films.

Her Wikipedia entry notes that she's in talk with Dick Wolf's camp about possibly joining Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the coming season, when Mariska Hargitay is expected to leave -- or at the minimum to cut her episode count to 13. (Take that with a minimum pound of salt, but if true, it beats the hell out of the leading rumor that Jennifer Love Hewitt will be brought on board as a detective.)

Humble Beginnings: Dune was her debut on screen -- with filming starting when she was 7 -- followed by roles as a teenager on Lynch's Twin Peaks and TV miniseries Hotel Room and the independent film Bodies, Rest and Motion. (David Lynch had seen her on the TV show That's Incredible! reciting -- presumably, part of -- "Romeo and Juliet," Wikipedia notes.)

Madonna was also an early fan, requesting that Alicia play her daughter in her segment of the multi-director film Four Rooms.
Not the Courteney Cox Factor: Alicia has put out a not at all shabby EP showcasing her talents as a singer-songwriter. It also features a cover of Paul Simon's song "Call Me Al."
Why Ye Olde Podcaster Likes Her: She's a terrific actress with a varied résumé -- sometimes girl next door, sometimes femme fatale, sometimes troubled single mother, sometimes police detective with no inner filter. The red hair adds to the sex appeal, of course, and her smile can light up at least a small city. Not all of Massachusetts, perhaps, but definitely at least New Hampshire.

Glammed down for her role on Friday Night Lights, with
on-screen daughter Madison Burge (scarily talented).

The ambition in writing and directing are also admirable, as is her stage career (including The Shapes of Things by Neil Labute). Plus: She's an advocate for pet adoption, as reported in a 2004 issue of The Pet Press (based in Los Angeles).
Music and voice work: Alicia Witt (2009 EP) (Amazon | iTunes) * Gen13 (2000 animated feature, not officially released) (Amazon | iTunes) * "Me or New York" (2011 single) (Amazon | iTunes)
Auteur works: Belinda's Swan Song (2006 short -- writer, director, producer) (Amazon | iTunes) * Girls' Lunch (2004 short -- writer, producer, co-star) (Amazon | iTunes)

TV and Web series credits: Friday Night Lights, season 5 (Amazon | iTunes) * CSI: Miami, season 9: "Blood Lust" (Amazon | iTunes) * Friday Night Lights, season 4 (Amazon | iTunes) * The Mentalist, season 1: "Red John's Footsteps" (Amazon | iTunes) * Two and a Half Men, season 6: "A Jock Strap in Hell" (Amazon | iTunes) * Puppy Love (2008 Web series) (Amazon | iTunes) * Wainy Days, season 3: "Shelly II" (Amazon | iTunes) * Law & Order: Criminal Intent, season 7 (Amazon | iTunes) * The Twilight Zone (2002): "The Executions of Grady Finch" (Amazon | iTunes) * Ally McBeal, season 3 (Amazon | iTunes) * The Sopranos, season 2: "D-Girl" (Amazon | iTunes) * Cybill, season 4 (Amazon | iTunes) * Cybill, season 3 (Amazon | iTunes) * Cybill, season 2 (Amazon | iTunes) * Cybill, season 1 (Amazon | iTunes)

At The Bitter End in New York.

Film and TV-movie credits: The Boarding House (2012) (Amazon | iTunes) * Bending the Rules (2011) (Amazon | iTunes) * Joint Body (Amazon | iTunes) * The Flight of the Swan (Amazon | iTunes) * Peep World (Amazon | iTunes) * Backyard Wedding (2010 TV-movie) (Amazon | iTunes) * The Pond (2010 short) (Amazon | iTunes) * Edgar Floats (2010 TV-movie) (Amazon | iTunes) * 88 Minutes (Amazon | iTunes) * Blue Smoke (2007 TV-movie) (Amazon | iTunes) * Last Holiday (2006) (Amazon | iTunes) * Conflict (2005 short) (Amazon | iTunes) * The Upside of Anger (Amazon | iTunes) * Curse of the Ring (2004 TV-movie) (Amazon | iTunes) * Girls' Lunch (2004 short) (Amazon | iTunes) * Two Weeks Notice (Amazon | iTunes) * Confessions of an American Girl (2002) (Amazon | iTunes) * Ten Tiny Love Stories (Amazon | iTunes) * Vanilla Sky (Amazon | iTunes) * Cecil B. Demented (Amazon | iTunes) * Playing Mona Lisa (Amazon | iTunes) * Passion's Way (1999) (Amazon | iTunes) * Urban Legend (1998) (Amazon | iTunes) * Bongwater (Amazon | iTunes) * Citizen Ruth (Amazon | iTunes) * Mr. Holland's Opus (Amazon | iTunes) * Four Rooms (1995) (Amazon | iTunes) * The Disappearance of Vonnie (1994 TV-movie) (Amazon | iTunes) * Fun (1994) (Amazon | iTunes)