The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘wife’ talks about her time with him
We met a woman who had been Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wife this week. She’s blond, beautiful and lives right here in Atlanta. Although their union didn’t last, she had nothing but kind things to say.
“He was a doll,” said actress Catherine Dyer, who portrayed the wife of Schwarzenegger’s character in “Ten,” a gritty cop drama that filmed here this fall.
“He was lovely. He was chatty. He was very sweet,” Dyer said of her on-screen spouse. “There’s an endearing quality about him that I wasn’t expecting.”
Her film credits include roles in the madein-Atlanta movies “The Blind Side,” starring Sandra Bullock, and “The Joneses,” starring Demi Moore and David Duchovny, but she had not met or worked with Schwarzenegger before “Ten.”
“I was in the makeup trailer getting my hair done and I heard the voice,” she said of the former California governor’s distinctive accent. “I turned around and said, ‘Hi, I’m your wife.’ ”
“Ten,” directed by David Ayer, is about a group of elite DEA agents battling members of a ruthless drug cartel. Without giving away the plot, we can tell you that Dyer’s role was physically and mentally demanding.
“I’m glad I go to the gym and am somewhat healthy,” she said. “I did a lot of yoga stretching. It was harrowing, but fun.”
The movie, also starring Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Williams and Josh Holloway, should hit theaters sometime next year. While she awaits the release date, Dyer and her real-life husband, actor and restaurateur Jason MacDonald, are keeping busy working on other projects.
“We’ve been auditioning like crazy,” said MacDonald, whose film credits include roles in “Life as We Know It” and “The Joneses.” He also has appeared in episodes of numerous shows including “Necessary Roughness,” “Single Ladies” and “The Vampire Diaries.”
The two were working in New York when they moved south in 2006 to help care for Dyer’s father, who died in October, thinking at the time that they were putting their acting careers on hold. In fact, they came at the right time for professional as well as family reasons, as Georgia’s tax incentives for film projects kicked in just a couple of years after they arrived.
“Let’s hope it keeps going strong,” Dyer said. “Keep those tax incentives going.”
An early ‘Downton’ debut
Can’t wait for the premiere of the next season of “Downton Abbey”? Don’t. Georgia Public Broadcasting plans a sneak peek event from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at the studio, located at 260 14th St. in Midtown. Period dress is encouraged, so do come in your finest frockery. Tickets to just the screening are free, although seating is not guaranteed. Tickets to a VIP champagne reception and a post-premiere party featuring a jazz combo, hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, signature drinks, photos with costumed characters and “Downton Abbey” cutouts and an appearance by “the Queen” herself, along with guaranteed seating, are $75. See www.gpb.org/downtonabbeysneakpreview for details.