Actress goes from Prospect High to 'House'

Jennifer Morrison played Eliza Doolittle in the Prospect High School production of "My Fair Lady."

<i>So?</i>

Morrison starred as the sympathetic Dr. Cameron on "House," and she returns to series television this fall in her own fairy tale fantasy, ABC's "Once Upon a Time."

<i>And ...</i>

Morrison also co-stars in "Warrior" (opening Friday) as a physics teacher/mixed martial arts fighter's wife, a supporting role that gives her a shot at an Oscar nomination.

<i>Ho-hum.</i>

Oh, yeah, we almost forgot.

The 32-year-old Arlington Heights native gave birth to Captain James Tiberius Kirk in the 2009 reboot of the popular "Star Trek" film series.

<i>Now we're talking!</i>

"It was a mindblower!" Morrison said about the reaction by "Star Trek" fans. She said she knew nothing about Kirk or the iconic 1960s TV series that spawned a zillion movies and four TV spinoffs.

"I was never a sci-fi kind of person until 'Battlestar Galactica,'" Morrison confessed. "That kind of turned me around. I've been going back to see all the old stuff to catch up to where everyone else is in terms of being fans of 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek.'

"Being part of 'Star Trek' inspired me to go back and learn what it was and see in the mythology what it really meant to be Captain Kirk's mother."

And?

"I feel honored to be the first actress to put her on screen," she said. "It was sort of nice to establish her for the first time."

Horror fans might also remember Morrison starring as the lead in the 2000 release "Urban Legends: Final Cut."

(Don't feel bad. We had to see it again to remember it.)

Now, after hefty roles on the TV shows "House" and "How I Met Your Mother," the actress is poised to become an unforgettable presence in both TV and films.

In ABC's "Once Upon a Time," debuting Oct. 23, Morrison plays Emma, a street-tough woman who doesn't know she's the daughter of the very real Snow White and Prince Charming.

"I could not be more excited!" Morrison said. "It's mind-bogglingly fun! The scripts are incredible! We're all such fans of the writing that we can only hope audiences feel about the shows the way we feel about the scripts!"

Yes, Morrison really does speak in exclamation points.

It's her naturally enthusiastic approach to life. And, yes, she also was a cheerleader at Prospect High School in Mount Prospect.

"We were an incredibly terrible cheerleading squad, to be honest," she said. "Oh, God, we were bad! We were bad! That was just for fun, though."

So, where does Morrison get that remarkable physical presence she brings to her characters?

"I've been a dancer all my life," she explained. "I started in ballet classes when I was 3 years old and kept at it until 22 or 23. That background gave me an awareness of my body. Also my training at Steppenwolf was a huge part of that. Physicality is something that's pretty intuitive for me."

Which brings us to "Warrior," where she plays Tess Conlon, a tough cookie who reluctantly backs her hubby to fight for the world mixed martial arts championship.

For Tess, Morrison wears minimal makeup to match the movie's sense of gritty naturalism. For her, that was a major blessing.

"I grew up onstage," the actress said. "As an actor, I want to be concentrating on my character, not the concealer under my eye. I don't want to be thinking about that. You had the freedom to be an actor all day and not worry about anything else."

Performing has been in Morrison's blood since birth. Even in her gene pool.

Her mother, Judy, taught private clarinet lessons and handled the Prospect High color guard as a marching band assistant.

Her father, David, was the band director at Prospect, in charge of the symphonic band, concert band, marching band, percussion ensemble and orchestras. In 2003, he received the Illinois State Teacher of the Year award.

"My mom says from the time I was very young, I said I wanted to be an actress," Morrison told us. "I think part of that was watching the musicals at the high school because my dad conducted the orchestras. All I wanted to do was be in a high school musical.

"Playing Eliza Doolittle as a senior at Prospect meant more to me than most big jobs I've had, because that's what I dreamed of since the time I was 3 years old."

Morrison graduated from Loyola University in Chicago in a fleeting three years, thanks to overloads and college credits she earned at Prospect.

"Prospect was a fabulous high school, I think. I got an incredible education. I was very lucky. I was in a lot of advanced placement classes, and I had excellent teachers.

"The older I get and more people I talk to, I become aware of how rare it is to have excellent high school teachers, and I really did!"

So, what is the best thing about being Jennifer Morrison? Starring in a TV series? Being a movie star? Giving birth to Captain James T. Kirk?

"I have incredible love and support in my life," she said. "I really do. I have an incredible family. I have an incredible group of friends. I have an incredible boyfriend. I think, ultimately, that is the greatest blessing of all."

No exclamation points needed.

Dann Gire and Jamie Sotonoff are always looking for suburban people in showbiz. If you know of someone, send a note to dgire@dailyherald.com and jsotonoff@dailyherald.com.