The creative life suits Jane Seymour, whether it’s her role as grandmother, splashed with pool water and paint on a recent weekday morning, or filming in Hollywood.
“I have 13 English family members with small babies,” the 75-year-old actor says. “I got one of them to swim earlier today, and the others — ages 2, 4, and 6 — were doing a painting art project with me.
“My home is a very creative space. I feel the creative vibe, too. I like living in that space. I love acting and producing as much as I did at 20. I don’t think I’ll ever quit.”
It helps to have a hit television series to keep her busy when she’s not babysitting. Seymour stars in Acorn TV’s “Harry Wild.” She portrays Harriet “Harry” Wild, a retired lit professor who solves pesky murder cases in Dublin. Season 5, now streaming, includes episodes with her “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” love interest, Joe Lando, who plays state pathologist Pierce Kennedy.
Why make a new series now? “I’m doing this for absolutely no other reason than I really love it,” Seymour says from her home in Malibu, California. “People look at my age and say, ‘Jane, aren’t you going to quit? Why not relax, play golf, do nothing?’ I just can’t imagine it — ever.
“In terms of my ability as an actress and a human being, I have so much more to offer at this age,” she adds. “The challenges are so much more complex, but bring them on! I can do anything! I am a woman who has lived a life.”
Seymour is engaged to musician and emergency room physician John Zambetti. She shared her good life advice:
Love story
After three years together, Zambetti popped the question on Valentine’s Day, the day before Seymour’s birthday. There was just one snag. She opened the box and the ring flew under the bed. Then, he got stuck under the bed and she had to help him out. “Serious bedhead involved. We looked at each other and started laughing hysterically,” she recalls. She calls him “just the kindest, most intelligent, loving, caring, giving human being I’ve ever met.” The marriage will form a big family of her six children and his two.
Never retire
Seymour says she fell in love with the character of Harry Wild. “One minute she is acting mature; the next she acts like a teenager,” she says. “It’s very empowering for any woman over 50 to realize that life isn’t winding down. Life just might be winding up at this age. The theme here is it’s never too late.”
‘That thing’
She says Lando — a fan favorite who played Byron Sully on her 1990s TV series “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” — was excited to join “Harry Wild” this season. He plays a mysterious doctor with a dark past. The chemistry is still sizzling between the two. “You can’t kill ‘that thing’ between us,” Seymour says. “We met and started working together 35 years ago. It’s magic. It doesn’t feel like acting.”
Keep moving
People are always asking the ageless Seymour for her aging tips. “I eat a Mediterranean diet. I do intermittent fasting and skip breakfast if I need to lose a pound or two,” she says. And the former professional dancer and ballerina says varying her exercise routine keeps it interesting. “I’ll do ballet bar combined with yoga and old-fashioned calisthenics,” she adds. “There is always time for a fast walk on the beach or just down the road. You can climb a hill … or two. Walk to the store. Just move to have fun.”
Be careful
These days, Seymour takes a careful approach to staying active. “Some of my friends are totally maniacal about exercise,” she shares. “They’re climbing mountain ranges or pushing so hard on mountain bikes. Many have had a hip or knee or shoulder replaced. You just have to be careful. Don’t push beyond a comfortable point.”
Seymour says she listens closely to her body. “We have a ‘chat’ every morning. I ask my body, ‘Are we comfortable with how we are feeling today? What might need a little more attention?’”
Clamoring fans
Inevitably, several times a week, Seymour gets asked about a reboot of “Dr. Quinn.” Is there any hope? “We try and try, but there are certain things holding it up, like the people who own it,” she says. “The show holds up fantastically. The fans want it to go on. I continue to hope.”
Make things happen
With three movies about to film and another season of “Harry Wild” on the horizon, Seymour says she has never been busier: “My agent says I’m his client who gets the most offers.” Why now? “I think we are interesting creatures at this age, especially when we kick up our heels and make things happen.”
