Lea Thompson plays an ex-FBI agent's spouse in the airline hostage drama Final Approach (May 24 at 8 pm/ET, Hallmark). The former Caroline in the City star spoke with us about her eclectic career.

TV Guide: You play Dean Cain's wife in Final Approach. Discuss.
Lea Thompson: It was fun playing his wife, though I didn't get to do that much with him. I was on the phone most of the time. It's hard to build a rapport. I always thought he was cute as Superman [in Lois & Clark]. He's way cuter than me, which is a problem. [Laughs]

TV Guide: Approach is like a high-tension Love Boat episode — you, Cain, Anthony Michael Hall, Tracey Gold, Barry Livingston, Richard Roundtree…
Thompson: A little bit. I did most of my work with Richard Roundtree. He was fantastic. All the stuff on the plane I wasn't involved in, so I really didn't get a chance to hang out with them, which is always weird. There's a great group of people who never get to talk with each other. It was fun to work with Anthony Michael Hall, who I never worked with, especially since we came up in the same kind of "Brat Pack" movie crew in the '80s. He's a very intense actor. He was pulling me by the hair for an entire day! [Laughs]

TV Guide: You were huge in the '80s....
Thompson: I had a really interesting career. Now that I flash back on it, I was a big movie star in the '80s. Now I look back and see how crazy it is when you have movie after movie coming out, the pressure you're under. And when I see stories about Lindsay Lohan and actresses like that having a difficult time under incredible scrutiny, I thank God the press wasn't as intense. I'm really grateful that happened to me, but I'm also really grateful to have time to be quiet and have my kids. I have the wisdom to know that it really doesn't last. As I get wiser, I realize that you really have to enjoy every stage of your life.

TV Guide: Even the Howard the Duck stage?
Thompson: Don't blame my husband [director Howard Deutch] for Howard! A lot of people really like it. I haven't seen it in 18 years. I don't think it's a great movie by any stretch of the imagination but it certainly isn't the worst movie of all time. My kids won't watch it. As soon as they see me in bed with a duck they have to turn it off. [Laughs]

TV Guide: At least nobody says that about Back to the Future!
Thompson: It's weird to be known for something you did 23 years ago, even though I did a million other things. That said, I'm extremely happy that I'm known for that because it's a great movie and I'm really, really good in it! There are amazing moments between Crispin Glover and I that make the story really powerful on a deep level. So I'm really proud of my work.

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