HOLLYWOOD -- Carla Gugino insists she doesn't need a Hollywood spin doctor to explain her departure from the TV sitcom Spin City.

For the first half of Spin City's first season, Gugino played Michael J. Fox's girlfriend.

Her character, a spunky political reporter, suddenly disappeared amid rumors Gugino

was getting almost as popular as Fox, causing some high-level heads to spin.

"When we started Spin City, there was a real balance between what happened with Michael at the (mayor's) office and at his apartment where I was," says Gugino.

"Michael and I had this kind of Mad About You relationship, but the producers decided they wanted to spend more time at the office with those characters, so I was written out.

"There was no animosity as was being reported in the press," insists Gugino, who appears opposite Nicolas Cage in the Brian De Palma thriller Snake Eyes, which opens Aug. 7.


More Artists