It's been a hard week at Téa Leoni and David Duchovny's Malibu home. ''Yesterday, we were all sick,'' groans the actress, 41. Then 8-year-old daughter Madeleine's ''braces went kapooey,'' prompting a surprise dental visit and the delay of this interview. Work often takes a backseat to Leoni's family (which also includes son Kyd, 5). But when the costar is Sir Ben Kingsley, as was the case with June 22's dark comedy You Kill Me, she makes the time. ''[My agents] gave out my home number,'' she says. ''He called and said, 'I'd like for you to do this with me.' That title really helps, the whole 'Sir' thing.'' So the vet of TV (1995-98's The Naked Truth) and film (2004's Spanglish, 2005's Fun With Dick and Jane) dug in to play Laurel, the morose girlfriend of the Oscar winner's hitman. On the indie, she also served as producer; evidently, it's important to her that the little ones witness other careers. ''If my kids were to tell me that they wanted to get into acting,'' she says, ''I'd hang myself.''
Tea for Two
She went from sitcom to mom, but now Ms. Leoni returns as Ben Kingsley's co-star and producer
