Author/s: Laura Winters
Issue: Sept, 2000
THE RAGING NEW STAR OF A BUZZING NEW BOXING MOVIE SCORES A KO
Few young actresses pack as big a punch-literally--as Michelle Rodriguez. This twenty-two-year-old actress delivers one of the powerhouse performances of the year in her debut as a problem-kid-turned-female-boxer in Karyn Kusama's visceral first film, Girlfight, which shared the Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture and netted Kusama a prize for Best Director at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Rodriguez's Diana, a high school student seething with rage, is drawn to the ring and finds a new power, but also a new vulnerability, as she falls in love with a fellow boxer (Santiago Douglas) who will become one of her main rivals.
In preparation for the film, Rodriguez, a high school dropout who had never acted in a feature before, truly transformed herself physically and emotionally into a lean, mean fighting machine. It seems to have paid off with new roles. So far, she's starring in two future projects--the Spike Lee-produced 3 A.M., with Pam Grier and Danny Glover, and the car-racing drama Redline, with Vin Diesel and Jordana Brewster.
LAURA WINTERS: How did you get involved with Girlfight?
MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ: Well, I had worked as an extra for about a year, but I didn't have the balls to go to an audition because I had no real acting experience. Then one day I stumbled across an issue of Backstage, and I saw an ad for "female Latina boxer chick." I was like, "All right, Michelle, that's it. It's an open call. Just go." Three hundred and fifty people were there. I showed up late, so I just said my name and where I was from, and they chose me and two other people.
LW: What happened next?
MR: I had to audition four times and go to the gym and train for a week before getting the part. And they prematurely said that I was ready to spar with a guy, just like in the movie. When I walked into that ring, I was so determined: I thought, "All I have to do is punch him!" [laughs] Well, it wasn't going to happen. Here's this guy pounding on me, and every time I come back with a punch, he's dodging it left and right. I was so infuriated! But I think Karyn [Kusama] fell in love with my anger at that point. [laughs]
LW: How was it acting opposite Santiago Douglas?
MR: He was great, very supportive. Karyn did a couple of auditions with me and the other prospects for Adrian, but it was just Santiago as soon as he walked in the door. He intimidated me in a way, because he was so together, and I didn't feel as fearless as I did with everybody else. And I think that was what Karyn was looking for: We sparked.
LW: In real life, do women sometimes box against men, just like in the movie?
MR: Oh, definitely. Guys have the upper hand in those matches, though, because if they lose they can say they gave up a fight. But there are so many female boxers out there--you need to go to the gym and check it out.
LW: Since you'd never boxed before, how did you prepare?
MR: I had four and a half months of training. Hardcore, man. I learned a lot of discipline, because I'm such an irresponsible person. I wanted it to look real, so I dedicated myself. That's what I think independent film is all about.
LW: Well, it certainly looked real. Are you still boxing?
MR: I stopped, because my ego flew a little high. There are a lot of people who are competitive, and I'm not really into that kind of competition. So when it started reaching a point where I was walking outside and daring people to push me, I left.
LW: You do an incredible job of conveying your character's emotional transformation as she starts to box. Are there elements of you in her?
MR: When I was growing up, I was always trying to be rambunctious and crazy and different. Not like Diana, who is quiet and angry and keeps to herself. But yeah, there are parts of me in Diana. The biggest thing I gave to her was my feeling about life: Do what you want, and don't let anybody get in your way. And don't pay attention to ignorant minds.
LW: Where did you grow up?
MR: I was born in Texas, lived there until I was eight, and then moved to the Dominican Republic for two years. After that, I was in Puerto Rico for one year and then I came to Jersey City, where I've been ever since.
LW: Lots of moving around. Are you Puerto Rican?
MR: I'm an alien from outer space. Just joking. I'm Puerto Rican and Dominican.
LW: Do any of your family act?
MR: No, not at all. They're mostly Jehovah's Witnesses. Until the age of thirteen, I was too. I lived with my mom and my grandmother growing up.
LW: What made you stop being a Jehovah's Witness?
MR: There were so many things you couldn't do. For one thing, I wouldn't have been able to do this film: Cursing is not allowed, and that kissing scene with Adrian on the bed just wouldn't be considered proper. I needed to break free from all that. But I'm grateful for it because it made me more careful: I have a sense of borderlines I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
LW: What does your family think of your acting now?
MR: You know, family is family, blood is blood. They have their beliefs, but they love me no matter what.
LW: When you were growing up, did you have any experience of tough neighborhoods like the one in the film?
MR: In Jersey City I was surrounded by both sides, middle class and poor. I've hung out with the geeks, like my little brother in the film, and I've hung out with the hood-rats, too. You see them all the time on the train, these little sixteen-year-olds talking about getting laid. I used it all for this role.
LW: Do you think the film offers hope to kids in difficult situations?
MR: I think the movie shows that you can choose to live a different life if you want. But honestly, it depends on the path you choose. It's really up to the individual.
LW: Diana's ethnicity is not really discussed in the film. Is it significant that she's Latina?
ME: Yeah, it's important to all those people who think that there are no films coming out with Spanish female characters who are not maids. There are a lot of angry people out there, both black and Hispanic, saying that there are not enough films with characters like these. Spanish people need to start writing better roles for themselves, not just roles touching on racism. We've seen those films already. We have to get past that and write films about life.
LW: What are the challenges facing you as a Hispanic actress?
MR: No matter what, people are so narrow-minded that it won't ever be Michelle Rodriguez the actress, it will always be Michelle Rodriguez the Latin actress. And it's just something that I have to live with, because of the fact that people need labels to understand things. I can't even get into this ignorance that I'm dealing with. So I just ignore it, you know? Ignore the ignorance.
LW: Did playing Diana make you think about the ways that women can be typecast by society?
ME: Yeah, it did. I thought about the struggle that every woman undergoes when she tries to do something strong. I remembered, when I was younger, my brother telling me that I couldn't play football with him. You know what people say: If you're too tough, you're butch. And if you're too feminine, you're prissy. It creates so much anger, and I tried to channel that into my character.
LW: Do you think Karyn's film challenges those stereotypes?
MR: I think the film tells women to make their own choices and do what they wish, and stop trying to please the world around them. If you don't feel like playing with Barbie dolls, then don't. If you like hanging out with guys more than you like hanging out with girls, then do. It's important for characters like Diana to exist in a film, because it's a message that women need to hear from other women. We need that support.
Laura winters is a New York-based writer. Michelle Rodriguez: A new knockout in the ring.