A Mother of a Role
iCAST: I understand this is the first time you've played a character who's a mother.
SW: Well, I'm sort of the anti-mother in The Ice Storm. And I'm sort of the wicked mother in Snow White. And I played a somewhat mother figure in Alien. But, a normal mother on earth with regular children and a messy house? No one ever offers me anything that normal. And I just jumped at the chance.
Going to the Country
iCAST: How was it playing a character who had more of a rural sensibility? A lot of the characters you have played are quite cerebral and sophisticated.
SW: Well, even though I grew up in New York and I love living here -- I love being way out of it in nature. I think [Alice Goodwin] was very easy for me to identify in terms of the fall from grace, also being a separation from the earth by being put in a prison, as well as a separation from children. Those are things that really are part of my real life. And I could identify with them much more easily than some of the other characters I've had to play.
A Not-So-Perfect Picture
iCAST: Did you have any trepidation about playing this character? Because our culture really doesn't like women to explore their personal problems in a situation like that -- within a family, within a marriage.
SW: Well, I think that perhaps the studios are wary of doing it. But I never have felt that the audience wasn't game to go there. And I think it's very liberating for people, especially women, to see these two women who are so much themselves, with flaws and making the wrong choices sometimes, even though Julianne plays someone much more perfect. But I think that women are relieved to see that other people make mistakes and cause suffering and things like that because that's all part of life. Alice's story is distinctive because what happens is so terrible. But I think everyone can relate to going along, going along, it's not perfect, but it's fine. And then suddenly, an event happens which changes your life irrevocably. That's something that's sort of in the back of everyone's mind -- "It could happen to me."
Getting Into Character
iCAST: When you're playing a character who was drawn so vividly in a novel does that weigh upon you in trying to make the character your own?
SW: I did feel a great responsibility, let us say. And that's one of the reasons I flew out to meet Jane Hamilton (the author of A Map of the World).
But I also think that a strong character -- and I felt this with Diane Fosse and a few other characters -- they kind of lead you intuitively through certain things you have to experience in order to play them. It starts things cooking.
And then, I guess, if courage is involved, what you have to do is let it go. Get out of the character's way. There was no time to worry about whether I was going to do a good job or not because we shot this thing in 30 days. We did about two takes of each shot. It was real seat-of-your-pants filmmaking. And I love that, because I'm always best in my first and second take anyway, and it's much harder for me to do these big films where there are lots of special effects and you do it 50 times. That's really much more difficult.
Quick Takes
iCAST: Does that go back to your stage training, where every night you have to go out and do it just once right through?
SW: Perhaps. And you have the momentum of the story carrying you on stage, so you can allow it to really happen to you like the character. But I think, actually, as I've been doing this for 20 years, you do acquire the confidence and -- it's not technique -- but kind of the instinct that you can just see what happens. You prepare, yes. You prepare ahead of time, and then all of the little things, especially physically, what I love is that for an actor the body does not know that it's a script and a story.
So, if you put yourself physically in the environment with all of these people and things interacting with you, the body reacts with adrenaline and all of these things. Especially if it only has to do it a few times. If you do it 50 times, the body can say, "Well, I don't think this is real." So, it's much easier to let the body and the character take over if you're working quickly.
iCAST: Do you think directors kind of distrust the one or two takes?
SW: I think it has a lot to do with the director's confidence. I think with less experienced directors, you end up doing more takes because they're just not sure. And yet I know, because I know what takes people use, that that's me. And I think Scott was so specific and we did rehearse. This was such a great way to work. Every Sunday we would all go to the actual set or location and we would play all of the scenes we were going to play that next week in that set. So that, in a sense, it was bubbling in you all week, the idea of the place and who you were and what you were doing. That made it much easier for me, maybe, because of my theater training.
Playing Mommy
iCAST: Do you know a lot of women who go through problems raising children?
SW: I know I do. I spend most of my time just as a mother with other mothers like the relationship I have with Julianne's character [Julianne Moore as Theresa Collins].
I think when you're young you don't realize that for a large part of your life, your friendships are going to be with women whose children play with your child.
But I think that was part of the point we were making was that Alice did all of that. And she was really good at that. And she always kept going. And her husband depended on her to do most of that, all of that. And when she can't get up in the morning, it's just because she was so severely depressed and punishing herself so much about what happened in her pond. And I think that's why we have that scene in there: She's always had it together, and she's just desolate.
Trading Places
iCAST: You've played such a wide range of roles. Would you ever want to choose one or two characters and actually be that person -- trade places with them -- for a short period of time?
SW: There are people I wouldn't mind being, like Jill in The Year of Living Dangerously. But would I want to? I don't think so. I don't know. Have you asked other actors that question? Because I've never been asked that. It's very interesting.
I don't want to be any of my characters. I know that every time I have ever taken something home from a wardrobe, I have to give it away. It's like having a ghost's clothing in my house. There are things I admire about Alice, ultimately.
Where she gets to at the end, which is a great journey from where she begins. Her ability to face things and not call them as she sees them, in a sense. I'm always overly conscious of the other person's feelings and always trying to put things very diplomatically. And there were times when it was amazing to say what Alice said in the circumstances, because she does not bow down. And inappropriate or not, she says what she thinks. That's a rare quality these days, I think.
Learning Experience
iCAST: Do you find that you learn from your characters?
SW: I think that's very true, actually. Some characters are very good company. And I'm like the opposite of Ripley [From the Alien movies). I screech when I see a cockroach or anything. So, there have been times when I've been frightened, for instance, where I've had to keep a cool head. And I remind myself that if I were being paid to act Ripley in this situation, I would definitely be cooler.
One of the things I loved about this picture was the friendship between Alice and Theresa, Julianne's character. And I think one of the moving things about the picture is you see us missing each other. And there's no way we can go back and undo things. But it's still about forgiveness and about friendship. There are those things that continue to resonate with you long after you've done a picture.
To see that highlighted in a film and, I think, told really honestly, is such a breath of fresh air from what we usually see.
iCAST: Was this a hard character to leave at night?
SW: I think it was. I think, in a way, it was good that it was such a short shooting schedule. At the end, my husband and daughter came up to bring me home and the first thing I wanted to do was go to Niagara Falls with them, where I'd never been. But I think there was also this sense of wanting to see and hear and feel that water washing it all away, because I did not want to bring the energy home. It was too heartbreaking.
Rural Research
iCAST: You made reference to the trip you made to Wisconsin and the research you did. How did that help you develop your character.
SW: I guess I wanted to meet Jane [Hamilton], but we really didn't talk about the character too much. She was the source. I was curious whether she based it on something that happened to someone she knew, or what have you. In fact, she based it on those newspaper stories about the mistaken arrests and things like that.
The reason I went, also, was I kept hearing that in the Midwest there was a kind of tendency to keep things nice, and keep the big feelings kind of underneath the surface where they were more easily controlled. And it was fascinating to me -- I met a lot of women in her community, and they were very delightful and mildly curious.
But, I remember talking to one of the women who acts as the school nurse at one of the schools. She was just talking about what she did, and she had a very reassuring voice and manner, very comforting. And I said, "Well, what would happen if a kid kept coming into you who clearly wasn't being well taken care of, and was getting some health problems?" And she said, "Well, I would refer him to a guidance counselor." And I said, "Well, what if the guidance counselor were away and you just saw things going on that you really disapproved of?" And she said, "Well, I would wait until the guidance counselor came back." It was the opposite of Alice's style. And that taught me so much about how she (Alice) didn't fit in here and why she put herself in jeopardy just sort of by being herself.
Then I did spend time at the local jail and that blew my mind. I asked them to just book me as they would Alice Goodwin, charged with sexually molesting the kid. For one thing, if you're charged with that, you're not a popular inmate. You feel that in the way you're treated. And also I remember, probably the most powerful thing for me was I went to the place where you have your visitors moments every week. And you're so cut off from the people you love or who might be coming to give you some sort of support. The metal which held the glass up on each side, the paint was completely worn away.
And the biggest punishment is you're taken away from the people who mean the most to you. The thing that would feel the best, which would be a hug or some kind of physical comforting, is completely denied you. It feels so awful. You really feel like you're being punished.
The women I met in there, what I sensed was that for a fair number of them, either because of lack of education or a not-very-stable family, it was as if jail was on their route. It was in their orbit, like on a Monopoly game. So, it was much more likely for them to end up in jail than it would be for a lot of us. That was such a shock.
Mother Knows Best
iCAST: Do you think you would have played the character any differently if you weren't a mother?
SW: I wouldn't even have taken it. I think I really wanted to use that. Because that, to me, is what my real life is and the greatest joy in my life. And frankly, the most difficult job. I don't think anyone, especially a working mother, feels she's doing it right. Kids have their good days and bad days. I thought it was just plainly portrayed in the screenplay.
Family Matters
iCAST: How old is your daughter?
SW: She's nine.
iCAST: Does she know what you do, in terms of being an actor? Has she seen any of your movies?
SW: She's seen Ghostbusters. And one of the reasons I did Galaxy Quest was so she could see that.
But she hasn't seen any of the Alien movies, any of the other movies. I don't have them at home. Her father's a director downtown, and she's seen a lot more of his work than she's seen of mine. I don't know whether I'm embarrassed being a movie star. I don't want my daughter to have that clouding her head up. She sees that I cringe when I'm asked for an autograph, because it's scary.
I assume that at some point she'll be interested in seeing them, and be old enough to see them. I think it's enough for her to deal with the fact that I'm a working mom, let alone that I play all of these characters, like the woman in Snow White and stuff like that.
iCAST: How do you maintain the relationship with your daughter when you're away making a movie?
SW: I'm not away that long. I try to only be away about two weeks. And now, thanks to the Internet and faxing and phones, I'm able to be in touch with her every day. Last year I did a job in town, in Toronto, where I could commute. And then the job I took was mostly in the summer. It becomes more and more of a problem to go away. I just don't think it's worth it. Just selfishly, I miss too much.
iCAST: Have you looked for stage work?
SW: Well, I've been kind of lazy about that because I don't want to leave at 6:30 every night and be gone most of the weekends because that's the time she has free and that's the homework time. So far, I haven't done much stage because it's a big commitment and I just want to be at home more.
iCAST: I take it she doesn't have any theatrical aspirations?
SW: I don't know what she's going to do. Her aim now, as a nine-year-old, is to turn herself instantly into a sixteen-year-old.
No Icon
iCAST: You're held up as an icon among young women. Do you see that as a boon or as a burden?
SW: Well it's interesting because they see me as an icon, and if they listen to me talk for half a second, they realize that I'm just like them. I have all kinds of problems, insecurities and everything. So, I think I take the magic out of that in about three seconds. But I think it's wonderful that I was, I guess mostly as Ripley, a woman who without anyone else to turn to relies on herself and does the best she can. I think that's what women do in general. And I'm still shocked that it's made such a big deal of. Come on.
Realizing I'm an Actor
iCAST: What influenced you to go into performing?
SW: Well, I always thought I had a little knack for it -- little -- emphasize that word. I remember doing Alice in Wonderland in school in third grade and I was given the part of the Cheshire Cat. And of course, I didn't know what I was doing.
But I can see now, I played her like this very New York, kind of arch-creature. So, I was always good at playing strange roles.
I never really had the guts to say, "I want to be an actor." And even when I went to Yale, I was still looking around. I didn't like it there because it was so professional. I found it was lonely having my own dressing room. I missed the chaos of working in college, working out of the back seat of a car, or whatever. I didn't like the formality of their kind of theater. But once I got working off-Broadway, I realized that I -- who had said, "I'm really not an actor but I'll do this as long as I can get a job" -- was really working more than people I knew who'd been encouraged a lot at Yale and who were very forthright about the fact that they were actors. And absurd as it sounds, it's taken me a long time, about this long, to really realize that I'm an actor, and I'm even a successful actor. It's still kind of difficult for me to grasp.
