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There’s a point in
Gothika in which you
injure your arm.
Was the arm wound
worked into the
story because of the
injury you suffered
while filming?
No, that was
already- - the other
arm was broken. My
right arm. That was
on my left arm. It
was already there.
Then I had two
things to deal with.
How difficult was it
to come back after
hurting your arm?
The biggest part
after breaking the
arm was, when you're
an adult and you
break a bone, it's
so much...I broke a
bone as a kid and I
loved it – I
couldn't wait to get
the cast. I was
happy it broke. I
was like, "Yeah,
it's broken." As an
adult, I thought,
"Oh my God. Am I
going to finish this
movie? Are they
going to recast me
for Catwoman? What
does this mean in
the course of my
career?" So coming
back to work just
seemed...I just had
a lot more fear
about the
physicality of what
was asked of me. I
felt really fragile
and frail, thinking
okay, now what am I
going to break? I
had more of those
kind of concerns. I
didn't want to try
to finish this movie
and hurt myself in
any way so that I
wasn't ready to do
Catwoman. I was a
lot more tentative
when I went back.
You’ve played a lot
of physical roles.
What makes you so
physical?
I don't even think
about the
physicality of roles
until I get the gig
and I think okay,
what do I have to do
in this one? I
approach it thinking
more about the
character and I
respond to it
because it's
something I think I
can play and seems
like it'll be fun.
And then, like with
Gothika, I really
hadn't thought
through all the
physical things I'd
have to do. Running
around with no shoes
on, all the jumping
and the fighting.
That was such an
afterthought.
You have a lot of
intense scenes in
Gothika where you’re
all by yourself. How
hard is it to do
those scenes alone,
with no actors to
play off of?
That was a challenge
for me on this. With
every movie, I
realize I learn
something new about
what I can and can't
do and I'm forced to
stretch and grow and
that was a big area
for me, to keep that
level of emotion.
Once (Miranda) wakes
up in that
institution, every
moment is sort of at
a heightened level.
It was a stretch. I
had to work really
hard to keep it up
all the time.
Was it draining?
Yeah. It's draining
at the end of the
day, but on some
other level, it's
also really
cathartic. Although
physically I would
feel exhausted and
tired – my back
would hurt, my arms
would hurt and my
feet would be raw
from running through
all the stuff –
there was still
something about it
that felt good. At
the end of the day,
I felt like I had a
really cathartic
experience. I got a
lotta stuff out of
me that was pent up
in little corners of
myself, so I felt
good at the same
time.
So you're learning
about yourself?
That's what it's all
about. (Otherwise)
there'd be no real
reason to do it.
What's a recent
example of something
you've learned about
yourself?
Just my ability to
be able to stretch
myself in ways that
I really didn't
think I could do. I
had to keep this
kind of emotion up.
I realized that I
was able to go to
those places and
access that much
more than I ever
thought I could do.
That's career-wise,
but personally, I'm
always working
through. Whatever is
going on in my life
is what I use as my
tool to sort of
bring out different
emotions. I get to
work through my real
life issues through
my art.
Can you talk a
little about how
stressful the set
was?
Really intense. I
mean, we're in these
really dark, spooky,
sort of cold,
ominous buildings
and that was very
much – the buildings
were characters all
in their own. It
also rained a lot.
When it's raining,
people are a little
more down, more
depressed, a little
more agitated. So it
did get a little
funky at times.
Did you and Penelope
ever discuss war
stories about being
in the public eye?
No, no war stories.
I think that's the
last thing we wanted
to talk about
because we know that
story. But when I
met her, I knew
instantly we'd be
like girlfriends.
You work with people
and you have a
healthy working
relationship really,
but they're not
always people that
if you didn't meet
them through your
work, you would like
to hang out and be
girlfriends with.
The minute we met
each other, we knew
that we'd be
girlfriends after
this movie. And she
was so good as Chloe
and she was
stretching further
than I think I've
ever really seen her
stretch, even though
the part was small.
She got to do
something that I
don't think people
thought she could
do. And I was really
supportive of her
and always
encouraging her,
"You know, go
further, go further,
just go, go, go." It
was good.
As a role model to
women, do you have
any advice for
people going through
difficult
situations, ending a
relationship?
No, not at this
time.
Can you give us a
Catwoman update?
We're a month into
it and it's really
been a lot of fun.
One of the things I
like about this
script is that we
acknowledge that
there are other
Catwomen of the
past. So it's not
like I'm trying to
be the
Catwoman. We
acknowledge that we
believe in our
script there are
nine Catwomen and
I'm one. I'd be like
the fifth one. So
that gives me leeway
to be my own version
of a Catwoman. I
don't need to be
like Michelle
Pfeiffer or Eartha
Kitt. It's my own
2004 version of what
a Catwoman would be
today.
How does the suit
fit?
Great. Much more
comfortable than my
X-suit. (laughs) |
