How was working with director Lasse Hallstr枚m?
He's wonderful with actors. He's very assured, gentle, and extremely positive, which is a wonderful thing. He's never critical. He always says "That was wonderful!". If he doesn't say "wonderful", you're like "OK, let's do it again." He's very constructive and very supportive.
Tell me about your role in "The Shipping News".
I play a woman who is the mother of a small boy with a brain injury, and then I become romantically involved with Kevin Spacey. He's great, Kevin, I love him.
You shot the film in Newfoundland. Did your family accompany you to the set?
They did for part of it, and then I sent my son home because it was so isolated and cold, we couldn't go outside. He'd say "Mom, I'm so cold." I didn't want him inside watching television all day. It was really rough. For the last three weeks, he went home. It was really lonely for me. He was with his dad.
Do you think being isolated on the set helped you in the role?
I always think isolation is bad. When I first started doing movies, I'd think "Oh, great! We're going to Timbuktu, and we'll all be together!" But the more movies you do, the more you want to stay home and do them. I think that's an unfortunate part about growing up. "Can we do it in New York? I have a dinner party on Friday night - can I go?!"
Why did you recently do "Evolution", a comedy that's so different from your other work?
I wanted to do it because it was lighter than air. There was no content in that movie at all! It was physical comedy and I thought "Why not?" It was funny when I fell down. You go to acting school, that's on the agenda too. We all take falling down very seriously. You have to let your body go. I fell off stage once and didn't hurt myself at all. It was six or seven feet off the ground, but I didn't expect it. I fell like a sack of potatoes!
