Jobbing thesp Jennifer Connelly proved she was more than just a pretty face after her breakthrough role in "A Beautiful Mind", for which she received the 2001 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Her career takes another unexpected turn in Ang Lee's "Hulk", playing Bruce Banner's long-suffering girlfriend.
You signed on for "Hulk" before you won your Oscar for "A Beautiful Mind". Was it an easy choice for you?
I had a meeting with Ang Lee and I just love his work. He told me about the project and what he was doing. I read about 50 pages of it before I agreed to do it.
What is it about Ang that you admire so much?
He's so creative. He's intelligent. I think he's also very meticulous as a filmmaker. Everything he does is infused with his own sensibility.
How does your character fit into the story?
Bruce Banner is my partner. We work in a lab together. We're scientists. He has a genetic mutation that comes about because of work that his father, also a scientist, was doing before he was born. Then he has an accident in the lab which brings about this change in him that he struggles with as it's sort of coming about. The movie takes place just as he's emerging as the Hulk.
How do you feel about acting opposite a CGI Hulk?
All the effects were done after we'd finished filming, so I didn't really know what to expect. When I saw the film, I was shocked because it was so well done. I mean, Ang would be telling me what the Hulk would look like and what he'd be doing in a scene, and I just had to hope that what I'm imagining is what it actually ends up being. Sometimes it's really humiliating because it feels like you're in amateur mime class! But it was fun and Ang was really helpful throughout the whole thing.
