It's so hard to say because I don't have the same psychology. You know what I mean?
Would you change lawyers?
That's impossible to say. I probably wouldn't be in the same situation. I don't know that I can put myself there. Sometimes, in theory, I mean I find even with myself, in theory, you know how you want to behave in a stressful situation, when you're in crisis. But often you don't [act that way] in the moment because ultimately, you wish you'd respond in a certain way, but that person is really pushing your buttons. You're really stressed out and you're really depressed about something, and how you respond emotionally is really different from how you think you might theoretically sometimes.
Did apply your own feelings of stress to this character?
She's quite fiery too at times, you know, when she's combative with Behrani, and when she goes to the legal aid office and she's not getting what she wants. She can be quite petulant as well. So I wasn't thinking of trying to manifest her stress in the way that I do. But I certainly experienced it myself in my own way. I thought she got very desperate in it because she didn't have anyone to anchor her. She didn't have anyone or anything to anchor her. She's experiencing that desperation and because it's not being tethered, it starts spinning around and it's kind of a vortex that just drags her down. I've experienced that a couple of times and I've learned to sort of find some way… That's a bad situation for me, but I think that she didn't really have any place to put it or anyone to pull her back in. Her stress manifested in a very watery kind of way, like she was just spilling over all the time.
If you get nominated again, would you approach the Oscars any differently than last time?
I don't know. I think that I might be able to be a bit more on the ground about the whole thing. It was a really sort of a ‘deer in the headlights’ kind of experience for me. It's so overwhelming and I found myself going in so many directions in my head. When I get stressed, I tend to get very quiet. I think people misinterpreted my device for dealing with stress, which is I get very inward, as sort of apathy which it wasn't. I get really shy. I might be a bit more relaxed about it. I don't really know. But it's a bit early to talk about that.
How is life with two children and a career?
I took off, clearly, after this because I was pregnant at the end of it and continuity issues [laughs]. I'm going to go back to work after January on “Dark Water,” which Walter Salles is directing. And then I'm doing a comedy [laughing]. If they'll ever cast me, I'm doing a comedy. I don't know what it is yet, but I'm thinking I'm going to do it.
Will you and Paul Bettany work together again?
I hope so. I would love to. I would love to work again, and just think of all the free rehearsal time they'd get. But, yeah, I don't know that we'll have too many opportunities to because we've gotten resistance, I think. We'd be so excited to work together, but I think people want that sort of fantasy, “Are they going to hook up or are they not going to hook up? Is it going to be...?” So I don't know that we'll get too many shots. We're going to try and choose wisely. We'll wait for something really great that we can do together because I think we'd work well together.
Will you do a “Hulk” sequel?
I don't know if one is being done.
ADDITIONAL “HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG” INTERVIEWS:
Sir Ben Kingsley, Writer/Director Vadim Perelman, Ron Eldard and Shohreh Aghdashloo
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"House of Sand and Fog” Photo Gallery
"House of Sand and Fog” Trailer, Credits, and Movie News
