Well, I think that I kind of came to acting late as a kid. A lot of people talk about wanting to do it when they were 10 and stuff. It wasn't until I was in my late teens that I really started paying attention to stuff. I think it was Meryl [Streep]. I remember seeing Meryl on the cover of 'Time' magazine, which was the one magazine that we got in my house. My dad and I were talking about it, and I read this article and I said, “You know…I want to be an actress like that. That's what I want to be.” Then, Robert Altman, whose movies I saw. I was like, “What is that?” That sort of astonished me. Those two early on were the ones that I was inspired by.
Why did it take awhile for you to become interested in acting?
I was going to be a lawyer or a doctor. I was a really good student and my parents kind of encouraged me to be a professional person because they felt like you can't fail that way. You go to school, you get a degree, you get a job, whatever, and that's what I was going to do. I did plays in high school and stuff, but I didn't do it with any eye towards doing it in the future.
What did your parents say when you told them you wanted to act?
Oh, they were so upset. My mother was really upset. She said, “Why waste your brain?” When I look back on it now and I think, “Oh my gosh, if I had a 17 year-old daughter at the dinner table who I thought was going to go to an Ivy League school or something and she suddenly says, ‘I want to be an actress,’ you'd be like, “Ah.” We lived in Germany at the time and my mother got on a plane with me and we flew to New York. I auditioned for schools and I said, “If I don't get in, I'm going to go to a regular college.” I got in and they said, “Okay.” They were astonishingly supportive.
What made them change their minds?
It wasn't like they changed their minds. They always felt like they'd prefer me to do something else, but they wanted to [be supportive]. I said, “I feel like if I want to try this, I should try it now.” You try it when you're young and not later, and if it doesn't work, go do something else. They said, “That's fair enough.” And I did it. They paid for my education and it was amazing.
When did they realize you’d made the right career choice?
It was always incremental with me. I said, “If I don't get into a school, I'll go to a regular school. If I don't do well in college, I'll transfer out. If I'm out of college and I can't get an agent, I'll go to graduate school.” I always said that I would do something else, and along the way, it was just step by step. Like, I got in. I did well. I got an agent. I got a job. By the time that I was 25, I had gotten out and was working and could pay for everything. They just wanted to make sure that I could take care of myself, but I think that they are kind of surprised now. It's kind of weird, and weird to me, frankly.
What are you working on right now?
I have this movie coming out in the fall called “The Forgotten.” That comes out in September, I think, and that's a thriller. Then I have another movie called “Marie and Bruce” - that's a comedy. It's a Wally Shawn play. It's with me and Matthew Broderick.
What was the most intense moment on the set of “The Forgotten?”
Probably when it was cold. The cold days were very intense.
Are you more a fan of thrillers or romantic comedies?
I like them all. You know what I'd really love to do? What I can't wait to see is “Dawn of the Dead.” My favorite movie last year was “28 Days Later.” I'm a horror fan but I'm very particular about my horror because most horror is bad. I don't like slasher horror. I really like devil horror, but there's not a lot of good devil horror around.
Will you be doing something professionally with your husband again?
Probably not, at this point, to tell you the truth because of our kids. It's harder with two children if somebody is working, we try to have the other one be present.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Interview with Pierce Brosnan
"Laws of Attraction" Photo Gallery
"Laws of Attraction" Trailer, Credits and Movie News
