MIRA SORVINO (The Princess)
Was it the romantic nature of this film that appealed to you?
I think the diversity of the roles offered by the film interested me. I was won over by the romanticism as the factor to do it, because initially I thought it was an incredible tour de force role to take on. In fact, it's almost four roles. I get to try and be a man. I also worried that the character was really unlikable because of the dastardly things she does in her pursuit of her goal. Clare [Peploe] convinced me that it's just love, and that kind of pardons a lot of sins. It is a very romantic story and you can get swept up in what would you do for love. What lengths would you go to? What hearts would you trod over in order to get that true love, that lifetime of happiness?
Have you ever gone to extremes for love?
No, I've never masqueraded as a man to win someone's heart. I'm more of a guilt-ridden person. My mother and father's upbringing made me very conscious of trying not to hurt other people. I would not be able to do that sort of triple seduction thing and convince the other people that I love them. I couldn't get away with that.
You play a multitude of characters/genders in this film. How did you go about researching your role in this film?
I basically did a lot of preparation on the movie, on many different fronts. Specifically for the male character, I worked on the physical side of it - trying to walk in a more masculine way with my shoulders thrown back and my sternum up, instead of the vulnerable, sort of hiding one's self position that women often take. [I'd put my] legs further apart, and take a stride rather than a step. I went to the museum and looked at the 18th century room and saw the wild poses that the men would take. I threw some of them into the characterization just because they were fun. Whether or not people actually stood or kneeled that way, it was sort of a tip of the hat to that exaggerated, courtly look. They would have one hand ready for their sword and the other for the fair maiden.
I studied the men around me, trying to see what made them masculine. I felt like this is also fun, it should be fun, because we know that she's a woman. Part of the comedy comes from watching her overdo it, or mess up. I tried to make it a bit of a caricature of a macho guy. There was a little bit of John Malkovich in “Dangerous Liaisons,” a little bit of Tom Jones, Albert Finney, and a little bit of Captain Kirk. There is Captain Kirk in there because he'll walk on to any planet, and be very bold, very 'stating his case,' and seduce every alien woman possible. I thought that worked.
This film has a real fantasy feel to it.
I think that was the key in the preparation of it - really working on the fantasy of a love that transforms your whole life and your entire hopes for the future. Making it [so that] the dearest aspiration of your heart is the fulfillment of this love, and that would change your whole world. Doing that, it made me get behind her actions and her plan, and I could have enthusiasm for all of it. There was urgency because I needed to get to the Prince, that [need] fueled everything. That was the key to the character - that love underneath it.
The director, Clare Peploe, said there was a real connection between you and Jay Rodan.
I think we enjoyed working together. He has a very boyish quality, which was very sweet and innocent. I think it counteracted very well with the kind of scheming-ness of my character in all her other guises. When I was playing opposite Jay's Prince, I could be as innocent and open and vulnerable as possible because he made it very safe to be that way. There was a kind of goodness and sweet innocence to him that brought that out, which completely contrasted to how I would be with Ben. Ben's character is so tricky and conniving in his own way. He was a good, formidable opponent for the Princess because he's just as bad as she is. He's just as sneaky.
Did winning an Academy Award affect the parts you're offered?
I think it must to a certain extent just because it was an early accolade that I greatly appreciated, and did not expect. I guess people do tend to respect people because of that. Maybe I would not have been offered the breadth of roles that I have been. People may not have felt I was capable of doing characters that were not like the other characters I had played, had I not won the award. Something like this character is not like any other part that I've played on screen. It's like things I played in high school, on stage. I'd never done anything this far back in history. The earliest I've ever done was the 19th century. I actually did play a boy twice before.
I think now that the big impact of it has worn off and now I'm back to business as usual. I think maybe, unconsciously, I sort of shied away from the traditional expectations that are placed upon an Oscar-winning actress. The year after I won the Oscar, I did anything but the kind of movie that would be thought of as being an Oscar-caliber movie. I wasn't in the pursuit of "let me stay in the race." I just sort of went off and did fun things which were totally unexpected, and perhaps not wise. But now I think I'm actually doing things that are more artistic again, more close to the material that I love, although I don't disparage those things that I did. They're just not as much reflective of who I am.
You wouldn't want to do another silly comedy?
I'd do "Romy and Michele" again. I'd do a "Romy and Michele 2." I'd be happy to do that.
But not "Mimic 2?"
That was against my grain to do it. I wanted to try something that I was afraid of, in a way. I'd always been afraid of the horror genre - even as an audience member. It was more of an experiment, walking into a different genre, rather than something that was close to me. I'm not saying I'd never do another horror movie, but I don't like playing fear. It's the least enjoyable of all the actable emotions because it's hard to produce. In real life, fear is a short-lived emotion. It's like an adrenaline-based emotion. You get scared of something quickly and then soon you know whether you are in danger, or not. To recreate that fear feeling again and again for 3 months was very taxing and kind of depressing.
