Life with a Starlet

Waiting on a conference call with several other journalists, I could hear shuffling papers over the line but nobody was speaking. We were all waiting to interview Leelee Sobieski, star of the new film Joyride, and the recently released thriller The Glass House, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. But suddenly, the silence was broken by a sweet female voice saying, “Hello? This is Leelee,” and then the questioning began.

Q: In this film, you become the sole female on a joyride with two mischievous brothers played by Paul Walker and Steve Zahn. What was it like working with them, and was there any mischief on the set?

A: They are both really great actors, and I really enjoyed working with them. We [even] had battles with corn husks±—at 3 a.m. in a corn field, there is really nothing else to do. We’d laugh a lot, [but] I also tried to spend a lot of time away from them when not behind the camera, because everyday I was locked in a car with them for 13 hours straight.

Q: What was the most difficult scene in Joyride for you to film as an actress?

A: The film was actually made with three different endings. In one I had to shoot someone. That was scary because I am afraid of guns. It was also challenging to drive, because I don’t have a license. Often, the scenes that may be the most difficult are the ones in which you are the most normal.

Q: What was it like working with Stanley Kubrick on Eyes Wide Shut?

A: It was one of the most incredible experiences in my life. [Kubrick] was so kind, nice, and open—really open to ideas. He was not a control freak. When you are making a film you want to be in charge of everything right down to the creation of the poster (because there are lots of crappy posters out there). But he would ask, “What do you think? What do you feel?” even to a little 14 year-old girl, which at the time I was. Someone so confident in himself can seek other people’s advice. When you are making a film, the best directors are the ones who allow you to contribute ideas. Also, he was really nice with my mom. She was always right next door and he would always talk to her. People you work with are not often nice to parents, when you haven’t established yourself as an actor yet. I only worked with him for 2 months. Yet I think he was the first person whom I felt close to in my life to die. He loved his orange juice.

Q: Many people compare you to Helen Hunt. Is there an actress that you believe to be an inspiration to you?

A: I really admire Meryl Streep. I am a very big Bette Davis fan. And I like Anjelica Huston, who also directs.

Q: Is directing something you want to do in the future?

A: Yes. I want to be a director, a painter, a writer, a mother, an actress… all of these in the future.

Q: How are you enjoying your first year of college? Is this one of your greatest challenges?

A: I just finished my paper the other night for History of Modern Architecture and bought my ethernet card which I was too lazy to buy before. Going to college is very difficult. I am living in a dorm. People had a funny reaction at first, but then they realize I pick my toenails like everybody else and they don’t care anymore. They are really respectful and nice. Some will say “Hey I really like your work.” Others come up and say nice things and go away, or just give a nice smile, or just exclaim “Oh!” and run away. Everybody at school is interesting and has a goal of his or her own. They have lots of things going on in their mind. While they may have a reaction of momentary shock, it goes away really fast. Everybody jumps back into their life. It is nice to be away from the industry and around lots of young smart people.

Q: What school are you going to?

A: Brown. It has a really open curriculum. I could also take off first or second semester to do films, whereas it is difficult to do that at other schools. It is also very liberal. Classes are great, and the school has a partnership with RISD.

Q: Have you begun to develop a sense of school spirit?

A: Actually I have never been to a football game or basketball game—a real one—in my life. Frisbee! I played Frisbee for the first time in my life yesterday. I would like to go to some [Brown] games because I’ve never been. I am not so much of a cheerleader.

Q: What projects do you have in the future?

A: I completed another mini-series, this one by Jon Avnet who directed Fried Green Tomatoes. It is called Uprising and it is about the Warsaw ghetto uprising. It is an important story that needs to be told. I also completed L’idole, which is a 100 percent French film shot in France. I am also in Christine Lahti’s My First Mister alongside Albert Brooks. I play a goth chick, complete with a black wig and piercings.

At the next break in conversation a Fox representative interrupted to inform the interviewers that Leelee had to leave. However, she refused to do so before saying goodbye and accepting our many thanks.

Her director, John Dahl has said of her, “I was impressed with what a thoughtful, articulate, beautiful young lady she was. And I believe my jaw hit the ground when I found that at the time of our first meeting she was 16. Leelee is potentially a very good dramatic actress and given the right opportunities she will have a long career ahead of her.” But one with her ambition, intelligence and level-headedness will most likely have a long career ahead of her regardless of her success in Hollywood.