Issue Date: December 16, 2007
In this article:
 Q & A
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Movies |
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Who says she's "dark and intense"? Not her!
By Kevin Maynard
After nearly 30 years in Hollywood, Jennifer Jason Leigh has developed a bad reputation. Onscreen, that is -- in roles ranging from the stiletto-wielding psycho in 1992's "Single White Female" to the embittered junkie in 1995's "Georgia."
In her latest take on human dysfunction, Leigh, 45, mixes it up with Nicole Kidman and Jack Black in "Margot at the Wedding." Ironically, the movie's dark heart -- and, some say, Leigh's uninhibited performance -- stems from a highly functional collaboration between her and writer-director Noah Baumbach, her husband of two years.
Leigh, casually dressed in jeans and a vintage white shirt, recently chatted with USA WEEKEND over lunch not far from her home in the Hollywood Hills.
People haven't seen you onscreen as much the last couple of years. Were you intentionally keeping a low profile?
No, I was just doing plays in New York. For me, it was an incredibly rewarding experience, and at some point you have to work for yourself and hope that you can make a living.
Critics have talked in the past about your honesty, especially in regard to your age.
I don't think your career is over when you turn 40. [But] it doesn't help when people's ages are constantly written about. I think the more you demystify someone, the harder it is to believe they are someone else.
Well, we do live in a tabloid culture now. Oh, yeah! I'm glad I didn't grow up in this time. I had some paparazzi at the airport once, and it was really uncomfortable. You're getting on a plane, you don't have makeup on, and they're trying to say things to upset you. I don't really understand how it's all legal.
Are you recognized when you go out? Sometimes, if I'm at indie video stores. But now I Netflix. Thank God it's the modern age, baby!
What do you find funny? I actually had Flora [Cross, who plays Leigh's daughter in "Margot"] come over, and we watched "Young Frankenstein." I used to have a crazy crush on Gene Wilder. I also really like stupid slapstick. "White Chicks" made me laugh, and Bill Murray on the treadmill in "Lost in Translation" killed me.
Would you like to do more comedy? Yeah, I would. People peg me as dark and intense. It's called acting!
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