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London Theatre Guide
Julia Stiles
Interview, July 2004
It's
been a busy year for Julia Stiles. Having made her West End
debut in Oleanna, her latest film is about to go on release,
all whilst she tries to cram in some last minute study for
an English degree. Juggling London life with Hollywood proves
that life off-screen draws more than a few parallels with
her latest role in The Prince and Me.
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Qu.
Do American girls dream of being swept off their feet by a dashing
prince?
Julia Stiles: I don't know if every girl dreams that. I kind
of liked it that it wasn't Paige's dream. But I also like that in
the movie you get to see how the fantasy might play out and whether
it would work in reality.
Qu.
So do you think girls might be envious of Paige?
Julia Stiles: If she ends up being able to be a queen and
a doctor...sure why not. Or at least to aspire to that.
Qu.
Was dressing up in the ballgowns fun and which side of the character
did you most relate to?
Julia Stiles: I felt more comfortable in the college student
scenes. But it was certainly fun to wear the ballgown and the dance
in the ballroom was so romantic. We shot in a beautiful palace and
I felt like I was playing dress-up I didn't necessarily feel at
home there. But it was still thrilling.
Qu.
For the farm sequences did you really milk cows?
Julia Stiles: Yeah, it makes you look at milk differently.
I'm a city girl so I had no idea about a farm. But I got to learn
how to ride horses and steer cattle and we saw a cow give birth
to a calf, which was pretty amazing. It was an interesting experience
to milk a cow. They don't really do it by hand any more. It was
tedious. My God, I don't know how milkmaids used to do it. So I
did it by hand just to get the full experience and you have to be
careful. They are huge animals and they shift their weight so much
that you have to be careful that they don't step on you. It was
quite an awkward situation. I think the farmers had a good laugh
watching the city girl.
Qu.
Do you agree that love stops you from thinking reasonably?
Julia Stiles: Yes that is what is so thrilling about romance.
Qu.
What's the craziest thing that you have ever done for love?
Julia Stiles: I'm only 23, I haven't really done many crazy
things for love. I would like to do something really crazy.
Qu.
Are you still studying?
Julia Stiles: Yeah I took a semester off to do Oleanna and
I have a
year left. I'm majoring in English. The way it works is that I take
a semester off if I'm going to make a movie and if I have time between
movies then I go and I try and do a semester at school. I'm lucky
because at the school that I go to you can defer as long as you
want. There are other students who have jobs to pay the rent. I
get a little bit frustrated sometimes that I can't get a credit
for a performance of a Shakespearean play. They have strict rules
at Columbia about what you can get credit for.
Qu.
What do you want to do with your degree?
Julia Stiles: I might be 30 by the time I get it! What am
I going to do with my degree? I'll retire because I'm going to be
50 (joking). It's not vocational so it doesn't really apply to anything
that I would do. But I'm curious about a lot of different subjects
and enjoy reading novels. So if I can get a degree for reading novels
there's nothing wrong with that.
Qu.
In the movie you are torn between love and your career. In real
life what would you choose?
Julia Stiles: Oh I think that I and a lot of modern girls
are in similar situations where you have to balance your career
and life goals and personal life. What I like is that Paige can
have both. I like that she picks a guy who wants to compromise with
her and really likes her ambition and passion and drive. Hopefully
I'll be able to do that. What would I choose? I don't know. I love
acting. If I could give it up I wouldn't want the guy to want me
to give it up.
Qu.
Is it important to choose a role that is a strong inspirational
person?
Julia Stiles: I think that is the way a lot of characters
are written. But my character in Oleanna is not like that at all.
By the end a lot of the audience is cheering for her to get beaten
up. I think it is interesting to watch despicable characters in
movies or at least characters with flaws. I'm interested in roles
like that. Its apples and oranges
Qu.
What are the similarities between you and your screen character?
Julia Stiles: I can be stubbornly independent. Playing Paige
I realised that being cynical and sarcastic and focused is a way
of being guarded and I feel I do that a lot. I'm only focused on
my work because it's easier to do that than risk falling in love
with somebody.
Qu.
Did learning how to be regal for the film teach you anything about
yourself?
Julia Stiles: I had to do a lot of deportment school for
Mona Lisa Smile. And taking dance classes as a kid taught me how
to hold myself. I like using that in acting.
Qu.
So now do you think it's hard work being royal?
Julia Stiles: Absolutely, I'm not refined enough in myself
to know the first thing. It goes way beyond what fork to use. It's
about knowing when to smile and not to smile, how to make conversation,
how to be graceful. I'm amazed. Where do they learn all that? Do
they actually go to deportment school.
Qu.
Could you relate to the prince's problems in trying to have a private
life?
Julia Stiles: I think it is more exaggerated for the prince
in the movie. I don't get chased by the paparazzi. The way I am
in my career I can control that a little bit more. I would hate
to get to a place where I couldn't control that. The difference
between me being a public figure as opposed to someone who is royalty
is that I chose my profession. So any negative aspects of being
a public figure is really my own doing. But a prince is born into
it and can't have it any other way.
Qu.
Do you have to think carefully about where you might go out with
a boyfriend?
Julia Stiles: Sort of. I'm just not interesting enough for
the paparazzi. (laughs) So I don't really have a problem. If I come
out of the theatre after giving a performance then there will be
people waiting for autographs and wanting pictures. But that is
entirely different. But in terms of people trying to get a picture
of me in a bikini - that doesn't happen. Thank God!
Qu.
Why did you decide to stop being a vegan?
Julia Stiles: I stopped being a vegan and then became a vegetarian.
But
the first meat I ate was not a hamburger - that was just a joke
I made on a TV chat show. I changed diet because it really wasn't
healthy. Being vegan is a hard thing to do and I became really badly
anaemic. When you are travelling there is no way you can get proper
nutrition. So now I do eat some red meat but not all the time.
Qu.
How are you enjoying living in London?
Julia Stiles: I love London so much. I'm enchanted by it.
The novelty has not worn. There is so much great art and culture.
When we were rehearsing Oleanna I worked all day long and would
come home and go to sleep. But now I'm trying to see things. I have
definitely been trying to soak it all up. A treat for me in London
is having a fancy high tea with cucumber sandwiches and scones.
My home came over and I took her to tea. It was lovely.
Qu.
What must you have with you from home when you are in London?
Julia Stiles: I get the New York Post sent over. Even though
you have great papers here I still miss my New York Post. I still
sleep with a security blanket.I travel with it. It's old. I have
had it since I was a baby and it has holds in it. When I was small
I could wrap myself in it. I used to talk to it when I was a kid.
That's probably why I became an actress - I don't talk to it any
more.
Qu.
It's said you have a bigger role in The Bourne Supremacy?
Julia Stiles: What I like about it is that it plays on the
idea that you didn't really know what my character was doing in
the first film. She was kind of a glorified secretary in the first
one. She was in over her head. Now since she was the last person
to see Jasson Bourne she is the missing link. So against her will
she has to help track him down.
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