by Paul Fischer
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Claire
Danes starring in Les Miserables |
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At
age 19, actress Claire Danes has developed a fan base that runs
the gamut from bands writing songs about her to the Internet posted Church
of Claire Danes ("Worship Her or die" is it's slogan). That
last bit might be the subject of a future college paper for Danes, who'll
major in psychology at Yale.
Barely noticed the first time out on television for her role as Angela in My So Called Life (a canceled show which found its fan base only after repeats on MTV) Danes has had a lock on intelligent teen roles ever since. She's held her own against the two major male heartthrobs of today; as Juliet against Leonardo DiCaprio's Romeo, and with Matt Damon in John Grisham's The Rainmaker.
As Cossette, in director Bille August's adaptation of Les Misérables Danes finds herself in a "most incredible company" of stars -- with Liam Neeson as the fugitive Jean Valjean, Geoffrey Rush as the obsessed Inspector Chavert and Uma Thurman as the mother she never sees. Claire will do a total 180 from the serious when she begins filming the big screen adaptation of The Mod Squad, taking the role created on TV by Peggy Lipton.
CrankyCritic:
What was it about this part that made you want to take it?
Claire: I wanted to make the film because the story was epic and
that's always a turn on. I got to play the quintessential ingenue. I just
head butted that type of role. It was wonderful. I had a bad case of Senioritis
when it was offered to me and it was like 'oh no I don't want to leave
my car and my friends and LA and my frozen yogurt. We were having parties
every Friday! Great!' I was hesitant to leave my little creative teenage
universe but it was much more satisfying and fulfilling making this movie.
Obviously.
CrankyCritic:
What was it like working with Liam Neeson?
Claire: Liam's the coolest. He's really a big friendly giant. He's
really warm and just oozing with sweetness. He's really generous. He'd
make me giggle all the time. He genuinely cared about people that he liked
and I liked that he wasn't elitist or pulled any of that movie star baloney.
He was so perfect for this part. It was one of the most exciting things
for me to see was how well he carried off the part.
CrankyCritic:
Les Misérables is adapted from the classic novel by Victor Hugo.
What's your take on your character of Cossette?
Claire: Well she's kind of a symbol. She's not a fleshed out character.
It's an allegory; the story in the book is about politics. It's about
socialism and stapled onto it is this juicy sweet story with heroic characters.
I know it sounds weird 'cuz everyone talks about how sweeping an epic
and how emotional it is, and it is, but it's not as organic as you'd think.
It's a fairy tale. Cinderella isn't fleshed out.
CrankyCritic:
Juliet isn't that fleshed out either
Claire: No, she isn't. Actually the lead of that movie is Romeo
and Juliet combined. Together they make a full individual.
CrankyCritic:
Both characters, Cossette and Juliet, fall in love at first sight. Do
you believe in that?
Claire: [laughing] I do a lot of that. Do I believe in love at
first sight? I don't know. I kind of do. I've got a fake tattoo (two hearts
and a Celtic symbol) and my boyfriend has the same one. I certainly believe
it's important to be attractive to somebody and if that doesn't exist
you're going to be in trouble three months into it. The two sound, real
comfortable relationships I've had, it's taken time for them to grow into
something substantial. The first six months you're drowning in endorphins
and it's so great. Then it eventually stops and you still have to be excited
about the person.
CrankyCritic:
As the only actress to work with both Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon
you must compare and contrast...
Claire: Leo's very instinctive, very intuitive. Matt does a great
deal of research. That's not to say they're completely one sided but Leo
tends to just follow his gut and Matt does rely heavily on technique.
I don't think Leo would ever write his own script. They're both really
great and there's a place for both of them and they're both very appealing.
I understand the allure, forget it [laughs]. You walk into bookstores
and there's entire shelves of Leo...
CrankyCritic:
Is that kind of adulation intimidating for an actress? As in it could
still happen to you?
Claire: I've had my fair share of it. It's enough. Ultimately it's
really limiting and it's a good thing to avoid.
CrankyCritic:
Limiting?
Claire: Limiting 'cuz people see you one way and they become resentful
if you change a bit. You feel like you're constantly stared at even if
you're alone in your room 'cuz you know there's a symbol of you out there
that people are worshiping. And that does affect you. You feel that. It's
a huge pressure.
CrankyCritic:
You've got guys looking for you on the Internet...
Claire: Yeah. On the Internet there are nude celebrity photos sites.
My friend was surfing once and it was 'oo I'm on that list' and we decided
to see. It was the lamest thing. It was a picture of me advertised as
"Claire's nipple" and it was the smallest portion of it leaning
this way at some party. It's just very lame.
CrankyCritic:
Do you get to be a hippie in The Mod Squad or is it set in present
time?
Claire: The Squad was never hippie. They were too cool. It takes
place in modern times but it definitely has that flavor of the 70s.
CrankyCritic:
Are you surprised that My So Called Life is building a bigger fan
base now that it's in reruns on MTV?
Claire: [sadly] Yeah. Well, legends become legends because they
die.
More StarTalk with the stars of Les Miserables: