Q: How long were you filming in Paris?
A: A month. And then another month in North Carolina. So, it was quite an experience. I was by myself the whole time. This was the first movie I've ever done, completely on my own.
Q: So, you didn't have your parents around the set?
A: I was 18, so I didn't have guardians, parents, and that kind of situation. So, it was cool. Very independent. I had been at college for a couple of months already, so I was just falling into that whole vibe, anyway. But it was cool to confirm it by flying halfway across the country and handle my own groceries and everything, you know?
Q: Can you explain what was going on in your character's head during the movie?
A: Well, I think Billy was uncomfortable, basically. He doesn't feel like he has roots, for one thing. He's brought up by an American family, but he's French. He doesn't know where he's coming from. And he's just uncomfortable. He never quite feels comfortable in a situation. So, his way of dealing with that is by just kind of shutting down, just ignoring everything and not getting involved. He doesn't want to get too involved with anything. I think not getting involved is something that comes from the fact that he went through three foster homes before he got to the Willis family. So, it's like he never wants to involve himself too much, because he never knows what's going to happen. So, he just shuts up.
Q: From your perspective, was it about school that he didn't like or was it just being a fish-out-of-water? Did you think he was going to get better?
Q: I think a fish-out-of-water is a good way to put it. He thought he was going to America and all of a sudden be accepted by the American kids, when really, he's not completely. Not as much as he really wanted to be. He's French at heart. There's no stopping it. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I think school is what really did it for him. School was just a place where he was not able to conduct himself.
Q: Did director James Ivory have you react to the parents as alcoholics? Was that implied?
A: I thought I should. I mean, there are two or three scenes when she comes over to me, where I have to deal with her while she's drunk, and I figure it's best if I know it.
Q: For alcoholic parents, they're awfully great.
A: Yeah, they were nice guys to me. They were happy drunks....
Q: Your mother's character knew he drank too much, but she married him anyway.
A: Yeah. I think Bill [Kris Kristofferson] at that point, is not drinking. At least, it wasn't emphasized in the film. But, Barbara [Hershey] is supposed to, as the movie goes on, you're supposed to see her more often with a drink in her hand. I tried to make sure to react to that. I mean, you have to take that into account with anybody. I have plenty of friends who drink all the time. And whether they're drunk or not, it's an important part of what they're doing and how they're reacting.
Q: Do you speak French?
A: I took French for six years throughout middle school and high school. I am absolutely terrible at it, I have no accent. My vocabulary is big, but I can't understand people. Because I have no accent, I got virtually ignored the whole month that I was in Paris. I'd try to say anything and they'd be like, "Oh, speak English." So, we had a French tutor on set to help me get those six words that I said right. He made sure that I got them right. And I think I did, pretty much. I still felt uncomfortable. I'm just not good with the accent. But, I go to Columbia and I just started taking Spanish last year. And so, I really like Spanish. I'm good at that accent.
Q: You've worked with some pretty good actors like Meryl Streep and Barbara Hershey. What have you learned from them?
A: How not to take this whole thing seriously. I mean, it's really lame, if you ask me, how much actors get paid to do so little. And I think you have to keep that in mind at all times. You're slowly but surely turning into a prima donna. You just have to step back and go, "Wait a minute, look what I'm doing for a living. This is ridiculous. This is silly."
Q: Meryl Streep told us acting is a hard life. The average reader might have trouble identifying with that statement.
A: You know what? That's definitely true. It's weird having strangers know who you are and just come up to you and start talking to you. It makes you feel a little uncomfortable. That kind of thing can be a problem. You get anxiety on the set sometimes, because you're basically being paid to wait around until they need you. So, you just wait and wait and hours go by. You're just sitting there, you feel like you should be doing something with your time. So, there's little things about it that are frustrating, but I wouldn't say it's hard.
Q: What do you do during that off time?
A: Lots of times I'm reading. It depends on the movie. It depends on what kind of situation I'm in. If the movie's kind of a breeze, then I'll be reading or... on A Soldier's Daughter, for instance, I stayed in school. I was in my very first semester there. And I tried to do two months of schoolwork by myself. So, that was what I was doing when I wasn't working.
Q: Did you study in Paris, too?
A: Well, I took advantage of being in Paris, obviously, because it was possibly a once in a lifetime experience. So, I went out when I could and saw all the sights and had all kinds of education experiences. I would have felt like a moron if I hadn't taken advantage of that location. But, once I got to North Carolina, as much as I wanted to go out and party, every night I hit the books. That was my only option. I don't think I'm going to try and do that again -- too much work. Way too much work.
Q: Do you have another film coming up?
A: I do! I just finished one. It's called Speedway Junky and it was shot in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Q: What role do you play in that one?
A: It's about a kid who runs away from home. He wants to be a race car driver and he stops in Las Vegas on his way to South Carolina, because he wants to try and make some money. He's pretty naive. He thinks he's going to hit it big in Vegas and then be able to go across country in style. He gets all his money duked out of him and has to fend for himself. He gets in with these street kids, they kind of show him the ropes, and show him how to make some money and loses his naiveté.
Q: Are you afraid of burning out, like your mother did as a commercial actress?
A: No. I think, if you keep doing good films, you're not going to burn out. You're going to keep working because people are going to want to see your performance. Whereas commercials, it's a whole different style of acting, and a whole different thing. If you do too many commercials, you can't break into movies. Because the people who are casting the movies are going to say, "Everybody's going to look at her and go, 'Oh, she's the Nyquil lady.'" And that was what the problem was. My parents have a lot of good advice. And that's one of the bits of advice, right there. You know, don't burn yourself out overpublicizing yourself. Because if you put yourself out there too much, and people don't like you... If you keep some mystery and kind of keep to yourself and do your own thing, you'll at least keep working. That's all I have. That's all I can ask for.
Q: Do you feel like you have to move to L.A. at some point?
A: No. I think I can stay in New York. And I look forward to moving into New York at some point. I mean, I'm living here now, basically, but I'm still based at home. Over this summer, I've been living at home, just doing nothing with my old high school friends. And so, I think one day, I'd like to do it, if everything works out according to plan, I'd like to spend the hotter months in New York and then wintertime in L.A.
Q: What's the tougher choice, Paris or New York?
A: I think New York. New York's the greatest place in the world.
Q: Did you have to audition for this part?
A: I auditioned once, came back in and met Jim Ivory and they hired me. But we had a long period of like them asking me, "Are you going to make this movie or not?" And me being, "I don't know." Because I was waiting to get permission from a committee at Columbia to miss two months of school and yet still be enrolled. I didn't want to have to drop out. And they took their time about that.
Q: How do you make up the work?
A: I did all the work while I was in Paris and in North Carolina. I just did it all. And then took makeup final exams. I had already taken the midterm tests... it was right after the midterms when I left [school]. And so, right after midterms, I spent the whole second half of the semester just studying on my own, reading supplementary material, writing supplementary papers and then I had to pass the final. That was the crouton on top of the salad.
Q: Was this script ever changed, because of the language?
A: There wasn't a scene with French in it, originally, and we wanted to add some. And we kind of tested out my French and decided how much to add, how much it sounded like I really spoke French. And it was minimal. So, if I had paid more attention to it in high school, I would have had a bigger French scene. So, I look back and go, "Man, I should have done my homework!"
