| A Conversation with The Lady in the Water - Bryce Dallas Howard |
|
|
|
| Friday, 21 July 2006 | |
 REPORTED BY Joseph B. Mauceri- Bryce Dallas Howard, the daughter of actor/director Ron Howard, made her feature film debut in M. Night Shyamalanís ìThe Village,î opposite Adrien Brody, Joaquin Phoenix and Sigourney Weaver. Howard recently starred in Lars von Trierís ìManderlay,î the filmmakerís follow-up to ìDogville,î which also stars Lauren Bacall, Chloe Sevigny, Danny Glover and Jeremy Davies, and premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Howard will next star opposite Kevin Kline in Kenneth Branaghís film adaptation of the Shakespeare classic ìAs You Like Itî and is currently in production on Spider-Man 3 with director Sam Raimi, opposite Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Thomas Haden Church. After leaving the Tisch School of the Arts program at New York University, Howard immediately began working on the New York stage, including playing the role of Marianne in the Roundaboutís Broadway production of ìTartuffe,î Rosalind in the Public Theatreís ìAs You Like It,î Sally Platt in the Manhattan Theater Clubís production of Alan Ayckbournís ìHouse/Gardenî and as Emily in the Bay Street Theater Festival production of ìOur Town.î FEARS: Did you have any favorite bedtime stories growing up? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: For me, I know youíre going to think Iím just saying this because it pertains to this, but ìThe Little Mermaid.î When I was a kid I used to collect little glass figurines. I loved the Grimm fairy tales, all of them, and then I got into Christopher Pike books at a very young age, but those are not fairy tales. FEARS: Did you talk to Night about the mythology? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Yes and no, itís described very efficiently in the film. The whole mythology was there and thatís obviously in the script. As far as where she came from, who she was, what kind of interaction she would have had with human beings, that kind of specificity, yes; those were dialogues I had with him. It was really fun to have something where we could go in completely different directions. There was no real research we could do to stand upon, or make decisions after reading all this stuff. We needed to totally and entirely use our imagination. I say ìourî, but it was really just Nightís imagination. It was me just asking him a series of questions, ìHow can I be the instrument that you playî? That was very freeing as well. FEARS: Was it different working with Night this time? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: It was so wonderful. Iím a part of a theater company in New York. I can kind of equate it with that. Because the wonderful thing about working with people over and over again is during ìThe Village,î that was our introduction to each other. There was small talk, it was really nice, but just at the end of shooting, we were really getting to know each other and know each otherís processes. Then with LADY IN THE WATER, we were able to start at that place. Thatís a much more empowering place to start from. Thereís no BS between us. He knows my instrument. He knows when Iím in that place and he knows when Iím not. I prefer that, honestly, I prefer that. FEARS: I heard you cried when you first read about this character. What in particular made you so taken with the part? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: It was actually the moment that Night offered me the part. I hadnít read the script at that point. It wasnít like a breakdown; itís when you get misty eyed. It was because I had just seen ìThe Villageî for the first time. My parents were there, and Nightís family and his children were there. As he had been editing ìThe Village,î heíd been telling me about this movie he called THE LADY IN THE WATER, which he was getting ready to write. We were there at his office. I had just seen the film moments before. I canít believe Iím in a movie and what a great experience that was. We were walking back, he turned to me and was like, ìBryce, I want you to be the lady in Lady in the Water.î (screams) And then he told his little girls, and thatís what really got me, because the story is created for them. Heís like, ìBryce is going to play the Narfî. They were like, ìYouíre going to be really goodî. It was just a special moment for me. FEARS: Did you read anything as a result of seeing THE LADY IN THE WATER? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Yeah, I have this library at my home and Iím always picking up books and randomly looking through them. Iím very drawn towards material like this. Most of the stuff I wanted to read for this film, to be honest, was fairy tales and what are the lessons people teach their children through these elaborate fairy tales. What are those lessons really about? Thatís like an adult fairy tale. FEARS: The movie made me think of other magical realist writers, Paulo Coelho. Did you read some of that writing or did you guys talk about it? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Yeah, did you see his ballet he did of ìVeronica? ì He didnít do it a company did. It was beautiful. I would say, of his writing, ìThe Alchemistî is clearly reflected in this. And that journey where you are in a place, and are lost and you have to go to this crazy journey to realize that you had it all along. Obviously this is a revelation, so donít reveal this, but the fact that Cleveland Heap was the healer. He was the healer all along; he was a doctor before he lost his family. He needed this journey to discover that. I think thatís a very old theme. Itís in ìSiddhartha,î Hermann Hesseís ìSiddhartha,î I think itís an important fable in life. FEARS: Wearing just a shirt the whole time, was this the most comfortable shoot? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: It took about three hours in make-up each morning just to get rid of all my freckles. It was nice having just a nice, breezy costume. Thank God it was summertime, so it wasnít cold. At first, I dress very modestly, so I was like (gasps), my legs havenít seen the light of day since I was six years old. That was a little something to get used to. FEARS: How much time did you actually spend in the water? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Mostly in the shower, I think the irony is that this film is called THE LADY IN THE WATER and Paul is in the water the entire time. However, it was pretty much just in the shower and one scene in the pool. So I was damp, not drenched. FEARS: Where frustrated at all by the sparse dialogue your character had? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: No, actually that was really nice. Itís something I realized when we were first starting to rehearse. In my personal life, I use so many words to create a boundary, to create a wall, so Iím actually not communicating with people. The thing thatís wonderful about the story is sheís able to communicate so much without saying hardly anything. Iíve tried to steal that a little bit into my own personal life. I think it is a much more powerful thing to listen than it is to talk. FEARS: Weíve talked about working with Night, but how was it working with Paul Giamatti? He has to be one of Americaís most underrated actors. BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: I agree with you. I was upstairs watching ìCinderella Man.î I turned to my best friend and said, ìI swear to you, when heís 88 years old, people are going to say that is the greatest actor that ever lived. He is the most unbelievably talented man. Thereís no neurosis there that comes with his talent. Heís just available. Heís not the kind of actor that has to disappear and be all methody. Not that thatís bad, if it someoneís process. But itís very telling, heís always available. And this humility thing, heís always self deprecating and humble and willing to change his performance 180 degrees because of a suggestion. Heís someone I really admire and one of the most well read men, woman, whatever, that Iíve ever met. FEARS: Your film career thus far has been playing leading roles. Is it hard to play smaller roles and not be the center of attention? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Yeah, itís a rough life. (laughs) No, itís not hard, but I would say that right now my goal is to work with great filmmakers. Thatís what I want to be a part, who is telling stories that I find fascinating and exciting and fun. I want fun experiences. I know thatís superficial, but I do. For instance, Iím doing Spiderman 3 and thatís a small role. But it was such a great experience. Itís easy for me to say because Iíve had pretty meaty roles, but itís not quite about that. Itís more about the experience, what I can take from it, what I can learn. FEARS: When you work on a film with encompassing directors like Shyamalan or Lars Von Trier, does the experience stay with you? Can you just go on to the next thing? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: No, it stays with me, which is nice, I prefer that. I still havenít gotten to a place, and I wish that I donít get to a place, where Iím able to separate my work and my personal life. My work is my hobby. Itís the thing that I really, honestly love to do most. So when I am working with such brilliant people, such visionaries, I hope to take these lessons from them and use that in my own life and work in the future. The experience from THE LADY IN THE WATER was very powerful and it absolutely did stay with me. FEARS: Your fatherís a great filmmaker, and youíve worked with great filmmakers. Is there a trait they all share? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Above all else, I would say humility. I would say a great filmmaker has humility. Theyíre willing to listen, theyíre willing to learn; they are constantly pushing themselves. I would say a great filmmaker is a very humble person. Also, the second thing, which I would say is equally as important, is integrity. They speak the truth, they donít manipulate. What they promise to deliver to a person, they do. I think my dad has both of those thingsÖand all of the directors that Iíve worked with. FEARS: Whatís the upside and downside of having an iconic filmmaking father? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: The upside is, and you guys canít relate to this, but itís just having my dad as a father. Heís the greatest thing in my lifeÖI get so emotional when I talk about my dad. The downside, there is no downside. Occasionally, there are some misinterpretations about what our relationship is. Why I am where I am and how it pertains to him. But thatís okay; Iím willing to take that. Thatís all good. Iíve got the greatest dad on planet earth. FEARS: Did you and your father talk about the fact that you would be working with Paul Giamatti on THE LADY IN THE WATER? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Totally, it was a slightly inappropriate thing that he just worked with my dad and I come to the set the first day wearing this little shirt. And there are the parts where I have to take off the shirt. Heís like, ìI know your dadî. FEARS: Do you go to your father for advice? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: I donít intentionally try to keep that separated. I do go to him for advice if I feel I need to. But mostly the advice I need has to do with my emotional state of being. If Iím in a good emotional place, than I end up making decisions that Iím confident with or proud of. It always goes back to my parents if Iím feeling insecure. FEARS: Does he get excited about the directors youíre working with? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Totally! FEARS: Does he ever want to meet anyone, and ask you to introduce him? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Yeah, heís like, ìCan I come on the set with youî. Especially For Spiderman! FEARS: How was shooting in New York and being a blonde in ìSpiderman 3?î BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: It was awesome. Thereís a moment during Spiderman in New York where I had to fly down from five stories. It was right down the street from where I got my first theater job. I actually walked over there to talk to all the ushers. ìIím doing Spiderman!î FEARS: When did you dye your hair back? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Actually I just got my hair back to a red version. Itís nice to be back home. FEARS: So whatís next? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Thereís a short film Iím directing in August. FEARS: Are you doing that here? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Iím doing it in Los Angeles. FEARS: Whatís your motivation for doing a short film? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Itís through an organization called Film Aid. Itís a charity that uses the power of film to educate. Glamour Magazine and Cartier are financing it. Itís a wonderful opportunity and Iím very taken care of. FEARS: So youíre interested in directing features one day? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: I donít know. I have a lot to learn. FEARS: Whatís happening with your theater company? BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: Theyíre in the process of doing another show. Iím not acting in the show. Iím mostly working as a producer. LINK THIS ARTICLE             |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Interested in becoming an advertiser on FEARS?
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it