14
Concrete, Wednesday, November 25, 1992
Interview路
Growing fonder of Fonda After five years of playing supporting roles, Bridget Fonda has finally won star status playing a computer software designer terrorised by her live-in lodger. In "Single White Female" (which opened in the UK on November 20) Fonda shares top billingwithJennifer JasonLeigh, . as a successful but insecure career woman who, after breaking up with her boyfriend, advertises for a roommate to share her apartment and gets someone who tries to move in on her life. It appears an unlikely scenario but, as Fonda explains, the story has its roots in real relationships between women. "One of the things that I found very exciting about the whole idea was that when girls form quick friendships,they get right down to intimacy in a very short space of time. "You have a blind faith . that the person is someone you can trust, who will feel to become her. To this end of . the same way you do and will becoming Allie's double, she be normal like you are. That copies her hair-style and chic instantbondingislikeamergdress sense and ultimately tries to take her place. "Jennifer and I So identical do the two acdidn't know starting tresses appear in some scenes that even the film crew had out that we would difficulty telling them apart. look so similar "Jennifer and I didn't know we' re very different 路 starting out that we would types - but once we lookso similar," says Bridget. had our hair cut and "We' re very different types: she had long blonde hair and dyed, there'd be a mine was medium length and split-second double brownish. But once we had our haircut and dyed, and had take where you'd the exact same make-up on, think there was a sitting opposite one another mirror across the there' d be a split-second double-take where you'd think hall" tll.ere was a mirror across the ing of two people, and when hall." one of them wants to go away Fonda and Leigh themusually the other person can selves became closer as filmcope with it, maybe has their ing went on (apparentlyit was feelings hurt, but then finds no obstacle that Fonda's boyanotherfriend and it's okay." friend, actor Eric Stoltz, is an "lt'slikeachildish 'gimme, old flame of Leigh's). As gimme' thing that girls have, Fonda tells it, "Because of the they have their best friends intensity ofthe scenes and the thattheyloveandalwayswant satisfaction of doing them to spend time with, and then well, we became like eo-conthey just move on and leave spirators. There's a rapport that person behind. It hap- you get when you're working pens so much in young girls with another actor who's reand then you grow up and ally good, and you get excited learn not to treat people so by it and want to be better for poorly." them. You have a mounting Themovie'stwist,ofcourse, feeling ofbeing part ofsomeis that Hedra (Leigh) isn't thing together." satisfied with just being 'Single White Female' is friends with Allie unusual for a thriller in hav(Fonda)... she actually wants ing two female protagonists,
Hollywood royalty, Bridget found her family name more of a hinderence than a help when she started at drama school. "I felt the same as everyone else in class: I w~ there to learn, I didn' t know anything and I didn' t pretend to know anything. But I was looked at by a lot of people as ifI was born with knowledge. There's no gene that you' re born into that meansyouknow how to act; you only know by exploring who you are. I wanted to be part of the pack and I felt a little ostracised." Daughter of ' Easy Rider' star Peter Fonda, nieceofJane and grand-daughter ofHenry, Bridget was neither encour-
she does or does not do that is at the core of the cinematobrings this all upon her." Di- graphic experience: being in rector Barbet Schroeder (who a dark room and looking at a guided Jeremy Irons to an Os- star on the screen and wantcar in 1990's 'ReversalofFor- ingto be that person. So Hedy tune') has his own reasons for is in a position which is psywhat drew him to the story. chologically very similar to that of a movie spectator." "If you ask around, it's extremely common for a young The film was an extremely woman to imitate another one, demanding one to m.aKe, and and this is one of the reasons Fonda took physical training why I thought it would be lessons to prepare herself for exciting to do a thriller in the climatic scenes of violent which the premise was-based confrontation. Some brief nude scenes might also have upon this phenomenon. "In been a problem, but Fonda every girl who is looking for 路has learned to be philosophiher personality, it's very corncal about them, having apmon that she looks for a model peared naked in several preshe wants to copy, especially movies, including her vious when it's a question of ap"I feel first, 'Aria' (1987). pearance, which is so important for a woman in our soci- that you have to be very careety. So it's absolutely normal ful about nudity, why you choose to do it, what it's for and -who you do it for. It's "Because of the intensity of the kind of embarrassing, but for scenes and the satisfaction of doing the most part I don't have a problem with it. I was much them well, we became like eofreer with it earlier on in my conspirators. There's a rapport career, and then I got kind of burned a few times-I felt you get when you're working with used, and that really changed another actor who's really good." the way I felt about doing nudity infilms. Italsohelpsif appear to be the less showy of that a girl goes through a fash- you're working with somethe two roles. "I wanted to ion magazine looking for a one whose work you respect, play Allie because it wasn't model or finds one in real life, and with Barbet I knew that I really clear who she is. I but of course when it's some- was not going to be a tittilating thought it would be interest- one like the Jennifer Jason little nothing. It's always ing to play someone who in Leigh character wanting ac- tough, but it does make it some ways is the traditional tually to become another per- easier if you trust th~ person victim, but who is not blame- son, then you've got a prob- at the helm." As a third-genless : she sets herself up. Iem." "This idea that you eration member of an acting There's a series ofthings that want to become someone else dynasty that belongs among with male characters reiegated to supporting roles. "This is a film where the leads are women," says Fonda, "sothereforemenplay the traditional girl parts, whi~h are always just kind of-there, withnothingtodo. Like the hero's wife who's there just to show that he's married and not gay. Here the women take up most of the time ofthe film; their characters are very full." Talking to journalists at a London press conference to launch the Bristsh release, Fonda-who has also appeared in 'Shag', ' Scandal', 'Doe Hollywood' .and 'The Godfather Part ill' -explains why she chose what might
Daughter of 'Easy Rider' star Peter Fonda, niece of Jane and grand-daughter of Henry, Bridget was neither encouraged nor discouraged by her family to act aged nor discouraged by her family when she wasbittenby the acting bug while appearing in a high-school play at theageofl6. "Ithinkmydad was flattered, though: it's a compliment when your child grows up and wants to do what you do. But he didn't push me into it." As for Bridget's own role models: "When I was little my idol was Julie Christie. She came over to our house one day when my dad was working with Warren Beatty and that was my earliest recollection of someone who I thought was a goddess, a wonderful human being, just so full of life. As far as acting goes, Barbara Stanwyck is someone I personally love, and often I watch her films over and over again to see how she said something or how she moves." Butbeinginthebusiness changes the way you perceive movie stars, Fonda says, as you learn to see them less as idols than as fellow workers. "After awhile, once you're doing it yourself, you want to meet them because they did a good job, and you think, ' What an interesting choice,I wonder what the person is like?' I'm not really objective in that area anymore."