Virginia Madsen________
Virginia Madsen has been in Hollywood making films and TV shows for over 20 years. But it wasn't until 2004, when she won an Academy Award nomination for her part as the poetic waitress Maya in Sideways, that mainstream success finally arrived. Recognition—and more than a bit of envy—probably came to the gifted actress in the gay community a bit earlier during her one-time relationship with gay pin-up boy Antonio Sabato, Jr. That and much more was touched on during a recent interview with Madsen to promote both her new family film, The Astronaut Farmer, that co-stars Billy Bob Thornton and the Jim Carrey thriller The Number 23, in which she has a dual role as Carrey's wife and mistress of his alter ego.
Windy City Times: Can you first talk about making The Astronaut Farmer, which I think is a terrific family movie?
Virginia Madsen: You bristle a little when you first hear 'family film' because 'family films' that they make today are more mean-spirited a lot of the time. Even the holiday films are a little bit mean-spirited. So this film goes back to something like a Capra film. It's like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I think, for grown-ups, this will give them a nostalgic feeling for how films used to be. They can still enjoy it and so can their kids. And so can kids of different ages.
WCT: You do a lot with the typical wife role and the character makes some unusual choices. Any inspirations?
VM: I based this character on my sister, Cherie. She's been married for 27 years. Her husband's dream was to own his restaurant and, nowadays, that's almost as crazy as building a rocket ( which Billy Bob's character does in the movie ) . I was always inspired by that and I was also inspired—and still am—by their marriage, because the two of them have a great friendship and they are partners. I think that's certainly when I failed in my brief marriages. We weren't partners; we didn't match. If you match—if you're peers—you can make a go of it; you can last a long, long time.
WCT: The film had a wonderful message and the characters were richly drawn.
VM: Yes—the idea that if you have an entrepreneur in the family, they're going to need all the support you can give them. I had a lot of support. I was the daughter of a fireman but I said I wanted to be an actress and that's about as crazy as a rocket but I was supported in that as long as I worked hard to make that dream happen. Billy Bob's like that, too. He had a crazy dream just like I did. One of the things that I hope this movie makes people think about is the American Dream. This country is based on something that was called the American Dream and that has just been eroded away. People who are dreamers are often called 'different.' If you're growing up and you feel different your parents should celebrate that and support you in that.
WCT: She says to the gay reporter. [ Laughs ]
VM: [ Laughs ] Yes—I get that. Your audience is gay and will appreciate that.
WCT: You've just worked with Billy Bob Thornton and Jim Carrey. What were their differences?
VM: I loved them both. I didn't know them and I don't put a lot of stock into what I've heard or their public personas. I understand complicated men, so I wasn't daunted. I grew up in Chicago with a lot of 'manly men,' [ men who are ] like Harrison Ford [ her co-star in Firewall ] . He's a man of few words and that kind of scares people because actors are usually talkers and Harrison [ isn't ] . He's a carpenter. So I totally got him and I think I'm on a list now of women who can work with intense men. [ Laughs hard ]
WCT: Good list to be on!
VM: [ Laughs ] Yes! I had this incredible chemistry with both of these guys. Somebody said to me, 'Oh my God, is Jim Carrey just doing insane things and is he really crazy?' and I said, 'Not my Jim Carrey.' I had my Jim Carrey and he's a really happy person. Both of these guys love their jobs, so they're happy when they come to work. I think what I loved the most about Jim, besides how inventive he is, was that he had a lot of respect for me and I really appreciated that respect. Jim appreciated my humor as much as I appreciated his and Billy Bob was my favorite husband I've ever had.
WCT: Wow—and you've had a lot of movie husbands.
VM: Yes, and if he wasn't taken—if he didn't have a girlfriend…I'd have a ring on. [ Laughs ]
WCT: We'd be calling the tabloids right now?
VM: No doubt.
WCT: You also got to play two roles in The Number 23.
VM: That was a great opportunity for me. What actor doesn't want to play opposing characters—light/dark, love/hate? This was an opportunity to take the two images that people have of Virginia Madsen. You know—sort of the nice lady from Sideways and the femme fatale from the '80s and I could take the two of them and put them in one movie and have them collide.
WCT: Anything you'd like to say about your one time at playing a lesbian in Becoming Collette?
VM: That was totally the male fantasy of the two women smoking opium and then me seducing her.
WCT: Your son Jack's father is Antonio Sabato, Jr. who—as you may have heard—has quite a following in the gay community.
VM: Well, yes, I understand that.
WCT: Now, what if Jack grows up to be a gay heartthrob? Are you okay with that?
VM: Oh, of course, we are. His dad is the most beautiful man in the world and even though I try to say that objectively, he really is. It really never bothered him. It didn't threaten him; he's very secure in his own sexuality as a man—which I always thought was very cool of him, especially because he's so Italian. To him it's like, 'a fan is a fan' and if someone appreciates his beauty and his talent, he loves that. He was riding in a gay pride parade in Miami—he was the, what is that called?
WCT: The grand marshal. That must have been right after he did that movie where he played gay, Testosterone.
VM: Yes, and I was really proud of him for that, especially since everyone would really love for him to be gay.
WCT: Your mouth to God's ear.
VM: They really tried to make that true for awhile on the Internet. But he doesn't care. I thought it was great of him; I really did.
WCT: Are you ever going to do a play?
VM: Well, yes, now I'm looking at it again because Jack is older, so I think a play's not too far off. You know what I'd like to do—speaking of the gay and lesbian community and theatre. The play that I want to do and the movie that I want to remake is The Children's Hour.
WCT: Lillian Hellman's piece. Wonderful.
VM: That's something that I've wanted to do for years and years. But I think that, frankly, we've come so far that most people that I talk to have a real problem with the fact that one of the lead characters shoots herself because she's gay and do we really need to do that anymore? I think there are things you could do with a film and Lillian Hellman that you couldn't do on film before. I've examined that play with a fine-toothed comb and I would love to do it.
