Fast Chat With `Diminished Capacity’ Co-Star Virginia Madsen
NEW YORK _ Virginia Madsen’s career was stuck in neutral when she accepted a role in a small indie movie about wine lovers in Northern California. “Sideways” became a huge critical success, and Madsen’s performance as a divorced waitress trying to jump-start her life earned her numerous honors, as well as Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.
Since then, the 46-year-old actress has segued effortlessly between big-budget films and smaller productions. In her latest, “Diminished Capacity,” she co-stars with Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda in a comedy about sports memorabilia.
Lewis Beale caught up with the Chicago-born actress by phone from Maui, where she was attending a film festival.
Q. Your new film takes place in the world of baseball memorabilia, and is about a man trying to sell a very rare Chicago Cubs trading card. How familiar were you with that scene?
A. Not at all. What I did know is how fanatic Cubs fans are, because I was one of them. I grew up with “We Believe, we believe,” and the Cubs just never make it.
A. What interested you about this film, in which you play Matthew Broderick’s high school sweetheart?
Q. I was looking for a comedy, because I wanted to learn how to do that, and I thought if I was surrounded by Broderick and Alda, I knew I couldn’t go wrong. I didn’t have a lot of experience in comedy, and I always look to grow and expand my skills. The comedies I’ve been in, I’ve been more the straight man, and in this one I got to be funny, too. I learned a lot watching those guys work. What I like about them is they don’t approach it as comedy, they approach it as any other role. They helped me be more real, dare to be funny, because you have to be brave to do comedy, be willing to fall flat on your face.
Q. You’ve long been considered one of the best-looking women in the business. Has that hampered your career in any way?
A. You can’t get rid of what you look like, because then the audience is onto you. But women always have that, that pretty girls aren’t supposed to be funny. It’s a rule that has been broken, but it’s a rule women have to fight, especially if they’re going to be in broader comedy.
Q. How do people in the industry view you these days?
A. The industry looks at what’s successful, they look at what’s right in front of their face. When I was an ingenue, I did a few movies where I had a very glamorous look. And I was stacked; I have large breasts, and you get objectified. What I didn’t understand at that age was the power of my sexuality; I was very detached from it, I didn’t understand it, how strong it was onscreen. I just felt I was this waitress from Chicago. Had I been more aware of it, I would have found there was power there; it didn’t seem to have much power there. I knew I possessed beauty, but I didn’t know it was so sexual.
Q. That was then. What about now?
A. Right now, the perception of me is the understanding wife, but people are confused _ is she the hot older woman, or the understanding wife? But I’ll take either one, as long as it keeps me working.
Q. Your older brother, Michael, is also a well-known actor. Growing up, was there any sibling rivalry?
A. The only time I got competitive with Michael was when he got a movie before I did. He got cast, and I was really jealous, and we learned an important lesson. He was very gentle with me, and I was surprised; we had never had sibling rivalry.
Q. It’s been four years since “Sideways” came out. Has your career gone as expected?
A. I don’t know I expected anything, because the whole experience was unexpected. I’m very aware of how fortunate I am as an actor, to work this long in this profession, and to find success at this age, and to be as smart as I can with my choices. I thought I had two years to ride this wave, but it’s lasted much longer than I expected.
Q. You’re currently producing a documentary called “I Know a Woman Like That,” about active older women and their lives. It’s directed by your mother (Elaine Madsen), an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. Tell us a little about it.
A. Our women are 64 to 94 living vibrant lives, when the world is telling you to get old. My mother is like that, and I wanted to know why. We decided to explore the question of what makes a woman like that, is there a common ingredient. Most of our women are civilians. The famous women we have are Lauren Hutton, Rita Moreno and Eartha Kitt. We also have a 94-year-old water-skiing champion. Her spirit is almost like a young girl, she’s so in love with life. It’s very current; our society as a whole is getting older, and we’re not aging the way we used to. How do you get old? How do you do that gracefully?
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Virginia Madsen
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