Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Its been nearly 30 years since Jonathan DemmesTheSilence of the Lambsdestroyed all remaining positiveassociations with fava beans.
Maybe a year and a half ago?
Why?I dont know!
I dont know what it was.
Every time I came on, I just started laughing, and she was like, Moomm!
I dont know she can watch really scary stuff that I cant.
What do you remember about where you were when the movie came your way?Oh, boy.
I was a very serious young actress.
At least you were back then.
Those were the days when they trusted the director enough that there wasnt a whole committee that approved me.
He met with me, talked with me, told me what it was gonna be.
I remember him asking me, Why do you wanna do this?
Which is a very good question.
I remember it was because I thought I couldnt.
And then this came along.
So, perfect timing.
So I guess theres that element of beingthe senators daughter.
I dont know what he saw in me!
I guess just that I was gung-ho to go as far as he wanted me to.
Was there any part of you that hesitated to take on something this dark?
Or were you like, Lets go for it.I was like, Lets go for it.
I kinda did then, too.
I was like, Im gonna say no?!
They thought Id be stereotyped, locked into the fat-girl category.
They said it would be very hard to get out of.
Which is not completely untrue.
But there was no way I wasnt going to do it.
I want to come back to that idea, but what kind of prep work did you do?
Were you looking into victims of serial killers?I didnt do that kind of research.
I more did the visceral, lock yourself in your parents basement closet research.
I literally did that.
This is a lot.
I had a lot of bad dreams before we shot.
But by the time we got there, I was pretty relaxed.
I think all that screaming is a kind of primal therapy.
I didnt have as much self-worth back then.
It wasnt the most obvious thing for me to do.
And it led me into years of therapy.
I just looked at that and tried to figure that out.
And hopefully I have figured that out, now that Im 53!
Do you think you have figured it out?Oh, yeah.
And maybe I wouldnt have gotten myself into that situation [that Catherine gets into].
Maybe I wouldnt have.
I know were talking about fictional people here, but do you blame her for being kidnapped?No!
You should be able to help people without being kidnapped by a serial killer.
I havent read the book in awhile, but I believe in the book, shes stoned.
Smoking weed with her boyfriend, and something about potato chips in the car.
Not a convenient time to be kidnapped by a serial killer.
But no, I dont blame her.
Lets talk about Ted.
I understand you auditioned with a few different people for Buffalo Bill, right?
I guess they wanted to see what we looked like together.
And oh my God.
Ted was just it.
He walked in the door, and he wasnt an actor trying to get a job.
And they were like, Thanks for coming in!
And he was like, Well, you flew me here.
I was like, Oh, damn!
Because if people are this good in the room, Ill never be able to get any work.
I remember asking him later, on set, What did you do?
He was like, Its so funny you say that.
Because I didnt know what I was gonna do.
So I just drank a lot of coffee.
Did it work?It didnt always work out so well, no.
What was your relationship with Ted like?
Were you a little terrified of him?No, we were friends.
And Ive thought about that.
Is it that thing people talk about, where you overcompensate?
For the weird stuff we were shooting?
But all my scenes were with him and I cant remember the name of the dog.
I knew this recently Darla!
We had to take care of each other to shoot those scenes.
We had to trust each other.
When was the last time you saw him?Oh my God, its been awhile.
I remember having lunch with him in New York.
So maybe 13 years ago.
So you dont keep in touch?No, no.
But I love Ted.
I just love him.
Did you know that?I did, yeah.
And in terms of getting pigeonholed as something, its about that.
Hes not just that thing, and for a long time, those were the roles he was offered.
Do you feel like you were pigeonholed?No, no I wasnt.
I just feel like, whatever I do, Im gonna commit to it, and do it.
And if people cant deal with that, thats their problem.
Thats what I do.
If you wanna forever think of me as whatever, go right ahead.
I remember we were around at the same time, so, I dont know.
Its funny, I just ran into her at a childrens birthday party in L.A.
I didnt spend too much time with her on the set, but enough.
I was blown away by how smart she was.
She really sees things as a director.
I just remember being so totally impressed.
She grew up in it.
She knows everything about filmmaking.
Its kind of wild and feels corporate, at times.
With Jonathan, it was just such an incredible feeling.
It felt like a big party.
You really felt that on every level, from craft service to the DP to the star.
Its a great feeling.
And youre like, Who arethey?
And what aretheybasing this on?
]I dont really get that.
I was like, No, I dont, Jonathan.
And I was visiting my parents and I went to a yoga class and I ran into Jonathan.
When was that?Wild, right?
I have no idea.
Maybe 20 years ago?
When we first meet you, youre singing American Girl and driving, totally carefree.
Its the only time in the film youre not being tortured.
I wasnt seeing the big picture of me representing the American girl, and all of that.
I remember when we shot [the scene], it wasnt on the schedule.
It was totally wild.
The only direction I remember from Jonathan was, Keep your eyes on the road!
Maybe I wasnt the safest driver.
And the song it almost was Chaka Khan, Tell Me Something Good.
There are all these childhood photos of Catherine onscreen when her mom pleads with the killer to return her.
Im assuming those are really you?
How did you pick those out?Oh my God, hilarious.
But they also really wanted home movies.
I guess my home movies were not up to par.
Im sure it shocked my family members when they saw the film.
What was their overall reaction to it?Youd have to call them!
Id be curious to hear what my brothers think.
The lotion in the basket scene is, I think, the most memorable.
And not drink a lot of water, because you cant pee.
So I played all of these mind games on myself.
The camera could give me what I wanted; Id beg the camera for what I wanted.
Your senses are charged.
I remember sitting in between setups and feeling like,Why arent these people helping me?
Theyre literally exploiting me!
Who?The cameraman!
Whoever was down there.
Its hard to imagine yourself in that circumstance, thankfully.
And I said, Eh, Im doing okay.
And he said, Im sure theyre humoring you, they dont want to hurt your feelings.
When youre a young actor, you want to do your best.
I was brand new!
I didnt know what the hell I was doing.
Its such a relief not to be neurotic anymore.
Now its like,I guess if they wanted something different, theyd tell me!
Were you able to go home at night and let go of the mind-fuckery?Oh, gosh.
I dont really remember going back to the hotel room much.
So I dont really know.
I never would have thought of that!
I was like,Damn, this Catherine is like, all about living.
She wants to survive, and thats it.
Ill attempt it if it ever happens to me, but oy.
I just felt so bad for that dog.
I thought,This dog doesnt know this isnt real!
What does this dog think?
!I was just holding this dog and sobbing.
I really felt for her.
I think the dog trainer was even scarier than Ted was.
Id look up and see the camera, Ted, and the dog trainer.
Id been told, Dont squeeze too hard!
And I just remember [the trainers] face, who was like, Dont hurt my dog.
Overlapping, for example.
You cant speak when the other actor is speaking, even if its how youd speak in real life.
They want to get a clean sound.
you oughta save it when the camera is not on you.
You cant just go full-blown.
I still feel to this day that my best work is when Im not on camera.[Laughs.
]Which is probably not great.
We shot that whole ending in a big marathon.
Many, many, many hours.
I remember being on that stage for a very long time.
All of those lines are so great.
Its what you always want to say when youre watching those movies.
When somebodys running and they fall and youre like, Get UP!!
Its like, Really, youre leaving me?!
No, I dont think so!
And it has to fit him.
When is it gonna be time for the fat girls, people!
I grew up as a fat girl.
I know what it feels like.
What do you make of it?
Its a good point.
And Im okay with that.
Hopefully people thought I could act, and maybe that helped me get the next thing.
What do you think?
Does that feel accurate?
Which are you more recognized from or associated with?Oh, interesting.Greyscomes first.
That was a huge hit.
I guess because youre on TV, in peoples rooms?
People recognize me from that.
I guess I dont really look like Catherine Martin so much anymore?
