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Its 2003 and youve booked a coveted role in a four-hander movie alongside Renee Zellweger (ofChicago!
), Ewan McGregor (ofMoulin Rouge!
), and David Hyde Pierce (ofFrasier!).
But the movie was not destined to be a hit.
At the time I remember thinking, Not everybody wants to see theMatrix, Paulson says.
David Hyde Pierce was just about to be finished from his very long run onFrasier.
Ewan had just doneMoulin Rouge!Renee had just come off ofChicago.
That was obviously a little bit of a needle shift for me.
Leap of Faithwas one of the shows NBC tried to fit into its post-Friendstime slot, right?
And it just didnt stick.It was in betweenFriendsandWill and Grace.
By week two, I dont think they did.
But it did allow Regina King and I to work together and to meet.
I wore a wig!
I wore a full period costume.
My hair was a sort of lovely shade of green in between because it had been so blonde.
I got a movie!
Of course, the costumes did a lot for all of that, as they often do.
I sort of applaud my younger self, going, Good for you.
You took a big old risk there, didnt you?
We obviously have to talk about the costumes, because there were so many.
But I had things that were just made for me.
It was like muslin fitting and thenanothermuslin fitting and then it would be recut.
Of course Renee had just finishedChicagoand has great dance skills, and I dont quite have those.
With the houndstooth-and-yellow and me on my face on the stairs!
Meanwhile, Im just going, I cant actually believe that Im doing this movie with these actors.
I had aMoulin Rouge!poster on my wall at this time in my life.
I tried desperately to seem nonplussed, but I wasnt.
I dont think I ever admitted to him that I had that poster.
But I just remember him being so lovely to me.
It was just about listening and responding, which is what I think all good acting aspires to be.
I remember having a mild panic attack under there, like, How well made is this prop couch?
I mean, I cant remember what I had for breakfast this morning.
Now it feels like a meta-echo of the Rock Hudson dynamic in those original movies.Thats really true.
Is that something youve at all reflected on?No.
I mean just because … Then when Im done, lately anyway, I have gone right to the next thing.
So I havent done a lot of reflecting on that time very much at all.
But when you say it, its not lost on me how interesting that is.
He said, Oh, theres a review thats out in the Film Comment thats really strong.
But I kind of love the idea that the movie landed with the people that love the movie.
Thats who the movie was made for.
I dont think it was trying to convert people who didnt understand what everyone was going for.
Thats kind of a thing I love about rediscovering the movie years later.
Of course you do.
I cant even remember what I did after it, but I dont think I worked for a minute.
But I have a different response to it now.
It doesnt feel quite as crushing.
And I was like, Really?
And he was like, I think so.
Lo and behold, I didnt work for who knows how long and the movie wasnt well-received.
But I still got to have that memory of Ewan McGregor making that sound in front of my face.
It was very heartening and meant a lot to me at the time.
But it just took a couple decades for that to happen.
I mean, the significance certainly was not lost on me.
I was able to pay my rent with the work I was doing.
I was able to feed myself, and thats no small thing.
But its interesting when you look back at those things and you go, Oh, yeah.
Remember when I did that and I thought everything was going to change?
Of course it didnt last.
It lasted a season.
What has your experience been withDown With Loveas the years have gone by?
Youre either going to be into it, or youre not.
I feel so proud to be in something that is just not for everyone.
Thats just groovy to me.
I should have kept the clothes.
I wonder if Renee did.
She would sometimes do a take and then start over again from the top without cutting or without breaking.
It created a sense of looseness and spontaneity.
It was important to her to do a great job and she was wholly committed.
I think she was very interested in my comfort and my feeling safe and good and welcome.
Renee really does that better than anyone, really.
I dont have any expectation that it should be anything other.
Its just something you really notice, because it does make you feel so much more at ease.
I do think of her often in terms of her thoughtfulness and everything.
Every single member of the crew loved her and she knew all of their names.
That shouldnt be something to report thats special about someone.
She was a wonderful teacher without meaning to be a teacher.
Well, thats lovely to hear.Renee also smells better than anyone in Hollywood.
Oh, my God!
What kind of smell?Heavenly.
I cant describe it.
She smells like absolute heaven on earth.
I mean, its a thing, to me.
And there was that magical Renee Zellweger smell and it just … smells like heaven.
