Uma Thurman Tells Cole Smithey What It’s Like To Be A Flawed Superhero
By Cole Smithey
With more than 30 films to her credit Uma Thurman is firmly established as one of Hollywood’s most bankable actresses. Her impressive achievement in Quentin Tarantino’s "Kill Bill" films revealed an actress of impeccable discipline and focus. Uma (named after a Hindu goddess) shifted from modeling to acting at the tender age of 17 with a little-seen teen sports comedy called "Johnny Be Good," opposite Robert Downey Jr., before tearing into career-making films like Stephen Frears’ "Dangerous Liaisons" and Philip Kaufman’s "Henry & June."
Recently Uma Thurman has united her graceful physicality and knack for comedy as Jenny (AKA G-Girl) a part-time superhero that finds temporary romance with Matt Saunders a Manhattan architect played by Luke Wilson in director Ivan Reitman’s "My Super Ex-Girlfriend." In it Uma plays against type as an insecure and stroppy woman bent on punishing Matt for rejecting her. We caught up with Ms. Thurman at the New York City’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Q: Is it hard to save the world in heels?
UT: Well, if you’re going to save the world, you should do it in style, but no [it’s not hard].
Q: Do all actors dream of playing a superhero?
UT: Every nerdy high school kid does, I sure did in high school.
Q: How important was it for you to do another comedy at this time in your career?
UT: I’ve been trying get into the comedy business my whole life. And they’re like, ‘No, that kid, she want’s to stay in her corset. Keep her in her corset.’ And I’m like ‘Get me outta the corset!’ (laughs) So, thank God for Ivan [Reitman] to give us all a chance to have such great roles.
It’s hard in Hollywood to do different things. It’s a struggle. I love comedy. Personally, I love watching comedies. If you don’t get to do what you like to watch, it can get frustrating.
Q: What did you see as special about "My Super Ex-Girlfriend"?
UT: Well, I think one of the great things about the script is that unlike the typical comedy, there’s a wonderful reality base. Here’s this girl who stumbles on a rock. She’s more "Kent" than "Kryptonite." She’s just a real person. She wants to have a real life. She deals with her responsibilities to her powers but she really resents it, and that’s the humor of the picture.
Q: Let’s not forget that she chucks a very large live shark.
UT: I think shark-chucking should really be made part of vernacular. ‘Watch out for her, she’s shark-chucking today. You better step back.’ It’s not just funny and glib and great but underneath the little ideas you find what’s real, and then take what’s unreal and you have the beauty of the statement. Imagine a woman so broken-hearted that she flies out to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, plucks a Great White Shark from the sea and throws it at someone. That’s your drama. It’s funny, but underneath it, that’s passion.
Q: The characters you typically play display a high degree of athleticism. How do you stay primed for these kinds of roles?
UT: The hours I work out everyday. They had to stop shooting so I could do some sit-ups (laughs). I never sit down, that’s my main form of exercise. I’m running around about 20 hours a day.
Q: Did you have any input with the costume design for G-Girl?
UT: Well it [the costume] can’t wear you, you have to wear it. Most importantly, the whole under-thing of the movie is it’s a romantic comedy. It’s earth-based, that’s the humor. That’s what Don [Payne] wrote, that’s what Ivan [Reitman] directed. It’s not like you’re in a rubber suit. If you want "The Incredibles," you animate it. We wanted to do something that’s about everyday. If you stumbled upon a meteor and suddenly had super powers, a New York girl, or from wherever you may be, where would you shop? Target? The mall? Gucci? You have to put together a look to keep your identity under control. So we just approached it from the very earthly, working day, texture of the movie.
Q: How did you feel about the over-the-top sex scenes in the movie?
UT: I generally don’t find sex scenes that interesting anymore in movies. I’ve seen "Wild Orchid" and, you know, I don’t find that sexy, but this scene is funny. Can you think of a funnier sex scene in a movie? You’ve almost gotta go overseas to get the humor back in sex, and I love seeing that in a mainstream American movie. Having some lightness, some humor, not all staged up with the pasties on.
Q: Your character gets caught completely off-guard when she gets dumped even if she’s never caught by surprise when she has to be a superhero. Why is she so emotionally out to lunch?
UT: I don’t know, break-ups usually aren’t a big surprise. Jenny’s slightly whack-job character gets taken by surprise. What I find touching in women and men, and in some of the women I’ve played, is when you try too hard you just ruin everything. She appealed to me. The far-fetched stuff is far-fetched, but the really simple stuff, the desperate sort of neediness of someone just trying to make you like them is like me!
I just enjoy that vulnerability of a really strong, bold character. I think most women identify with, men too. It’s like a bar of soap, the more you squeeze the further it flies. We’ve all been there. It’s just a desperate thing. ‘Do you like me? Pleeease like me! You must like me!’ Totally crazy, and just letting her go wild from there. In real life, it’s usually not that surprising. Anyone sobbing over some surprise probably wasn’t paying attention.
Q: As you grew up The Dalai Lama was a family guest at your home.
Did your father’s Buddhist associations have any impact on you personally or professionally?
UT: Personally, I don’t even know. Do any of us know how parents have influenced us, short of impact? I was lucky to grow up in a family that stayed together, they’re smart, interesting people, we’re very close still.
Q: Was there ever any concern of G-girl being too unsympathetic or acting un-hero-like?
UT: We walked a very careful line with that. There was a lot of pressure. When I got involved, there was a great draft that Ivan had worked on with Don and then there was a new draft where she was actually even more villainized and awful. You don’t want to take the punch out of it, you don’t want to be ditzy about it and be all likeable because that’s really boring. Meanwhile, the fun of it is that she’s wicked, so it was trying to find the humanity, make sure the character stayed motivated and that’s what we got out of the movie.
Q: What film are you working on next?
UT: I’m doing a drama in the fall called "In Bloom" about a Columbine-like incident directed by Vadim Perleman.
