Oregon daily emerald., April 18, 2000, Page 17, Image 27

And because he wasn’t gay, and because we were
not involved romantically, people had a very
hard time understanding that friendship.
Because they couldn’t define us, they did not
seem to be able to grasp the idea that we were
just dear friends.
Do you miss anything from your
college days?
I miss learning and the growth that comes with
that. The days of reading screenplays can be
vapid, and you find yourself fussing over minor
details. Now that I have some time off, I really
need to focus on learning again. The
* discipline that I gained in college has really helped
me with my work ethic today. I learned at
Princeton how to arrange my time. Also, I gained
. a great deal of pleasure from success in my classes
- knowing that I could accomplish those things -
and I realized that my success was directly j
proportionate to the work I put in.
How did you pick a major?
I wanted to be fluent in another language. I felt
that I needed the major to accomplish that.
Also, the English department was very large and
the more classes I took, the more that French |
literature interested me. I
So, how is your French today?
I could have a deep, meaningful conversation,
but I’d have trouble getting my bike fixed. It
takes me a few days of being in France to really
start to get it back without having to conjugate in
my head.
What was your favorite expression as
a student?
“Have faith in your own thoughts.” I learned in
college that ultimately everything boils back
, down to that.
Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Professor Uitti. He taught Romance Languages,
and he also taught me that I had original ideas.
He helped me to feel safe with those ideas versus
repeating back what others said.
He is delightful. I still keep in
touch with him. Whenever I’m
going to do a new film I’ll call and
he will say, “Oh that story reminds
me of this book, or that story,” and
he’ll give me a whole wealth of ref
z erences to read.
g Where were your favorite
£ getaways on campus?
| I spent a lot of time at the
I student center, and there was a
i great muffin place right across the
main street. The truth is that I
studied so much, I didn’t have
large windows of time any
where except in my
cubicle at the library.
If you weren’t an actor, what
else might you have liked to do
with your life professionally?
I could have easily worked with
children and their education.
When you were a student, did you know you
would go back to acting?
I didn’t know it would matter to me. I was just
focused on the university and knowledge.
Do you stay involved with Princeton?
Not directly — through friends. It was such a
great time for me that I’ve actually avoided
going back since I don’t want to have anything
in my mind change. I’ve thought about going
to my reunion this year, but.... Princeton was
the first place where I learned to work at some
thing from the inside out, instead of having
things work from the outside toward me. That
has set a precedent for everything in my life.
What dreams haven’t you yet fulfilled?
I To be a mother.
( If you could spend the weekend with any
one, living or dead, who would it be?
Right now, it would be Wallace Stegner, who wrote
“The Angle of Repose.’’ He has a wonderful way
of looking at life and commitment, and I’d love to
pick his brain.
I
What are your favorite books?
C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity,” Baudelaire’s
“Fleurs de Mai,” and Proust’s “Remembrance
ofThings Past.”
What music do you listen to?
Bette Midler, Mozart, Bruce Coburn, and
; Eagle Eye Cherry.
! What don’t people know about you?
I don’t know either.... Sometimes I think people
choose one side or one element in me, or in
others. Very few people see the whole picture.
But I, personally, don’t know that I need them to.
Left to right from top; Face of the Eighties; with George
Burns in Just You and Me Kid; marooned in The Blue Lagoon;
as Violet in Louis Malle’s controversial Pretty Baby; in
Endless Love with whatever-happened-to Martin Hewitt; in
Sahara circa 1983;The Seventh Floor; with Chris O’Donnell
in the 1999 comedy, The Bachelor; in the 1995 mini-series
Nothing Lasts Forever