Emily Mortimer: tired of movies where all the explosiveness comes from special effects? Try this actress

Interview, July, 2002 by Graham Fuller

GF: Did you have any qualms about doing the scene?

EM: You don't want to take your clothes off gratuitously in a bad film, and obviously it's not a test of your skills. But there's nothing you can really do about your body or how you look, and I'd much rather just stand naked than try to tell a joke that nobody laughs at in a movie. [laughs] To me, that'd be more humiliating. I knew that that scene was inevitable, because it was a totally organic part of the plot and a cathartic moment in the film. But I guess I kind of closed my mind to it. I didn't think about it until I did it. There was this moment when I got out of bed to stand naked in front of all those people thinking, This bloody better be a good film, because if it isn't I've really embarrassed myself! But it was extraordinary, too, because I had one of those moments that you're always longing for as an actor, when the gap between what you're feeling and what the character you're playing is feeling is closed, or is as closed as it can be. I suddenly had this bizarre feeling, which I've never had bef ore, where I was as exposed and as vulnerable and, in a funny way, as in control as she was. And, without wanting to sound pretentious, it was amazing. I think it was a really important thing for me to have done, because as an actor I've been quite insecure about taking myself seriously. It's taken me a while to admit that this is what I do, and if I'm going to do it, I might as well be serious about it. The stakes are so high in this job that you really have to put everything into it. Otherwise, there's no point. In the last couple of years, I've experienced a turnaround in how I've approached the whole thing and I've gotten braver. I've been able to admit that I actually really care about it, that I want to do good things, and that maybe I do have some sort of artistic integrity, which I never thought I had before. So there was a sense that I was tying my colors to the mast when I did that scene.

GF: Is it important the scene isn't erotic?

EM: Very important. That's what makes it uncomfortable. I've seen it twice now and both times I found it really hard to look at. There was something really full-on about it, and any kind of erotic handle on the moment would have disguised the shock.

GF: We normally associate nudity with eroticism and here it's been stripped of its-

EM: --sexiness. I know, and I love the way that it's believable. It's not only a cathartic moment for her, but for Kevin, too. I think there is something really touching about the fact that this bland movie star becomes intrigued by this girl. You feel like they've both been through something and come out a bit better.

GF: Do you think it's tragic that most women feel they've got to conform to stereotypes of beauty?

EM: It's a terrible tragedy for women. But I think it's even scarier that we only have a few years when we can have children, which is where it all stems from. It's no wonder that society has made such a big deal of that time in women's lives. As a girl--I mean, I know I should have become a woman years ago, but I never quite managed it, though I'm on my way now-- you're so aware of that and it's impossible not to be freaked out by it. And, of course, there's more to life than that.