Fiercely Fairuza

Interview, Oct, 1998 by Graham Fuller

Fairuza Balk may not be the most fashionable actress In Young Hollywood, but discerning viewers and casting agents know that one nervy twitch or crooked smile from the Balkster can blow all those creamy poppets and port flibbertigibbets out of the water. (Who cares whet they did last summer when Balk bares her brittle soul on screen?) Indeed, there are A-list leading ladles who might covet some of Balk's emotional firepower. Best known for her power-crazed witch In The Craft (1996), she has shown - in Valmont (1989), Gas, Food Lodging (1992), Imaginary Crimes (1994), Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), and the TV film Murder in the Heartland (1992) - that she can strip away every sign of technique to reveal raw, quivering humanity. She belongs to the same school of acting as Gloria Grahame and Judy Davis - acting that's shot through with caffeine and mercury. And the joy is that we haven't seen the best of it yet.

Shortly to appear in the Adam Sandler comedy The Water Boy, Balk this month plays a neo-Nazi skinhead In American History X. Disowned at one point by director Tony Kaye, the troubled movie will have to go some distance to provide a more powerful portrait of skinhead culture than Alan Clarke's Made in Britain (1983) or the Australian Romper Stomper (1992), but the presence of Balk, Edward Norton, and Edward Furlong suggests it's unmissable.

GRAHAM FULLER: Who do you play in American History X?

FAIRUZA BALK: Her name is Stacey. She's like the queen to Edward Norton's king of this skinhead group we're in. He's the one who is the brains behind the organization and riles them up.

GF: Are they racist?

FB: Beyond racist - it's like psychosis.

GF: Is Stacey Just a follower, or does she have hatred inside her?

FB: She follows Edward's character because to her he's a god - he's the man. But, yes, I think she's got her own hatred inside her.

GF: Tell me about portraying somebody like that. Was It a leap?

FB: I was worried. I just couldn't relate to these neo-Nazi white power groups who hate anybody who isn't a white Protestant. Those feelings were alien to me, so I went and found several groups of skinheads and hung out with them and tried to find out why they feel that way. For most of them it's because someone close to them had been violated by someone who wasn't white, and instead of trying to get over that and heal, they contained their anger so it grew into hatred and they aimed it at the people they thought were responsible. I think what happens is that people who can't vent their rage seek scapegoats. Also for these young guys, a lot of it is hormonal. When you're in a room full of them, it's like testosterone city - it's crazy. It's like there're chemicals in the air and they get off on them.

GF: Did you feel threatened when you were with them?

FB: Yes, because they didn't know who I was or what I wanted.

GF: Why did you put yourself through that?

FB: Because I had to for myself. Doing the research for a movie is one of the most important and exciting parts for me.

GF: Why do you think skinheads become skinheads?

FB: I think all of us, whether we deny it or not, go through a time of feeling completely alienated from the world, like nobody understands us, like nobody ever could. The groups you're drawn to provide some semblance of family or security, so that whenever you doubt yourself, they're there to say, "We're behind you. You're one of us. We'll die for you." Except I don't think it's true.

GF: What do you mean?

FB: I can't speak for skinheads but I think, tragically, it's not real. I don't think it really is a family; it's not that strong. I may be wrong. It depends on who you are, I suppose.

GF: What was your Impression of the skinhead women you met?

FB: When you see them at a gig, they stand on the outskirts of the room, arms folded, cold as ice, like tough bitches, while the men are headbutting each other and smashing bottles on each others' heads. Yet whenever the guys go out to cause trouble, the women have to stay at home. It's a "No, this is a man's job; we protect our women" type of thing. It's a kind of idealist theory that's completely the reverse of what's been happening with women in the rest of the world. Skinhead women are expected to stay at home making babies and cooking food. But if it makes them happy, so be it.

GF: In the end, did you find It necessary to tap into that racist hatred?

FB: I couldn't get there anyway. It's just not part of who I am to hate black people or Mexican people. So instead of trying to develop that, what I did - and this will sound bizarre - was use my hatred for racists or people who kill gay men just because they're gay. I mean, there are people who beat other people up because they don't like what they're wearing. I got beaten up in Texas because my bootlaces were the wrong color.

GF: Who beat you up?

FB: Skinheads. I had red bootlaces on and it was wrong of me to wear them I guess, so I got shit-kicked in an alley.

GF: Was this during your research?

FB: No, it was years before. I'm not saying everyone who's a skinhead is a bad person. I'm no one to judge; I'm not God. But a lot of skinhead kids get brainwashed into these heinous beliefs.