Three-time
Oscar®-nominee Michelle Pfeiffer stars with Sean Penn in the
much lauded film "I Am Sam" about a mentally challenged man
(Penn) who is represented by a self-absorbed, tightly wound female attorney (Pfeiffer)
who decides to take on his child custody case for free just to impress her
colleagues.
Pfeiffer is the mother of two, a boy, 7, and a girl, 9, and says she knows
the stresses of raising children today. She also says she learned a lot about
what handicapped parents face when it comes to convincing society that they
are fit to raise a family. "I just had never stopped to think about what I thought of mentally
challenged people," Pfeiffer says. "As children the only thing
we’re really ever told is 'don’t stare.' So as a result of that, mentally
challenged people grow up either being gawked at or feeling invisible."
She later adds, "I think one of the things the movie states is that there
are really no simple answers, as with any kind of custody case." The busy and beautiful actress last year starred in the hit "What
Lies Beneath" with Harrison Ford and just finished filming "White
Oleander" which is to be released later this year. Other past
accomplishments include being crowned Miss Orange County. Of that honor she
says, "There was no talent in that. I didn’t really have one." One of her first roles was on TV's popular '70s hit "Fantasy
Island" "I’ll never forget it. I had a star on my honey wagon
dressing room door. I couldn’t believe I had my name on the door. I
couldn’t see, the lights were so bright, I didn’t know what a mark was and
here I was in my little purple toga." She's come a long way, baby. ZAP2IT.COM: As you move out of the traditional age for leading
ladies, does it require more career planning on your part? ZAP2IT.COM: Well, Hollywood is so age obsessed... ZAP2IT.COM: Your character has such immense difficulty dealing with
balancing family and work. How do you on a personal level balance family and
work? ZAP2IT.COM: You’ve played a few characters who are sort of put
upon business women. Is that something you look for? ZAP2IT.COM: What makes working with Sean Penn a singular experience? ZAP2IT.COM: Did making this movie give you more insight into people
with disabilities? ZAP2IT.COM: How do you feel about Ashley Judd being cast as
Catwoman? ZAP2IT.COM: Is that a role you ever thought of revisiting? ZAP2IT.COM: Do you have any advice for Ashley? ZAP2IT.COM: You’ve been nominated for an Oscar three times. Does
it feel different each time? ZAP2IT.COM: After doing a film like this in which you’re dealing
with mentally challenged people do you have an opinion of whether or not
someone who has the mental capacity of a seven year old should be a father?
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: No, you know I... it’s funny because before I did "What
Lies Beneath" I was doing a lot of smaller movies and then I did "What
Lies Beneath" which was really a change for me. I had so much fun I
thought 'I never want to do the small movies again, this was too much fun.'
And now I’ve got two small movies again, so... I like doing both and it was
kind of exciting to know that I could have a good time doing something like "What
Lies Beneath" because historically I've been sort of, I think, afraid
of that kind of technical kind of movie, big genre kind of film.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: Um, well I don’t think I’ve moved out of the
traditional age. What is that?
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: Well I think our window is growing. I think it used
to be once you turned 40, that was it. But thanks to a lot of people like
Susan Sarandon, Merrill Streep and Jessica Lange it’s like our window of
opportunity has expanded so I don’t really feel like the change has happened
yet.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: Oh perfectly (laughs). You have bad mommy days and
you have good mommy days and you have days where you truly feel disabled as a
parent and retarded and you feel like you are ruining your children’s lives
and let’s start putting money in an account for therapy now. I think it’s
the hardest and the most rewarding thing a person can ever do. I often say,
and it’s getting to that point now where I have to go back to work to get
some rest because it’s exhausting.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: I don’t really seek out any particular kind of
film or type of part. I’m just always looking for something good.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: A singular experience... who said it was (laughs)?
No two experiences are alike but I have to say that it was just pure joy
working with him as an actor. I didn't really know what to expect. I knew he
was brilliant and I had always wanted to work with him. But, just because
someone is brilliant doesn’t mean they’re going to be pleasant to work
with. He was such a joy just as a person, and as an actor so generous and so
present. It just made my job so easy.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: Yes and it gave me a lot of insight into myself and
I wasn’t always proud of what I saw. I just had never stopped to think about
what I thought of mentally challenged people. As children the only thing
we’re really ever told is 'don’t stare.' So as a result of that, mentally
challenged people grow up either being gawked at or feeling invisible. And I
realized I had fear because they were different than me and I didn’t
understand who they were so in my mind that made them unpredictable and I
think we equate that with danger. I had all these feelings I didn’t realize
I had.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: I think she’ll be great.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: Well, you know, they like to change, like with the
batman, there’s always a new person playing him and I thought about it and
you know, Tim Burton isn’t really involved in it and I really would have
wanted to do it with him.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: You have to constantly remind yourself to have fun
with it because it’s... I hope her outfit is a lot more comfortable. Make
sure the mask fits, because it was squishing my face and make sure they give
you a place to go to the bathroom.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: It’s been a long time so I don’t remember. It
always is a shock.
MICHELLE PFEIFFER: I think it's really a case by case situation. I
think one of the things the movie states is that there are really no simple
answers, as with any kind of custody case.