Cronenberg is primarily known for his horror films. Are you a big fan of scary movies?
“I’m not someone who looks through the newspaper to see when the next one is coming out. I’m more a fan of psychological thrillers. Most of the horror films I’ve loved are from a long time ago, the ones that are more creepy like The Shining and Don’t Look Now.”
Did you feel beat up, emotionally, after making Eastern Promises?
“No, I actually felt the opposite. I felt refreshed in a weird sort of way. A couple of years later I think I’m still
recovering from doing King Kong. That film was so physically draining. I mean, it was eight months of 14-hour days filled with jumping, running, being punched, pushed and pulled. It really did take its toll, and I’m not a big person. So this film was a luxury. I mean, the emotional aspect of it is exhausting, but we had time to do it right.”
You’re in a relationship with actor/director Liev Schreiber. Do you have confidence that any Hollywood relationship can work long term?
“Many have, so I would like to think so. You just have to keep learning how to make it work.”
When you turned 30, did you start thinking about children and marriage?
“I always thought that I would have had kids by the age of 30. I wanted kids when I was 19, and it’s just not how it happened for me.”
Kate Hudson, your Le Divorce co-star, told me that you were really excited about her pregnancy while making that movie. It sounds like you really love babies.
“Yeah, I really do…. When we were working together I told Kate to sign me up for babysitting duty. I thought it would be a lot of fun.”
When did you and Nicole Kidman become friends?
“When we did Flirting [1991] together.”
Did her success prepare you for fame?
“In a way, because I’ve known Nicole from before her success, and I’ve known her all through it. I’ve experienced it with her. When you’re a friend you watch and you learn. But it’s not something that you sit down and ask advice or try and get pointers about.”
How has your friendship with her changed since the two of you became famous?
“Time. Since she’s always doing movies around the world, we don’t get the chance to hang out as much as we used to. Plus, she’s now married again and still has her children, so she has such a busy schedule. And now that I am better known in Hollywood I’m constantly on a film set in God knows where. But we still talk all the time. My phone bill is outrageous.”
Do you feel like a star?
“No. I’m the same person. The only days that it’s different is when you do interviews and people are so suddenly interested in you and ask you a million questions. The rest of the time it’s about me mixing with people and it’s an exchange.”
You were born in England and moved to Australia when you were 14. Can you talk about where you grew up and why you left England?
“I moved around England a lot, I went to like seven different schools. My mum was finding her feet in terms of her career. Her husband, my dad, they divorced when I was four and he was on the road at the time, so we lived with my grandparents, we lived with my mum, who’s British. My grandmother is Australian. We just moved around a lot, then we went to boarding school, so by the time I moved to Australia I had already moved around, so I wasn’t just attached to one place I could call home.”
You had a pretty good career in Australia. Why did you decide to try your luck in Hollywood?
“I knew if I was going to have a career in acting, Los Angeles was where I needed to be. When I got here I was like, ‘Wow, this is the land of opportunity.’ Kind of like Betty in Mulholland Drive, but not as naive as that. I had high hopes and I had a lot of people tell me that I had reason to have high hopes. I was astounded how everything was big, like the supermarkets. I was always thinking, ‘How am I ever going to find granulated brown sugar?’ [Laughs.]”
Professionally, how did you feel?
“Once I got here, I thought I had it made because I immediately landed roles in a couple of films [Tank Girl and Matinee]. Little did I know it wouldn’t last. I experienced some really lean times during those days. There were definitely some days when I thought, ‘Maybe I should pack it all in and head back home.’”
So does Naomi Watts finally feel successful?
“I just feel the same as I always have. There’s always a struggle. I’m a happy person pretty much wherever I go. Yes, I’ve had struggles, but I think we all live with struggles and mine are no more different than anyone else’s, really. Success in the tangible sense, yeah, I get sent nice clothes and I get a reservation at the restaurant after they’ve said no, perhaps, and I’ve had some great paydays that have bought me a fancy house and those kind of things. That’s the tangible side, but for me, success has been working with these [filmmakers] and connecting with people.”
Earl Dittman is a Houston-based writer.