Michelle Williams' Paparazzi Problem
by Parade.com
Monday December 08, 2008, 12:00 AMMichelle Williams, who rose to fame on the TV hit Dawson's Creek, is still coping with the death of ex-boyfriend Heath Ledger, the father ofher young daughter, Matilda Rose.
But in the midst of her grief, she's found new challenges. In Wendy and Lucy, Williams plays Wendy, a young woman trying to start a new life with herdog Lucy after bad breaks leave them penniless and alone. She also co-stars in Charlie Kaufman'soff-beat dramedy Synecdoche, New York opposite Oscar winner Philip Seymour Kaufman.
The star, who recently scored a lead actress nod for the Indie Spirit Awards for Wendy and Lucy, talks about her struggle with celebrity status.
Q: How did you feel about playing someone whose life is hitting bottom?
A: I kind of grew up with the idea that, 'You're an American. Pull yourself up by yourbootstraps. Put your nose to the grindstone. With a little hard work, you're going to come out ontop, kid.' That was definitely passed on in my family. But as I got out into the world, I sawthe inequality, I saw that it wasn't true at all, especially when you hit a string of bad luck likeWendy does. And there are a lot of people like her in these tough times we're facing.
Q: Can you imagine being as alone and without friends as she is?
A: I do sometimes wish that I could live with less attention but not being totally ignored bythe world. It's very wearing to be a celebrity. I wonder if people are going to follow me or ifsomeone is going to pop out of nowhere with a camera. I get very angry but I'm trying not to let itstop me from living. You're sort of straddling that fine line between being kind and courteous andeverything that your mother raised you to be to strangers that come up and refuse to respect yourprivacy.
Q: Is acting getting easier for you?
A: I still have to put up a fight to get the environment right on the set when I'm acting,and, as a woman, it's hard to do. You're taught to be polite and quiet so that nobody will thinkthat you're difficult. When I worked with [Philip Seymour] Hoffman on Synecdoche, I saw him get really militant about keeping people out of his eye line. Ithought, 'Gosh, I've always felt like that, but I've been too shy to really say anything.' And sowhen you see somebody else do it and still be respected, it makes you go, 'Well, I'm going to tryit too.'
Q: Any regrets about leaving your parents behind and heading for L.A. when you were just15?
A: I got so much flack for that. But I don't think that there's really any use in lookingback. Because what's done is done for good or for bad. I am thankful for all of it because it's putme in a place in my life that I am happy.
Q: Do you ever wish you'd finished high school?
A: I went to my first year and I was like the really oddball new girl. I spent a lot oflunches in a bathroom stall kind of hiding out. I can't even imagine what kind of a person I'd beor how happy I would be had I done the normal four years and had a boyfriend and was a cheerleaderor something.
Q: Weren't you ever afraid of being alone in Hollywood as a teenager?
A: Hindsight. Isn't it great? The risks of going into L.A. at such an early age are huge. Atthe time, I was invincible. I thought I was on top of the world. I didn't realize what I was doing.But I wouldn't trade any of those experiences for anything in the world. I am who I am because ofthem. I had a lot of growing up to do and it was slammed into a couple of short years. I didstupid, crazy things. But those stupid crazy things prepared me to deal with future.
Q: What's guiding you now?
A: I think that, above all, it would be perseverance. I can't really be objective, but theone thing that I've always had is an incredible amount of determination. And I guess it's innate within everybody. It's just a survival skill.
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