Julia Ormond played Harrison Ford’s lover in “Sabrina”, Richard Gere’s lady-love in “First Knight”, Brad Pitt’s mistress in “Legends of the Wall”, but Russian audience best remembers her as a charming American who turned Oleg Menshikov’s head in Nikita Mikhalkov’s “Siberian Barber”. The famous actress gave an exclusive interview to Izvestia’s correspondent Anna Fedina in Moscow.

“I am English, so I can easily play an American prostitute”

Izvestia: Kevin Kostner refused to play in “Siberian Barber”, because he thought the image of the Americans in Mikhalkov’s film was far from positive. Do you share his view?

Ormond: I think, yes. But I have never really thought about it. I am English, so I can easily play an American prostitute. Anyway, the negative image of US people is not the thing. The main feature of “Siberian Barber” is that the film is a very close reflection of  the situation in Russia at that time – the burden of getting used to living in a capitalist society, pressure from the West, the “golden age” of corruption, and, of course, growth of nationalism.

Izvestia: Did you find it easy to work with Nikita Mikhalkov?

Ormond: Yes. The entire shooting team of “Siberian Barber” was fascinating. Everyone was so talented, noble, and amiable that I enjoyed the work immensely. As for Nikita, it was such fun, because he never told me what to do or where to go, but played my role himself. Were there no language barrier between us, he might have been less artistic.

Izvestia: Didn’t you learn Russian?

Ormond: Just a little bit (speaking in Russian). Essentially, my knowledge was limited to the phrase “Please, translate, I don’t understand.” But when we came to Moscow yesterday, I was able to say “Excuse me, where is it?” and pretend to be looking for a baggage trolley. The people whom I addressed were shocked. In St. Petersburg I nearly got into an accident, when I suddenly asked the taxi driver “Slower, please”. He was so taken aback that hardly had time to pull up.

“I admire Catherine the Great as a personality, and I love Nadya Alliluyeva as a woman”

Izvestia: You played Catherine the Great in UK sequel “Young Catherine” and Nadezhda Alliluyeva in “Stalin”. Is It a coincidence? Or is there something in you that makes directors offen you parts of Russian women?

Ormond: I think it is rather a coincidence. I find no Slavic features in myself. But I am ready to believe that I was a Russian in my past life. (Laughs) Anyway, I really enjoyed playing both Catherine and Nadya, so the directors made the right choice.

Izvestia: You must have read many books about Russia when getting ready for the parts. What seemed most interesting to you out of the things you learned?

Ormond: Catherine the Great, who, before becoming Empress, was studying Russian and did her best to understand how people in Russia lived, once said to Potemkin: “I have no idea how to unite this huge country, whose people speak different languages and practice different religions. I don’t think it’s possible to give Russia a single Constitution that would be fair towards its every national.”

I believe Catherine was absolutely right. The problem she talked about was faced by Russia for two hundred more years afterwards. I think the Soviet Union broke up just because i was impossible to unite so many peoples on some terms that would satisfy all. I was also impressed when Catherine wanted to abolish the serfdom but Potemkin said that act would undermine the very foundation of the Russian Empire.

Izvestia: The Empress seems to have impressed you more than Stalin’s wife, doesn’t she?

Ormond: I admire Catherine as a personality, and I love Nadya Alliluyeva as a woman. For me, she is a personification of the best communist ideas. People usually don’t say it now, but I think it’s such a shame that a dream about a state based on general equality and aqual welfare distribution has never come to life.

Izvestia: What prevented it from coming true?

Ormond: Russian revolutionaries were unable to resist the temptation of power. We all make mistakes, but communism doesn’t seem to take human nature into account. People should be protected from their brutal instincts – greed, egoism, cruelty, and it is the state that should do it. But Soviet rulers suffered from the same vices themselves.

“Peter Greenaway never praises actors – what’s the use of wasting compliments on clay?”

Izvestia: You made your cinema debut in Peter Greenaway’s “Baby of Macon”. What were your impressions of working him?

Ormond: Greenaway is certainly a unique personality in the cinema world. It is the most unusual person I have ever met. Now I  would probably find it difficult to work with him, because an actor for Greenaway is just a piece of clay, from which he models his “Dionisian characters”, gloomy and extremely emotional. He never comes into contact with the actor without necessily, never says: “Very good, it’s just what I want,” for what’s the use of praising clay or asking for its views?

I don’t think the actor does right by refusing to obey the director. The person in the director’s seat is the only one who understands what will be the final outcome. So, if you trust him, you must go where he tells you. But there should be some degree of indepedence in the actor’s work.

Izvestia: You are considered an obstinate actress.

Ormond: Probably it is close to the truth. At least my mother thinks the same.

Izvestia: Do you always achieve the goal?

Ormond: No. It may be because I always put the bar too high.

Izvestia: You work in a number of public organizations, you take part in fighting AIDS. Are you not ready to devote yourself entirely to acting?

Ormond: Evidently, the actress’s work does not meet all my requirements. In fact, when you become famous, there is a hullabaloo around your person. It is, I think, absolutely groundless, but there it is. And if you know you will be written and talked about anyway, why not channel this gossip to more important things than your personal life? To some extent, by working for the benefit of humanity, you protect your own home from invasion.

Izvestia: What is more important for you now – career of an actress or fighting AIDS?

Ormond: The work of an actress is always exciting, and I play in films only for pleasure. Fighting AIDS is certainly more important for me. It is hard even to imagine the scope of this calamity. It is estimated that by 2010 the number of people living with HIV will reach 100 milion. Something must be done urgently, especially since there are realistic ways of stopping the epidemic.

Izvestia: Do you feel capable of saving the world alone?

Ormond: No. But I will make my contribution.

Izvestia: At the Venetia Film Festival, they showed a polyptich called “All Invisible Children”. It is a collection of shorts, each of which touches upon the problems of small children in a certain way. Do you think such social propaganda method effective?

Ormond: Oh, yes! To make anyone change his views, you should influence the feelings more than the mind. We immediately forget the statistics that was used to persuade us, but emotions that we have felt become part of our life experience, and it is on this experience that we base our decisions.

“You wouldn’t believe it, but we don’t even have a swimming pool!”

Izvestia: Is it true that famous Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein sent you film scripts simply to know your opinion of the future project?

Ormond: Yes. I no longer do it, because my contract with Miramax has expired, but earlier it happened regularly. Once I was offered parts in two films at the same time. I didn’t like one of the projects much, but I couldn’t make up my mind to refuse, because I was not sure I would get the other part. Being pressed by the time, I asked my agent to arrange a meeting with the producer of the film I liked more It was Harvey. I explained the situation, and the asked me to tell him about the other project and why I didn’t want to take part in it.

To persuade him to give me the part, I naturally pictured all the shortcomings of the other film very vividly. Finally, it turned out that the producer of the other film was also Harvey Weinstein! I was perplexed, and he said: “You’ve done quite a job smashing the other project to pieces. Please criticize this one as well. Something tells me you don’t really like either proposal.” I replied: “You are right! Both are bed.” This was how our friendship began.

Then he regularly sent me scripts saying “Have a look, you might like it.” I honestly read the material, called him and took a long time describing the strong and weak points of the idea. Then I suddenly had a revelation, :Stop! But there is no part for me in the film!” And Harvey said, “I wasn’t going to offer you a job. I just wanted to know what you think.” Of course, I did a lot of useless work, but I didn’t want to vex Harvey and went on reading scripts without complaint.

Izvestia: You seem to be serious about choice of parts…

Ormond: Yes. Now you see where my obstinacy shows.

Izvestia: Is it true that your father was a millionaire and there were 20 rooms in the house where you lived as a child?

Ormond: No. My father was a wealthy man, but we never had 20 rooms.

Izvestia: How many rooms are there in your house now?

Ormond: Is bathroom a room too? If only sleeping-rooms count, I have two. Not so many as people think. You wouldn’t believe it, but we don’t even have a swimming pool! I wonder myself how one can live in Hollywood and go to public swimming pool!

Source: Izvestia 21 September 2005