KELLY CLARKSON - ListedMagazine.com

interview
We love it when actors get
serious. A breakthrough role
in gritty London gangster fl ick
Layer Cake, sporting not much more than
a lacy set of suspenders and a smile is
certainly one way to get you to the silver
screen. But is an off-screen romance with
Alfi e co-star Jude Law, a tabloid breakup
and a series of fi lmic fl ops (Casanova,
Factory Girl) enough to keep you there?
Erm, if you’re Sienna Miller, it appears the
answer is yes.
Sienna Miller’s never been known for
taking on the roles that stimulate your
grey matter most. Her patented pout
and tousled blonde bed hair make her a
stronger contender for centrefolds rather
than centre stage, her personal life has
often been subjected to tabloid scrutiny,
and comparisons between the romantic
dalliances of her and her characters
are frequently made. So does this act as
a hindrance when the meaty fi lm roles
come along? “I think as an actor, if you
can retain a level of anonymity, then
people are more likely to believe the
characters you’re playing,” says Sienna.
“The more people think they know about
your private life, the harder it is for them
to see you as anything but you when they
go and see a fi lm.”
In Interview, Sienna plays Katya, a young
actress who becomes the subject of
older journalist Pierre’s fascination during
the interview process. The parallels
coursing between the fi lms themes and
Sienna’s personal life are very apparent
to her. “Obviously, the circumstances
are similar,” she says. “She’s an actress.
I’m an actress. She’s known more by
reputation than for her fi lms and I think
that’s something I can defi nitely relate to,
but she’s actually complex, layered and
manipulative and fascinating.”
The real intrigue about Interview is the
intimacy that positively radiates between
Katya and Pierre – it’s a relationship
Sienna can’t associate with her own
media encounters. “I’ve done interviews
where I have felt totally taken advantage
of and felt really unhappy about the
outcome. I have had some journalists who
are absolutely completely disinterested
in any opinion that I may have but are
unashamedly content to ask things that I
would fi nd embarrassing to ask someone I
didn’t know. That’s just a lack of respect.”
Does this put Sienna off interviewing at
all? “I think that journalism is a really
important medium that gets abused, and
therefore has a bad reputation,” she says.
“I’m more astute now than I was and am
better at defl ecting things, and I’m much
better now at saying ‘Actually, that’s none
of your business!’”
“ ”
Interview was written and directed
by its leading man Steve Buscemi.
Filming opposite a commercial and indie
heavyweight like Steve Buscemi isn’t
something many actors can boast about
after a mere few years in the business,
but Sienna found it less intimidating than
she thought. “It’s a great fi lm and it’s the
fi rst time I’ve done something where I
can appreciate it as a piece of art and
as his vision, because it was two of us
and because we were not creatively
restricted.”
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So now she’s tackled substance, do the
naked days of Layer Cake still resonate
the same for Sienna? “There was such a
focus on me, and who I really was, that I
think it got more attention than if someone
else was just starting out,” she says. “A
huge amount of focus was on that fi lm
— but I don’t regret it. It was a great
movie.
“Because I was famous before I had a
fi lm come out, I was tabloid fodder and
someone’s girlfriend before I was an
actress. So it’s a slow process trying to
break down those preconceptions and be
taken seriously as an actor - hopefully, I’ll
get there! It might just take a bit longer for
me.” ▙ Words by Bonnie Redfern
Interview (15) is available on DVD on 25
February
27