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By
Seana Sperling
October 16, 2001
It's inspiring to talk with someone that truly loves
what they do and Elizabeth Pena absolutely radiates
joy when she talks about her work. Pena started her
film career in 1979 with "El Super," right after graduating
from the High School of the Performing Arts in Manhattan.
Since then she has appeared in approximately 40 films
including, "Lone Star," and "Jacob's Ladder." I spoke
to Pena while she was in Seattle promoting her new movie,
"Tortilla Soup," (a remake of Ang Lee's, "Eat, Drink,
Man, Woman.")
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Seana:
In your new film you play the part of Leticia Naranjo,
an introverted, born-again Christian. This is quite
a departure from your other roles.
Elizabeth:
It was a challenge. I've never played anyone who was,
"tucked in." That's the best word. She keeps tucking
herself in. So it was exhausting trying to sedate my
own energy more than anything. It was very scary while
shooting it because I kept thinking, "Am I going over
the top?"
When I was going over the script I thought, I'm not
too old to play Carmen, which is the normal role I'd
be cast in. When I was offered Leticia, I thought, I
can't do that. Then I figured, if I failed, I'd tried
something that I hadn't tried before and if one movie
was going to destroy my career than I didn't have much
of a career to start with. I just went for it. God willing
I wasn't over the top and didn't embarrass myself.
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Seana:
I've watched, "Lone Star," three or four times. Did
you enjoy working with John Sayles?
Elizabeth:
He is like Director/God. He is a treat. He writes, produces,
directs and is an actor, so the communication was very
clean and very minimal. It's the first and only movie
I've done, that the movie I went to see, is the actual
movie we shot. He's very economical in his shooting.
He didn't shoot 18 set-ups per scene, he shot only what
he was going to cut and use. He was also a wonderful
communicator in terms of acting. He knows how to give
you one word or one physical thing that's going to alter
everything.
My agent called me and said, "John Sayles would like
you to be in a movie of his," and I said, "OK." Then
my agent said, don't you want to read the script? I
said, I don't care if he wants me to walk through the
film and exit. I just want to be in his presence. Fortunately
it was an amazing script.
He immediately faxed me the biography of the character
which he asked that I read and destroy, and not tell
anyone else because each character had their own secret.
The information that I had was different from what Chris
Cooper had. When Chris and I landed in Eagle Pass, he's
the one that picked us up, no PA, no driver. He drove
us around going, "That's your mother's restaurant. That's
the high school you guys went to. This is where you
guys used to cut school together."
He could pull a performance out of a dog. I'm serious.
He was just amazing. The world could fall apart and
he remained on neutral. I believe the director is the
one that sets the mood and if you have this hysterical
director it's a domino effect. I would work for him
forever, for nothing. Don't tell my agent that.
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Seana:
In an interview you gave several years ago to the Toronto
Sun, you stated that, "The year of the Latin actor happens
every 10 years and it's usually a false alarm." The
population of Latinos is very high in Hollywood, yet
there aren't that many films featuring Latino leads.
Do you feel that the majority of Hollywood roles are
written with Ryders, Paltrows or Kidmans in mind?
Elizabeth:
It's a clique and I think a clique exists in every business.
There's a circle of people that are guaranteed to open
a movie and we all know their names and whether they're
right or wrong for the role.
Every time I work with a European director, I find they
hire the person that captures the spirit of the role.
Americans tend to hire the best face. The person that
looks more like the role, whether they can perform the
role or not is a bonus. That makes it very difficult
when you're part of an ethnic group or female or over
20. It's a lot of work The work is getting the work.
I love acting. When I'm acting I feel like I'm on vacation.
I'm just having a wonderful time. The nightmare is just
getting the work to happen.
Seana:
Is Hollywood becoming more diverse?
Elizabeth:
I think so.
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Seana:
I've seen, "Jacob's Ladder," about seven times. Part
of what makes the film great is your interaction with
Tim Robbins.
Elizabeth: I worked very hard to get, "Jacob's
Ladder." At first they wanted Julia Roberts, Andie McDowell
or Michelle Pheifer. At some point they wanted Susan
Sarandon and Madonna wanted the part. They auditioned
all of them. I begged to be auditioned. I begged and
begged and when I auditioned, the chemistry was right
and Adrian (Adrian Lyne) and I were just taken with
each other. I auditioned for six months, twice a week.
The reason I kept going back was because Adrian was
literally fighting for me to get the role.
When I got it, I was nervous because I felt I wasn't
allowed to fail. I felt that they were waiting for one
little failure and that would prove them right and I'd
be,"out of there." It was a lot of pressure, but I loved
working with Tim and I loved working with Adrian.
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Seana:
There's some mystery surrounding your origin. I found
a few of your bios on the net and one said you were
born in Cuba, another New Jersey and another said New
York.
Elizabeth:
(Laughter.) I was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. When
I was nine-months-old we went to Cuba and came back
when I was nine-years-old. I grew up in Manhattan, Upper
Westside 90th street between Broadway and Amsterdam.
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Seana:
Are you home-based in LA now?
Elizabeth: Only when I'm working. When I'm not
working, my family and I have a house in the San Juan
Islands. We've been here since '94.
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Seana:
Have you had any unusual experiences since you've been
in Seattle?
Elizabeth: I went to see Dale Chihuly yesterday. I got to meet
him and be in his loft. He is a trip and his wife is
delightful. It was wonderful to watch the process of
what he makes. It was very exciting and I loved meeting
him.
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presents...