«My private life is nobody's affair»

 By Richard Gianorio, Madame Figaro, 2011

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In her suite at Le Meurice, Robin Wright turns like a caged lion. This little overexcited pixie fights jet lag with champagne, laughs and French cheese. Officially divorced from Sean Penn after fourteen stormy years of marriage, the actress goes reluctantly out of the shadow of her illustrious husband, returns to the public arena and discovers a freedom she considers surely with a sense of vertigo mixed with apprehension. She is yet far from being free of weapons : a strong personality, an undeniable talent - we have never understood why the Cannes Film Festival had not given her the Best Actress award for She's So Lovely in 1997 - and a enormous potential of sympathy at women. Three reasons among others that make the house Gerard Darel to choose her as the face of its new campaign soberly shot by the master Peter Lindbergh, who adores her.

Robin Wright, anti-star by nature, famous for having refused movies that have made the fame and fortune of others, deserted Los Angeles and her vanities, the time to raise her two children, Dylan, 20, and Hopper, 17 years. She comes from Hollywood and rolled up her sleeves : she linked some prestigious participations, with Robert Redford (The Conspirator) or David Fincher (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo). Proudly assuming her age (45 years old) and her lack of cosmetic surgery, this unusual American actress touches as much by her desire to never lower her guard as by her fragility and her speech tinged with disenchantment. A wounded woman ? We do not know, any allusion to her beloved ex-husband having for immediate effect to lead to an automatic locking and to hide her beautiful blue eyes with a menacing shadow. Meeting with a strong head of exemplary dignity.

You're back with a series of movies, some famous directors (Robert Redford, David Fincher) and some ad hoc partners (Brad Pitt). A comeback in force ?

I'm not in the deep end, I've never been in it, but I just followed up some collaborations of quality, which fulfills me. With Fincher for example, it was crazy, an incredible experience. I am blessed to continue to work at 45 years old : my agents really do a great job. (She laughs.)

Your career is unusual, however...

This is exactly what I have expected, and I could not have conceived this job otherwise. There are many people on the market, and many actors are left on the floor. I am grateful to life for getting parts that could have been attributed to others... Competition is fierce, but I've always said we were made for a character or not. This reasoning did not always been profitable to me : these last twenty years, I have often declined film proposals thinking that I would not be at the level of them. Was I right ? I do not know. But I happened to be afraid.

Listening to you, it seems that ambition was not part of the program...

When I decided to become an actress, I also thought that I would have to last. I never fantasized about the instant superstars, those who align all the films and cultivate their huge fame. I have considered and isolated the projects the one after the other, and my questions became a line of conduct, if not a life condition. I look my way as a succession of emotional seasons. At each chapter, I ask myself the same questions : where are you now ? what do you want ? what do you wish ? what are you capable of ? Sometimes you accept a film because you have to earn money, but more often it is for art.

What was happening in the mind of this young girl born in Texas and raised in San Diego ?

I thought I would dedicate my life to humanitarian organizations. I could see myself as a nurse in Africa or elsewhere in refugee camps. What happened to me ? (She laughs.) I do not know what happened... I did some modeling to make money when someone had to say : "You should play, miss..."

What do you remember this experience as a model ?

It was awful. I was 17, I was a second-class model. I was too small to march, but I did a lot of catalogues, beauty and lingerie pictures. I even posed for La Redoute ! I worked in Paris, Milan, Munich. I do not remember exactly, but I know that the experience was traumatic. It is a brutal and totally unfair competition, since it is not based on talent, but only on physique : you are not treated as a woman, but as a specimen. I ran the castings to hear that I did not have good teeth, good legs and not the wrong butt. You are 17 years old and you think : is that the world ? This is completely destructive. I has hardened me and moved me away from vanities.

Then there was the soap Santa Barbara, who made you famous...

Oh ! It's another world, another life. It was twenty-five years ago. I hardly remember... Not that I erased it from my memory, but it's very far away. What I can say is that I was very happy to have a recurring role that allowed me to learn all the tricks of the job and techniques to memorize miles of texts. And then I shot the movie The Princess Bride (in 1987), and they liquidate my character in Santa Barbara before resurrecting it since I contractually had to finish the season... It's all so far ! (She laughs.)

It was during those years that you became a celebrity...

I was never a celebrity and I'm still not, thank you God ! I have always fiercely defended my private life. When I see the fate reserved to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, two great human beings, I'm angry. Leave them alone ! And when we dare say that the violation of privacy is part of the package, I fly off the handle. Promotion, red carpets ? O.K. My Privacy ? No way ! It's nobody's business, especially not a bunch of fanatic piranhas... God thank you, I did not know that.

However, you are exposed as a Darel ambassador. Do you enjoy to be a beauty muse ?

A beauty muse ? Please ! Some mornings, I do look like nothing, even if I'm like everyone else and that I want to be found pretty. And like everyone else too, I would like to be different. To have nice breasts, for example...

It is possible...

I will never do that ! I prefer to stay with my ugly little tits... (She laughs.) I had breasts before the birth of my children, and then presto ! they disappeared...

You are perfect...

Please ! I'm 45, and it's hard to grow old. You wake up one morning and discover a wrinkle that was not there yesterday. What to do ? To welcome it ! (She laughs.) I will never make a face lift, I will never touch my lips. When I see it on other women, it terrifies me and makes me want to cry.

Can a non-retouched actress continue to work in the United States ?

I'll tell you soon... But look at Annette Bening : she is fabulously 50 years old. The worst part of this story is that these new physical condition the audience's look : soon they will hide their eyes when they discover a wrinkle in their families. Maybe we should go to live in Africa ! (She smiles.)

Do you feel American ?

I am a Californian who loves Europe. I'd love to live here. To play with Yvan Attal, who is a friend. I like the way you live. In America, you work day and night and you have lunch in your car. I love the idea of ​​taking my time, even if the French talk too much : they say in a quarter of an hour what an American summed up in one sentence. You like to listen to you, don't you ? (She laughs.)

You don't ! It seems that you hate interviews...

You can not imagine how ! I hate talking about myself. And this is not always a service to actors than to let them talk. Sometimes I read an interview of Mr. So-and-so, I do not like his answers, I do not like his views or what he stands for, and, as a result, I would almost not want to consider his work and go to see his movies anymore, which is unfair. And you know it, basically, all these interviews, it's just some disguised "gossiping". What do journalists want to take from us ? Gossip and indiscretions, nothing else...

You obviously have temperament. About you, the filmmakers evoke a big inner strength...

I'm strong to some degree. Sometimes it's just automatic piloting. I can be vulnerable or even with no will. For example, I am unable to stop smoking, I'll probably never stop, and it is a weakness. My strength, however, is the understanding of others. I can not share a point of view, but I'm always in acceptance. It is a gym that I constantly practice : learning to be positive. I rely a lot on hope and faith. I hope to one day make a profit of it that would take the form of harmony or a semblance of harmony...