The Craft put Robin Tunney on the map -- and scored her a slew of lesbian fans. Now starring on CBS's The Mentalist, Tunney says her "Fuck Maxim" attitude would probably cost her the part if The Craft were being made today.
Tunney in The Secret Lives of Dentists
If you were a teenager in the '90s, it wasn't vampires you were obsessed with but witches. And your obsession was due to the movie The Craft and its star Robin Tunney. In the film four girls form a modern-day coven, complete with talk of boys, clothes shopping, and sleepovers -- until one of them takes it a little too far and goes to the dark side. Tunney has had dozens of roles since then but will always be remembered as the girl who uses magic for good to defend her school. All grown up now, Tunney stars as the take-no-prisoners cop opposite Simon Baker in the hit series The Mentalist. But with the Blu-ray release of The Craft this month, we decided to chat with the actress about her witchy past, why she has always been a lesbian icon, and why she never got around to hooking up with a woman.
Tunney: I am so sorry I was late for our call. I was on a photo shoot that went over.
Advocate.com: How was it?
It was good. I mean, they basically made me look like a really expensive hooker.
What were you shooting?
It was for Allure, and it was Michael Thompson so it was one of those, they really want to make you look different, so it was lots of hair and makeup. It was fun.
The last time I saw you, we were sharing adjoining rooms at Sundance when you were there promoting The Secret Lives of Dentists.
Yes, I remember. That was so much fun. I love [director] Alan Rudolph. He is such a good guy.
I didn't realize you had made another movie with him, Investigating Sex, a pretty racy film where you play a sexually charged stenographer.
That is because they never come out [laughs]. I have done two. I would love to do more. I would work with him any day. He is such a gentle soul and he loves actors, and at times he gives you enough rope to hang yourself with but you just love him for it. He is old-school and he likes the process of making movies. He has that Altman thing where he is not obsessed with making movies that are going to work for everyone. He is so '70s. I wish I was around in the '70s.
Well, while not from the '70s, The Craft is out on Blu-ray this month. I don't know if you are over The Craft at this point…
The director of it [Andrew Fleming] has become like a brother to me. I spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with him and his boyfriend and they are like family to me. So I love The Craft.
It is inescapable for you. On Wikipedia the first line in the entry about you says that you are best known for The Craft. And funny enough, on Amazon.com there is a list of “Must-have lesbian movies” with The Craft at number 11.
[Laughs] Really?
Yes. It is above Boys Don't Cry!
That is so awesome. It was one of those movies that was obviously directed by a gay man because he was totally comfortable making a movie where girls were empowered and it wasn't about the conquest with boys, and he hired four girls that now would never get hired. He wasn't obsessed with the aesthetics and how big the girls' boobs were. So I think that is why lesbians like it [laughs]. I think generally people in Hollywood don't like to make three-dimensional women. I don't think they are comfortable with it.
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