With two new
films in theaters this month, British actress Thandie Newton
gives us a Crash course in versatility.
This October,
Thandie Newton appears onscreen as two disparate divas:
ruthless accountant Stella in Guy Ritchie’s crime
caper RocknRolla and stylish secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice in W, Oliver Stone’s
Bush biopic. Addressing both Ritchie’s alleged
homophobia and the gossip around Rice’s sexual
orientation, the BAFTA Award–winning Crash star
-- who played Tom Cruise’s love interest in
Mission: Impossible II -- also reveals a
recurring theme in her life of lusting after gay
men.
How are you, Thandie?
Yesterday I was in bed all day shivering, so I feel
pretty rubbish.
I hope I can make you feel better.
C’mon, then. Cheer me up.
Well, gays adore you! Are you aware of that fan base?
I’m not aware of any fan base at all, to
be honest -- apart from Germans, who, for some reason,
make me very aware of them. Is it big?
This isn’t called Big Gay Following for nothing.
I love that! I have to admit, I have quite a
large number of gay friends.
Who’s your closest one?
My friend Ford, whom I’m about to have
lunch with. He’s a production designer, and I
met him when he was a property master on Beloved;
we’ve been close ever since. He’s seven foot
tall and gorge. You know what? When I see him at
lunch, I’m going to brag about my big gay
following.
Do you remember when you first realized what it meant to
be gay?
Oh, God, yeah. My godfather is gay, but I was
also a bridesmaid at my cousin Dorothy’s
wedding -- she’s from Zimbabwe -- and she married a
man who we all knew was gay. Even me, and I was 5
years old! A couple of years later they parted
company, and he went off to explore his true calling.
So yeah, it’s very much in my social genes.
Dorothy sounds a bit like your character Stella in RocknRolla.
Yes, [Stella] is married to Bertie, who’s
gay. Women feel very relaxed and comfortable around
gay men. Gay men are more evolved emotionally than
straight men and stronger too, because they’ve had to
make claims that are very often difficult to make in
our social environment. So there’s that
strength and sensitivity we crave. For Stella,
there’s all of that, I imagine, but the fact
that she’s married to this guy is much more of a
tactical move. Also, she doesn’t need a man to
empower her, so what’s the point of
marriage?
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