Julianne Moore: A Singular Woman

When you play a lesbian, do you feel a responsibility to represent the gay community truthfully and respectfully?
Lisa Cholodenko and I talked about that a lot with The Kids Are All Right. It was important for her not to make a politically correct movie. She’s a lesbian, she has a family, and she’s always been out, but that idea of being PC about everything is no longer appealing to her. Thankfully, I really do believe that we’re past all that. You don’t want to be so careful about sexuality that it becomes precious.

What attracted you to that project?
I’ve always loved Lisa’s work, especially Laurel Canyon and High Art. After High Art, I ran into her at some “Women in Film” thing, and I said, “Hey, why didn’t I see that script? You should’ve sent that to me!” Anyway, we got to know each other and wanted to work together. I liked how The Kids Are All Right presented a gay family as a regular family. It’s about two women who’ve been together since college, have children they love, and have the same kind of stresses as any couple.

Any hot action between you and Annette Bening?
[Laughs] Well, yeah, there’s some stuff, I guess. You’ll have to wait and see.

You’ve written two books so far in your Freckleface Strawberry children’s series about a girl learning to live in her own skin. Any plans to tackle gay issues in the future like Heather Has Two Mommies?
In my third book, which is called Freckleface Strawberry and Windy Pants Patrick: Best Friends Forever, Windy Pants Patrick has two moms. My children have plenty of friends who have two mommies or two daddies, so they really believe they have the choice to marry a man or a woman. By the time they’re adults, I hope that’s a reality for everyone.