Movies
Plus, what else the stars learned about herself through her childrens eyes.
Michelle Williams is embodying the role of multidimensional mother, both onscreen and off.
I read that Spielberg envisioned you as Mitzi since seeing you inBlue Valentine.
What was it about that performance that proved to him that you were right for the role?
I really cannot imagine.
Im still flabbergasted that he wanted me to play his beloved mother.
There’s one scene that stuck with me where you and the actor playing Sammy have an explosive argument.
Did your experience parenting a teenager inform that scene at all?
You mean where I hit the kid?
When you were arguing and yelling back and forth.
That was an incredibly hard scene to film for Steven.
What did playing Mitzi teach you about motherhood?
To laugh as often as possible.
What have you learned about yourself through your childrens eyes as a mom?
I learned more about how to love myself.
Mitzi has some things in common with another one of your recent roles, Gwen Verdon inFosse/Verdon.
Are you drawn to these types of roles, which center on this kind of domestic distress?
Youve also played so many women who have struggled in marriage.
What has that taught you about marriage?
Its such a person-to-person relationship.
Its all about who youre in the relationship with.
Mitzi says at one point that movies are dreams that you never forget.
What does that mean to you?
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
