Interview: Abbie Cornish

Monday, 12 December 2011 14:19

Playing a celebrity aficionado when you’re a silver-screen goddess may be like being a surgeon on the operating table.

But for 29-year-old Aussie Abbie Cornish, the chance to be directed by Madonna—even if it meant playing a celeb-obsessed American infatuated with British royalty—was an opportunity Abbie was not going to pass up. Abbie plays Wally, a modern-day New Yorker obsessed with the controversial love story of Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII.

You might recognize femme fatale from such diverse films as the action-fantasy Sucker Punch or from period drama Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The actress has been “connected to” Stop-Loss co-star Ryan Phillippe, Candy costar Heath Ledger and possibly even Josh Hartnett. During this conversation, Abbie plays hide-and-seek, touching on men, movies, passion and her complicated past.  

By Prairie Miller

What was it like having Madonna as your director on W.E.?
She's just a natural director; it's in her blood. Madonna is such a force and such an amazing woman if she puts her mind to something. So this was an incredible experience for me. She knows just what she wants and just what she needs.

What's it like being an actor?
You always want to have a journey you can go on. You know, sink your teeth in and get your hands dirty.

How did you become interested in movies and acting, having grown up in a rural area?
I didn't become interested in cinema as a kid. Where I grew up, it was 170 acres. It was a really, really small town. For gasoline, you had to drive to the next town. There were schools and a pub down the road, and that was it. But it was amazing and I loved it.

RELATED—Interview: Madonna

To get to the cinema, it was about a 15 or 20 minute drive. When I was a kid, we had only five television channels in Australia at that time. But one of them would play foreign films.
I was always a night owl. I grew up in a big family with four brothers and sisters. But for some reason, at midnight I was the only one awake in the house. So I would watch foreign language European films in the middle of the night. In the mornings, I would sit with my brothers for hours and just watch music video after music video.

It wasn't until I became an actor that I came to understand it more and be more interested in it. I still feel like I have a lot to learn about the process of filmmaking.

How do you take on sex scenes?
I don't like thinking about them too much. Just let it come, you know, organically.

Would you do anything for love?
Love is something that everyone should experience once in their lives.

What are your memories of costar and fellow Aussie Heath Ledger?
He was a great friend of mine. I had never met anyone like him. He had such an open, generous and magical spirit. He was so filled with light. Just to look in his eyes, and to see him smile—he was incredibly unique. Everything just flowed with him, and everything was this constant discovery.

How are you dealing with fame?
Sometimes I get funny looks from people on the streets. But it's more that look like, “Did I go to school with you?” Or, “Where do I know that girl from?”

On the flip side, is it a bummer when your movies don't do well?
You make a film with your heart and soul, and you don't even think about what's going to happen with it. The process of making a film is where all the energy goes. And that's what is really important.

If you're passionate about it, you pour yourself into it, and you're surrounded by people doing the same thing. So it doesn't matter. I don't really think in those terms.

RELATED—Interview: Michelle Williams

What goes into your choice of roles?
I make choices based on my instinct, and on the story, the character and the people I'll be working with. The more I work, the more important I feel are the people you work with.  
I've developed relationships with those people that I will take with me for the rest of my life. Sometimes I call it work, and sometimes I call it play.

What do you want for yourself in the future?
I can’t think or plan too far ahead. I prefer to stay in the moment.

Great, thanks.
Cheers! Thank you.

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