CHRIS NEUMER: What I’m doing is this: we’re talking to actresses who are making waves. I hate to call it a "rising star" piece because that sort of has a pejorative connotation to it that this article doesn’t have. It’s sort of a look inside the behind the scene aspects of rising actresses. If I wanted to find out what Angelina Jolie is doing, I can go to 90,000 different sources and see what it’s like to be Angelina Jolie now that she is big and now that she has all the money and all the adopted kids and all that. But if I want to find out what’s going on with the actresses who are primed to be the next Angelina Jolie in another 5 to 7 years, I’ve got nowhere to go. So I decided that I was going to write that article.
TINA MAJORINO: Awesome.
CHRIS NEUMER: So that’s where you come in. I must admit that I was fascinated by this because … I’ve done these articles where I interview 6 or 8 people on a certain subject before and I’ve never gotten to ask the same set of questions again and again. This is one of the first stories where I actually get to ask say 3 or 4 of the same questions to see what the differing responses are to them from the different people and I’m kind of enjoying that. Then I started thinking about the idea of a filmmaker doing the same thing. If you had 5 directors and they were all trying to work on the same script, like maybe you have a French director, you have Kevin Smith and you’ve got David Lynch and they are all working with the same 8-page treatment. I started wondering, as an artist is that anything you would ever want to get into?
TINA MAJORINO: Directing?
CHRIS NEUMER: No, just working on a project that is something that… you know Kevin Smith is going to be doing something that is very similar to it… as an actress would that be an exciting challenge for you?
TINA MAJORINO: I think that when I look at projects in general, if anything is a good role, I’ll look at it. The exciting thing for me with any project is the prospect of being challenged in some sort of way. I think that would be an exciting turn of events. If it could offer up a challenge for me, that would be something that I would do. That’s what I look for each day when I’m looking to do a project.
CHRIS NEUMER: I realize it’s an out of left field question to start you off with, but it was what I was thinking about and so I am curious. So it’s more about the role than the big picture?
TINA MAJORINO: Yes. Whether it’s a big budget project or whether it’s a low budget project, it doesn’t really matter on what scale it is to me if it’s got good character fibers. That’s pretty much what I base my decisions on.
CHRIS NEUMER: Just to sort of fine-tune that question a little bit. Now the role is the most important thing? Suppose there was a really good role, a really good character that you hadn’t played before but it’s in a horrifically formulaic teen comedy versus a not so great role, it is what it is, but it’s in a very great project. Is there a certain appeal to the role over the big picture of the project or is it all things combined?
TINA MAJORINO: That’s hard because it’s … that’s the hard thing about being an actress because when you are choosing projects, you don’t want to commit to any project that’s going to type-cast you in any way. So even if you are intrigued by a certain character, let’s say in one of those G.D. teen movies, that’s part of the decision: do I really want to step into that genre? And what if I get stuck? For me, yeah, the role is a big part, but you bring up a good point that the project has to be of good quality as well.
CHRIS NEUMER: Let me ask you this. I will always admit this to whatever actor I am talking to. I don’t have the first clue as to how you do what you do. I can’t even lie to people. I can’t get my head into that space. When it gets to be that you guys can cry on command and look horrified on command, it’s like drumming. I look at these people and I am so impressed by what you can do because I can’t do it at all. It seems to me just common sense, couldn’t you do any role in any movie once without getting typecast?
TINA MAJORINO: It’s something that you can do once and get type-cast because I think the audience can see you in a role and get comfortable with you in that role. They like you in that role and they want to continue seeing you in that role. It’s interesting because after I did Napoleon Dynamite you go into casting sessions and they all think that I am really nerdy and that I really wear side ponytails. I think that’s just human nature that you see somebody in one aspect and it’s kind of hard to imagine them in a different one.
CHRIS NEUMER: I will say that’s true for the people in Iowa, but if you are a casting director, I’m not going to afford you the same liability there.
TINA MAJORINO: Well it’s hard with casting directors because you think that they wouldn’t do that, but most of the time they do. That’s part of the challenge of the job, constantly proving yourself to be what these people need for their projects. That’s why it’s quite a challenge every day.
CHRIS NEUMER: Yes, I can see that. I’m trying to think about people actually thinking about you being nerdy based upon Napoleon Dynamite. Are you ever tempted to say, "That’s not what I do best. What I do best is I play characters who have maps on their back." Is there anything like that, sort of like a sarcastic joke to them?
TINA MAJORINO: I’m always tempted to, even if it’s not a sarcastic remark. Sometimes you want to look at them and be like, "Really, was that right now? Are you really going to think that I’m like that because I had a job portraying someone else? I don’t know. Sometimes you want to smack them and say, "No, that’s not who I am."
CHRIS NEUMER: Yes! Whenever people bring that up, it’s fascinating. It always reminds me of this, my absolute funniest casting story. I was talking to Jeremy Piven and he had mentioned that he had gone out for a role, he had gone into an audition. I can’t remember what project it was. He didn’t get the role and the casting director said that they were looking for a Jeremy Piven-type.
TINA MAJORINO: Oh, my God!
CHRIS NEUMER: When he didn’t get it, he said he didn’t know what to say. He started left, he started right, he stopped talking and he said, "You’re looking for me. I’m here. I’m the best Jeremy Piven type there is."
TINA MAJORINO: "I am Jeremy Piven."
CHRIS NEUMER: Exactly. I thought this is a tough, tough thing and I can use it to segue into my next question. How do you keep yourself motivated, how do you keep yourself high and pushing forward through setbacks that you suffer?
TINA MAJORINO: I try to remember every day the reason that I got into the business in the first place. The reason that I started was because I like the idea of being able to portray people that if I had met them in real life, because I know that a lot of my characters are real people, I wanted to be able to make them feel like they weren’t invisible in the world. I know what that’s like when you are sitting there and nobody really cares and nobody really sees me. I feel that if those people watch one of my films or whatever project I’m doing and they can relate to me, it will probably make them feel better about just being themselves and being alive. I think that’s really important for humanity that we connect in that sense. So instead of worrying too much about what people are going to be thinking about me on an every-day basis in auditions or in the crap that you get every single day or the jobs that you don’t get. I try to remind myself of that and I also try to remind myself that whatever is meant to be will be and that there is enough work out there for everyone. So the projects that I’m meant to be doing can never be taken away from me; that’s just how it’s going to go. So even in the dry spells or when I feel completely flabbergasted by the things that I hear from producers, directors, casting directors, just try to put it in perspective and say, "Hey, whatever because there is something better."
CHRIS NEUMER: I would be the worst actor in the world at auditions. I would probably get physically violent and then I’d hold grudges. I would last about an afternoon in the acting world before being completely blacklisted. Now I’m not looking for dirt, but you mentioned that you have to put aside some of the things that producers and casting directors say or the crazy stuff that goes on. Is there anything specific that comes to mind when you think about this?
TINA MAJORINO: I’m not going to use names just because… A lot of the time being a woman in the business is always about what’s hot right now.
CHRIS NEUMER: Hot like metaphorically cool or hot like good looking?
TINA MAJORINO: Well, both. If it’s really in to have hips and you don’t have hips, then you are not hot enough. They have no problem telling you that or that you need to lose 10 pounds or if you would lose 10 pounds, you would be a lot hotter or you’d be a lot prettier or your ears are too big.
CHRIS NEUMER: Have you been told that your ears are too big?
TINA MAJORINO: I’ve never been told that my ears are too big, but I have been told that I need to be skinnier. It’s always a matter of being skinnier. When you go out for a lot of pilots or if you go out for a lot of TV shows, there’s a definite cookie cutter image that they are looking for and if you don’t fit it, they definitely don’t have a problem telling you. That’s hard to deal with every day because I think in general everyone has their self-esteem issues and their bad days when they don’t feel that they look good. If you go into an audition and have someone tell you that you don’t, that’s kind of heartbreaking. I think that you just have to try and brush it off and put it into perspective. If you want to continue working and I do, I do this for the right reasons which is because I love my work and I love the craft and I …
CHRIS NEUMER: Hate money.
TINA MAJORINO: Well…
CHRIS NEUMER: I say it facetiously, but continue.
TINA MAJORINO: I just love my job. I love everything about it even the weird, mean things that happen. It’s just that when you’re on a set and you’re working and immersed in the scene, it kind of makes all of that worth it. So I try to remember that when people are giving me crap.
CHRIS NEUMER: Now you mentioned the cookie-cutter form that people like and I have a very decent sort of picture in my head of what that is. Is it something that you are tempted to try and conform to or is it something where you are like, "I wish you could have told me that ahead of time so I wouldn’t have driven all the way down here for this?"
TINA MAJORINO: Most of the time it’s, "I wish that I would never have driven down here. I wish that you would have told me that so I wouldn’t have driven all the way down here." I love far, far from LA so it’s always like an hour, an hour and a half drive. I’m never really tempted to conform to that because even though you want to work you want to be successful, I still have to live with myself every day when I’m not on a set or doing an audition. I’m just not into conforming to make everyone else happy. You either get me or you don’t. If you don’t, that’s cool and I’ll move on to the next person who will. I feel that the whole image thing in Hollywood is so fickle anyway that the next minute it could be something else. As soon as you conform to become what’s hot right now, that changes and then you are screwed. It’s better to stick to who you are and I’d like to believe that most of the work that I’ve been doing isn’t about what I look like anyway. I’ve been pretty good about picking roles that the people I work with on those roles are not choosing me for image sake only.
CHRIS NEUMER: Attempting to explain this concept to people who don’t work in the entertainment industry is so interesting. Every once in a while when I’m out in LA I’ll be somewhere and bump into an actress I know. I’ll be with a friend of mine who works for eBay or who is an accountant and the actress will start complaining about how people keep turning her down for roles because she is too good looking. As soon as she starts saying something like this–and this has happened at least three times to me–I instantly look to my friend and then enjoy the look on their faces. This never happens anywhere else. You’ll hear some six-foot tall attractive blonde who weighs about 85 pounds complain that they told her she was too attractive to play this child molester and she has really been down about it all week. At a certain point in time it’s sort of what you are describing. It’s such a unique twist on everything that most people never experience.
TINA MAJORINO: Yes and that’s what makes it hard as well. Once you start getting successful within this business, it’s kind of hard to find friends because it’s hard to continue on friendships with people that you had in your life before you became successful because they just don’t understand. It’s not that you wouldn’t see how they couldn’t because it is kind of weird, it’s a matter of relating and how can you relate to that? That’s just weird, they’re never going to get it. You know what I mean? Unless you experience it first hand, it just seems like some kind of silly story.
CHRIS NEUMER: Yeah and it also seems like it could serve to alienate you as an actress from your constituency if you would. "What is she talking about now? God, listen to her go." It’s interesting you say that because one of the standard questions that I was working in here is, is there anything that has happened in your professional life and with the degree of success that you’ve had, that has affected your personal relationships?
TINA MAJORINO: Yes, absolutely. I think it affects those relationships every single day. I think it’s hard enough for men to want to date women who make more money than they do. That’s a huge deal. I’ve never dated actors before, because I don’t really hang out with actors. I’m not one of those people that likes hang out with people that I’ve worked with or whatnot. I’m not saying that I’m not friends with them but the people that I hang out with every day have nothing to do with the business. So when you make that your dating pool, again it’s hard for your friends to understand it, then when you are trying to date someone who has never been within the business, it’s really hard for them to understand. It alienates you completely because you are trying to relate on a subject that is never going to be relatable to them. On top of that, being on set or being gone for long periods of time… There are a lot of aspects of this career that make it even more difficult to date people. There are a lot of guys that need constant reminders that you are around and it’s scary to send your girlfriend off for three months to another state, another country, another city where she will be working with other good looking guys. There are so many different things that make it a nerve-wracking situation for people that I’ve dated. It definitely affects it a lot.
CHRIS NEUMER: I think that I’m just too lazy to get worked up about a lot of that stuff, but I hear you. It seems one of the things that I’ve noticed is a common trend is that not dating actors when you are an actress yourself is almost a Godsend, especially if you are starting to get big. If you are dating an actor and both of you are about the same level and then you start experiencing success and he doesn’t or vice versa, it seems like that could put a real rift in between the two of you, thanks to the resentment.
TINA MAJORINO: Right and I’ve always been brought up that it’s really not a good idea to date someone who does the same thing as you because, regardless if someone is going to admit to being jealous or not, jealousy is an innate human behavior. You’re right on with that, if we’re both at the same place at one time, that’s going to be great and we’re going to be happy for each other. If in that instance I grow up more than he does or I grow up and he doesn’t at all, of course there’s going to be competition and jealousy and resentment. There’s enough crap that you have to deal with in life every single day that that’s not something that I’m interested in adding to the mix.
CHRIS NEUMER: More strife, yeah.
TINA MAJORINO: It’s just not worth it. I’m not going to say that I’m never going to date someone who does the same thing as me, but that kind of narrows everything down. I feel like whenever you say that I’m never going to do this, it always ends up happening.
CHRIS NEUMER: I sometimes say I’m never going to do this just hoping that it will happen.
TINA MAJORINO: (laughs) Yeah! Because it always works like that; as soon as you say never, it does. I always try to keep that in mind when it comes to having a meaningful relationship. You try to be with someone who can bring something different to the table. You want someone you can relate to and who can relate to what you are doing, but you also don’t want to be talking about acting at the dinner table. That’s not interesting to me. I don’t want to go on a date and have the guy be like, "Well I went on this audition today." That’s the same thing that you hear every day. You want to talk about something that’s real, something that’s valid in real life. I definitely have a real life outside of acting. Acting isn’t everything which is exactly why I took five years off. I needed that time to hang out.
CHRIS NEUMER: What do you call that, the smartest thing that you have ever done?
TINA MAJORINO: Oh, absolutely.
CHRIS NEUMER: I think that’s the quote I’ve seen a number of times from you. Are there boundaries that you have set in your career when looking at projects? This extends for the next twelve months. Are there things like, "I’m not doing nudity" or "I won’t do commercials" or "I won’t work with kids" or "I won’t star against Sean William Scott", anything like that?
TINA MAJORINO: I won’t do nudity. I don’t do commercials anymore. I haven’t done commercials since I was six. Nudity is the biggest thing. I just won’t do that and that extends forever. I just won’t do it.
CHRIS NEUMER: Again, I probe gently because I realize this is one of those sticky areas. Is there a specific reason for this, that goes beyond a certain comfort level?
TINA MAJORINO: This is my specific reason, I’m not saying it applies to everyone. The reason that I won’t do nudity is because there’s going to be a time when I won’t be acting, when I’m older and will have children. I don’t want my kids coming home from school one day and saying that their friend brought in a video tape on which they see my bare ass. I just don’t want to put out that message for my kids. I don’t want my kids to be seeing that. I don’t. The film is definitely forever. A choice like that that might have felt right at the time, I could look back on and think, "Why did I do that?" Now my kids are going to see it and my husband’s going to see it and my dad’s going to see it.
CHRIS NEUMER: And lord knows what kind of technology there’s going to be twenty years in the future. They might come home one and bring a 3-D hologram of you talking dirty.
TINA MAJORINO: Absolutely. I don’t want any kind of success in my career to be based on my body or my willingness to show it. I think that, again, the reason that I got into the business was not to show myself off, but to show my chops as an actor, as somebody who can portray other people and make it believable. Nudity has never been anything that I’ve been willing to do. I just don’t want that on film forever.
CHRIS NEUMER: Makes sense to me. Well that’s why I don’t do it, or if I do do it, I make sure that the cameras are off.
TINA MAJORINO: Yeah, or that they don’t have film in them.
CHRIS NEUMER: That’s right. Have there been any things that your agents or managers have I don’t want to say warned you about, but sort of steered you from, be it teenage comedies or horror films or road trip films involving strippers?
TINA MAJORINO: What’s really great about the people that I work with now is that I made sure that when I hired them on when we all started working together is that they all had a very clear picture of who I am as a person because on a certain level I do believe that choosing projects reflects your morality. I didn’t want to do anything that I couldn’t live with as Tina the person, just this persona that I have as an actress.
CHRIS NEUMER: If I could just interrupt you here. I don’t want to derail your train of thought, but is there a project that you can think of that you haven’t done that is something you’d look at and go, "Oh, I would not have been happy with that choice."
TINA MAJORINO: If you mean…
CHRIS NEUMER: Just a specific. Like anything opposite Steven Seagal or…
TINA MAJORINO: Oh, yeah. I couldn’t do a Steven Seagal movie. I definitely wouldn’t do a Steven Seagal movie. Yeah, that would be one that I would just be like, "No."
CHRIS NEUMER: Okay.
TINA MAJORINO: Nothing against Steven Seagal because I’ve never met the guy. Just, you know.
CHRIS NEUMER: I am convinced he would make a great interview, but you were saying about working with your team to figure out who you are in the morality of the roles that you pick.
TINA MAJORINO: I think that they pretty much know what I’m willing to do and what I’m not willing to do. There’s not anything that they necessarily warn me about because they pretty much give me all the material that they get and then they just say, "Choose whatever it is that you want." There have been times when we bicker about things; they think that I should do it and I don’t want to do it and then I go in on the audition anyway. It’s always good to have people in your life who you know have your back and they want you to make the right decision for your career and will argue with you about it, rather than letting you pass up an opportunity that would be good. They’ve never argued with me on, "We think you should play a slutty cheerleader." They’ve never argued with me about that kind of stuff. We always just look for quality roles.
