CHRIS NEUMER: To completely and totally put you on the spot, what is it that you feel you are good at? How do you like that question?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: It’s a hard one because at first you don’t like to dote on yourself and say that you are good, but I feel like I have proven myself at least by being able to continue working. I think all the actresses I knew when I started out when I came out here, I’m really the only one left who didn’t go home and go to college or something like that. I feel like it just comes naturally to me. I feel so comfortable on a set and I feel comfortable getting into a character and settling into it. It just comes easily and it makes it natural for me. I feel I am able to be natural on screen. That’s what I like about my acting performances.
CHRIS NEUMER: Is there a specific type of role or character that you feel is good like for example … are you familiar with the works of Joseph Fiennes?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: Yes.
CHRIS NEUMER: Okay. Nobody, nobody on earth is better at playing sort of the asshole, jilted ex-lover. It’s sort of like you dumped me because I’m an asshole, but you also kind of like me, but I’m also really pathetic at the same time. Nobody is better at that role than Joseph Fiennes. You have a character that is a jilted ex-lover and possibly in a position of power, nobody is doing it better than Joseph Fiennes.
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: That’s true, yes.
CHRIS NEUMER: If you have a woman whose back is against the wall and she needs to take care of business and she is going to freak out until something happens, I don’t think anyone is better than Jodie Foster. Owen Wilson is exceptional at getting people to like him no matter what kind of a scuzzball he is. Is there anything like that that you feel you are particularly good at, in terms of displaying emotions or character types?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: I think that I am … it’s kind of strange because of what I said I loved so much about Uma Thurman’s performance and I don’t think that I am necessarily up to her level at all, but I feel that I have my own version of that which is that people tell me that I have a good blend of innocence and vulnerability and sort of a womanly strength as well. I think that I have the beginnings of at least. I’m still honing my skills and hoping that I’ll be stronger as the years go on, but I think that I have a good start at portraying characters like that.
CHRIS NEUMER: That’s good. I would also have accepted sexy Swedish masseuse.
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: Oh, I should have gone with that one.
CHRIS NEUMER: Well, truly it is a multiple-choice question and there are no wrong answers. Now you’ve been out in Hollywood forever and I’m sure at some point in time you’ve dated some people out there. Have you found that now as you are starting to get leading roles and people are starting to recognize you that this has in any way impacted your personal relationships?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: No, honestly I’ve never dated anyone in Hollywood.
CHRIS NEUMER: Wow!
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: I haven’t. My boyfriend right now, we’ve been together over two and a half years. He actually just moved here from Austin, Texas. So I’ve been spending a lot of time in Austin, Texas the last couple of years whenever I wasn’t working. Before that I was just not into any guys in Hollywood. I spent a lot of my time home with my family and would date guys from back home and that was it.
CHRIS NEUMER: Is home North Carolina home?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: North Carolina and also I lived in Salt Lake City for quite a while.
CHRIS NEUMER: Oh. I mean that like, "Oh, that’s interesting."
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: (laughs) Yeah, I know. That was where a lot of my childhood took place, in Salt Lake City.
CHRIS NEUMER: So your burgeoning fame it hasn’t influenced your relationship much?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: Not at all. We’re just down-to-earth, normal people. We don’t really like going out to clubs or doing the Hollywood scene. We’re really extremely boring and just like to watch movies and go to Barnes and Noble and that’s about it. I feel really normal as far as my social life goes. I don’t think there’s anything glamorous or Hollywood about it.
CHRIS NEUMER: Well you’re 48 so it’s not a big deal I guess. I guess I was just assuming that being from Austin, he was a musician.
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: Actually he is. He has played the bass for a few bands, stuff like that. He’s also a writer and has studied film in school.
CHRIS NEUMER: Good. If there has been one thing that I’ve found out by doing this story, it’s that you’re not supposed to date actors if you are an actor.
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: Yeah, I just don’t see how it would work. I guess a few people have made it work, but typically it doesn’t work.
CHRIS NEUMER: Now I’m asking for your expertise on this. Is there a reason for why you think it may or may not work out?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: I think that, and this is going to sound crazy, but I’m hoping that I’m an exception to this rule. I think, in general, actors in are a little kooky. I think it’s hard to get both of those energies together when there is so much going on with both people that it kind of would clash. It’s so much charisma and so much energy, so much talent. I think sometimes you need to balance it out and have two different worlds come together instead of two from the same.
CHRIS NEUMER: How long have you been with your current agent/manager?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: I have been with my agent for six years.
CHRIS NEUMER: How old were you when you got the agent then?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: Let’s see, I was just turning fifteen.
CHRIS NEUMER: And you don’t have a manager?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: No, I don’t.
CHRIS NEUMER: Have you ever had a manager?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: I did have one briefly, but I didn’t feel like it was worth it
CHRIS NEUMER: Have there been things that your agent has warned you about or steered you toward or away from?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: I think my agent pretty much has the same vision as me, just trying to keep the ball rolling and keep working and trying to find the best role for me. I have a lot of trust in them as far as that goes. But as for steering me away from anything, we haven’t really discussed any of the negative aspects so I think they know that I have a pretty good head on my shoulders so they haven’t had to sit me down and give me advice yet.
CHRIS NEUMER: Is there one part of the acting process–auditioning, pre-production, schmoozing–that you find to be more important in the process, that you weight more heavily than others?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: Important to me or in general?
CHRIS NEUMER: I’ll let you answer both.
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: The importance to me is very high level because it’s my life. It’s acting and working and being able to express myself through that is all I know how to do really so I can’t imagine not being able to do that.
CHRIS NEUMER: But is there something specific … here let me rephrase it slightly. Do you put a lot of emphasis on auditioning or do you put a lot of emphasis on preproduction and crafting things or sitting in front of a mirror and practicing raising an eyebrow?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: I definitely put a lot of emphasis on auditioning. I work tirelessly to get auditions down exactly how I think they should be.
