Patricia Clarkson talks shop in Katonah
Chris Serico • The Journal News • May 18, 2010
Academy Award nominee and two-time Emmy winner Patricia Clarkson has thrived on delivering memorized lines for her roles, but she’ll have to improvise when she takes questions from a Katonah audience on Thursday.
Oscar-nominated for her performance in “Pieces of April,” Clarkson will be joined by author-journalist Michael Gross (who wrote the best-selling “Model,” and “740 Park,” and contributes to Travel & Leisure magazine) for the Katonah Village Library’s recurring CrossTalk event, which poses questions to two experts in unrelated fields. Ticket proceeds benefit children’s programs at the library and the Katonah Museum.
“It’s usually the literati who show up here and not the glitterati,” says Clarkson, 50. “I do have to share a stage with Michael Gross, which is intimidating, but I will try to hold my own. I’ll be wearing a very short skirt.”
A frequent visitor to Katonah, Clarkson says one of her good friends, Gina Keir, a former museum staff member, recruited her for the event. Clarkson couldn’t appear at a CrossTalk event eight months ago — in fairness, she’s in four films to be released this year — but she’s going to give it another go.
“The majority of the evening is the audience asking questions, which I find liberating,” she says.
A true actor’s actor, Clarkson is celebrated for the gravitas she brings to her dramatic work (“Six Feet Under” and “The Station Agent”) and the whimsy she expresses through wild characters in comedies (“Whatever Works” and “Saturday Night Live’s” “Motherlover” music video). Her real-life persona reflects both of these attributes — proud of her impressive accomplishments yet quick-wittedly self-effacing.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Clarkson showed a passion for acting since second grade, when she was in her school’s Thanksgiving show.
“I was a Pilgrim, and I had to say, ‘Oh, brother John’ — that was my one line — and I screwed it up,” she laughs.
She continued to act in school productions, then enrolled at Louisiana State University. Two years later, she transferred to Fordham University’s College at Lincoln Center to study theater arts.
“I wanted to go to New York to study acting, and my parents said, ‘Well, no, you can’t just go to New York. You have to finish your bachelor’s,’” she says. “It wound up being the greatest place, ever, for me to go.”
Eight months after earning her master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama’s graduate program, she got her first big break with “The House of Blue Leaves” on Broadway. Within another three months, she scored the role of Catherine Ness — the wife of Kevin Costner’s Eliot Ness — in the 1987 movie “The Untouchables.”
“I was lucky,” she says. “I was very lucky. It was a nice moment, but they were great breaks.”
Not only has she been working steadily ever since, but she has a knack for working with Oscar-caliber talent in critical favorites, including “The Green Mile,” “Far From Heaven,” “Miracle,” “The Station Agent,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” and two Woody Allen films, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Whatever Works.”
She says her Oscar nod for “Pieces of April” didn’t dramatically change her career path.
“It opened more doors for me, but I don’t know being nominated ever completely changes your life,” she says.
One of her most celebrated performances came as a recurring character on HBO’s “Six Feet Under.” Clarkson snagged two Emmys for playing Sarah O’Connor, the artsy, free-spirited sister of matriarch Ruth Fisher (Frances Conroy).
“Franny Conroy, Kathy Bates and Peter Krause — they were remarkable actors to work with — and Lauren Ambrose (and Michael C. Hall),” Clarkson says. “It was one of the highlights of my career to be a part of that show.”
Television has also showcased Clarkson’s comic chops. She and recent Pound Ridge resident Susan Sarandon made cameos in a “Saturday Night Live” digital short, “Motherlover,” in which they were the objects of Oedipal affection for Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake.
“They asked me to be a part of it,” she says. “I was hesitant at first, but now I’m so glad I’m a Motherlover. … They’re dreamy. They’re really lovely young men. They just happen to be incredibly cute and talented.”
Because Clarkson has been so busy, 2010 might be her most prolific year to date. After completing work in Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island,” she filmed “Cairo Time” with Alexander Siddig; “Legendary” with Danny Glover and John Cena; and “Easy A” with Emma Stone and North Salem resident Stanley Tucci.
“Cairo Time” is a dramatic love story filmed in its namesake city. Clarkson, who gets top billing, is excited for its release, slated for August.
“It’s just a film I’m incredibly proud of,” she says.
She plays maternal figures in the drama “Legendary,” slated for September release, and the screwball comedy “Easy A,” whose release date might match up with the start of the school year.
“I have a crazy August-September ahead of me, but it’s a good crazy,” she says, “I can’t ever complain about anything.”
