Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leighis an American actress, writer, producer and director. Leigh began her career as a teenager in the 1970s, guest-starring on several television shows. Her film breakthrough came in 1982 for her performance as Stacy Hamilton in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Leigh continued performing past her teen years, receiving critical praise for her roles in the 1990 films Miami Blues and Last Exit to Brooklyn. In 1991, she appeared in Ron Howard's Backdraft, and in 1992 she acted...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth5 February 1962
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I've had guys, when I've been single, come date me and I've found out they were expecting some kind of whirlwind, some dramatic crazy person-- and that's just not me. I'd much rather be in a movie that people have really strong feelings about than one that makes a hundred million dollars but you can't remember because it's just like all the others.
I've always done roles that really appealed to me on a gut level and which I found inspiring.
It's very exciting to work with people who inspire you.
One of the reasons that I do a lot of different kinds of pictures is because I learn a lot when I'm doing them.
When I find a role I want to play, I just go after it.
Writing, producing and directing, I must say, is incredibly satisfying and gratifying.
I feel like I turned down a lot of things that I wish I hadn't. But you never know when you're younger. I don't have regrets about certain things I turned down. Those films would have required things of me that would have been challenging, and they ended up being really good movies. But I was never a careerist, I never thought in those terms. I'd be like, "Oh, I'm tired. I don't want to work."
I like a movie that the audience actively has to participate in, and not just casually observe. Whatever my part in it, just as an audience member, I find that exciting.
I worked with great, brilliant directors. I've been so lucky. It's terrible to compare anyone, because you can't. But I can just tell you that this experience was just a truly magnificent experience for everyone involved.
For me, something dangerous would be playing thebabe in a huge studio film. That would be terrifying because I'dstink... I want to explore human beings on as deep a level as I can.
I like to investigate all different kinds of people, I guess, and find out what makes them who they are, and try to be honest in the portrayal, and truthful, and find out how to understand that person, how to communicate that person's experience.
Quentin's [Tarantino] thing is "I don't want anybody to get up until they have to. So, because he really wants things to come organically. And he may have specific things like "No, this ... I want you to be here so that when he punches you, it falls. I want that action to happen here." But you feel like it does, all the blocking does come from an organic response to the material.
You know, you really do choose your existence in a way.
People equate success with youth. And if you haven't had a certain amount of success by a certain time in your life, it's never going to happen. There's a fear about that. So people start lying about their age really young. I've never done that because I think it's so insignificant.