Thursday, 4/24/97 Heche erupts in first leading role Actress’
smaller, more challenging parts created solid foundation
By Aimee Phan Daily Bruin Contributor An actress just needs one
break-out film to become a movie star. If the movie is a hit, it
can guarantee her an agent, a fantastic salary and star power. It
can be the ticket to better movie offers, more script selection,
and the end to grueling casting calls and rejections. Anne Heche is
crossing her fingers that "Volcano" will be the film that can
elevate her to movie star status. After leaving her popular
Emmy-award winning role on the daytime drama "Another World," Heche
has been steadily working her way into the film industry, from
roles in independent movies ("Walking and Talking") to supporting
roles in feature films ("Donnie Brasco"), to finally coming into
her own as a leading lady in "Volcano." "I’m hoping ‘Volcano’ will
erupt my career," Heche says. "I’ve made careful decisions to
hopefully build a growing foundation to be able to do character
work. When ‘Volcano’ came along, it was certainly a great
opportunity to say ‘I’ve done a lot of work and now I’m ready to go
out into the world and do something this huge.’" While some
actresses may be impatient to jump from television to movie
stardom, Heche firmly believes that these five years were necessary
for her to build a foundation to become the actress she wanted to
be. "I had no rush for stardom," Heche admits. "It was more
important for me to do the smaller roles that challenged. I picked
things very carefully so that I had a solid foundation as an
actress and not as a star. I didn’t want to build from being a star
and then go backwards to be able to do all kinds of movies. I want
to do all kinds of movies and never be limited." So after
developing an impressive resume of an assortment of characters on
the stage and in films, Heche was finally prepared to play a
leading role in a big-budget studio film. When approached to play
the role of Amy Barnes, a university seismologist who leads the
battle against the volcano, Heche jumped at the chance to prove her
talents to a wider audience. "I knew what this movie could
potentially do for my career in opening people’s eyes to me," Heche
says. "And ‘Volcano’ was something I was very excited about. I was
curious about action movies and always wanted to do one that
honored relationships as well as the beautiful special effects and
I think that the script merges the two in an incredible way."
Another powerful incentive in accepting this already provocative
role was getting the chance to star opposite Oscar winner Tommy Lee
Jones. While Jones does have a reputation for being difficult on
the set, Heche insists that his presence was an excellent role
model for her. "Tommy Lee is fantastic and I credit half of my
performance to him," Heche says. "If it wasn’t for his clarity and
strength, I wouldn’t have the clarity and strength that I have in
the movie. I think people are intimidated by Tommy because he is so
strong and demands that you are as strong as you can be. He does
demand the best of you and it’s refreshing to have somebody who
wanted me to be the best I could be." Jones also had only kind
words for his co-star, who he considered to be a complete
professional whose talent and personality made her very pleasant
and compatible to work with. "She’s a very talented actress," Jones
says. "She understood the script and worked at it and was a real
soldier, always willing to do anything. And she was always in a
good humor who loved to laugh and didn’t take herself or anybody
else too seriously." Another person on the set who was impressed by
Heche’s willingness to do anything for a good shot was director
Mick Jackson, who cast Heche in the leading role after seeing her
performance in "The Juror." "I had seen ‘The Juror’ and she had
such a gutsiness to her," Jackson says. "And I didn’t want a damsel
in distress for the part and I thought she had such a vivacity and
energy to bring to this role. I think she really holds her own
against Tommy, and Tommy can really eat up the screen. I think
great things are in store for her." Heche’s talent for holding her
own against such formidable leading men as Jones will once again be
tested in her next film, "Wag the Dog," a political satire which
also stars Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. The film, directed by
Barry Levinson, will be another step up for this busy actress in
making a name for herself. "The movie is about the president of the
United States getting caught in the closet with a girl scout two
weeks before the election and I play a part that was originally
written for a man, a sort of George Stephanapolous type character,"
Heche says. "Barry asked me to come in for a reading and changed
the third male to a female to see how it played, and it played so
well that in a month we were shooting the movie with me in that
role." While her rise to the top of the leading actresses’ list is
a longtime dream finally achieved by Heche, she does admit there
were many difficult decisions made and lucrative parts turned down
in order to follow the career path that she wanted. She knew that
she had to hold out and not go for the easy money in order to
attain the film career that she desired. "I think one of the
hardest things to do in Hollywood is when you’re offered a big part
with a lot of money and you have to say no," Heche says. "I’ve been
very specific about what I wanted and it finally paid off, but it
did take five years. It’s hard when you have no money and you’re
offered a TV show for 50 grand a week and have to say no. So many
actresses take the parts because it’s so hard to sit and wait and
keep yourself centered on what you want." On the complaint that
there are a serious lack of good roles for women, Heche firmly
believes that in order for that to change, actresses have to take a
stand and refuse to accept the bad roles, even if that means being
out of work for awhile. "I think my career is a great example of
what happens when you’re specific about what you want," Heche says.
"(Back then,) it was more important for me to do the smaller roles
that challenged me and created the foundation I wanted. I think
that there are good parts out there for women and more will come if
women say no to the bad ones." After five years of hard work and
learning acting experiences, Heche admits she is now ready to
pursue the next level of her acting career as a movie star. Her
final goal is to be comfortable in her career to be able to do
anything she wants. "I want to be able to do any part, I want the
scripts to come to me, I want everything," Heche says. "I’m in a
position where I worked five years to be here and I want the
opportunity to be able to go from one part to the next or not take
it if I don’t want to. I just want the joy of this all to continue
and for doors to keep opening for me." Twentieth Century Fox Anne
Heche stars with Tommy Lee Jones in "Volcano."