‘Just to wake up and hear the birds, you don’t hear planes, trains or cars … nothing. You only hear nature. ‘
Almost alone, at 8,000 feet in the remote Canadian wilderness, actress Robin Wright ventures into nature, rather than the Washington wilderness. “Maybe because we weren’t outside much on a ‘House of Cards’ stage for six years,” she said.
“Ever?” correspondent Lee Cowan asked.
“Like, never! Let’s just really take off and go to the other end of the spectrum!” she laughed.
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Wright’s newest character is a broken woman who leaves everything she knows behind and retreats to a mountaintop in her new movie “Land.. “
“What we’ve seen over the past four years only encouraged more meanness in the world,” she said. “And I just wanted to make a movie about human kindness.”
And do you think this is ultimately what this is about?
“I do.”
Not only does Wright star in the movie, she also directs it.
Cowan said, “Logistically, you certainly didn’t pick an easy movie to be your directorial debut, right?”
“Not! No, I didn’t think about that then.”
Daniel Power / Focus Features
Parts of this high ground in Alberta can produce four seasons, sometimes in one day. ‘You have four thousand people who ask you questions for even ten minutes -‘ Where do you want that, what do we do with this, da da da, which lens do we want ‘- and then you have to jump in front of the camera and a breakdown scene. And I would only take in one, and then I would dry up and be so mad at myself. “
She is used to playing on both sides of the camera. She directed several episodes of Netflix’s ‘House of Cards’, including the season finale. And yet, she remains one of a small group of women in Hollywood who gets the reins to direct.
Wright said, “Do I? Can I? Yes, you can. You can. You just have to be committed to your strength and trust that you can do it.”
Her roles are often strong women, even intimidating. Wright has a softer side, of course. Her Instagram shows that. Glamor photos, yes, but if you ask women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, those pajamas Wright wears are a lifesaver.
Two decades of civil war have left the country in ruins. Rebels often use rape as a weapon of war.
Wright said, “If you are raped in that country, you will be rejected by your family because it is your fault. Their family has been dismantled, they live in refugee camps, walk three miles outside a refugee camp to get water. is going to be raped or murdered every day of your life. “
So the money from the sale of those pajamas – under the Pour le Femme brand – goes to those women in Congo and other conflict areas around the world.
If you think that sounds a lot like her former husband, actor-activist Sean Penn might, but those days are far behind her. Her two children with Penn are now adults and Wright has remarried. She does her best to keep that part of life out of the spotlight.
Cowan asked, “Does it take a lot of work to be private, though?”
‘I don’t know, do I? You just become more acutely aware that you are private – you know what you do and don’t share in interviews, things like that. ‘
Wright grew up in Texas but moved to Southern California, where she began pursuing roles in John Hughes movies as a teenager. “That’s all you wanted: you wanted to be in a John Hughes movie!” she said.
“Sixteen Candles”? ” Breakfast Club ‘?’
‘Oh yeah! I have read them all several times. And I didn’t get them. ‘
“Damn it, Molly Ringwald!” Cowan laughed.
But before the 80s were over, she landed the role of a princess in “The Princess Bride.”
Cowan asked, “Is there anything you haven’t been asked about that movie after all these years?”
“I always get the same question over and over: do you believe in true love, as the movie says?” she said. ‘Yes, I do. And they always ask about Andre de Reus. Everyone wants to know what he was like. ‘
“Well, now I have to ask, what was he like?”
“The sweetest puppy. Enormous, gentle giant. ‘
A few years later came her role as Jenny in “Forrest Gump”.
“It certainly opened a lot of doors for you, I think.” Cowan said. “Was that a bit overwhelming?”
“It’s what you want, but I was so immersed in motherhood, why not just kickstart your career? You have to become a star, and then that star disappears? Because you do too much, you are seen too much.” ? ” I knew I never wanted to be. “
She paced herself. When ‘House of Cards’ first came out she was in her late forties, but before recording it, she still had questions to executive producer David Fincher,’ I just don’t have the desire to take the time to just be it arm candy from a senator at a show, or a governor. And he said, “I promise you it won’t be.” ‘
Netflix
Her latest role is a different kind of strong. Her skills as a director are also different. But she is hardly finished with both.
Cowan asked, “Do you know what’s next?”
“I want to direct more,” she laughed.
“Do you ever see yourself being the camera for good?”
‘Forever? No. Forever, no, I don’t think so. ‘
After all, the view from the mountaintop in her career is pretty good.
Click on the video player below to watch a trailer for “Country”:
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Story produced by John Goodwin. Editor: Joseph Frandino.