Casting Cameron Diaz
Actress Cameron Diaz is surprising both critics and audiences with her powerful performance in the drama ‘My Sister’s Keeper’
SANTA MONICA, Calif.— Nick Cassavetes wasn’t fooled. The world may think of Cameron Diaz as a high-spirited, funny and even goofy actress, but the director of “The Notebook” knew instinctively that Diaz would be perfect to play the mother of a child dying of cancer in his latest tear-jerker “My Sister’s Keeper,” which opened Friday.
“I have understood the totality of Cameron for many years,” Cassavetes explained. “She’s pretty, and she makes people laugh, but that’s not really her. She is a great person. She is a mature person. She is a woman who cares about the planet, and has serious thoughts about what is happening in the world.
“People were surprised by the casting,” he added, “because people want actors to do what they expect them to do. These are the same people who didn’t think Tom Hanks could do serious roles, or that Woody Allen shouldn’t do films that aren’t funny. These people get angry when their favorite stars do something different, but it’s a rare thing when someone can make people laugh, and make people cry.
“I was never scared about my casting choice. I thought it was a fresh choice. I knew Cameron could do it, and I am as proud of her performance in this film as I am about almost anything else in my life.”
Diaz, 36, plays the mother of three, one of whom is dying of leukemia. A second daughter was born to save the first daughter, and the second daughter (played by Abigail Breslin) later sues her parents to gain medical control of her own body.
Diaz, whose character is rarely sympathetic in the movie as she tenaciously and often stubbornly tries to save her child, explained in a Santa Monica hotel suite overlooking a deserted beach on a cloudy day why she accepted this difficult role, how she was able to return to work after the death of her 58-year-old father in Seal Beach and what she thinks of the paparazzi and tabloids who stalk and scrutinize every aspect of her private life.
Maybe it’s a guy thing, but would you please explain to me the entertainment value of a sad movie like “My Sister’s Keeper?”
Well, certainly, it’s not “Transformers,” but I’m not sure that all movies are meant for entertainment. Some are meant to reach people, and make them feel. It’s not always about being entertained. But you can go into this movie and forget about your own life and realize that someone has it worse off than you. Or you can relate to things happening in this movie because it’s not just about a child dying of cancer.
Could you give me an example of the things one can relate to in this movie?
It’s about many people’s losses. Not just the loss of a family member. It’s about the loss of relationships inside a family. It’s about a family breaking apart. That’s something people can relate to because most families are disjointed and disconnected. It can make you appreciate what you have. Many things can happen when you watch this movie, but the one thing that is certain to happen when you watch this movie is that you will feel something. If you don’t want to feel something, go see “Transformers.”
What have you got against “Transformers?”
I’m sure it’s an amazing movie, but it’s meant to numb you and take you out of things, which I also totally love. I have nothing against movies that take you out of things, but our movie can be therapeutic. It can help you understand more about yourself.
From an acting standpoint, what does a role like this do for you?
First, I wanted to work with Nick Cassavetes. I think he’s a wonderful director. I think that in another director’s hands, it could have been a supersappy sentimental movie. I also felt that it was a type of movie I haven’t done. I’ve done all sorts of comedies and dramas and thrillers, but this was something I hadn’t done before, and that’s why I choose all my roles.
If you were a producer, would have you have thought of Cameron Diaz for this role?
To answer that, I would have to have the ability to see myself as others see me, and that’s impossible.
You’ve done dramatic work before, in “Gangs of New York,” “Vanilla Sky” and “In Her Shoes,” but most people think of you as the fun-loving actress from “There’s Something About Mary,” “Charlie’s Angels” and the “Shrek” movies.
Hey, I was a lot of fun on this movie.
I’m talking about on-screen.
Oh.
Let me ask it again. Would you have hired you?
Sure. I know myself. I know who I am inside my head, even when I’m making people laugh. It’s not always light and funny inside my head.
Did you have to touch that dark side for this movie?
Maybe. But I wasn’t trying to show people something they’ve never seen before in me. I make movies for myself, first. And then I make them for the audience.
Were you filming this when your dad died?
I was.
I don’t understand how you could get right back to work after that?
As you know, because you also lost your father, you’re in shock for some period of time. His death was quite sudden and unexpected so there wasn’t time for it to register or sink in. Actually, I was fortunate to get back to work with a wonderful group of people, who were very kind, giving and generous. They were like my family.
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