Q: Why is Oleanna relevant to today's world?
BP: The play stands on its own as a very interesting document of two very personal responses to an issue that gets emtionalized in a very extreme way. But then also there are the issues of higher education and... sexual politics... and how they are functioning... It's a curious thing. The play was written in 1992 and a lot of the federal laws came into effect in '95 and a few years after. It seems like a lot of these issues about how you conduct yourself are almost more hyper-managed than they were at the time. So it has an interesting ramification in a world where maybe the magazine thing isn't talking about it as much but within corporations, institutions, a lot of internal politics are evolving... (He cites the recent case of West Indies poet laureate and Nobel Prize winner Derek Walcott who withdrew his candidacy for Oxford professor of poetry due to a smear campaign of allegations of sexual harassment that actually occurred over 25 years ago. The opposing candidate who made the accusations Ruth Padel, after attaining the position, stepped down after only 9 days and offered an apology.)
Q: It's just a very powerful drama - in one-act, is that correct?
BP: It's got 3 acts and sometimes people take an intermission. When Julia (Stiles) did it before in London, they had an intermission. But we've chosen to play all 3 acts together.
Q: What is your favorite film role so far?
BP: I've had quite a few, and I've really liked them all for different reasons. I've been lucky to be a part of many blockbuster movies...in which it's hard to get to that level of being memorable, but I still have fond memories of Independence Day, to be sure. There are also many small ones I've had that give me many fond memories.
Q: What's your favorite film of all time?
BP: For different reasons there are many...Lawrence of Arabia...and then there are those that have been very influential and informative to me as an actor, like Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage...
Q: Any favorite actors?
BP: I've always been a fan of George C. Scott, who was working in movies when I was in college...films like Patton and Hospital. I was really impressed by him, and I had seen him onstage as well in Uncle Vanya. He was a champ to me.
Q: I saw him do the comedy Sly Fox on Broadway.
BP: Oh, yeah...
Q: He was so irascible...
BP: (laughs)
Q: Is there one play that stands apart from all the others for you?
BP: I really enjoyed doing Albee's The Goat. It's a powerful piece and a really exciting play to do...I did it originally on Broadway with the wonderful Mercedes Ruehl...no one had ever seen it before and audiences didn't know what to make of it. There were a lot of disagreements about it. There were a lot of people vocally disturbed, audibly groaning and complaining and other people hushing them up...
