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HBO:
How did you come to the project?
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Cynthia Nixon as Eleanor Roosevelt in the HBO Films production of WARM SPRINGS.
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Cynthia Nixon:
Well, the script appealed to me right away, and the idea of working with Ken was very exciting. It was certainly very daunting to play Eleanor Roosevelt, but an opportunity certainly if one could get it.
HBO:
Had you ever done something like this before, in terms of it being a period piece based on a famous historical character?
Cynthia Nixon:
I've done a lot of classical stuff, but I've never done a real person before. Luckily Margaret Nagle (the screenwriter) and HBO flooded me with secondary sources. They sent me lots of documentaries of her. Because there's like five or six different documentaries. And they sent me many photos of Warm Springs and footage specifically from there. And they sent me a couple of really great books. The main one that I used was the two volumes of Blanche Wiesen Cook's biography of Eleanor, which is like the definitive biography.
And then I read another, newer book that's more revisionist, it's called "Sarah and Eleanor" about Eleanor and her mother in law and their sometimes difficult, but very important relationship. And then I kind of dabbled in other books. I also spent a couple of long days at the Museum of Television and Radio. They were extremely helpful to me.
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Cynthia Nixon rehearses a scene with director Joseph Sargent and co-star Kenneth Branagh.
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I looked at television footage from the fifties and sixties and also a lot of radio. And that was incredibly useful. You know for a lot of things. Certainly to try to mimic the way she talked as best as I could. And I worked with three different voice coaches. I tried to learn as much as I could about her manner and how she was with people. And how she was in different settings. How she was with people she knew well. And how she was with people she was just meeting, you know, trying to gauge her manner.
HBO:
In creating her, how much did you go to the character and how much of her is you?
Cynthia Nixon:
Well, I think it's always a mix you know. I feel like I have so much information about her. I felt so close to her that I did feel like her a lot of the time. Particularly once you're in the period clothes, the teeth, wig and all of that. But I think that Ken and I had an extremely warm relationship, and I think that really helped us a lot.
Uta Hagen said once if you feel like you're playing a character who's something you're not, just look and you will find some part of you that has felt that way. You know, if you're a person who's not easily intimidated, think of someone who intimidates you and remember what that feels like and then you've got it rather than playing some imaginary idea.
HBO:
What was the most surprising thing you learned about Eleanor Roosevelt?
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"I guess the thing that really amazed me was how many chapters there were in her life. The first ten years of her life are enough for a movie." |
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— Cynthia Nixon
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Cynthia Nixon:
I guess the thing that really amazed me was how many chapters there were in her life. The first ten years of her life are enough for a movie. And then the first twenty years are amazing in terms of how much tragedy there was in her life, and how many incredibly painful things she went through. But then how boldly she dared. I guess that was the thing that just when you think you know who she is, she goes off on some entirely unexpected direction.
HBO:
How was it working with Joseph Sargent and the rest of the cast?
Cynthia Nixon:
Well, it was of course wonderful to have Jane Alexander there. Scary at first. But you know someone who's had such a close relationship with Eleanor and Franklin. And knew them so well. And to have her there as our matriarch. The first scenes we did in the movie were with her, which is great. She kind of gave us her blessing I felt like. Kathy Bates was terrific. She and I have almost nothing to do together in the film.
HBO:
[LAUGHS]
Cynthia Nixon:
David Paymer was terrific. And Tim (Blake) Nelson and I are friends, but we also didn't have much to do together in the film. And Joe Sargent, I had worked with him a number of years ago and I think he was really instrumental in reminding us that these were very public figures, but that we were showing them mostly in private and to bring it down to a kind of intimate level.
HBO:
What do you hope the audiences will take away from the film?
Cynthia Nixon:
Well, I think there's a lot of information they didn't have before about what Franklin Roosevelt went through, and the obstacles that he overcame, seemingly insurmountable obstacles that he overcame to become our greatest twentieth century President.
And I also have to say I think personally it's a really nice time to remember the Roosevelts to remember how expansive they were and how inclusive they were. And how much they thought the government could really help people. And I think they are the exact [LAUGHS] opposite of the government we have now. It's a stark contrast when you hold it up and say, this is what government could be.
Before being stricken with polio, Roosevelt didn't have to do very much. He was so wealthy and so beloved and so charming and handsome and secure, and the world was his oyster. I think he might have become a good President if he had not gone through this. But he certainly wouldn't have been the President he was.
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"In a way, Franklin is kind of a metaphor for where the country would go. I think he was able to be so bold and so innovative because he understood what things cost and he understood how bad things could be, and how we had to make them better." |
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— Cynthia Nixon
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I think the social programs that he and Eleanor were able to push for and institute could not have happened except if we were in a Depression. There's a kind of progress of innovation that happens out of out of a crisis. When it wouldn't have happened in the roaring twenties when money was on everyone's fingertips and people were drinking and partying. It wasn't a sense of, how can we make life better for people because for the great majority of people life was just happy go lucky.
And I also think in a way, Franklin is kind of a metaphor for where the country would go. I think he was able to be so bold and so innovative because he understood what things cost and he understood how bad things could be, and how we had to make them better.
HBO:
Last question: how has life and work been since "Sex and the City" ended?
Cynthia Nixon:
It's been lovely. It's been terrific. I loved the show and I certainly was very sad when it ended. "Sex and the City" has given me such a higher visibility. People are much more willing to see me in other kinds of roles because I have such a high profile now. I still of course have people talking to me about "Sex and the City" all the time. Slightly fewer people recognize me. But still a lot do.
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