Celebrity Interview - Hilary Swank - Comments

Hilary Swank

Poster: Rene Everton 19/02/2007

Academy Award winner Hilary Swank stars alongside Academy Award nominee Imelda Staunton, Academy Award nominee Scott Glenn and Grey's Anatomy's star Patrick Dempsey in Freedom Writers. A dedicated California teacher [Swank] finds a way to unify her disadvantaged, racially divided students, and to improve their grasp of academics, partly by having them keep journals about their violent, troubled lives.
Here, Hilary talks about how she keeps in such great shape, how she is coping since the break-up of her marriage to Chad Lowe, her thoughts on motherhood and much, much more.

Is this Calvin Klein?
No. It's Fendi. If you didn't notice I was walking kind of funny because the shoes that I bought were a little too big and they slip off. So it makes me walk like this.

Why are they not giving you shoes?
I don't know. Lets call them up right now. "Chanel, why aren't you giving me shoes?"

How did you get your weight down since Million Dollar Baby?
You stop eating 210 grams of protein a day. That'll help.

This is easily one of the best things you've ever done, and you've got two Oscars already...
Freedom Writers? Thank you so much.

How did this happen?
Well, I didn't know the story. I didn't see the Prime Time Live piece, and then the book and it had obviously been in the news. I didn't know anything about it, and then was sent the script and I read the script. Look, immediately, just like Boys Don't Cry, just like Million Dollar Baby, I had an instant connection on so many different levels. I connected with the kids. I just connected with the story of having someone who believes in you and how that changes your life. I loved the power writing your story down and learning about yourself.
I feel like in the last couple of years I've really come into my own and a lot of that is figuring out who I really am and what I really want in life and writing my own journal. So there were a lot of things that I was connected to and I laughed and I cried. I felt inspired and I was angry - all those emotions that come up that you want to feel when you read a book or watch a movie, and also I did have an idea when I was told what it was about - that it was a teacher who goes into this school - I had an idea of like, "Oh, is this going to be like a Dangerous Minds?" I was really pleasantly surprised when I realised that it wasn't anything even close to that.

Did you relate to the kids' humble background, because I know that you had one?
Absolutely. I mean, I'm not going to sit here and try to say that mine was bad and it's not about comparing them; but yes, my background reminded me of my own thing that I had going on. I'm not proud to say that I'm a high school drop-out. I don't like that that's something that happened, but it did happen. I have my GED, but I think that school and education is really, really important. I think that we have a real education problem in this country.
It's a shame for any kid to feel hopeless about their future. I mean, I can't say that I felt hopeless about my future because I had this whole idea of what I wanted to do and my mum - I had my mum who believed in me. But I mean, when you read this story and you see a lot of these kids in school who feel as if they're not going to amount to anything and that they might die tomorrow, that no one is going to believe in them and no one is going to give them an opportunity, no one is going to give them a chance, they start thinking, "Well, why should I even live. Who cares?" They're just barely showing up. To see anyone, especially kids, feel that way is one of the saddest things that I can even think of.

How did you get through those tough times in high school as a kid?
I hated high school.

Why?
I felt like such an outsider. I didn't feel like I fit in. I felt like I didn't belong in any way. I didn't even feel like the teachers wanted me there. I just felt like I wasn't seen. I felt like I wasn't understood. I felt like I needed a lot of help and I didn't understand why the teachers couldn't see it.

Were you a disciplinary problem?
In a way. I was a jabbermouth in the class. I didn't focus. It was kind of the relentless, "Stop talking, Hilary. You've got to stop talking." On the report cards it said, "Hilary will not stop talking. She's a jabbermouth." That kind of thing. When I was really young and I was in elementary school I was tardy all the time. I never got to school on time. My mum drove me to school, but I guess just as an adult I feel that I would sense there was a problem with a kid and think that I would want to look into it. But then you realise that these teachers are under-paid and not appreciated and that there are so many people in their class, and so how are they supposed to try and help everyone?

What kind of dialogue do you think could come out of this movie that might better inform the education system in this country?
I understand why there are rules in the world. We have to all abide by something to have some sort of - I don't know - order. But I think that a lot of my problem in school was that I just didn't understand some of the rules. I didn't understand why you couldn't sit there and chew gum. That's a small one. That's a dumb one, but as a kid you're like, "What's the big deal? I'm having a piece of gum, but I'm reading my book." That's a silly one, but there were things that I just didn't get and I wanted my teachers to explain it. "I don't understand why that's a rule. It's not affecting my work and I feel like you're just trying to whip me and put me into this thing, into this box and that doesn't work for me. I'm trying my best." It was that sort of thing.
The point that I'm trying to make is that I think, not about gum, but about rules in general - I can't think of any at this exact moment, or maybe like the one in the movie where they're like, "No, we don't give them these books because they'll ruin them", or that she wanted to raise money to go buy books and they said, "You can't do that. That's not the way that we work." "Why not? If I want to spend my money getting these kids books why can't I?" I just think that when you don't allow people to think out of the box you're teaching the kids that you can't think out of the box and that's an impression in a way.

What about the situation where she can't make the marriage work? Is this before or after you and Chad (Lowe) split, and did you relate to that?
It was after and during. We had split before, but it came out in the press during this. From Erin's (Gruwell) point of view, and a lot of women talk about this, about when they're pursuing their dream and successful and not spending as much time at home or taking care of whatever the myriad of things are that we could talk about, there's like a support that is missing, an enthusiasm that's missing. I have a lot of friends who have experienced that and obviously Erin did, and she has this up on the screen, and that just kills a part of you.
It kills you because this person that is supposed to be in your life, sharing your life, who loves you supposedly more than anyone and is supposed to understand you more than anyone, is trying to cap you down when you already have enough of that out there in the world, people saying, "Oh, you can't do that. You're not going to be able to do that." That just kills you. It kills a little piece of you and that's a really real and sad thing. That's unfortunate. I think that people who are scared don't allow someone else to be fully realised.

Do you feel like you related to that in your own situation, because I know that I relate to that?
I think that a real challenge in life is finding the balance of living for yourself, but also making time for relationships, whatever they may be. My poor mum, I speak to her a few times a month and she understands, but that's sad. I don't want someday for my mum to pass away or for me to pass away or whatever and to say, "Oh, I didn't spend as much time with my mum as I wanted", or my best friend or whomever that's in my life that's important to me. It's really hard to find that balance, but it's also really hard not to give up your whole self to make someone else's life complete.

Do you ever think about having kids then?
I definitely would like kids someday. That's definitely something that I've always thought about as a very, very young girl. I've always thought that I wanted kids. I love kids. I love all of my friends' kids and spending time with them. I just love kids and that would be an important thing to happen for me some day. But this also is a dream of mine too. So whenever the time is right and if that ever happens it'll be something that I will have to think about. I think that kids are a little bit different. I think that if you choose to bring kids into the world you're responsible for them and you do have to live for them in a way.

How is life as a single woman?
It's a big change. I was single for a while, and I'm actually in a new relationship now.

You've got two Oscars and are super successful. Why is it harder for women to be very successful and be with a secure man than it is the other way around?
I think that it takes a really, really secure and grounded man and woman; I think it does cut both ways, to allow your partner to achieve success and be empowered. I just think that it's rare to find that person who isn't threatened by it or doesn't feel less than because of it, and that cuts both ways.
Even if you have a good friend it's hard to find those people who really say, "I'm so proud of you. I want you to have all the success that happens in your life and it doesn't make me feel like a lesser person because of it." I think it really takes big people and I'm really lucky that I have dear friends in my life who say, "I hope that you get everything that you want. I'm really happy when you get success." And they really mean it. You can really sense that in them too, but they're few and far between.

So you're optimistic? You think it's a possibility in your life to have the balance?
Yeah. I am to the point that I'm so optimistic that most people say or tag me as naive.

You're in great shape now too. What are you doing to keep it that way?
Working too many hours. No.

Were you following Erin from the start of this or did you go from the screenplay?
No, I think that we had dinner once, right, and then maybe a lunch and a lot
of e-mails and calls and stuff.

Because she's not a famous person you didn't have to feel that you were...
Oh, she's famous. I know what you mean though. I mean, obviously, I think her mannerisms make up a big part of her character because she is so outgoing, and I think that she uses her body in a really great way as a way to bring you in. Look at her.

What about The Reaping? Is that ever coming out?
Yeah. March 30.

That's your monster movie...
It's a movie about the Biblical plagues - could it happen again or did it happen? That sort of thing.

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