English thespian pursues true passion by acting in new film

By Nicole Rodriguez

It's been a busy day for British actress Rachel Weisz. She arrived in San Francisco at 8 a.m., only to head straight to the Ritz Carlton hotel for a day full of back-to-back interviews. One would think that by four in the afternoon she would be exhausted. On the contrary, Weisz (who's most notable claim to fame is her leading role in "The Mummy" series) is delightfully energetic and eager to talk about her latest project, "The Shape of Things."

As she settles herself on the suite couch with a cup of tea, Weisz reveals that she began her career studying English at England's esteemed Cambridge University.

"I never really made a transition [from English to Drama]," Weisz explains, "it was just what I studied. At Cambridge you can't really study acting alone, it's an old-fashioned kind of school. I always knew I was going to act. English was just my major."

Weisz didn't let the lack of an official major deter her from pursuing her passion. While in college, she and a friend began their own theater company.

"We wrote our own plays through improvisation, it was kind of a theater meets performance art," Weisz said.

However, Weisz admits that she hasn't been able to pursue the writing she began during her college career.

"I've got so much left to learn about acting that I just don't have the time."

She cites her most recent challenge in the acting world as learning to adapt herself to the lifestyle of an American art student for "The Shape of Things."

"It's a whole different way of communicating and relating. We come from very different cultures," Weisz explains of the differences between herself and her character, Eve. "Like she's a big TV watcher and she's into modern contemporary culture, and I'm not."

In the film, Weisz plays a college-aged art student who takes it upon herself to transform her geeky new boyfriend (played by "Clueless" star Paul Rudd) into a physical work of art.

When asked whether or not she could relate to the idea of being changed by a love interest, Weisz laughs, "Of course. I can't think of anything huge I've done. I've tried to be less messy if it annoyed someone. I think everyone tries to change to some extent, but the question really is if I've ever tried to change my partner."

And has she?

"You strive not to, you hope to accept somebody as they are, but I think that everyone does a bit," she admits, although she does add that she has never tried to change anyone as extremely as her character does.

"The Shape of Things" also marks the first time that Weisz has served as a producer on a film - a task she was asked to perform by writer/director/producer Neil LaBute ("Possession"), and a process she claims to have enjoyed, apart from having to watch the daily takes with LaBute after each day of shooting.

"I never have gone [to dailies] apart from this film, but because I was a producer I had to - and it's quite distressing," she laughs. "When you do a film, editors select the best takes, but when you [go to dailies] you have to watch some ..." her voice trails off and she laughs slightly as she wrinkles her nose "... some bad takes."

Apart from this, however, Weisz found working on the film to be a wonderful experience, especially being able to work with LaBute, who also directed her in the original stage version of the script.

"He's one of the funniest, warmest, most generous people I've ever worked with and I'd do it again and again and again," she raves.

Of course, her busy schedule might not allow her to do this anytime soon. She has just released the film noir "Confidence," and is getting ready to promote the comedy "Envy" with Ben Stiller, as well as the adaptation of John Grisham's "The Runaway Jury" with John Cusack and Dustin Hoffman. And once she is done with all this, she is slated to begin filming "Marlowe" with her "Enemy at the Gates" co-star Jude Law.

"It depends on my mood," Weisz remarks of the great diversity in her roles. "Sometimes it's fun to do a goofy action film [like "The Mummy"], and sometimes its fun to do a chamber piece like ["The Shape of Things"] that is very heavily character based and dialogue based. For me it's all about variety."