Reese Witherspoon can’t be pigeonholed.
In “Freeway,” her 1996 breakthrough film, she played a 15-year-old who’s been described as a “nearly illiterate firebug and serial shoplifter.” She was a bouncy girl-turned-lawyer in two “Legally Blonde” films. And she won an Oscar in “Walk the Line.”
But she’s never before tried her hand at a character who’s 49 feet tall and strong enough to go head-to-head with a mountain-size robot. That’s the role she voices in the “Monsters vs. Aliens.”
Witherspoon spoke during a publicity tour in Los Angeles.
Q: You once said you would feel famous when you became a question on “Jeopardy.” You’ve now been a question on “Jeopardy.” So what do you think of fame?
A: It is all it’s cracked up to be. It’s fantastic. I highly recommend it. No (laughs), it has its drawbacks, but the positives outweigh the negatives. It’s better than digging a big ditch.
Q: “Monsters vs. Aliens” has a girl-power theme. Who are the women who’ve influenced you?
A: Diane Keaton. She’s done great things. Goldie Hawn is amazing. Judi Dench. Personally, my mother and my grandmother were really strong female influences in my life. I went to an all-girls high school and had a lot of great teachers. (There were) lots of great, strong Southern women around when I was growing up.
Q: Your production company is called Type A Films. And a few years ago, you said, “I spend a lot of time considering and planning my life and career.” Is that still the case?
A: Probably not as much so. I had this notion that you could control everything in your life, which I’ve been sadly stripped of. It’s actually a good thing to realize that the universe is pointing you in different directions all the time. Great stuff comes out of the unknown.
Q: How did your career change after winning the Oscar for “Walk the Line”?
A: It definitely opened a lot of opportunities to work with great directors, meet great writers and producers. It changes how people think about you. It’s been great for me.
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