We rarely cover Jennifer Connelly, which is a shame. She’s an interesting person and she’s been acting for something like three decades. I also wish Jennifer’s husband Paul Bettany was around more often, because he’s beautiful and I love him. But they live a relatively quiet life in NYC with their three children (the oldest, Kai, is from Jennifer’s previous relationship) and everything seems very low-key with them these days. Jennifer has a supporting part in Winter’s Tale (that fairy-tale looking film with Colin Farrell and Russell Crowe) and that was enough to get her the cover of Allure. You can see one of the Allure slideshows here, and here are some highlights from the interview:
At 43, she’s done with having babies: “I knew that we were going to be done after number three. That’s enough for us.”
Her 16-year-old son Kai: “It sounds like I’m bragging terribly but he’s well rounded, and he’s interested in sciences, and he’s also a great writer and interested in history and he plays guitar.”
Being directed by Bettany in Shelter: “One couldn’t feel more safe as an actor than knowing that the director’s your husband. It’s like, oh, if I really make a fool of myself, I can just say, “Honey, can you please not put that in the movie?” That was a great perk.’
The roles she goes for: “Anything that feels like it has integrity, in which one can be really invested, is cathartic. I don’t think it has to necessarily be tragic in content, but I have had more experience playing those characters. There are plenty of comedies and light hearted films with that same substance as well that are just as important and are just as meaningful. I haven’t come across many of them in scripts that I’ve been offered. I’d love to find something that’s a bit more light hearted. That might be a nice change of tempo.”
What matters: “The thing that really matters to me is well-being and happiness. Maybe it comes from knowing people who have tortured themselves trying to meet these strangely narrow and rigorous definitions of what our culture thinks is beautiful.”
Working with David Bowie in Labyrinth: “David Bowie was so generous and lovely with me, and I remember thinking that dress was very, very fancy. I think it was made out of Saran Wrap.”
Meeting Princess Diana in 1986 at a film premiere: “This was such a big deal. I was very excited to meet her, such an icon. There was lots of protocol. I was nervous. But she was lovely, as I remember. She was very kind and sweet to me. She was a princess!”
Working with Drew Barrymore & Jennifer Aniston: “They were both really lovely. I don’t think I had any scenes with Drew, but Jennifer was great—I loved her. The reality of those things is everyone comes in and does their part and then flies off. I said, ‘Oh, it will be so great. We’ll all work together,’ and the most time we actually got to spend socializing was at the premiere.”
OK, so she’s a little boring. But that’s why we like her, right? We wouldn’t like her if she gave interview after interview about Paul Bettany’s hotness (God, he’s hot) or all of her famous friends. I get the feeling that Jennifer really doesn’t go in for that kind of thing – she’s not all about fancy parties and networking and all of that. She’d rather be in Manhattan with her family.
Photos courtesy of Allure.
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