»RACHEL WEISZ TALKS ABOUT CONFIDENCE & FUTURE PROJECTS
With Rebecca Murray & Fred Topel

The "Confidence" filmmakers went through an exhaustive search looking for the right actress to play their tough yet tender femme fatale, Lily. After Edward Burns passed the script on to Rachel Weisz, director James Foley knew their search was over.

"Weisz was a real lucky stroke for me," Foley says, adding, "She had to be believable as this tough talking broad who takes care of herself. On the other hand, she had to have a kind of vulnerability."

Here's what the talented British actress had to say about working on "Confidence" and working with director James Foley. Weisz also provides a few details on a couple of her other upcoming film projects:
Are you playing a con on the audience?

When you're acting in a movie, you feel like you're playing a con on the audience. Actors are con men and con men are actors. We're first cousins, I think. You may be playing a character who's acting but then people act, you're going to be completely different when you're with your loved ones or your families. Right now we're doing 'people at a press junket.' We're behaving in that way. We all act at a time, so it's part of being a character, acting.

Were the others cast when you got the part?

No, when I agreed to do it - well, when Jamie said I could be in it - he was directing and Ed [Burns] was in it. I was very excited about both of those people. Then my agent called me and said Dustin Hoffman is going to be in it. [That's just] an incredible group. So, no, I didn't know.

What was it like working with James Foley?

He's a card. He's actually really one of my favorite people. He's very passionate about what he does and the atmosphere that he creates on the set is one of a lot of passion. Everyone's at liberty to behave how they like. He's the craziest person there, so you don't feel crazy trying stuff out.

Crazier than Dustin's character?

He's much less violent. In fact, he's not violent at all. I would say he's as crazy as Dustin's character without being evil and violent. He's wild, so he creates a very libertarian kind of atmosphere where you feel like you can do whatever you want and not be criticized. So, he's a great joy. He's very smart. He's got a great sense of style.

Was it fun to be a redhead?

Well, the thing about having your hair a different color is that it doesn't change your DNA. It's how people respond to you, I guess. I didn't notice anything particularly different about being red. I've been platinum blonde.

Did you have fun?

No. Guys [just gawk]. They just have some Pavlovian response to it.

Was it flattering to be cast as the babe?

Yes, very. I don't know how to elaborate on that. It was very flattering.

You were a babe in "The Mummy" movies.

No. Was she a babe? I thought she was a librarian. Oh, was she a babe librarian? Yeah, it was like a Hollywood librarian. When I went to the audition for that, I went with my hair sprayed back with glasses, and Steve Sommers, the director, was like, "Could you maybe take your hair down?" [I said,] "I thought she was a librarian." "It's a Hollywood librarian."

What movie role is most like yourself?

On the whole, I've almost never played anyone who's remotely like me because I always thought what's the point to just be yourself? I guess the character in "About a Boy" was just me. It wasn't like a character part. It wasn't a character study. I was just me. I'm not a single mom, so it was different in that respect. It's all a lie. Everything's a lie. None of it exists.

You've got "Runaway Jury" coming out soon in which you work with Dustin Hoffman again. What was that set like?

It was great. It was the last movie I finished. It's a John Grisham novel, which was adapted for the screen. Dustin plays a good guy in it. He plays this very benign, idealistic southern attorney. It's like a big courtroom drama.

Have you ever taken a prop home from a set?

I did a movie in Scotland called "Beautiful Creatures" and there was a painting on the wall that I took home. It's this famous, kitschy '70s painting called The Blue Lady. She looks kind of Polynesian and she's got a blue tint on her face. It's in my sitting room in London.

Will you be in "The Mummy 3?"

If there is one, I hope they ask me, yeah. It would be kind of weird not to.

What other projects have you got coming up?

"The Shape of Things" comes out next in May. It's written and directed by Neil LaBute. I play opposite Paul Rudd. It's a very black comedy.

More like LaBute's first two?

Yes, well, those are the two that he wrote as well as directed, so yes. It's like a romantic comedy but it's a Neil LaBute romantic comedy. It's the ultimate date movie, if you like, and it's done on a student campus in California. I play a graduate student.

What is it about LaBute?

His writing. He's a phenomenal writer.

What's he like?

He's full of compassion. He's a moralist. The stuff that he writes, he writes about very extreme ugliness' in human beings, but I think his point of view is like a fable about a bad person and maybe we could learn from it. Up close he's very kind, warm, human, [and] hilarious. [He has] one of the best senses of humor.

And you've also got "Envy" coming out soon?

"Envy" is a Barry Levinson-directed comedy. [It's a] beautiful, warm, loving comedy. I play opposite Ben Stiller and Jack Black. That's a gorgeous Barry Levinson comedy.

That sounds like an interesting cast.

It was amazing. It was gorgeous and it was very, very light. I get to play a 'valley mom' married to Ben. We've been married for years. It was a gorgeous experience.

Are Stiller and Black as funny in person?

Yes. [They are] absolutely hilarious. They're actors. They're working, learning their lines and concentrating, but they're very funny.