 World of Difference
- Life Settles
Down For Lisa Bonet
by
Louis B.Hobson
- © Calgary
Sun, Nov. 18, 1999
-
MARINA DEL REY,
California -- It's a completely different world that Lisa Bonet
finds herself in these days.
From 1984-89,
Bonet lived the life of a major TV star.
First, she played
Denise Huxtable on the top-rated family sitcom, The Cosby Show,
and then her character was spun off into her own TV series, A
Different World. All this was before her 22nd
birthday.
"It was
not a glamourous life. It was like living an illusion,"
recalls Bonet. "It was hard work going to work every day
pretending you were deliriously happy because that's what everyone
assumed you should be."
The reality was
that Bonet was living under the glare of the media microscope.
"The supermarket
publications were relentless. As a result I don't look back at
my teenage years with much affection.
"Because
I was under such incredible public scrutiny, it took me a long
time to learn to love myself because I really didn't know who
I was."
Bonet admits
she is still "on a journey of self-discovery. I still wrestle
with my image. There are days I like myself more than on others."
It was one of
those good days when Bonet met with journalists recently to help
promote the Will Smith political thriller Enemy of the State,
opening Friday.
Bonet plays Smith's
former lover, who is suddenly drawn back into his life when a
rogue agent with the National Security Agency tries to destroy
his reputation.
Tony Scott, who
directed Enemy of the State, explains it was not a simple matter
to cast Bonet.
"When I
saw Lisa in Angel Heart, I thought she had an incredibly
sensuous screen presence. As soon as I read the screenplay for
Enemy of the State I knew I wanted her for the girlfriend,"
recalls
Scott, whose films include Top Gun, Days of Thunder and Crimson
Tide.
"I couldn't
find Lisa. She no longer has an agent. She keeps a very low profile
these days."
Bonet says it
was her choice not to work for almost five years.
"I turned
things down because I wanted to raise my (10-year-old) daughter.
I wanted to make sure she had the youth I never got."
Bonet married
musician Lenny Kravitz in 1987. Their daughter, Zoe, was born
the following year. The couple separated in 1990 and finally
divorced in 1993.
"You won't
see Zoe doing anything related to the entertainment business
until she's an adult. It's in her blood so I know it's inevitable
but I want her to be a person before she's an entertainer."
Bonet was a preschooler
when she started doing commercials, and won the role of Denise
on The Cosby Show when she was 15.
"I was the
kind of kid who loved performing. My mom was really supportive
and let me do commercials and go to auditions and I loved her
for it, but who could ever have predicted how things would turn
out? We were both so naive. We never dreamed I'd turn into a
tabloid darling."
The gossip magazines
were ravenous when, at 17, Bonet filmed steamy nude scenes with
Mickey Rourke in the 1987 thriller Angel Heart.
"I wanted
to stir the pot up a bit. I hated the squeaky clean image I had
on The Cosby Show. I wanted to be a real actress," recalls
Bonet.
The following
year Bonet shocked Cosby fans even more when she appeared nude
in a photo spread in Interview magazine.
"I had no
problem with the nudity in Angel Heart or the magazine and I
wasn't trying to shock people and be sensational. It's just who
I am. I've always been a bit of an unconventional free spirit."
Bonet admits
Bill Cosby was not amused with her career choices but she won't
discuss the matter further.
"Why he
reacted the way he did are questions for Mr. Cosby, not for me.
We were never very close. I respect him from a professional standpoint
but we had our problems on a personal level."
Bonet's daughter
has been aware of her mother's past but showed little interest
until recently.
"She finally
asked about The Cosby Show so my aunt gave her a complete set
of all the episodes. She watched a lot of them.
"She thinks
they're hilarious and that's the reaction I was hoping for."
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