Catherine Zeta-Jones talks about her 2003 film debut chicago An informal conversation took place Friday at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“It’s actually a start because there’s precedent, having Academy Award winner Catherine Zeta-Jones in front of your name,” she told the festival. Zeta-Jones is also pulled in two directions, having to choose between an Oscar and a Tony, which is more satisfying.
“It would be great to be recognized by Broadway Lights. But the Oscar was completely unexpected. It blew my mind,” she insists. But Zeta-Jones, 55, has talked about quitting and entering the world of independent films, away from the commercial demands of Hollywood that she mastered as a film and TV star.
“I can’t talk about it right now, but I’m working on a little independent film that I’m really excited about because I’ve never been a part of that independent world,” she revealed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Zeta-Jones added: “I want to show up. I want to do interesting work. It goes back to my dramatic mind because I feel like I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. I don’t need to work hard for other people.
Focusing on her early career, Zeta-Jones talked about her early dancing and singing background in Welles, which helped her a lot in Hollywood. Zeta Jones was a child actor who won a national talent competition at the age of 10 before beginning her career in London stage productions.
“If you know where I came from, it was at the end of the train line in Wales,” she recalls of her first tap dance at the age of four. This led to roles in early productions of London’s West End.
“I started working in theater when I was very young. I was certainly not a young chick. I’ve been in this industry for a long time and I loved every minute of it,” she recalls. That said, Zeta-Jones talked about that early rejection when she auditioned for the role in London.
“For me, it’s like winning the competition, winning the competition,” she said of moving beyond auditions to stage roles and being able to work with theater veterans. She landed her breakthrough lead role in the hit musical 42nd Street At the age of 17, he served as the second understudy for the star of the show.
“My dream has been fulfilled,” Zeta-Jones said of starring in a theatrical production. But moving beyond being seen as a singer and dancer, and now as an actor, is a hurdle. “I auditioned so many times and got rejected,” she recalls.
But in 1991, Zeta-Jones managed to land a role in a comedy May’s dear budswhich brought her immediate fame in the UK.
“It’s definitely been a learning curve,” she said of starring in a hit TV show. “After watching the show for an hour, my life changed. I felt completely validated, which I had never felt before. .
But having to navigate Britain’s cutthroat tabloid mill and its censorship prepared her for her upcoming move to Hollywood. She makes movies, phantomTwo days in Los Angeles while also getting a six-month visa to pursue her dream in Hollywood.
“I went to America and I thought this was my chance to do my best,” she recalled. Zeta-Jones landed a role in a CBS television movie about the sinking of the Titanic. Luckily, Steven Spielberg saw the project and was impressed by Zeta-Jones.
Two days after the show premiered, Spielberg called her agent to inquire about casting her. mask of zoro, She starred opposite Antonio Banderas and fellow Wellesian Anthony Hopkins.
“Lesson for actors. If you think you’re not playing the role you’re supposed to be playing, just do it because you never know Steven Spielberg is watching,” Zeta-Jones told the Red Sea audience. She added that early training in singing and dancing helped her move up the ranks in Hollywood, including performing stunts and other physical moves in front of the camera.
Zeta-Jones also pointed to her role alongside Sean Connery in “Sean Connery.” Entrapment. “In real life, he was like my life coach. I was a young woman living in a male-dominated world. He was my protector,” she recalled.
Zeta-Jones’ dance background led her to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2002 for her role in the musical Chicago.
“The whole process of rehearsals, when you think about the screen, all the different angles we had to do for these routines, working with dancers who felt like I spoke their language, it was just amazing,” Zeta-Jones said When talking about the collaboration behind the movie musical.
