In taking on the part of one of the most dynamic women in English literature, Reese Witherspoon is sending a message: This legally blonde bombshell can carry considerable weight. As Becky Sharp, the cagey heroine of William Makepeace Thackeray’s famous novel “Vanity Fair,” the 28-year-old actress flexes the comedic muscles honed in her most celebrated role (as that ditzy lawyer from Beverly Hills), but she also burrows deep into the troubled psyche of a bewildered young woman desperate to find her place in the world. Witherspoon, on the other hand, is exactly where she wants to be: At the top of her profession, with her husband of five years — actor Ryan Phillippe — and their two beautiful children.
QUESTION: Your real-life pregnancy was incorporated into the plot of “Vanity Fair,” and there’s a love scene in which it’s evident you were pretty well along in the term. Did you have any reservations about doing that scene?
REESE WITHERSPOON: The reason I’m so attracted to (director) Mira Nair’s work is that she has this way of putting sexuality in her films in a way that is not gratuitous or overtly sexual. It’s a very female sensuality that has a lot to do with color and mood and lighting. I felt very comfortable with her, so when she said she wanted to make the most of my body and show my pregnant belly, I didn’t feel nervous at all. I knew she would do it in a beautiful way.
Q: How does being with child affect the way Becky Sharp will be received by moviegoers?
RW: It adds to the vulnerability of the character. There’s a sense that there’s something real happening in this woman’s life. She might never see her husband again, and she might have a child. It added a lot of dimension for me as I had to consider what it would be like to give birth in that time period.
Q: In period pieces such as this one, which is set in the 19th Century, often the biggest challenge is getting modern audiences to connect with the material. How does this film attempt to do that?
RW: The universality of being of one socioeconomic status and trying to reach up is something that everybody understands, particularly in America. We’re always reaching for something bigger or better or higher. There’s also the war element, which is on lots of people’s minds. The feelings associated with women staying behind and dealing with all the emotions involved in that. But overall, I think people will connect with the idea of wanting something so much, and then realizing that it might not be what you want once you get it.
Q: You became a big star at a young age. How do you stay hungry when you’ve seemingly already got it all?
RW: As much as people think that I’m in a great place, and that I get all the great job offers, I constantly feel like I’m striving to do better and striving to find a bigger challenge. In this business, you can always do that. It’s never about being “made.” It can be, but I see the opportunities there to always push myself and that’s what I do.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 3, 2004. Read the original PDF.