> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Heading into the spotlight and onto the campaign trail
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/heading-into-the-spotlight-and-onto-the-campaign-trail/
- Published: 2004-10-15T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:18:06.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Beautiful. Controversial. Opinionated. Brilliant. All apropos adjectives with which to describe Susan Sarandon, the celebrated leading lady who commands attention on and offscreen. Her fil-mography is awash with titles forever etched into the cultural ledger: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Bull Durham,” and “Thelma & Louise,” to name a few. Her latest picture, “Shall We Dance?” opens Friday.

QUESTION: There’s a scene in the film in which your character, Beverly, delivers a long monologue excoriating marriage. Is that an accurate reflection of your own feelings about the institution?

SUSAN SARANDON: That was one of the reasons I wanted to do the movie, because I really liked that scene. I do try to figure out why people would ever want to get married.

Q: You and actor Tim Robbins have been living together for nearly two decades. Do you ever consider making the union “legal?”

SS: Never say never. I don’t know. At the moment, I don’t feel the need to and somehow I’m always afraid we’d take each other for granted if we did a “signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours” kind of thing. Maybe someday we’ll change and want to make a statement that’s different from the one we’ve been living for 17 years, which in Hollywood years (equals) about 45, right? We haven’t talked about it for at least a decade though.

Q: In the upcoming release “Alfie,” you portray a woman who is every bit the player Jude Law’s notorious playboy is. What’s life like for a mature, serial seductress?

SS: I didn’t want to be apologetic about her lifestyle, and I think she’s pretty happy. Sure, she probably has her days, on New Years Eve or whatever, where she’s not totally together. But I didn’t want her to be tragic or desperate. I think she was simply exercising a prerogative that is available to a lot of men. If you can live a life that way and you’re happy, that’s your choice.

Q: Do you believe lasting happiness can be achieved solo?

SS: One of the major challenges of being a human being is deciding whether or not you’re ever going to be truly intimate with another person. (Whether) you ever really decide to be intimate is a much more pertinent question than whether you get married or have a house in the country.

Q: You’re an inspiration to many younger actresses not only because of the quality of your work, but also your career longevity. What does commanding that sort of respect mean to you?

SS: I did (a Revlon ad campaign) and I was working with these gorgeous actresses — Eva Mendez, Halle Berry, Julianne Moore and Kate Bosworth — and we all did a one-day shoot with (Robert) Altman, which was really fun. But when I talk to these women I feel like Helen Hayes or something. It’s so strange to me, because I don’t see myself that way. I think if you just manage to survive you get points towards icon status. It’s a hard business to survive in and not be bitter or insane or addicted or whatever. So I hear about it, but I don’t really relate to it.

Q: Your progressive views are well-documented. How are you feeling about the upcoming election?

SS: I’m really optimistic. There’s been record-breaking voter registration, and more people than ever are going to go to the polls. That’s a really good thing however (the election) turns out. I see a lot more young people getting involved, and that’s really, really good. A lot of people who considered themselves liberal or progressive were asleep at the switch, and are now finally starting to understand how critical this election is. The largest party in this country is the 50 percent of the country that doesn’t vote, and that has to change.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 15, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/101504.pdf?ref=smdp.com)