Naomi Watts: High Wattage

After wowing the critics in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive and audiences worldwide in The Ring, Naomi Watts quickly became one of Hollywood's most in-demand actresses. With a gift for dark, wrenching material, like her current film 21 Grams, and a best friend by the name of Nicole Kidman to shepherd her through fame, she knows she can--finally!--enjoy it.

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Naomi Watts, overnight sensation. Naomi Watts, hardest working actress in Hollywood. Naomi Watts, glammed up and drop-dead gorgeous. Naomi Watts, street urchin. Naomi Watts, out on the town with best friend Nicole Kidman. Naomi Watts, alone in a hotel room, cuddling with her dog.

It's hard to get a handle on Naomi Watts. Although the 35-year-old Australian had done almost 25 films--among them Flirting , Tank Girl and Babe: Pig in the City--before being cast as Betty in David Lynch's much ballyhooed Mulholland Drive, she remained mostly unknown to American audiences. But once Mulholland _hit the screen it was "so long" to anonymity--her work was so breathtaking (people still talk about "the audition scene") that stardom seemed imminent. Like most Lynch films, it was seen mostly by Lynch cultists, but it started the Big Buzz. Then came the surprise hit _The Ring, a dark, grimy frightener about a deadly videotape that also happened to be smart and fun.

Just like that, Watts was on everyone's list. She's made 10 films since Mulholland, too, and has a slew of others gearing up. And it's easy to understand why. Not "movie-star pretty" in the traditional sense, she has a luminous quality that is rare in these days and a willingness to take on dangerous roles--and make them seem like a day at the beach. On a beautiful New York day, I met with Watts at the super-trendy Soho House. She was on time, in a great mood--and willing to talk about anything.

MARTHA FRANKEL: The last time I interviewed you I said, "You're going to be a huge star," and you laughed and almost fell off your chair.

NAOMI WATTS: I'm still laughing. I remember that. And I remember thinking that you weren't just flattering me, you saw something in me. And that meant a lot. It's hard to believe that one thing, Mulholland Drive, turned into so much more.

Q: Reading your resume for the past few years is exhausting.

A: Everything that's happened since then has happened quite quickly, it's true. And it all makes perfect sense to me because who I was in my early 20s is very different from who I am now--and I don't think I then would have made the right judgments about what's right and what's wrong. I know what I like now. I'm drawn to films that are risky, that tackle bigger problems through the character.

Q: You mean like how in The Ring, she's a good reporter but a lousy mother?

A: [Laughs] Not really lousy, just a bit self-absorbed, no?

Q: I'm not really a scary movie fan, so I had to watch The Ring during the day--with all the lights on and the fast-forward button in my hand. But it was so clever that I really enjoyed it.

A: I was nervous about taking that role because I had one film out that people knew, which was Mulholland Drive, and I had about a day's notice before I had to be on the set. I thought, hmmmm, I'm going straight into this very commercial movie--am I going to lose those people that liked my work in Mulholland Drive? Will they see me as a sellout? And some of them probably did, but I think it was done really well and it's a great character piece. I thought the script was smart, and Gore's [Verbinski, the director] ideas sounded really good. Although he hadn't really done this kind of film before, I could tell from his music background and the stories about his younger years that he was a dark, interesting, moody guy. That put me at ease.

Q: What drew you to Le Divorce?

A: I got asked to do that while I was still making The Ring, and the Merchant-Ivory team has created a lot of great roles for women. The Ring was obviously very plot-driven, and this was very character-driven. Great cast, great team behind it. That, and the fact that it was being shot in Paris!

Q: Then you did Ned Kelly with your ex, Heath Ledger...

A: I did Ned Kelly because I got to go home to Australia. I wish I could work there more often. It wasn't a big role, but it was a terrific cast--Heath, Geoffrey Rush, Rachel Griffiths. And it's an important piece of Australian history. I knew at the time it would do nothing to benefit my career, quote-unquote. But it was just a really lovely experience being back home and being part of that story.

Q: You and Heath have since split?

A: We were never on the same continent at the same time. We're still friends.

Q: When we talked previously, you told me your parents were hippies--

A: You know, I got in a lot of trouble with my mom for that. So let me straighten it out, okay? My dad worked for Pink Floyd, as a roadie, and they were hippies more in a trendy way, rather than the "25 people naked on a commune" kind of way. There was not a lot of money--my mother baked her own bread and made our clothes. There were always lots of people around, and it was always adventurous.

Q: Sounds like hippies to me.

A: [Laughs] But in a way it wasn't. My mother was very devoted, very much a part of our lives.

Q: Okay, I get it. Traditional hippies.

A: [Laughs] Remember I asked you if you wanted Nicole Kidman to give you a quote when we talked the last time? And she told me that she tried to call you for a week.

Q: That was the funniest thing. I was staying with some friends, and they have two young kids and don't answer the phones that often. And every time they called in for their messages, they'd say, "Oooops, Nicole Kidman called here five times!" This went on for a week, but finally I caught up with her. She was so charming about the whole thing, kept apologizing for annoying me! You've watched what happened to her, how her private life became public. Does that scare you?

A: Yeah. I don't think you really choose that. But it does come with the territory. I really admire Nic, because although there are times where she can't be bothered with it, and she won't go out, for the most part she's not going to be held hostage in her home. She wants to live her life, and if it means people coming over and interrupting your private conversations, well, you just have to live with it.

Q: Do you get recognized out in the street?

A: No, I don't think there's anything that makes me pop out from a crowd unless I'm all dressed up at a premiere or something. Which is good for me. Some people, whether they're famous or not, like to hold court. They're very charismatic. They love the attention, love to tell stories, and I find that really interesting in someone because I am so not like that. I'm one of the watchers, the observer.

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