As a theater actress, was the Hollywood awards season madness surreal?
God, I just love that movie! Yes, it was so surreal. You end up playing a character version of yourself, which is weird. I thankfully only had to go to one awards show, the SAG Awards, and they were actually pretty cool. It’s a dinner, so the whole Milk cast was sitting around the table dressed up together, which was fun—but incredibly strange! You look around and go, “What am I doing here?” Were you starstruck by anyone? Honestly no, but that’s because the whole Milk experience made me get over any star-struckness I used to have. Once Sean Penn is a person to you and not Sean Penn, things change. For example, you’ll go, “That’s Diane Lane, she’s Josh’s wife. As in Josh Brolin’s wife.” It’s a totally different way of processing things! These people become human beings you sit down to dinner with, instead of freaks of nature who are either too beautiful or too famous not to treat like an alien. You’re a music buff. What’s on your Annie Sullivan playlist? It’s going to sound strange, but
