Since Claire Danes made her debut in 1994's critically acclaimed My So-Called Life - a role which garnered the then-sixteen-year-old a Golden Globe award - her star has continued to ascend.
Now, at the turn of 2010, she is shining brighter then ever in her latest project: Me and Orson Welles. A credible coming-of-age tale which co-stars Zac Efron and newcomer Christian McKay, it has already been hailed "the feel-good film of the year" and is the latest neon feather in her cap. One which, for Danes, she thoroughly enjoyed achieving - not least because she got to play the sexually-assertive Sonja Jones: a woman who is a force to be reckoned with.
“She’s
very forthright - unapologetically so,” she says when we meet at London's Soho Hotel. “She’s
very critical of others and she doesn’t ever see her own weaknesses,
but I also think she think she’s very charming and, although she wants
to succeed, she doesn’t want to tear anyone down in the process" - even when accusing Efron's character of "mincing around on stage" before seducing him into the bedroom.
“The dialogue was very special,” she asserts with her articulate New York lilt. “It’s very rare to find writing of this quality. It’s
very witty and engaging and I had a lot of fun with those Thirties
slang words, that kooky vernacular.”
“But I also thought the scenes [with Efron] were very tender. Zac’s amazing. I was really delighted to discover how fine an
actor he is, it’s true. And he can move very well. We took some dancing
lessons for a brief scene in the dance hall and that was very humbling.
Zac was a much quicker study than I was, he’s a very co-ordinated guy!”
Yet for Danes, working alongside an impressive leading man is nothing new. Having created the blueprint for teen television alongside Jared Leto in My So-Called Life fifteen years ago, she's also starred opposite Leonardo Dicaprio in Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, Steve Martin in Shopgirl, Joaquin Phoenix in It's All About Love and, more recently, Charlie Cox in Stardust.
And, equally, she is every inch the leading lady herself.
But does she see a similarity between herself and her on-screen Orson character? "I’ve always been pretty focused but maybe
not as driven as she is," she muses with a smile.
And although the 30-year-old actress - who completed a run of Pygmalion on Broadway in 2007 - is quick to celebrate the talents of her so-stars, it' is critics who have - yet again - singled her out for being worthy of particular praise. And with a CV that boasts The Hours, The Rainmaker, U-Turn, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Little Women, they are clearly right to do so.
Yet, despite her across-the-board acclaim, Danes is too wise to read her own reviews.
“I think it’s generally not a good idea not to because they’re not written
for you or for your benefit as the artist," she says. "So it’s just not very
useful. The general vibe usually seeps through, though.”
So how would Danes have coped with the real Orson Welles? “He was brazen and a little insensitive, but he was also incredibly
specific about what he wanted and perceptive about the actors and any
direction that is that astute is very helpful," she says.
"I’d
like to think I would have responded well. I don’t ever feel combative
with my directors, I need them. I get very anxious when a director’s
not really making himself very available.”
When asked how she has changed as an artist since her lead
role in Jonathan Kaplan's Brokedown Palace - alongside Kate Beckinsale in what was then her first major Hollywood role
- she said she feels more comfortable with her confidence.
"I feel more comfortable asking for things that I need on a project.
I feel able to assert myself. I used to worry that that was a sign of
arrogance and now I know it's a sign of responsibility and maturity. I
know it's OK to ask those needs to be met"
Part of this increased confidence she credits with her decision to take a sabbatical from the industry in 1999 to study psychology at Yale University - a move that was encouraged at the time by Jodie Foster.
When asked what work she was most - and least - proud of, Danes
replies: “It’s hard...I mean it’s funny because the things that people have
appreciated over time tend to be the things that I’m reminded of and
return to and settle on as being good.
"The things that people have appreciated over time tend to be
the things I'm reminded of and return to and settle on as being good.
Public opinion does inform, even without me being aware of it, my own
personal opinion of the work I have done.
"My So-Called Life, Romeo and
Juliet and Shopgirl are the ones that have resonated the loudest and
the longest."
Chances are that she can now add Me and Orson Welles to that list too.
Me and Orson Welles is out now.