ROBIN WRIGHT
MurphyQuinn, theunstable love interest
of both JohnTravolta and SeanPenn in
the 1997 drama
She’s So Lovely
; or Starr,
a former stripper, recovering addict and
born-again Christian in 2002’s female-
driven
White Oleander
. “Picking a role
forme is gut-first,” she says, standing up
briefly to close the nearby balcony door.
“Do I feel something?Am I responding to
it?It’ssomuchmoreenriching thanwhen
peoplesay, ‘Oh, you’reperfect for thisrole
because you play the tortured, quiet, in-
trovertedsoulfulmotherwell.’Great,”she
says, rollinghereyesslightly. “Ican’twait
toplay that again.”
Bothon-screen ando, though, it’s the
emotional risk-taking that seems toattract
hermost. She tellsme that sonHopper is
leaving inafewdaysforHaiti,wherehe’sgo-
ing tobeworking forhisdad’sorganization,
J/PHRO,whichdedicates itseortstohelp-
ingsavelivesandbuildbetterfuturesforthe
Haitianpeople.Withher son’s transition
(“Hegraduatedhigh school!” shewhispers
again), that leavesWright open to embark
onherownhumanrightsmission:helpingto
spreadthewordabout,documentandassist
femalevictimsofrapeandmutilation inthe
DemocraticRepublicof theCongo. Oneof
herfirst stops?Europe, to speakonapanel
aspartoftheEnoughProject,whichaimsto
endgenocideandcrimesagainsthumanity
inSudan, Congo andotherparts ofAfrica.
While there, she also hopes tomake con-
nectionswith veterans, doctors anddocu-
mentarians thatmay lead toproducingher
own documentary exposing the African
country’s ongoinghorrors againstwomen.
This desire to immerseherself in cultural
aidhasalwaysbeenapartofher. Ina2006
interviewwith the
SanFranciscoChronicle
,
Wright said that shenevermeant tobe an
actress— she insteaddreamedof beingan
aidworkerforahumanitarianorganization.
After being amom for 20 years, now’s her
chance.
“Hopper’s leaving, and I don’t have any-
thingplannedatthemomentuntilnextyear
— I’vegotat least threemonths togoandex-
plore. I don’t have tobebackbyTuesday,”
shemuses. Then, smiling, she looks atme
and says, “It’s like I just graduated college
and am like, ‘OK. Nowwhat are you going
todo?’¤”
a new phase of both her life and career.
Shehiredherfirst-evermanager,Michael
Sugar, whohas helpedher land such chal-
lenging roles asErikaBerger, a character
who’s both strong and driven and that
Sugar knewwas perfect forWright. “He
went to [thefilm’sdirector]DavidFincher
andsaid, ‘Hey,wouldyouever thinkabout
Robin for the role?’Oncehe toldme Iwas
going in tomeet withFincher, who’s the
best, I sat downandwatched theSwedish
versionsof themoviesandread thebooks,”
shesays.
Wright claims that her favorite roles
are ones inwhich she gets to play some-
one entirelyunlikeherself, likeMaureen
LAURAKINIRY
, a regular contributor to
AmericanWay
,
lives inSanFrancisco,whereshewrites frequentlyabout
foodanddrink, thearts and travel.
48
DECEMBER 01, 2011
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
