Maria Bello
Why the actress prefers Captain Underpants to Jane Austen.
by Mina Hochberg
September 19, 2007
From The Cooler to A History of Violence, Maria Bello has built her reputation around playing strong-minded women who you wouldn't want to cross. After a senior-year acting class waylaid her lawyer aspirations at Villanova University, Bello nabbed a stint on ER as pediatrician Dr. Anna Del Amico, followed by roles in Permanent Midnight, Coyote Ugly and Auto Focus. But the movie that put her on the bigtime map was The Cooler, in which she famously bared all with co-star William H. Macy. The role earned her a Golden Globe nomination and paved the way for A History of Violence (for which she nabbed another Globe nomination), Thank You For Smoking, World Trade Center and now, The Jane Austen Book Club, an ensemble movie about a group of women who deal with divorce, break-ups and canine death at their monthly book club meetings. Bello plays Jocelyn, a fiercely independent woman who prefers the companionship of dogs to men.
Bello has a six-year-old son, Jack, with former boyfriend Dan McDermott, a TV executive. Though most of her movies will be off-limits to Jack for many more years (due to potty mouths, violence and sex), Bello says she did the kid-friendly Flicka last year so that her son could finally see one of her movies. The well-read Bello spoke to Babble about her son's favorite books and her distaste for Jane Austen. — Mina Hochberg
Have you read many Jane Austen novels?
I'll be brutally honest and say I'm a huge reader — I read about two novels a week, I've been reading since I was five — and I've never gotten through a Jane Austen book. It's just not my type of writing. I sort of like more testosterone-driven, hard-hitting novels like Hemingway or Philip Roth or Simone de Beauvoir. I sort of like things that go right for the gut. Maybe I'll grow into liking Jane Austen, but right now, eh.
Did you have to read any Austen for the movie, at least?
I skimmed Emma before I did the movie but didn't immerse myself in it, I'll be brutally honest and say . . . I've never gotten through a Jane Austen book.that's for sure.
Is your son reading on his own yet?
He is! He just started first grade on Thursday and he loves all sorts of shark books and animal books. The nature books. And he loves Captain Underpants.
Are there any books you look forward to recommending to him when he's old enough?
We've read to him the whole Harry Potter series and we're in the last book, but we skip over the really scary parts. I can't wait till he can read that series on his own.
What first appealed to you about this role?
I had read the book before and then [producer] John Calley, who's a dear friend, and [director] Robin Swicord approached me with the script. I liked the book but I loved the script. I found myself going through a similar phase that Jocelyn was going through, which was to have a guarded heart . . . I was more guarded when I was younger. As I've gotten older I've become more open. You stop judging yourself and you stop judging others. And it doesn't matter anymore if anybody likes you.
©2007 Mina Hochberg and Nerve Media
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Mina Hochberg is a movie critic at amNewYork. She lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn. |
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