Thursday, March 19, 1998
Never say never
FILM: Neve Campbell, perennial good girl, turns bad in 'Wild Things'
By Stephanie Sheh
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Only in Hollywood can someone be punished for doing something too well. Sometimes referred to as typecasting or pigeon-holing, actors dread being tied to playing one character.
But Neve Campbell is breaking the chains that bind by deviating from the good girl roles that she's known for in the new film "Wild Things," which opens Friday. Complete with burgundy hair, dark make-up and tattoos, Campbell plays Suzie Toller, a bitter, socially rejected high school student who's out to cause a little trouble.
Looking like her more wholesome characters in a black skirt and sleek tank top, Campbell sits down in a large conference room at the Century Plaza Hotel to talk about her career and new film.
"The very reason I took this movie is because I got to play the bad girl," Campbell explains. "Because I wanted to challenge myself in that way and learn what it is to play someone evil. For the same reason, I don't want to be typecast as a television actress. I don't want to be typecast as just one kind of character, just a good girl."
Co-star Denise Richards, who was last seen in "Starship Troopers," had no problem believing Campbell in this new kind of role.
"I think she did an amazing job," Richards says emphatically. "We really hit it off before we started shooting. I think she was very convincing when we were in our scenes and when they said 'cut' we would laugh."
The acting challenge also proved to be rewarding for Campbell. When asked if playing bad roles are more fun, Campbell bursts into her distinct uninhibited laugh.
"Yeah it is. It's a lot of fun," Campbell continues in the midst of laughter. "It's always more fascinating to me to play characters who are really messed up because I'm not really close to those kinds of people in my life. And it's fascinating to try and understand why people choose to go in an evil direction in their lives."
Since the actress could not draw from her personal life when portraying Suzie, Campbell researched the role by visiting prisons when she reached Miami, where the film was shot.
"I met a young woman and we were supposed to talk about half an hour but we ended up talking for about four hours because we really hit it off," Campbell recalls. "She expressed to me why she made certain decisions in her life and why her life had gone in such a bad way and what the experience was to be in jail."
The inmate also explained why she was so guarded and defensive which Campbell says helped her in playing the character. It was also refreshing for Campbell that the woman had never watched the television show "Party of Five" and did not know who Campbell was.
More often than not though, the actress is recognized as Julia from "Party of Five," the young Salinger who is now married and struggling to handle the new responsibilities of an independent life. Over the years Julia has become a role model to young women and recently Campbell was awarded a "Best Family TV Actress" award from the Family Films and Family Television Academy. With all of this surrounding her, Campbell has no qualms about how the public will respond to her playing the less than angelic character of Suzie.
"I don't choose to be a role model. I don't think it's my responsibility to concern myself with what the audiences are going to accept and not accept," Campbell explains. "I want to have some kind of longevity to my career. I would like to look back on my career when I am 50 years old and say that I have a huge library of characters. I also don't want to be bored playing the same kinds of characters because if I become bored I think that audiences will be too."
Although Campbell has been playing Julia for four years now, the 24-year-old actress has kept herself occupied by making films like "The Craft" and the "Scream" movies on her hiatuses.
"I just don't sleep," Campbell laughs. "It's tough. I really am not sleeping a whole lot lately. My crew jokes about it like. 'Neve, you're just doing "Party of Five" these days? You must be getting a lot of sleep.'"
But Campbell has learned to deal with the lack of sleep, "I'm at a point where although I'm tired, I know that it's necessary for me to continue to do films on my hiatuses because come two years when 'Party of Five' is done I want to still have my face out there in film so that I can still have a career after it."
The television show has actually been renewed for three years, but Campbell's contract is up in only two. And the actress says that she has let people know that she does not plan on remaining there for more than another two years. Similarly, Campbell's need to play different characters has kept her from saying yes to the third "Scream" sequel. But making "Scream 3" is not completely out of the question.
"They'd really like me to say, 'Yes I'll do it now.' Because they need to write the script," Campbell says. "But I don't want to be typecast as Sidney or Julia and I only get the opportunity to do one movie on my hiatus. If I find another really fantastic script, and it's a choice between 'Scream 3' and this other script, I'll do the other script.
"I could make a 'Scream 3' and everyone will see me and it'll be successful, but people might think that's all I can do again and I won't have a career after that," Campbell continues. "Then what do I want to choose? Do I want to choose a lot of money or do I want to choose longevity?"
In addition to playing more diverse characters, Campbell has voiced interest in playing characters closer to her age. Thus far, she has generally been cast as high school and college students. But that's soon to change.
Campbell is actually playing her own age in an upcoming film titled "54."
"And I'm actually going to do a romantic comedy for Warner Brothers called 'Three to Tango' and I'll be 25 so I play older than me," laughs Campbell, proving that she's up to resisting the molds of the industry.
FILM: "Wild Things" opens Friday.Mandalay Entertainment
Denise Richards (left) and Neve Campbell star in "Wild Things," a tale of revenge, sex and murder.