minutiae‘ have honed her best work. They include Jim Jarmusch (who gave her a small part in Broken Flowers). and Whit Stillman (who gave her one of her first big roles in 1998 with The Last Days ()flh'st'n).
(iiven her love of a challenge. she was eager to
work with liincher. a director renowned for his
exacting standards. who thinks nothing of
notching up l()() takes to get a scene just right. She concedes she shares a little of l‘incher‘s obsession. ‘My first day was. I think. 80 takes. It was a two-shot of lake and l in a phone booth in the rain on the street in San Francisco. And there was a big camera move. and we both had to have our performances just right. And the rain had to be right and the light had to be right and the cars had to be right and the extras had to be right. and the camera move had to be right. It wasn't only performance. It was that a lot of elements had to be just right. And he would watch back every single take.~
Warming to her subject Sevigny adds. ‘But you know I am obsessive like liincher. I like that he was a complete control freak. because then I
didn‘t have to worry about being in control of
anything because I knew that he was. I love that about him. In between each take. if you were drinking a glass. he would have someone come with a ruler and measure how much liquid was in your glass between each take. to make sure it was back to the same. and l was like. "Yeah. I like that." I love the an of lilmmaking and that’s
why I love this movie. There's craftsmanship on every level of this film; it is impeccable.~
liver since her childhood in Darien. Connecticut. Sevigny (the daughter of a Polish American mother and distantly descended lirench aristocratic accountant—turned-interior designer father) has walked an enviably cool line. Her first taste of fame came when she was spotted at a newspaper kiosk by Mary Clarke and Andrea Lee Linett. the fashion editors of then cult teen fashion magazine .S'ussv. who put the teenager to work as an intern and occasional model. She then inspired Jay Mclnerney to write an article about her for The New Yorker in which he described her as ‘the coolest kid in the world‘.
After a chance encounter with writer and fellow skateboarder Harmony Korine led to a part in 1995’s K ids. she went from being a thrift- store Tinkerbell to couture fashion muse (Louis Vuitton. Marc Jacobs. l)olce and (iabbana and YSL). Next came acting awards and an ()scar nomination. at the age of 25. for Boys Don 'I fly. Sevigny also becatne the performer of the world‘s second most famous act of fellatio. in Vincent (iallo's 2003 film The Brown Bunny (she will always have to wait in line behind a certain Monica Lewinsky).
(iuided by a precocious feel for good material and interesting filmmakers she has notched up a roster of highly commendable if largely
‘I AM OBSESSIVE LIKE FINCHER.
I LIKE THAT HE WAS A COMPLETE CONTROL FREAK'
commercially underperforming independent films. When mention is made of her lack of commercial success since the ()scar winning Boys Don't Cry. she positively bursts with explanation: ‘I had a lot of offers and a lot of movies that were meant to happen after Buys Don '1 Fry that were great. great scripts and great directors and on two of them. the leading men broke limbs. So. they fell apart. They both would‘ve been really great for me. but I’m glad to still actually be struggling. I enjoy the struggle.’
Last year l'K television audiences saw her in [S cable station llB()'s feted Mormon community drama Big Love. In it she plays Nicolette. second wife of Bill l’axton‘s polygamist prophet Bill llendrickson. ‘lt‘s a great part. I love the show.” she enthuses. The second series is due out in America this summer while a [K date is so far unconfirmed. ller character is arguably the most conservative of the wives and Sevigny insists that she is far more conservative in real life than her persona might suggest.
By way of squaring some bizarre cultural circle. the actress is currently gearing up to play (‘atherine II (the (ireat) in Polish filmmaker Agnies/ka llolland‘s epic biopic (‘ut/terine and Peter. Sevigny's late father's connection to l7th (‘entury aristocrat (and great lady of letters) the Marquise de Sevigney may have been tenuous. but undoubtedly has the coolest of blue blood running through it. Sevigny is handsome and pretty. but she may also be the real queen of New York (‘ityz
Zodiac is on general release from Fri 18 May
1;) 2.: Ma. .>t.‘(:.‘ THE LIST 21