Marisa Tomei Interview, The Wrestler

For Marisa Tomei, who plays Cassidy in The Wrestler, the role was unlike any other and, like Mickey Rourke, who plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson, she had to prepare both physically and emotionally for it. She says that what drove her to do so was how strongly she was able to relate to the themes of The Wrestler. “It’s a story that has very resonant themes for an artist because of these two characters who are facing a time when their bodies are starting to fail them as performers,” she says. “I thought that was something not often looked at.”

MoviesOnline sat down recently with Marisa to talk about her new movie, The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky. Aronofsky says that he struggled with the notion of bringing an exotic dancer into the story because the profession can be so rife with clichés, but he knew it was the right relationship for Randy (Rourke), one that would illuminate his fear of oblivion and need for human contact.

“I tried to resist it, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt that the similarities between a wrestler and stripper were just too fascinating,” the director remarks. “They both use stage names, they both use their bodies to make their living and for both, time and age are the great enemies. Plus, the reality is that a lot of wrestlers will go spend their gate money at a strip club when they’re done with gigs. So it just made complete sense that Randy and Cassidy would develop a friendship.”

Soon after the character emerged, Aronofsky thought of Marisa Tomei, with whom he went to high school, for the role. An Academy Award winner for her comedic take on a Bronx bombshell in My Cousin Vinny, she has played a remarkably diverse array of characters, garnering another Oscar nomination for her work as a guilt-ridden lover in “In the Bedroom.”

Tomei says that she felt an instant connection with Rourke that helped tremendously to build the organic rapport between the characters. “He can be so sweet and so tough at the same time; so charming yet so direct,” she says. “He helped me a lot, which was good because my very first day I was naked and doing a lap dance!” As for what Cassidy sees in Randy, Tomei says that they are both in professions that are very popular yet not often respected, and both are on the precipice of inevitable life changes.

Marisa Tomei was recently nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her work in The Wrestler. She is super talented and we really appreciated her time. Here’s what she had to tell us:

MoviesOnline: What did it take for you to get in shape for this role?

MARISA TOMEI: I went to a bunch of different clubs and watched a lot of different styles and the way different girls danced. I just got a variety of approaches and different styles. I worked with someone who was working with production who was a dancer and she came and helped me. I have a friend who teaches pole dancing and yoga, so she showed me some of the pole dance stuff because not everyone knows how to do that. You don't have to do that to be a dancer, but Darren wanted me to have that so I learned it.

MoviesOnline: I read that you were watching Bret Michael’s Rock of Love because he was shopping for a wife who was a stripper. Did that help in any way?

MARISA TOMEI: It's just a mindless way of pretending that I'm doing homework.

MoviesOnline: Your character parallels Mickey’s character. I thought her story was both heartbreaking and uplifting. Can you talk about getting into that character and what mental preparation you did for the role?

MARISA TOMEI: I don’t know what really happens to her at the end. Darren left a lot of it ambiguous purposely and so I've heard a lot of different reactions to it and whether people think she's going to go back or not go back. I think that's part of the point of it to not really know what's going to happen with her.

MoviesOnline: But in terms of playing that character on an emotional level, how did you get into the psyche of it and was there other research that you did in order to play her?

MARISA TOMEI: No, I just did what I normally do. I knew that Darren was constructing parallels between Mickey’s character and mine. Obviously, they're both performers. There's a certain performance high that they both get. I think even in her dancing for just a few minutes there’s something, that maybe she has more control over her life in those two minutes than she does in other places. They were both big partiers. They loved the 80s, they liked to drink, they liked the nightlife, they bleach their hair, have fake names, and they both use their bodies to make a living. I knew it was mostly about the wrestler but that she was also paralleling that. Maybe because she has her kid, she wants to be a little more disciplined. She has more incentive. So I think that's the big thing that diverges between the two of them and gives her a little bit more of like seeing the horizon and trying to help him get there too. They're more like comrades than even romantic love interests.

MoviesOnline: How self-conscious were you about your performance? Was that something you weighed in when you read the script? Or did you just know that you wanted to do it either way?

MARISA TOMEI: About the nudity?

MoviesOnline: Just being the focus of so many scenes where you're wearing skimpy clothes, nudity, that type of stuff in general?

MARISA TOMEI: So nudity?

MoviesOnline: I mean being the center of those scenes with all eyes on you.

MARISA TOMEI: I talked about it a lot with Darren beforehand. That's part of it. She has to be comfortable doing what she does. That's that world so there's no real hesitating once you sign up for it.

MoviesOnline: Can you talk about the journey and what this year has been like for you? You signed on for an indie film, you weren’t really sure where it was going or how it was going to be distributed, and now it’s being recognized as one of the year’s best films.

MARISA TOMEI: Well, you definitely don't [know how it’s going to turn out]. No one can predict these things otherwise the business would be completely different. So you just go into it knowing that there’s something or someone you’d like to work with or some world you'd like to explore and you don't really look back. The point is to hopefully have fun while you're doing it so that it doesn't matter if anything else comes out of it, then that gets to be gravy. You still had your experience and hopefully it was rich.

MoviesOnline: Can you talk about working with Mickey? Did you have a lot of rehearsals with him before you started shooting? Did you discuss any type of back story?

MARISA TOMEI: Well, we didn't talk about any of that. We didn't have [rehearsals]. Mickey and I didn't really want to rehearse. Darren was talking about rehearsing but he quickly realized that neither of us was into it so we just didn't ever rehearse.

MoviesOnline: Why is it that you don't like to rehearse? Is that just the way you prefer to work?

MARISA TOMEI: Well it depends on the piece and with this piece, I felt I should just show up and do it. I mean, I love rehearsing in the theater. That's my favorite part of it. But it can be counterproductive because you get it into your head too much and you're thinking. If you have a lot to work out or if you have bits to work out or something like that, sometimes that can be helpful. I guess if Mickey really wanted to, I would have, but he wasn't into it and I wasn't. It was definitely something I didn't particularly want to do so we just showed up and crashed into each other and let it go.

MoviesOnline: Did you feel that great rapport because it certainly comes off on the screen?

MARISA TOMEI: You know, I think the characters were so well written and that Rob Siegel did such a good job. He really did his own private work and his own private research and I did mine, so when they came together it would work because the foundation was already there in the script, and then we filled it out separately so we didn't really have to talk about it when we got together.

MoviesOnline: Out of the two characters, who do you feel is more emotionally downtrodden? Who has to deal with more emotional things on a day to day basis?

MARISA TOMEI: I don't know. I think they both have different things that they have to face. She has more responsibilities that way and he has less to live for in a way.

MoviesOnline: When you are reading a script, how quickly do you decide ‘I want this part’? When you were reading this script specifically, how quickly did you fall in love with it?

MARISA TOMEI: I think every script is different. Some take a little more time to decide on. I thought this was a really well-written script from the first read. I thought and now I know that Rob did a lot of research and it's really clear in the script. There are a lot of details and it was really fascinating the stuff where he's preparing for the fight and getting his hair done and all the little ways they test out the things they're going to use inside the ring. These scenes I think were improvised with what was on location but the scene was written so I liked all the details. There were enormous amount of details. And then when you know it's going to be Darren, and you know that his track record is of such excellence, and then speaking to him, that puts it over the top. It's mostly the director. It's their show.

MoviesOnline: Was this scene where you finally break down and have a beer straight off the page or was that improvised because that seemed so natural?

MARISA TOMEI: You mean after we go to the thrift shop and decide to have a beer? No, that was all written except for the change in the song. They made it that rap song which was really hard. It was supposed to be Sweet Child of Mine. (Laughs) We didn't get the rights until after we shot the scene. Then they used it later.

MoviesOnline: Runaround is easier to sing.

MARISA TOMEI: Yeah, but Sweet Child of Mine is sexier and more romantic. You think Runaround is easier to sing in that high falsetto with those horrible lyrics?

MoviesOnline: Do you have a problem with rap?

MARISA TOMEI: (Laughs) Yeah.

MoviesOnline: In every film, there are things that get cut out, were there any scenes that you were sad to see go?

MARISA TOMEI: I don’t think there was anything that was cut out that I was in.

MoviesOnline: Darren mentioned that they were shooting a documentary while you guys were making this film. Were you aware of that?

MARISA TOMEI: No, they just told me about it yesterday and I said, “What do you mean?,” and then the producer said, “We should interview Marisa,” and Darren said, “No, no, it’s okay.” (Laughs) So I have no idea.

MoviesOnline: When your character walks out of the strip club hopefully for the last time and  mutters her own name, it parallels what Mickey’s character does when he leaves the supermarket and says Robin. What do you think is the significance of that?

MARISA TOMEI: I think what you're seeing makes sense. Darren really layered it in that way. I didn't know that Mickey did that in that other scene. I mean, it's all about identity, what's your real identity, your changing persona and getting lost, losing your own values and your real self and trying to get back to that.

MoviesOnline: Well it's really kind of the opposite because when Pam comes out, she’s reaffirming who she really is, while Mickey is convinced he is not Robin.

MARISA TOMEI: But I would argue that she's not so clear-cut as all that. I think it functions in the story that way but I don't think it's so easy, like “Okay, this is what I do and then I go home and I’m this.” I don't think that's the case.

MoviesOnline: When you did your research and met other strippers, did you come across any that were completely fine with doing what they did and didn't go home at night feeling ashamed or wanting out of it?

MARISA TOMEI: I thought about that a lot and it's like anything, there is no stereotype that applies to everybody. There are a lot of creative women in it who do a lot of other things whether they’re building crafts or painters or photographers and they do things, and they are artistic. They're just not fitting into a normal mode, in a good way, and also I think it depends on how they live their lives. There are a million kinds of strip clubs. Is it the one that my character is in on the roadside in New Jersey or is it Scores or are you making a lot of money at Crazy Girls and what kind of guys are coming in, not only how much money do they have, but how clean are they, and what’s allowed to go on? And then they have their own line that they can cross or not cross because you're not supposed to touch them? Sometimes they let you and sometimes they don't. So you're kind of in control of that to a degree and generally, in the dance itself at least, there is a sense of empowerment and creativity in that too. It's your time on stage and that can be fulfilling because it is a creative outlet. So, like with acting, you don't really like to do all the rest of the showbiz part but the acting itself is really great. So like the dancing itself is maybe something that was a form of self-expression. It can be. A lot of girls talk about how empowering it is. They are really in control, you know.

MoviesOnline: I’ve heard that, although in movies it’s usually portrayed as someone struggling to get out of it or something the character was forced into.

MARISA TOMEI: That was my problem with the original concept. I just felt like it's falling into ‘oh, just because she does this, it has to be some victimized thing’ which doesn't fit in with the rest of the parallel which is that he loves his job. He's trying to reinvent himself for other reasons because he's being pushed out but he loves wrestling. And I'm supposed to be paralleling in that and I felt like she's being pushed out and she isn’t really ready to be pushed out either. It can be good money, but the performance thing is part of her identity too.

MoviesOnline: You’ve been acting for a very long time. What has your experience been like in terms of getting roles as you’ve gotten older?

MARISA TOMEI: Yes, but I'm not that old yet so I’ll decline on that.

MoviesOnline: What have you done since The Wrestler?

MARISA TOMEI: Well, since The Wrestler, I did a play on Broadway called Top Girls. That's it. I just did that play.

MoviesOnline: How was your experience on Broadway and have you done that before? What was that like this time around?

MARISA TOMEI: I’ve been on Broadway three times and I usually do at least one play a year. Right before I did this movie, I did a play off Broadway and then I went into this (The Wrestler) and then I did that play (Top Girls). I love it.

MoviesOnline: Do you still get nervous when you're getting ready to go on stage every night? Do you ever suffer from stage fright when you're doing Broadway?

MARISA TOMEI: I don't suffer from severe stage fright where I can't go on or I vomit or things like that that I know people really do suffer from, but I always ask myself why the hell am I doing this and why did I sign up for this? Inevitably, why did I do this? Then you get through it and you get to the other side and there is like this great high.

MoviesOnline: Is there anything that surprised you while you were doing the research for this character or the world of wrestling that you didn't know before?

MARISA TOMEI: Well I didn't really get into all of the wrestling stuff because that was his world in a way and my character wasn't supposed to know about the ins and outs of it. I didn't really get into it that much. I still don't really know that much about it except that it's a lot more real than most people think of it as.

MoviesOnline: Were you surprised that there were so many different types of clubs?

MARISA TOMEI: Yeah, there's something for everyone out there, whatever mood you're in.

MoviesOnline: The film picked up the top prize at Cannes and is obviously up for a number of awards. How do you feel about awards season? Do you just cope and let it happen? Are you excited?

MARISA TOMEI: Yes, I just let it happen. As I was saying to you, you just do the film and you hope that you have a great experience and that's the thing that's going to stick with you no matter what, and if anything else happens, that's always a really lovely surprise.

MoviesOnline: You did a great job.

MARISA TOMEI: Thank you.