The Essence of Being Renée Zellweger

As usual and as the unwritten rule in Hollywood press junkets, we journalists are not supposed to ask the stars on the spot – in this case, Russell Crowe and Renée Zellweger, stars of Universal Pictures’ Cinderella Man, directed by Ron Howard (of A Beautiful Mind fame, also starring Crowe) – any personal questions (about love life, sex preference or some such delicate matters).

That’s why the "personal side" of Renée must be tackled in this introduction (body of Conversations is strictly all about the movie).

Anyway, barely three weeks before the press junket first week of June held at the Essex House in New York, two great events happened in Renée’s life: She capped a whirlwind romance with country-music heartthrob Kenny Chesney, 37 (Renée is 36), with a simple sunset wedding last May 9 in the Virgin Islands; and she got her star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

According to a People magazine account, Renée and Kenny met on Jan. 15 at the Concert of Hope tsunami telethon where Kenny performed and Renée answered phones. Her one-year-and-a-half romance with Jack White of White Stripes had ended four months earlier. Texas-bred Renée, who "knows her country music," wanted to meet Kenny by passing him a note but the stars’ respective publicists bungled up the whole thing by talking about it backstage. After the broadcast, said the People story, Kenny went over to Renée and said, "I hear you are trying to pass me a note." And, on that note, the romance got off to a good start.

And came her star on the Walk of Fame, a dream come true that prompted Renée to tell the crowd, "I’m dying now."

I don’t know about you but I fell in love with Renée Zellweger when I saw her as the wife of Tom Cruise (you know, "Show me the money!") in Jerry Maguire which won for her the 1996 Best Breakthrough Performer award from the National Board of Review and a Blockbuster Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy and a SAG Award nomination. Incidentally, it was her "You got me from hello" dialogue in Jerry Maguire that inspired her future husband to write a 1999 hit song.

She did such an unforgettable performance (though, I think, she underacted in a calculated kind of way) that I promised to watch all her future movies, including Bridget Jones’s Diary and its sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason; Me, Myself and Irene (with Jim Carrey who fell head-over-heels for Renée and almost married her); Chicago (where, as Roxie Hart, she nearly stole show from Catherine Zeta-Jones); and Cold Mountain (Anthony Manghella’s Civil War epic for which Renée won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar).

And now, Cinderella Man where she pulls another award-winning performance as Mae Braddock, the feisty wife of Jim Braddock, the down-on-his-luck boxer who made history and inspired a nation during the Great Depression by winning one bout after another against all odds, crowning his fading career by beating Max Baer, the "unstoppable" heavyweight champion of the world. Russell Crowe plays Jim Braddock, the so-called Cinderella Man, with the same passion and intensity that Renée brings to her performance.

Here are excerpts from my Conversation with Renée (next week: Russell Crowe):

Are you a boxing fan?

"Oh, I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’m a big boxing fan. To be honest, until I did this movie I didn’t know much about boxing. But I liked Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)."

What was it about Mae Braddock that you found interesting? What attracted you to the role?

"Oh, so many things, starting with the script which was very beautiful and very simple. About the character, again you have to ask me, ‘Who is she?’ Jim Braddock’s wife. ‘Okay, what did she do?’ Well, the big part that’s really important is what she and Jim shared. ‘Yeah, but what did she do?’ Well, she stood behind her husband even if she didn’t want him to fight and I love that! I think it’s so moving and so beautiful and just so... so important. The story is so human, so emotional, so real and just so natural. It’s an un-sensationalized kind of love story."

The character of Mae Braddock is described as "strong and opinionated yet she’s a truly devoted wife in a time when many women didn’t have a voice at all." Being also "strong and opinionated," you must have been intrigued by that aspect of her personality.

"What’s beautiful about Mae is that through her strength, she became Jim’s purpose. She and the kids were Jim’s motivation; they were what kept him hanging on no matter what. Mae was Jim’s support system, but she was also a woman who had an unconventional sense of herself; she was never afraid to tell Jim what was in her heart even when it was not what he wanted to hear. In many ways, she was at the helm of the Braddock household, very progressive for the times and an interesting dynamic to explore."

You’re fond of relationship stories, aren’t you?

"Oh yes, I am. What I love about Cinderella Man is that it always comes back to the connection between Jim and Mae. No matter what challenges they faced, they always made it through because of the strength of their relationship. Their love was foundational in helping them through the harsh realities of the times. One thing I found especially moving is that the Braddock kids were not ever fully aware of just how bad things were. Jim and Mae managed to provide this incredible front that everything was okay even though they were just barely surviving. It just reminded you of how lucky we have become. It’s hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to sacrifice everything so that your children wouldn’t have to go to sleep at night worrying about food and having a roof over their heads."

How was it working with Crowe?

"Intense. Very intense! I loved it. That’s why I looked forward to working with him because I know that he appreciates the same things that I do. He finds it fun to dissect the material, learn about it and live it and tell the story from the inside. I knew that working with him would be challenging in a different way and that we would be compatible in the way we approached the work. I knew it would be rewarding and I wasn’t wrong."

Aside from watching footage about Jim and Mae Braddock in press conferences, how did you prepare for the role? Did you talk to people close to the Braddocks?

"Oh, sure. Yeah, I did that. I listened to interviews with the Braddocks. I talked to Mae’s granddaughter who played a part in the movie. She shared stories with me and showed me photographs from the Braddock family album. She also showed me more than 200 love letters that Jim had written to Mae. So much to research, lots of material available, that by the time we started shooting the movie I felt as if I’d known Mae Braddock all my life."

You’re famous for being so passionate in preparing for your role(s). Like, you gained weight for your role in Bridget Jones’s Diary and lost it just as easily for another movie (like what Crowe also did for a previous starrer). You make it seem so easy. How do you do it?

"You know, it seems so easy but it’s actually not. It takes effort, a lot of effort, to do that especially if, for example, genetically you are not predisposed to look like Bridget Jones. It takes a lot of hard work. To lose weight, I had to go on a crash diet and do a lot of running around the track every day."

Pretty tough, huh?

"It was necessary that I regain my health because, you know, you don’t exactly look ‘artistic’ when you’re over-weight."

No regrets about going through the ordeal?

"None at all. It was worth it. I loved what I did. Playing Bridget Jones was a privilege. But it’s just a job and that’s what the job required."

And what else did the role (as Mae Braddock) require you to do?

"Besides my wearing brown hair? Well, I had to stop going to the gym for a while so I would look as big as Mae Braddock. Russell is dedicated to his craft and I loved that; I share the same dedication with him. During the shooting, Russell became a boxer; he lived the life of a boxer so that he would authentically retell the story of this man’s life."

No wonder you and Crowe worked so well in this, your first movie together.

"You’re right. The job requires some degree of martyrdom because there’s a lot of creative satisfaction that comes from whatever effort you put into it. With Bridget Jones, the transformation was necessary to authenticate the role. It was just, as I’ve said, necessary and it was wonderful."

(E-mail reactions at [email protected])