 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
Q&A with Geena Davis Posted: Wednesday November 13, 2002 12:27 PM
An accomplished archer (she has ranked as high as 13th in the U.S.) and a trustee for the Women's Sports Foundation, the 46-year-old Academy Award winner had her first child, Alizeh, in April. SI: What is your role with the Women's Sports Foundation? Geena Davis: I have a Web site [GeenaTakesAim.com] that parents and girls can use to learn about Title IX and take action if they find their school is not in compliance. Thirty years after Title IX passed, 80 percent of schools are not in compliance. SI: : Were you much of an athlete growing up Wareham, Mass.? GD I competed in the high jump in high school, but I wasn't very good. My technique was to stand around looking intimidating because I was so tall. SI: Would Thelma from Thelma and Louise have been a supporter of Title IX? GD: For sure. You know, she might not have had to go on that rampage if she had played sports in school. SI: Your character in Stuart Little 2, Mrs. Little, doesn't want Stuart to play soccer, fearing for his safety. Will you have similar concerns for Alizeh? GD: Only if she plays with people hundreds of times her size, as Stuart did. But no, I'm hoping she will play all kinds of sports. SI: How did you get started in archery? GD: I watched the coverage of [gold medalist] Justin Huish at the '96 Olympics. When they showed him shooting from across the street into his yard, I thought, That's really cool, and it's something you can practice at home. SI: What made you think you might have a talent for it? GD: I had just finished making Long Kiss Goodnight. I had trained in a bunch of different skills for that movie. My coach for pistol shooting said, "You know, you have a real natural ability for this." But once again, the problem was you can't practice it at home. So when I saw archery, which I had never really looked at before, I wondered if it needed some of the same skills as pistol shooting. SI: What was it like to qualify for the Olympic trials after competing for such a short time? GD: It was awesome. But every time I scratched my nose, 50 cameras went off. I was a wreck. SI: Are you still shooting for the 2004 Games? GD: No, I'm going to have to look to Beijing [in 2008]. When my daughter is a little older, I definitely want to get back to it. I still haven't found out how good I can get at it. SI: Would you trade your Oscar for an Olympic medal? GD: In your scenario, I have to give up the Oscar, right? Damn. But I'm going to say yes, because archery is something that I took up later and didn't know I had a natural aptitude for. SI: You turned down the Sharon Stone role in Basic Instinct. Is it true that you suggested using a bow and arrow instead of an ice pick? GD: [laughs] No. It would have been very impractical to set up your bow and make the victim stand really far away. SI: What was the toughest thing about playing Dottie Hinson in A League of Their Own? GD: Learning to play catcher. My shins and my forearms were so covered in round, baseball-shaped bruises that I learned as fast as I could to get the ball in the mitt. SI: Who throws more like a girl, Madonna or Rosie O'Donnell? GD: Oh, Rosie knows how to play ball. She's an athlete, for sure. SI: You have a great scene with Tom Hanks where you are both flashing signs. Has that skill ever come in handy in real life? GD: No ... But let's back up to "Who throws like a girl?" You'd say that to Thelma? You'd say that to the assassin from Long Kiss Goodnight? Are you crazy? Dude! SI: Since your role in TV's Buffalo Bill, have you become a Bills fan? GD: I have to confess, I don't keep track of their doings very much. SI: You're a member of Mensa. Do you run into many pro athletes at your meetings? GD: You know, I haven't ever gone to any Mensa meetings. SI: Do you anticipate a sequel to Earth Girls Are Easy? GD: I heard they're making it into a Broadway musical. SI: Are they really? I was just kidding. GD: I know. But it's true. SI: You made a big stir when you wore a see-through dress to the Emmys in 2000. Would you ever wear something like that while competing? GD: No. There would be no benefit from distracting anybody. Archers are pretty focused. SI: You were a foreign exchange student in Sweden and still speak fluent Swedish. Who is your all-time favorite Swedish athlete? GD: Is the question really whether I can name any besides Bjorn Borg? Well, I do know how to say his name properly. [Here Davis pronounces it in an authentic-sounding Swedish way.] --Pete McEntegart Issue date: Nov. 18, 2002
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
