Q+a [mariel Hemingway]

The 41-year-old actress and granddaughter of one of SI's most famous writers (Ernest's pieces on hunting and bullfighting appeared in the '50s) has a new memoir/yoga manual, Finding My Balance.

SI: Could a volatile athlete such as Rasheed Wallace benefit from a little yoga?

Hemingway: Yeah, some of these guys who are clearly higher amped, overadrenalized and have too much testosterone might benefit from a bit of silence.

SI: Is yoga a sport?

Hemingway: Well it can enhance sports activity hugely, but it's not meant to be competitive. One thing about yoga is that you're not supposed to be checking out a chick or the guy next to you, wondering why you don't look like that in a pose.

SI: You were remarkably convincing as a pentathlete in the 1982 film Personal Best. How obsessive were you about getting into shape for the role?

Hemingway: For four months I did triathlete training: I would swim in the morning for a mile, run about 15 miles and bike for 30 miles. I did that six days a week. Yes, I became obsessed.

SI: You write that Woody Allen took you to some of his favorite museums and restaurants during the filming of Manhattan. Did he ever take you to a Knicks game?

Hemingway: No, but he took me to see the Yankees in the [1978] World Series. I've never been to a World Series since, but we were right behind the dugout, and you can't do better than that.

SI: We paid your grandfather famously outlandish sums for his stories. Think we got a good deal?