Vanity Fair: Was there ever a time when you thought maybe acting was not what you were going to do, and there was a fork in the road?
Renée Zellweger: Actually, acting was the fork. I didn’t mean this at all. This was a big mistake. I’m a failed journalist, I guess. I went to school to write, and here we are! Good job! I failed the typing test—typing class with typewriters, by the way. They were electric. At least I’m of that generation….I think I might’ve been one of the last generations of people who had that opportunity because now you start typing in kindergarten with the computer keys.
You’ve mentioned it was your brother that got you into a school play.
Yeah, but he didn’t do that on purpose. That was much to his chagrin. He was not excited.
How is he now that this is your profession? Has he relaxed into it?
Sometimes. Because it’s weird.
He’s a protective brother?
Very. He always has been, always. He’s my best friend. But he also helps me keep perspective, like with my very first big public breakup. And it was really difficult, and my first time to really be splashed all over the tabloids in a way that…it’s an adjustment. And he picked up all the tabloids that were at the checkout center at the supermarket. He had come out to visit me because he’s like, “I’m coming up there. If we talk about this one more time, I’m going to literally come kick you in the backside.” So he picked up all the tabloids, and we were riding in the car home, and his shoulders were shaking, and I thought, “Oh gosh, he’s crying, too.” And I look over. He’s laughing so hard. He’s laughing! He thought it was the best thing in the world! All the things that they say you say or what you did. So he started reading them out loud in a [ridiculous] voice. And we were both laughing until we were crying. And I’ve always looked at it that way since, and that was years ago, decades ago.
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You do such extensive research for your roles, hours of Judy Garland YouTube videos and documentaries. Do you think that stems from your initial passion for journalism?
Never thought about that, but possibly. Just curiosity, I’m driven by it. I want to understand things. I’m curious.
Are there any movies this year that have stood out to you?
Yeah, I loved The Report.
Back to journalism.
You got me. You did.
Being innately curious, do you have any hobbies?
I like to be active. I like to challenge myself physically every day with something. I like to play.
Do you have a sport?
I’m a runner. If you can throw a hill at me, I’ll take it. I do read quite a bit. I am a peanut-gallery pundit. I write a lot. I need to be alone a lot. I go to the movies, I love popcorn.
Popcorn dinner.
Popcorn breakfast! I don’t want to tell anybody that, but a Coke and popcorn, those two, it’s the best.
When you write, is it scripts that you’re working on?
No. I mean, well, there’s a couple, but that’s just for fun, to see it, to learn it, to understand how to do it. I have a couple ideas that I really like for some friends of mine. I want to get them done so I can share it. But there’s always a speech to write or a presentation. I write short stories. I write poetry. I write music. There’s a couple nonfiction things in my head that I tinker with.
Now that you’re back in the awards race for Judy, do you notice a difference in the general business of Hollywood after taking some time away from it all?
When you repeat yourself in your profession, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for discovery and growth. That’s not to say it’s not possible to branch out and be challenged by new things. But [I realized that] there was not time for the things I wanted to experience if I was to keep doing what I had been doing. I just hadn’t found a way to allow for those things that are important and nurturing. Also, I was unhealthy, so I had to stop. I needed to take care of myself. I just hadn’t, at that time, found a way to be able to allow for those things that are important and nurturing.
And you took some time to explore other pursuits.
I recognized myself again, when I had a life instead of just a profession. When I had friends who I saw on a regular basis.
I read a review of your first big movie role, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, and a critic wrote something like, ‘Not since Jamie Lee Curtis will we have a scream queen that will go on to do so much more.’ I’m curious, as it is Halloween today, is there something you’re going to watch when you go home?
How about that? I love the original Hill House. I love Rosemary’s Baby. The Shining. I used to go to the Fine Arts and to the other independent movie houses in town with Dan Ireland, my dear friend, the director of The Whole Wide World. He was one of my best friends. We would sneak off on Halloween. We would go to the Santa Monica Boulevard parade, right? Then we’d go and see one of the classic films on the big screen. He was a cinephile from the time he was, what, 10 years old? He would sneak out of school and go to the movies in Canada. Anyway, he passed away, so in his honor, I should probably pull up something tonight. I think I will, thank you very much.
I’m excited about your MGM TV deal. You’ve done a full series now. What’s next?
We’re just building up the roster right now of things that we want to foster. I bought the rights to my first book in 2007 or 2008. I love all of that. I’m developing some things for myself, because I just imagine that could be fantastic fun. There are other things that I believe in, that are important, that I’d like to see get made, which is great writing and that has a place. That has a place.
What have you learned from taking storytelling into your own hands?
No one’s going to invite you to do it. You shouldn’t wait. If it’s something that’s your passion, then do it. That really is the truth. No one’s ever going to anoint you and say, ‘No, no, no, you do have the skills to do this, you really do’ even before you’ve checked off all the things on your list that you think will validate you or substantiate you or your desire to participate. There’s always going to be someone who tells you not to do it. Be around a bunch of people who tell you you can.
Did you have a favorite song that you got to sing as Judy?
For different reasons, so many of them. They just have a different feeling, you know?
Was there ever one where you felt like, ‘This’ll be easy, I’ve got this’?
You’d think there’d be that one, but no. “Come Rain or Come Shine” was a marathon. It felt like this wonderfully choreographed endurance test. “By Myself” too, because of the parallels between the narrative and the circumstances in Judy’s life at that time. I mean, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” because of just imagining what it might have meant to her when she was singing it at that time in her life, versus when she first sang it as a young girl. Then, I loved singing “The Man That Got Away,” just because it’s—
The best.
Yeah, right?
With all that you’ve accomplished, is there one sort of pinch-me moment as you look back on your career? Maybe you have many?
Yeah. Yeah, I do. I was aware of them in the moment, very much aware. When they let you on the Paramount lot for the first time. I’m thinking, “How on earth?” Somehow, I have an agent. I have agents in Hollywood, California, and they have my phone number. I didn’t give it to them. It’s crazy. Tom Cruise is waiting at Sony Pictures to meet me… that is hilarious. The latest was Abbey Road—I recorded in Abbey Road, are you kidding? We recorded bonus songs for the album there, watching Sam Smith…then Rufus [Wainwright], because I have adored him from afar for decades.
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Me too.
You sing to him in the car too? You’ve been duetting with him for years too?
Did he give you any advice?
No…but I would take it in a minute. That was pretty pinch-me.
Did you have any communication with Judy Garland’s family at all when you were preparing?
I wanted to reach out to Liza, but I wasn’t successful. Then, when I got to London, I wanted to reach out to Lorna, but the circumstances made it inappropriate, because she wasn’t well at the time. I have spoken to her since. I met her after, and she’s hilarious. It was a gathering of friends. She was there and I was there. We just sat and visited. A memorial service for a mutual friend—we talked about him. She was talking about her book that was coming out about the making of A Star Is Born, with her mom in it. It was just a special time, an important time. She was funny and so smart, witty, sharp. That was nice.
Something someone told me is that you have an incredibly high IQ. Have you had an IQ test?
I would never tell.
The other thing I’ve always heard about you is that you show up. You show up for friends. How important is that in this sort of fickle and absurd business, to show up and support the people that matter?
How empty is life without that? It’s just an expression of love, and appreciation, and celebrating the people who make your life rich. I’m lucky, I have so many…a gorgeous extended family of friends.
All in very different worlds and professions. Do you find that’s important to you?
Just an accident. It’s about the person. All walks of life.
Can I ask if we can ever expect another Bridget Jones installment?
It would be fun, yeah. I know people are coy. I’m not. I promise I’m not. I just don’t know. I mean, that’s a Helen [Fielding, the author] question, but I hope she would want to. I know she wrote a book, so maybe. I’m always the last to know. They’re already building sets, and they call me and say, “What do you think?” It’s fun. It’s so much fun. Man, I’d love the experience of revisiting her. I love her. I just think she’s so much fun. She’s the best. Sure, if I got invited to do that, that sounds like fun.
Who are some of the entertainers that you looked up to?
Gene Kelly. Sammy Davis Jr. Judy. Any athlete, especially the gymnasts, oh my gosh, Olga Korbut, and Nadia Comăneci, and then Mary Lou Retton…I did the sport when I was small. I know the degree of difficulty and commitment, the level of focus it requires, and alchemy, how many things have to come together perfectly in a moment in order for it to work.
Both of your parents immigrated here, but here you are, the American sweetheart. What do you make of this interesting time that we are in, while all of that’s being questioned?
American dream. I’m the American dream….Yeah, it’s definitely interesting today. It’s a very strange time. There’s a lot of fear, and then uncertainty. I wonder where that comes from. I know that things we consider to be fundamental, in terms of feeling secure, and how we define ourselves in our lives and lifestyles are shifting quickly. I get it. And technology has just amplified that.
Do you have hope?
Yes. Yes, absolutely, because great things come out of adversity.
