Patricia Arquette on ‘Boyhood,’ Hollywood, and her new ‘CSI’ role

MANILA, Philippines – She may have swept the awards in her category at the 2015 awards season, but Oscar nominee Patricia Arquette says she isn’t quite so sure about the  2015 Oscars just yet. 

“Well, people keep telling me I’m a favorite [to win at the 2015 Oscars] but I wish people would stop telling me that because I feel like if I win, they’re gonna feel this, but if I don’t win, they’re gonna feel so bad that I didn’t. They’re gonna feel terrible for me so I don’t know,” she told Rappler in a phone interview. 

But with the SAG, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards for her role as single mother Olivia Evans in Boyhood in the bag, Patricia being dubbed as the favorite did not come as a surprise. Nevertheless, she said that she’s been too busy to think about those things.

“Frankly, I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to worry that much about all this,” she said. 

However, preparing for her role as cyber-psychologist Avery Ryan in the new show CSI: Cyber has been fun and very interesting too, despite the fact that she is so unlike her small screen personality.

Patricia isn’t new to the TV limelight – she previously starred in Medium, which earned her several nominations and an Emmy win – not to mention, her very diverse film and television career.

“Well, no, I’m not a very cyber-savvy person myself. Not at all.[…]This woman – Avery Ryan – has a different skill set. I don’t possess any of her strengths, personally,” she said. 

The actress, who grew up in a family of actors and media personalities, said that the differences in her off- and on-screen personalities were what made acting so interesting.

“But that’s part of what’s fun as an actor, it’s to play something very opposite yourself. Even people who have different values than yourself are interesting to play.”

12 years a mother in ‘Boyhood’ 

Boyhood’s scorecard at this year’s awards season has been astounding, with the film nabbing nominations here and there. Currently, the film is nominated in 8 categories at the 2015 Oscars. 

The film is a grand telling of a Texan boy’s growth into adolescence, and was filmed from 2002 until 2013. Ethan Hawke, who played Ellar Coltrane’s father Mason Evans Sr., got his share of nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category.

Since the whole process took over 12 years to shoot. Patricia shared that once director Richard Linklater spoke to her about the concept of the film, she signed on right away. “For Boyhood? Yes. I did [sign on]. When Richard Linklater told me the idea, I thought it was a beautiful idea and I always wanted to work with him as a filmmaker.”

 

Patricia played single mother Olivia to Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) and Mason Evans, Jr. (played by Ellar Coltrane). Olivia married her professor Bill Welbrock and gained his family too. However, the tables soon turned for Olivia, when she was domestically abused by Bill, who later on suffered from alcoholism. 

“Well, several months before, Richard [Linklater] would call us and tell us about his ideas on what the scenes were gonna be. He would send us the written scenes that we were gonna be in, we would think about that – stories from our lives, from our friends’ lives – things we could contribute to that concept in that scene[…]we would read over the scenes – we would talk about life experiences. Richard would rewrite the scenes and then we would learn them that night and shoot them the next day.” 

Although the actors would expect that the film would not come out after a year of shooting, Patricia cited the importance of the journey more than the outcome.  

“Yeah, it was a very beautiful experience. I mean, you know after the first year the movie didn’t come out. So it was much more about the process of making it than the outcome or anything else. It felt like this little private project that we were working on, like acting camp or something.” 

Hollywood: ‘It’s always been a brand’ 

Since working on her role as Avery Ryan in CSI: Cyber, she admitted that it’s a very exciting feeling to be the first female lead in the CSI franchise – something she said was rare to see in the industry. 

“I think it’s great, it’s very exciting to be the first female lead in CSI. It’s a global franchise and I think it’s really great, especially since I’m 46 years old. A woman in position of power in law enforcement – it’s still relatively rare to see that in entertainment.” 

However, she cited that Hollywood as a whole has always been a brand, or at least a part of it is. (READ: Antonio Banderas: ‘Hollywood is not a place anymore, it became a brand’)

“I think Hollywood – a part of it has always been a brand. I don’t think that’s anything new. I guess he [Antonio Banderas] was talking about the giants like Marvel movies or something like that.” 

But she still hoped that with films like Boyhood, Birdman, and Whiplash, that maybe the industry could change. 

“I think every movie I made has always been a small arthouse movie, a small independent movie that always cared about their individuality. But it has become harder to campaign over the years. But with the successes of Boyhood, Whiplash, and Birdman, I hope that these things will change. I hope that every year.” 

Hollywood for her has not really changed much, but she cited the actresses today have it better, especially since she’s been seeing more females in lead roles.  

“I think they’re doing really great work. I think part of what they’re showing is that rawness and a jaggedness and sort of an imperfection,” she said.  

“They’re seemingly comfortable with their anger as girls – I feel like I grew up in a generation where women were not supposed to ever be angry, and I feel like these young women, they feel emotionally very open and free. It’s really exciting to see young women being comfortable with their emotions.”

On love

Patricia Arquette had her share of love throughout the years, beginning with her then-boyfriend, musician Paul Rossi, with whom she had son Enzo Rossi. She also had a very public relationship (and divorce) with actor Nicolas Cage, her co-star in Bringing Out the Dead.

Her most recent relationship was with actor Thomas Jane. They had a daughter named Harlow, before tying the knot in 2006. They first divorced in 2009, but reconciled soon after. They finally split up in 2010.

She, however, credited her relationships as routes to finding her true self. “Oh my god, I’ve learned so many things. I think, little by little all my relationships have revealed to me my true self and I think that might be painful, or aspects of myself that I’m not aware of, or things that are beautiful that I lost and found again.” 

While the actress will soon know her fate at the Oscars on Sunday, February 22 (Monday, February 23), she invites fans to what could be a very exciting experience for both her and the viewers.

 

CSI: Cyber premieres on 5 March, airing Thursdays at 10pm on the same day as the US telecast, first and exclusively on AXN. – Rappler.com