Julia Stiles Interview

Currently on Irish cinema screens in 'The Bourne Ultimatum', Julia Stiles talks about her character in the movie, Nicky, working with Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass and her directorial debut.

You've been in all three of the 'Bourne' movies. How does 'The Bourne Ultimatum' compare as an experience?
Julia Stiles: I had such a fun time. It's a great crew and fun to work with the same people again. There were a lot of familiar faces. And this one was different for me because I was a lot more involved in what happens to my character and the changes that were made. I told Paul [Greengrass, director] that I was going to be more vocal this time.

For the first one I was really young and so I just left it to everyone else to tell me what to do. In the second one, Paul and I discussed how he didn't really know what my character was doing in the first one and we wanted to exploit that. She might have seemed like the quiet mouse in the corner, whereas actually she had more information and was more threatening than you expected.

But with this one I was just more involved with the day-to-day script changes and giving my opinion about what my character would do and I think because Paul and I worked together before it was easy.

It sounds that Nicky is much more central to what's going on this time.
JS: Yes, and she's a lot more complicated. Before she was really just a company woman. She really had no power at all and she had to follow orders. And she was still a sort of believer in the whole operation. And then in this one she's starting to question the agency and she thinks that what they're doing is morally suspect. So she wants to get out and she has to figure out how to do that and stay alive.

Does she enlist the support of Bourne to do that?
JS: Yes, but their relationship is a bit more complicated and I never know how much to give away. But it's also more complicated because she wants to enlist Bourne's help but obviously they have a past together. In 'The Bourne Supremacy' he threatens her life but he didn't kill her and there is even more than that because something else happened between them... 

You've worked with Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon several times. It seems that Paul Greengrass' background in documentary making really suits the way that you guys shoot 'Bourne'.
JS: Yes, I guess because he used to work at Granada Films and he would do war-torn countries and documentaries and it definitely influenced 'Bloody Sunday' and definitely 'Bourne'.

Do you like the fact that this can allow more spontaneity on the day when you're filming? Or is that a bit of a myth?
JS: Oh no, it's great actually. A lot of people think when they hear about script changes and they hear about re-shoots or additional photography they think that's a bad sign for a movie, but it's not to do with the quality of the movie: it has to do with the way that Paul works and it's actually really exciting.

It can be very frustrating in the sense that you go to work and you know you're going to have to learn your lines at the last minute and that can be anxiety-provoking but it's actually exciting and it keeps you on your toes. And what Paul does is he's constantly questioning the choices that he's making, so he will be in the middle of a scene and he'll change a bunch of lines of dialogue in a significant way.

But that's because that's the fluid way in which he works and what's great too about the way he shoots it is that he's extremely fast, so he does a lot of hand held camera angles and you always have to be paying attention because you never know what he's grabbing with the camera. So it's not just, they're going to shoot you in close up now. He can be shooting you in close up and then grab a shot of your hand.

And do you like working with Matt Damon?
JS: Yes, in the same way. I'm amazed at how he works. It's really draining for him because he's the one in every scene and they were shooting for seven months and they're travelling all over the place and there are a lot of action scenes in all these movies. He's just so dedicated to making sure that it's as good as it can be.

These films have received critical acclaim and box office success. What do you think people like about them?
JS: I think it's a couple of things. First and foremost the main character. Even though he has extraordinary aspects to his character - his mastery of languages and his ability in martial arts - I think there is still something very accessible about Jason Bourne. He's not your typical action hero in that people can relate to Matt and they certainly like him but also there is a human quality to Jason Bourne.

He has a conscience and even though he's a trained killer he feels bad about it and he's struggling to figure out how he ended up in this position and who he really is. And so there is vulnerability there that audiences like. Also, there's vulnerability but also he's really tough, or butch as Matt and Paul would put it. 

But then I think also there is an intelligence to the way these stories are created because you're not just dealing with one person's struggles with memories but also with world politics.

Matt Damon says that for him 'The Bourne Ultimatum' wraps the story up for at least a significant amount of time. He said maybe 10 or 15 years down the line if there was an interesting way of doing another one, maybe. But at the moment he feels that's it. What's your take on that?
JS: What is impressive to me about the creative team behind this, Matt and Paul and Frank Marshall [producer] is that when they made '...Supremacy' and then decided to make '.Ultimatum', they really took their time to come up with a story and they didn't rush into anything. And I think that shows the franchise has a lot of integrity and if they were ever to do a fourth they'd only do it if it was the right time and if they had a story that seemed worth it.

You wrote and directed recently yourself. What was that experience like? Did it give you a thirst to do more?
JS: Yes, I did a short film. It was terrific and I had such a good time. It was also an eye-opening experience. I loved being on set and constantly working and constantly having to be attentive, whereas when you're acting you have a lot of down time. 

I loved working with the actors and the design team and editing too. And it was really helpful because I finished it right before I came to do 'Bourne' and it gave me a whole different perspective on the movie making process. I was a lot more indulgent of other people's jobs, in a good way. So I'd pay a lot more attention to what Paul's choices were and how he was going to shoot a scene. And if there were delays on set it didn't bother me at all because I completely understood that it had to do with things outside my control.

I was interested in cinematography and I was reading a lot about the technical aspects of filmmaking but I never thought I'd have the opportunity to direct. But then Elle magazine said they were doing a series of short films and would I be interested in directing one and I was sceptical at first because I though they'd want it to be about fashion. But when I wrote the story, which seemed kind of unconventional, they said yes and I was thrilled and I only really did it because I had the opportunity.

Where did the story come from?
JS: The title is 'Raving'. It's a play on that word because the two characters involved are kind of raving. One girl is a club kid from New York City and the other an older man. You see him in his routine going to work every day in this corporate office building and you start to realise that he can't get through security and he's been fired a long time ago. And because of their interaction with each other he starts to confuse her with his wife, who has also died. So he's raving (mad) in his own way too.

Has it made you want to do a full-length feature?
JS: Yes, I just saw Sarah Polley's film ['Away from Her'] that she directed with Julie Christie and she's 28-years-old and that was very inspiring for me. I thought, 'Well she did it!' Yes, I would love to do a feature length film although it would have to be the right story. So I'm racking my brains at the moment. I think it would have to be something contained and small budget. I made sure with 'Raving' that it would be something that was manageable for me. So there are a lot of locations in New York City.

Did you appear in 'Raving' yourself?
JS: No. I know some actors do but I think that you need the actors to be absorbed in front of the camera and the director where they belong behind the camera.