Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American actress. In a career spanning three decades, Tomei had initial success in films as a young actress, followed by a series of unsuccessful films, then a resurgence with a series of critically acclaimed films. Following her work on the television series As the World Turns, she came to prominence as a cast member on The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth4 December 1964
CityBrooklyn, NY
CountryUnited States of America
He was in a troubled time of his life, and regular therapy wasn't working. So there was this spiritual psychiatrist that I took him to, and afterwards I said, 'Can I ask her? Can I talk to her?' So I said to her, 'Well, what do you think?' She said, 'Well, you know, he thinks he's an alien,'
Unfortunately, very often in roles you're only wanted to stand there and be sweet. That's why I'm drawn back to roles in theater.
I found it very frustrating to play her, actually,
Film, there's this whole allure because it just lasts and lasts, but I think the allure for me of doing a play is that it's almost like the sand paintings they make in Venice. It just goes away after one time, and that's it. You had to be there that one night to be part of that.
I did ask Larry David, "How did I get so lucky? How am I here [Seinfeld]?" He just said, 'Well, when you say your name over and over it just has a really strong rhythm: "Marisa Tomei. Marisa Tomei."
Her [Aunt May] values and his [ Spiderman] traumas are kind of what's defined him as a young boy and now that he's becoming a young man, she's there to provide that safe place where he can still be a kid if he needs to be, or know that he has a home base as he's going through all these physical changes. So as long as those essentials are there, we can work on finding the character together.
It's really fun working on this Marvel movie [ Spiderman]. The essentials of Aunt May are that she's helped raise Spiderman and she's his moral compass.
I am really touched and surprised that your generation [of millenials] feels that way, and I'm really happy the work stands up. But that show [Seinfeld] is going to stand up for all time: it's one of the greatest things that has ever been written, and still speaks to the quirks of being a human being no matter what the era.
In cultural history, the civil rights movement came before the women's movement.
I think the fantasy of being a movie star is more powerful than the reality. So, for me, even if it's not a great film or a great play I'm doing, to know that you went for it. You had an experience that made you grow artistically and personally. What's really satisfying is knowing that you did a good job.
I feel like theatre gives me the grounding, and keeps me alive, basically. Film gives me the thrill, and it's like a one night stand. But I do enjoy being around people who love it so much.
You express different energies at different times in your life.
Not to get overly psychological about this, but it's probably why I became an actress in the first place: for that kind of freedom and refuge, as well as for the fact that I just love acting so much.
Letting journalism be from the perspective of the journalist. It's usually a no-no, and journalists are encouraged to be completely objective.