Alicia Witt
By Rossi, for Frito's birthday.
LIPTON: Continuing our series on television's highly successful mutant series X-Project, tonight we are very honoured to have with us a young woman with a remarkable body of work behind her.
A child prodigy who appeared on That's Incredible! at the age of four, she made her film debut at the age of nine in Dune and by fourteen had received her high school diploma and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting full time. She worked with David Lynch again in his television series Twin Peaks and then again in Hotel Room, and went on to appear in such films as Mr Holland's Opus, Four Rooms. and the critically acclaimed Fun. She then bounced between television and film, starring series such as Ally McBeal, The Sopranos Law and Order and Cybill, before taking on the role of Marie-Ange Colbert in X-Project not long after the show debuted in 2003.
Since then she has become a cornerstone of the show, and she appears tonight to speak about her experiences. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Miss Alicia Witt.
[applause]
WITT: [laughing] Thank you. That was quite the introduction.
LIPTON: It's quite the resume. So... Marie-Ange Colbert. What drew you to the role initially?
WITT: At the time, I'd not long finished Two Weeks Notice, and I was looking for something a bit different, a challenge. That's something I've always tried to do in my work, find a role that allows me the freedom to explore it. X-Project was an entirely new concept at the time, and something about Marie-Ange drew me to the character. Perhaps it was the fact that here you had a young girl, not only dealing with these strange new powers that set her apart from the rest of humanity, but she had the double culture shock of being transplanted from her home country, to America. Those themes were something I was interested in exploring, all the more so in the context of Marie-Ange's character.
LIPTON: How so?
WITT: Marie-Ange, when she first appeared, was very shy, very polite. A pacifist. But there were undertones, especially when those she cared about were threatened, where you could see she had this hard element, under the surface. It intrigued me.
LIPTON: It's certainly a theme that's become more evident in later seasons, which we'll come to in a moment. Back in those early days, there were several younger characters introduced at the same time - yourself, Ryan Phillipe's Doug Ramsey, Nicholas Brendon's Jamie Madrox, as well as the pre-existing students. What was it like, off-set?
WITT: We were like a family, in a way. Nicky, Ryan and I especially, we became close, especially during the kidnapping plot.
LIPTON: "Crimson Dawn", yes?
WITT: Yes, that's the one. Off-set, we'd hang out together, make jokes... Nicky's quite a joker. He used to drop into this Pepe Le Pew accent, teasing me about the French accent I had to use for Marie-Ange.
[laughter]
LIPTON: Echoing the friendship on-screen between the three of you. Then in Season 2, as part of the aftermath of the infamous "Love Potion" episode, that relationship changed, at least between Doug and Marie-Ange.
WITT: The writers decided to bring another romantic relationship to the show, one that didn't have the major dramatic themes of the one between Scott and Betsy at the time, and to counter a lot of the darker stuff that was going on. Marie-Ange and Doug had always been rather sweet together as friends - it made sense to take it further.
LIPTON: And those rumours about your relationship with Ryan Phillipe off-screen?
WITT: [screws up nose and laughs] Just rumours. Ryan's a dear friend, and the divorce was difficult for him, but that's all it is. He and Adam (Rodriguez) hang out on set talking baseball more often than not these days.
LIPTON: The fantasy episodes, where the students were kidnapped to Asgard... your thoughts?
WITT: I'm a bit torn. On the one hand, it was a lot of fun to do - we basically got to run around in Renfaire outfits, waving swords around. But it did feel a little like a ratings gimmick - the show had taken a more serious turn, especially with Gael (Garcia Bernal)'s Manuel and Callum (Keith Rennie) leaving under a cloud, plus the Mistra storyline, and there was a definite feeling that Asgard was an attempt to pull things back.
LIPTON: Third season marked a shift in your own character towards that darker element. How much of that was a function of the relationship between her, Remy LeBeau and Amanda Sefton?
WITT: Oh, that relationship was critical. Callum and I spent a lot of time talking over motivation and the like, and the ongoing storyline regarding Amanda's fall became hugely important to my character, considering the friendship there and Marie-Ange's issues with her precognition. To see something coming that's going to hurt a lot of people and to not be able to do anything because it'll result in something worse... that's a huge burden for anyone, least of all a teenaged girl.
LIPTON: There were off-screen difficulties as well, weren't there?
WITT: There were casting issues. Katie (Holmes) had a lot of pressures on her at the time, and Billie (Piper) was still committed to Doctor Who and couldn't take on the role full-time, so it wasn't the easiest situation. I think we did remarkably well in the circumstances.
LIPTON: Jump to fourth season, and the advent of X-Force. Not all the critics agreed with the decision to move Marie-Ange over to the new team, especially when she had just become a full X-Man, and came on the heels of the breakup of the relationship with Doug. How do you respond to that criticism?
WITT: I stand by the writers' decision absolutely. Marie-Ange had already moved on to a point where she was having ethical conflicts with the way the X-Men operated. X-Force gave me the chance to take that further, as well as work with some great people. I've always been a little bit in awe of Clive (Owen), and while his other commitments mean he's been reduced to a guest starring role, it's always fantastic to work with him. Carrie-Anne (Moss) and Leonor (Varela) are just so professional, a joy to work with. It's an entirely different feeling. Not to mention the scripts are just so... I mean, where else would you get a plot with giant death worms where you have a serious element of social commentary? It's a very exciting atmosphere.
LIPTON: Speaking of exciting... There was that scene in "Flesh Mechanic"...
WITT: [laughing and blushing] I think I know the one.
LIPTON: Yes, the infamous jacuzzi scene. How difficult was that for you, considering it was your character's first nude scene since second season?
WITT: It's part of the scene, and it makes perfect sense in the context, so I just went with it. Sitting in a hot tub naked with Callum Keith Rennie, interrogating an elderly Russian scientist... I have to admit, it was hard to keep a straight face, especially with the clash of the accents. Between my fake French, Callum's fake Cajun and the very non-fake Russian, I'm surprised anyone actually understood a word of it. Then again, i don't think the fans were concentrating terribly much on the dialogue. [laughs]
LIPTON: We've just finished the fifth season, and it's certainly been the most action-packed season since the show started. How do you follow that up?
WITT: With a vacation? [laughs] There's a lot planned for next year, several characters being brought back or introduced, which is good. And the announcement was made this week that Marie-Ange's cousin will be appearing soon, so there's that family element for her there. She doesn't really like him. [laughs]
LIPTON: And now, finally, Monsueir Pivot's questions. What is your favourite word?
WITT: Freedom. The freedom to explore the world, your own self, to teach and inspire and learn... it's a precious thing.
LIPTON: What is your least favourite word?
WITT: Surrender. I hate to see people giving up on themselves.
LIPTON: What turns you on?
WITT: [laughs] Hot tubs? No, seriously... intellectual stimulus. I love anything that makes me think.
LIPTON: What turns you off?
WITT: Wilful ignorance. Reality television's a good example of that.
LIPTON: What sound or noise do you love?
WITT: Music. It was something of a running joke that with all the musical prodigies the show had back in seasons two and three, I never was one of them.
LIPTON: Despite being a classically trained pianist?
WITT: Exactly.
LIPTON: What sound or noise do you hate?
WITT: Nails on a chalkboard. It just goes straight through me. Or a badly-tuned instrument.
LIPTON: What is your favourite curse word?
WITT: [laughs] 'Plonker' - I got that one off the show, it's one of Amanda's favourite words. That and 'bugger'.
LIPTON: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
WITT: Writing, perhaps.
LIPTON: What profession would you not like to do?
WITT: Professional musician - it's an enormous amount of pressure, and it's very few people who actually make it.
LIPTON: If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
WITT: "There's been a mistake, back you go for another twenty years"?
LIPTON: [laughs] Thank you very much for talking with us this evening, it's been an absolute pleasure.
WITT: You're welcome, I had a great time.
