After near silent turns in Sweet and Lowdown (1989) and Minority Report (2000) established her as one of the movies right yung stars, Samantha Morton opened her mouth and opened eyes last year in Molvern Callar and America. The latter, Jim Cheridan's semi-autobiographical of an Irish family that immigrates to New York after the death of a child, is anchored by Morton's desperate mother and is one of the films to beat this awards season. Here, Lili Taylor gets the London-based actress to open up about a number of topics, further proof that Morton is worthy of an intense look and listen.
LILI TAYLOR: Hi Samantha. How are you?
SAMANTHA MORTON: Exhausted. I'm working right now and I've got a little girl, so I've been busy. Do you have children?
LT: I don't, but I want to. I've thought a lot about it, but I've been concerned about the kid having to deal with my moodiness.
SM: Right. I had my daughter, Esme, when I was quite young, and I also chose to have her by myself- I separated from her father at the beginning of the pregnancy- and I thought to myself, We have to be a team. I would respect her and whatever mood she's in and vice versa.
LT: Do you take her with your on location?
SM: Yeah. When she was born I took a year off, then I did a film with Amos Gitai (Eden, 2001), and he arranged the schedule around me being a mom. Then I did Minority Report and we worked easy days, so I had a lot of time with her. And Jim [Sheridan] was great because he's got kids. Before I do a job I say "This is how I work. I'm not meaning to be rude, but if you're up for that, I'm up for it; If you're not, I can't do the job.
LT: How did things go on set for In America?
SM: Well, Paddy Considine, who plays my husband, his father died just before we started shooting. Then my stepfather died, so we had all this intensely personal stuff going on. But Jim created this magical world for the kids [Sarah and Emma Bolger, Morton's onscreen daughters] so that they'd react to us naturally. I'd get into character in the trailer, then go on set, because he didn't want them to see me being Sam and then going into [my character] Sarah.
LT: Sure. You know, Samantha, I love your work. There's such a generosity to it, like you're in service to something bigger than yourself. It's like you're channeling.
SM: Thank you. You used the word 'channeling,' and without sounding weird, when I read a script, I get this image in my head of the character I'm going to play, and I let that be my guiding force. On the set, if I'm not in the right environment, that image gets really shaky and I have to go find it again. When I was younger, I'd go sit in a corner and focus and not speak to anybody. It got so lonely I gave up acting for a while. But over the years I've developed ways to work that don't affect my relationships. I have to have the director be my guide- I have to have that relationship with the director or else I go bonkers. And Jim was incredible. He's willing to take you somewhere and create the environment for it. I don't know if he even knows he's doing it; you just go on the set and the creativity is really strong.
LT: I hear what you're saying. With good directors like Jim, it's not contrived. Part of their gift is the ability to create that atmosphere.
SM: Yeah, otherwise you think you're doing the film alone. Being around people like Jim and Lynne Ramsay, who did Molvern Callar, and musicians, that's my thing.
LT: Which musicians are you into?
SM: Anyone who inspires me, from Can to EmmyLou Harris. I thrive on constant stimulation artistically, whether it's listening to music, seeing art, or whatever. I try to inspire myself because the urban world and politics are quite draining.
LT: And you're a political person, right?
SM: A little bit. My main focus is local English politics, issues like how children are treated and homelessness. Schools aren't taken care of. The NHS [National Health Service] is in a bad way- there's no mental health protection anymore. In the North, where I'm from, there's such poverty. And the government turns a blind eye, because they want to spend 100,000 Lbs. a week on speed bumps in nice areas like Mayfair and Chelsea.
LT: Is there anything that you would like to do artistically that you haven't done yet?
SM: I want to direct because I have a few things to say- I see them in my head, and I want to get them out. Actually I'm directing a 10--15-minute film called 89 to Bestwood. It's a little piece, best suited, I think, to show in a gallery. [climbing stairs, breathing heavily]. God, I've got a lot of stairs in my house! I'm on the sixth floor. I should be fit and have a really nice ass, but I don't. And I've got the worst hair extensions in the world [both laugh]
LT: Well, I'll let you go. Let's have coffee next time I'm in London.
SM: Definitely. It's good to speak to you.
LT: You too. Keep it up. Bye-Bye.

Lili Taylor was last seen in John Sayle's Casa de Los Babys. Picture opposite: Samantha Morton wears clothes by Alexander McQueen. Cosmetics by BOBBI BROWN. Styling: LEITH CLARK. Hair and Makeup: JANE BRADLEY/Mandy Coakley Represents. Fashion details on Page 183.