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Interview 2
From Axcess Magazine May 1997 Vol. V No. 4
Interface: Ones to watch
Shawnee Smith
Chasing Dreams and Placing Bets
by Jose Martinez
Twenty minutes late for our interview, I realize Shawnww Smith is going to be a no-show. After calling my editor in a state of panic, the interview is rescheduled. For those of you not familiar with Shawnee, she is part of that group of actors whose face you've seen before but whose name you just can't place. She's working on that. Having starred in over a dozen films, Shawnee has worked alongside such notable talents as Carl Reiner in Summer School, John Candy in Who's Harry Crumb?, Mickey Rourke in Desperate Hours, and Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. In the last year, she has worked on seven independent films. Most recently she co-starred on Arsenio Hall's now-defunct sitcom.
Perfectly punctual for our second meeting, Shawnee explains that her bulldog (one of her three canines) had run off and she spent all afternoon combing the hills looking for it. Originally from South Carolina, Smith is a self-proclaimed "military brat." A member of the Screen Actors Guild since age eight, Shawnee's penchant for choosing independent films has earned her an admitted reputation as a "darling of the indies." Even so, Shawnee has nothing against working on studio films. "I would never dis a huge, big-budget studio film. For me, a lifetime of one of those films once a year and a few independents to get my soul off...the combination of it keeps me pretty happy," she says.
This year, however, she was willing to give that up by commiting to a weekly television show. "A weekly half-hour series for me right now would be a very worthy building block. It's not where I want to spend the rest of my career, but it certainly gets my face out to a lot of people. You get your face out to enough people every week and then you can get an independent film produced, because people know you. It's a means to an end." Unfortunately, after a few episodes, Arsenio was pulled off the air by the network. "They wanted to retool it, which is basically to recreate the core story, and I can't say that I disagree that it needed reworking," Smith says candidly. "They have a hold on me right now. If something else comes up, it's feasible that they would let me go. When something like this happens with a TV show, many times the baby just gets thrown out with the bath water. We're not really expecting to come back, although they say they're retooling it with us in mind. I'm just moving on."
Another vehicle that occupies Shawnee's time is her four piece rock band Miriam Fay, named after her great-great aunt. She describes the bands sound as "dynamic, epic with character; a blend of acoustic, electric and cabaret." Some of Shawnee's influences include Ani DeFranco and Joni Mitchell. With so many outlets to express herself, Shawnee is most at ease in front of a live audience. "Music is so much fun, because each song is like a film in itself. You get to go from beginning to end and interact and exchange energy with a live audience. It's a similar type of feeling in theater-- that direct exchange is pretty exiting."
Whenever she can find the time, Miriam Fay plays Hollywood's local clubs, from the infamous Viper Room to showcase venues like Billboard Live. Shawnee finds playing live a rewarding and learning experience. It's totally extrovertive. I've learned a lot about acting doing music. You hide behind being an introvert in acting. With music, every note has to totally fly out of me with a force. It's a wild experience. There's so much power that comes out from just relaxing and letting go, letting that energy come out. Relax, let go and let it fly."
So far, Shawnee has yet to find the character that best defines her career in filmmaking. "I've had pieces of it in different roles. It's been so much fun. I just have a completely different physical look in every (film). I've had a field day. I figure if I have a few divine moments in a whole film, I did okay." With several films completed and awaiting release, Shawnee will be in Cannes this May to lend her support to a few of them. She has several films screening at the world famous film market (not the film festival) including Men and Eat Your Heart Out. A fourth film, Dogtown, recently held it's world premiere at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival.
Shawnee definitely knows what she wants. "In five years' time, I'd like to have my own recording studio, be making music, making two blockbuster movies a year and the rest as independents." Then, almost as an afterthought, she adds, "And to have a family."
Looking back at her career, even at this early stage, Shawnee's had quite a wild ride. "I've shot an M-16 in two different movies now. While filming an action film in the Philippines, I had typhoid the first week I was there. I was hooked up to IVs twice." She has also worked with the reputedly semi-psycho Sean Young on Men. According to Shawnee, the rumors just aren't true. "Seans's a very straightforward woman. I had a ball working with her. She just tells it like it is. She's very honest, and I think that intimidates a lot of men in this town."
Recalling the time spent working with the late John Candy on the film Who's Harry Crumb?, Shawnee's emotions are stirred. "I did get to know him a bit while we filmed. If he could've been a fraction as kind, supportive and giving to himself as he was to every single person around him, then I think he'd still be with us today. That was the tragedy. I think (Candy's performance in) Planes, Trains and Automobiles best defines who he is as a person...It breaks your heart."
Though Shawnee admits that, over the past year, she's let the independent films provide her with roles, she's definitely ready for more. "I shed tears listening to Frances McDormand at the Oscars. That speech she gave is so true. There's still so many meagerly written human beings that are female to play in films. It is getting better, though." Nevertheless, don't confuse Shawnee's indictment of the Hollywood system for complaining. "Not at all. It's made me who I am today and I'm pretty at ease with that person. No complaints and no regrets. I still believe in chasing dreams and placing bets."
Jose Martinez is a LA-based entertainment journalist whose work includes profiles of Oliver Stone, Robert Rodriguez and Andy Garcia. This is his first contribution to Axcess.
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