The Five Questions We Ask Everyone: Julia Stiles

Thanks to our friends over at Broadway.Tv (Click there to watch the video interview), I was able to interview none other than Miss Julia Stiles for CollegeCandy’s “5 Questions We Ask Everyone.” Julia and Bill Pullman are co-starring in the Broadway show “Oleanna,” a play about tension between a college student, Carol (Stiles) and her professor (portrayed by Bill Pullman). Though Julia is familiar with the stage, this is her Broadway debut (and she is unfamiliar with wooing her professors…).

By Melanie

I met with Broadway.Tv in the press room for Oleanna where cameras and reporters interviewed Julia, Bill and director Doug Hughes, firing questions about the intricate plotlines and the dynamic relationship between the two characters. “Oleanna” only has two actors on stage for the entire play and the high drama between the two characters was a primary focus for all the reporters. Both Stiles and Hughes likened the performance to “a sporting event,” noting that working on the play is so powerful, the emotions are akin to an adrenaline rush.

I was able to sit down with Julia and chat with her one-on-one and capture her insights on the play, college and… Sesame Street?

5 Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What’s the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
The most trouble I’ve gotten into? Oh my God. Well you know, I’m very good at… not getting caught. It’s not that I’ve not gotten into trouble, I’m just good at not getting caught.

2. What are some things you can’t live without?
Running and swimming. I love exercise. It helps me blow off steam, helps to calm down.

3. What’s your motto/advice you live by?
I wish I had a motto. I don’t know. It’s like one of those things I’ll think of later.

4. What’s your favorite song to belt out at the bar/in the car/for karaoke?
I’m obsessed with “I Feel it All” by Feist and of course “1, 2, 3 ,4″. I just saw that she did that for Sesame Street. It’s really awesome.

5. Ten years from now you will be….
I’d love to be still working, acting, doing what I love. You know what’s funny? I can’t even think beyond March, until this play closes.

5 Questions Just for Julia

1. Tell me about going to school at Columbia; what was it like going to school in the heart of New York City?
I graduated in ’05. I really enjoyed Columbia, it was a great education and I had some amazing professors and also a lot of time we could incorporate our education into the city. For Art History we could actually go to the Met and see the paintings that we were studying. I was an English major, but there were quite a lot of core requirements like Art History.

2. In the play “Oleanna” there’s a strong focus on the tension, some sexual, between your character, a college student, and her professor. Would you give any advice to girls who may find themselves in a similar tense situation with a professor?
I think one of the relevant themes that this play calls into question is, what is the purpose of higher education? How useful is a college education? What are you paying for? A lot of times in college, it’s set up so students forget that they’re actually the ones employing their teachers so they have a right to be demanding.

3. Did you ever have an incident with a professor that was similar to this?
I think nowadays there are policies in place and rules for awareness of student-teacher conduct. Such as, if a student goes to see a professor in their office, the door has to be open and there are policies in place to make sure nothing happens. We try and deal with a lot of those in the play because it was written about sixteen years ago, so we tried to update it a bit.

4. A lot of the roles you portray are very strong female roles; I read somewhere that you’re a “self described feminist.” What does that word mean to you?
I don’t even know what that word means anymore. It’s gotten this negative connotation and almost implies being “anti man” and I don’t think that plays into my characters, they’re just very strong girls.

5. Are there any parallels between Kat from “10 Things I Hate About You” and Carol, your character in “Oleanna”?
I think Carol has a lot more rage inside of her and is a lot more provocative.