Monday, April 20, 1998
Wagner mirrors talent of Wood
FILM: ‘Two Girls and A Guy’ top role was partly acquired through
similarity to her famous mother
By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Staff
Growing up with the face of one of the most famous leading
ladies in Hollywood can be frustrating, especially if you’re trying
to make it on your own as an actress. But for Natasha Gregson
Wagner, the daughter of the late actress Natalie Wood, carrying the
face of her legendary mother has always been an honor.
"I’ve heard it my whole life," Wagner says of her resemblance to
her mother. "And so it’s been a consistent compliment. My mother
was a beautiful woman and a great mom. I think any child is happy
to resemble their parents if they like them."
Her physical similarities to her mother also helped her get the
part in the upcoming movie, "Two Girls and a Guy." Director James
Toback admits that his childhood crush on Natalie Wood influenced
him to cast her daughter in the film.
"As soon as I met Natasha, there was no way I wasn’t going to
use her," Toback says. "She has all the appeal of her mother. It
was the closest thing to being able to bring Natalie Wood back to
life as her old self. I think she feels such closeness with her
mother and feels that her mother is kind of living through her,
(so) it wasn’t just my projection."
And as the spunky but sensitive Lou, Wagner shows off much of
the same complex vulnerability that Wood possessed in her own
films, proving Wagner inherited a lot more than just her mother’s
looks. But Wagner’s acting pedigree doesn’t just end with her
mother. Her father is former screenwriter Richard Gregson, and her
stepfather is acting veteran Robert Wagner. Since she was raised so
closely by both fathers, Wagner chose to take both of their
names.
"It was never a legal adoption, but I feel that they’ve both
equally participated in my child-rearing," Wagner says. "There’s
just no other way to do it; they’re equally my dads so I had to
have both their names. Everyone’s been really nice about it, no
egos."
Wagner remembers an idyllic and fun childhood. Despite the fact
that her parents were celebrities, she maintains that their jobs as
actors never prevented them from having a normal family living
situation.
"I know it’s hard to believe, but I really grew up thinking that
my Daddy Wagner had this normal job," Wagner says. "It happened to
be (the television show) ‘Hart to Hart.’ I thought my parents were
extremely fabulous, but that was more because of how they were with
each other and how they were with me, not because I ever knew they
were famous. As a child, I was more into if I could go swimming or
have another dog."
Wagner says this is partly because her mother spent most of her
time at home with them, thus putting a temporary hiatus on her film
career.
"She didn’t really work that much when I was young," Wagner
says. "I more recall her making me practice my piano and go to
ballet and picking me up for school. She was very disciplined so
those are more my memories of her than her working. I didn’t like
it when she worked. I wanted her to be, as all children do, with
me. And she was most of the time."
But their happy home life suffered a tragedy when Wood drowned
after falling off of a yacht when Wagner was only 11years old. She
credits her close family for getting her through that difficult
time.
"It’s not the best circumstance to lose a parent at a young
age," Wagner says. "But when you have a supportive family, I think
whatever tragedy life hands you, you can deal with it a lot better,
when you have people you can count on and trust."
Trust is a big issue in "Two Girls and a Guy," since the plot
revolves around two women who realize they’ve been dating the same
man for 10 months. Heather Graham plays the other duped girlfriend
and Robert Downey Jr. is the fiend who had been deceiving both of
them. The film consists of frank conversations and arguments about
fidelity and relationships, with the threesome bonding and
grappling over the mysterious difficulties of monogamy. Wagner says
this film gave her a lot of insight on the complexities of
modern-day romances.
"It certainly opened my eyes to this," Wagner says. "Most of my
experiences with men have been very positive with boyfriends and
stuff. This obviously goes on. It’s not just contained in our film,
so it made me more aware that people can do it, men and women."
One of the fun aspects of making this independent film was
getting the chance to improvise the scenes. Toback involved all
three of his principal actors in shaping the script and plotlines.
Wagner enjoyed the opportunity in being able to have so much
creative input in her character.
"It was so liberating as an actor because it’s not always
something directors or writers want you to do," Wagner says. "In
our case, Jimmy was really supportive and encouraging us to
improvise so it was a great freeing fun part of the film. We would
each just add something that felt right and usually Jimmy loved it
which was good."
Co-star Graham, during interviews for her other movie, "Lost in
Space," agreed with Wagner that she relished the chance to put her
own words into her character’s mouth.
"On the one hand, it was scary, but it was good; it gave you a
sense of freedom," Graham says. "Especially in this one scene when
he let us improv, I loved it because I kind of got to give voice to
everything I’d been thinking about through the whole movie, the
situation and the characters. It gave you the freedom to say
anything you wanted."
While her co-stars have freely jumped between making studio and
independent films, Wagner has mainly been an indie girl, preferring
its more personal and low-budget atmosphere, but she doesn’t rule
out a more mainstream career in the future.
"I think my tendencies have been leaning towards smaller art
films because it’s a medium I feel a little more comfortable in.
I’ve certainly enjoyed big studio films that I’ve seen, so maybe,
if the right one comes along. But so far the last handful of films
that I’ve done I’m happy with them being on the smaller scale."
As for attaining the kind of success and attention that her
parents had, Wagner believes her rather alternative choices in
roles don’t make that kind of future very likely, but who
knows?
"I don’t know that I’m going to choose the films that would make
(excessive stardom) a reality for me because my taste has been a
little quirky," Wagner says. "(But) one thing I’ve learned is that
you can’t control your life, you can only make choices, so
hopefully the choices I make will serve my peace of mind well."
FILM: "Two Girls and a Guy" opens Friday.
Fox Searchlight
Natasha Gregson Wagner, Robert Downey Jr. and Heather Graham
star in "Two Girls and A Guy."
Fox Searchlight
Robert Downey Jr. plays two-timer Blake Allen in "Two Girls and
A Guy."