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Happygrrl of the Month:
Claire Danes...
YOU WANTED TO KNOW
The Happygrrl of the Month title is given to a cool chick who exemplifies the true essence of being a Happygrrl. Which means that she possesses independence, a sense of humour, and a slightly neurotic side.
Our Happygrrl of the Month is…Claire Danes.
Claire Danes might not stick out in your mind for various reasons: she's not empirically stunning like Catherine Zeta-Jones or Halle Berry; she's not the "it" girl like her contemporary peers Kirsten Dunst and Rachel McAdams; studio heads don't trust her to carry a film on her name alone like Julia Roberts or Nicole Kidman; she doesn't do well with tabloid fodder like Angelina Jolie or Lindsay Lohan. Heck, some might say that her career peaked shortly after "My So-Called Life" (1994) and Romeo + Juliet (1996). She leads a fairly normal life, has a spotty resume, and doesn't go crazy in interviews. So you might wonder: what's the deal with our pick?
But what Danes can do, and fairly well, is act. She's a born performer, and every role, as small or insignificant as it might seem, is treated with only the utmost of talent. She approaches her projects with intelligence and introspection, which only magnifies her passion for her characters. It would be difficult to find one role in which Danes wasn't at least recognized for her acting chops. And in this month's Shopgirl, the preliminary early Oscar buzz has Danes pegged as a contender - not an easy feat, considering that the film has received mixed reviews. Plus, the usually prickly Steve Martin is lauding her with praise every chance he gets; one would imagine that Martin, an industry veteran who has worked with hundreds of actors, would know the difference between mediocre and outstanding.
It all began at a very early age. The daughter of an artist mother and photographer father, Danes found herself immersed in the arts and encouraged to foster her creativity. But by six, she developed obsessive-compulsive tendencies and sought treatment from a child therapist, who suggested that young Danes try dance classes to cure her paranoia. She enjoyed studying modern dance, and still continues to dance now (earlier this year, she starred in an interpretive dance piece called "Christina Olson: American Model"). The love for dance led to the love for stage, and soon she was appearing in off-Broadway productions. As Danes once said in an interview, "Acting is the greatest answer to my loneliness that I have found." A role in a short, Dreams of Love (1990), and a guest-starring role on "Law & Order" (1992) as a murderous model, cemented her jump from theatre to film and television.
After "My So-Called Life" lasted a measly shortened season on ABC, Danes found herself concentrating on her film projects. Little Women (1994), To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996), U Turn (1997), Les Misérables (1998), Brokedown Palace (1999), and a slew of other roles soon followed. Averaging about three films per year and doing choice roles allowed Danes to add Susan Surandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leonardo DiCaprio, Holly Hunter, Jude Law, Sean Penn, Matt Damon (whom she dated briefly), Uma Thurman, Liam Neeson, and Kate Beckinsale (Danes on their off-screen friendship: "We didn't [become friends]. She's complicated. She's prickly") to her co-star list. And this was all before her twentieth birthday.
After a two-year hiatus to pursue a post-secondary degree at Yale University (fun tidbit: Oliver Stone, her director on U-Turn, wrote her letter of recommendation), Danes once again found herself in front of the screen, this time shedding her quiet, shy persona for a badass robot-killer in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Although the much-anticipated sequel didn't fare well with critics and box office receipts, it did mark Danes' return to the big screen. Unfortunately, after Stage Beauty (2004) and her scandalous hook-up with co-star Billy Crudup - eleven years her senior and, at the time, dating a very pregnant Mary-Louise Parker - it also welcomed her return to the tabloids.
But let's put aside the gossip and return to what initially made Danes so great: her turn as Angela Chase in the cult show, "My So-Called Life." Many likeable television teen heroines have come after (Felicity, Buffy, and Rory Gilmore come to mind), but few were ever able to capture the heart of teen angst and the pain of adolescence as well as Danes. Angela wasn't perfect, she wasn't selfless, and she rarely knew what to do; in essence, she was all of us at one point in our lives. And Danes, seizing upon her own adolescence, threw herself into the role until she became Angela. Considering the nuances and complexity involved in the show's writing, Danes' utter believability and unabashed vulnerability, portrayed so effortlessly, was an achievement within itself. When Angela cried, I cried. When she fought with her parents, I cringed. And when her best friend betrayed her, I vowed to hate Rayanne forever. Re-watching the DVDs does nothing to lessen the intensity and love for Angela and Danes, and even ten years later the show resonates in a way that few ever could. (Scenes between Danes and Jared Leto as Jordan Catalano are still smoldering, but if you watch closely, you can almost see Leto sweating next to Danes, so blown out of the water he is by his comparatively stilted acting range.) Although the nuts at ABC cancelled the show, Danes was recognized for being an acting wonder at the ripe age of fifteen with a Golden Globe win for Best Actress in a TV Series - Drama, and garnered an Emmy nomination for Lead Actress in a Drama Series. And, how many actresses can boast that they've had at least three songs written about them? The Ataris ("My So-Called Life"), Size 14 ("Claire Danes Poster"), and The Five Mile Line ("Claire Danes") have all shown their love.
With the opening of Shopgirl, and The Family Stone scheduled to hit theatres in December, Danes seems set for a comeback of sorts - which was sadly overlooked and long overdue. Anand Tucker, director of Shopgirl, seems to agree: "She has this incredible capacity to be beautiful and plain. She allows you to see right into her in some extraordinary way," he said in a recent interview. "She has that ability that allows you to put yourself into her. That's a very rare quality. That's what great movie stars have. That's what Ingrid Bergman had."
In an industry filled with talent not unlike cheap costume jewelry, Danes is, indeed, rare - and as breathtaking as the most flawless diamond. ¤ C.Ho.