Patricia Clarkson shows how to survive as a great character actress

Patricia Clarkson at the New York City press junket for "Cairo Time"

Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson is a character actress who always seems to make a distinct impression in her films, no matter what the size of her role is. Clarkson takes center stage in "Cairo Time," a quietly introspective drama in which she plays Juliette Grant, an American magazine editor who has traveled to Cairo to meet up with her husband, Mark (played by Tom McCamus), a United Nations official. When Mark is unexpectedly kept busy by his job, he asks a longtime Egyptian friend and retired police officer, Tareq Khalifa (played by Alexander Siddig), to look after Juliette and escort her around Cairo until Mark can get free from work.

Tareq, a lifelong bachelor, is happy to oblige, but as he and Juliette spend more time together, they are surprised to find out how much they are attracted to each other physically and emotionally. As Juliette and Tareq realize that they are falling in love, they must face the dilemma of what to do about it and how that decision will affect their lives. When I caught up with Clarkson at the New York City press junket for "Cairo Time," she opened up about how she adjusted to the cultural differences in Egypt; how she feels about Cairo and its people; and what it was like working on her other 2010 movies "Legendary" and "Easy A."

Patricia Clarkson in "Cairo Time"

What did you like most about Cairo?

What I always like best: the people. The Cairenes, I liked them. Other than the Nile at night, I liked the people. I was the only American in the cast and crew [of "Cairo Time"] … I didn’t know how they would react to me. It was a beautiful experience getting to know the city and the people who lived there.

Are there any specific experiences you had with the people in Cairo that stand out for you?

It’s hard to come up with one moment, because I was there for seven weeks. I feel like I lived a whole life there, like I had a whole secret life in Cairo — you know, almost like a spy life. Not like Angelina Jolie’s [in "Salt"]. I wish. It was just a whole set piece in my life, because sometimes when you’re shooting, you don’t get to take in a city. But because … Cairo is the third lead in this film, it is a major character in this film, I really saw it. I would sit in places all day. So it wasn’t like I would go to a place and say, "Hello,’" and go have a little meal here. I was in places for long periods of time, and I really got to take it in and take in the people.

I had one of the most extraordinary lunches of my life. Margaret Scobey, the [U.S.] ambassador to Egypt, she held a lunch for me at the U.S. embassy [in Cairo], which was right around the corner form the hotel. And she invited all these extraordinary Egyptian women: women who ran television stations, women who ran hospitals — all of these remarkable Egyptian women. And it was 13 of us at this very long table in her very fancy home, and it was beautiful … I just got to know a lot of the city and the people and the places. It was just a moment in time — a remarkable moment in my life.

Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig in "Cairo Time"

What did you find most challenging about making "Cairo Time"?

The city. The city is a very dense city: 20 million people. There are no street lights. Everybody walks out into moving traffic … I’ve never seen anything like it. They have such trust in their fellow man. It’s remarkable. I’m not that trusting of my fellow man. [She laughs.] But it was challenging. Every day is Cairo time. Everything is a negotiation. Everything takes time.

Like [I would ask], "Can I have a cup of coffee?" People disappear for 10 minutes. And I’m thinking, "Wow, this is going to be a great cup of coffee." And then they come back. "Oh, your coffee! Just a minute." We’re New Yorkers. [She lets out a faux frustrated scream.] It’s just everything is slow, liquid, languid — and yet there’s this dichotomy of this fast-paced, dense loud city. There’s an internal calm in many of the citizens. It’s Cairo time.

Alexander Siddig and Patricia Clarkson in "Cairo Time"

Can you talk about "Cairo Time" being at the first annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival, which took place in October 2009?

Well, that was a remarkable time to be at that inaugural film festival. We are so grateful to Geoff [Gilmore, chief creative officer of Tribeca Enterprises] for championing this film in the way he has. And the Qataris embraced it in such a huge way. It was the closing-night film, with 3,000 people on the lawn in Doha. And Sir Ben Kingsley was there, and he came up and made a specific point to tell me how much he loved the film. He was there with his wife on closing night, and he said, "No one left — 3,000 people and no one left." Sir Ben, he’s truthful.

But again, it was a different culture, a different space, but we were treated so beautifully in Doha, I don’t even know where to begin. We didn’t want to leave. We were in the W Hotel, and we were in our Wow suites, as they call it. Seriously, they call it the Wow rooms. And they were!

But you want to know what was the most beautiful part of what I got to do in Doha? The emir gave an extraordinary amount of money after [Hurricane] Katrina to a native New Orleanian, and he made an exceptional donation to my hometown [New Orleans] and the people of my hometown. And I got to thank him in a press conference, which was a highlight for me. It was incredibly moving and powerful to be there. And I know [the donation] made it through to him, and I was thankful for that.

Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig and "Cairo Time" writer/director Ruba Nadda at a New York City screening of "Cairo Time," July 2010

How was it working with "Cairo Time" writer/director Ruba Nadda?

Ruba and I are very similar people. We’re wired for sound. We’re work horses. And we’re incredibly passionate. So we came at this calm, introspective, internal, elegant lovely women — Juliette [Grant]. I made it very clear with Ruba. I said, "Ruba, there are aspects of me — Patricia — in this character, but I am not this character. And I want to make sure that I become Juliette, that I play your character, that I don’t make her me, that I don’t take the easy road. There will be parts of me, of course, but I had the shift. You have to help me. You have to be my watch dog."

So we just had lengthy discussions. Ruba doesn’t like to rehearse. I don’t like to rehearse. And thank God [Alexander Siddig] didn’t like to rehearse. But we spent a lot of time together, and a lot of thought went into this character and the film before we started shooting. And just exactly how to chart these infinitesimal shifts that she makes are really difficult for an actor. We love bells and whistles. We like funny noses and wigs. We like all of that and the high motions and the low. It’s very hard to just sit, like in horseback riding.

Did you notice any differences in working with Ruba because she’s a female filmmaker?

Talent is talent. Talent is gender-less. But I think Ruba and I had a secondhand [nature] when we would talk about a certain moment … and we wouldn’t even have to complete our sentences, because we knew … Just about anything physical or emotional, we did have a secondhand [nature] that we would have about certain things as women — and we’re not going to go into all of them.

Patricia Clarkson in "Cairo Time"

Do you owe a lot of your career to luck?

Yes, very much so. You do have to be lucky in this business. And I think I’ve had some very good luck. I also think work begets work. Every director that gives me a job means that maybe some other director will give me a job, because they’re going to see something in a character I do, and therefore they’re going to hire me. And so every opportunity creates potentially other opportunities.

And maybe I’m smart enough to say, "Yes" — to see a part and say, "Yes, let me do that." Because there are things I’ve passed on that people have found shocking that I passed on. And there are things I don’t get offered where I think, "Oh, I would’ve liked to have done that." But for the most part, I get offered really beautiful things, and I’m lucky that these directors that I don’t know, I’ve never met them, they come to me. Or someone has written something for me. I didn’t know Ruba at all. I didn’t know that she had me in mind for this ["Cairo Time"] part. I just was lucky.

You worked with filmmaker Woody Allen on two consecutive movies: 2008’s "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and 2009’s "Whatever Works" — both of them comedies. How was it working with Woody Allen? And how do you feel about doing comedies, since most of your films are dramas?

Woody is the master. Comedy parts for women of a certain age are very few and far in between, unless it’s some kind of icky woman with a whip and a chain — and really not funny. I love doing comedy. Some of my friends view me more as a comedienne, but I make a living doing drama — a very good [living]. But if I had my druthers … Dying is easy. Comedy is very hard. Comedy is brutal.

Patricia Clarkson in "Cairo Time"

"Cairo Time" showed how it’s not unusual for a woman in Cairo to have the experience of being followed by a bunch of men who are strangers while she is walking alone on a street. Did you have a similar experience in real life?

I made the mistake of just walking to the market down the street by myself once. You have to be very careful in Cairo. You just have to be careful. There are certain places you can go and certain places you can’t. As a very Western-looking woman, I had to be extra-careful. I just did.

I had to be conscious of my legs. It’s not the arms. You don’t have to wear a hijab. You don’t have to have your head [covered]. Cairo is much more open and progressive than you realize, unless you’ve been there. But [exposed] legs are very taboo. I always had on a skirt to the knee — not that I would’ve run around in hot pants and a halter. I was respectful, of course.

And it was sometimes interesting. Like if you were out at a restaurant to see a man arrive, clearly with two wives. It’s like, "Whoa! Really?" … Ruba would look over at me, I’d look over at her. And all the ladies of the table, we’d be like, "Umm-hmm." And we’d kind of look over at the man, like, "Oh …"

But there were also extraordinary nights. The same night that a man would enter with his two wives, we were out on the Nile, the sun was setting, the pyramids were out in the background. These gorgeous party boats that they’re kind of famous for — they’re these two-level boats that have colorful lights — they remind me of Mardi Gras floats. So I was in the Nile with Mardi Gras. It was very moving to me. I was in this very foreign country, and yet New Orleans was present. It was an odd but extraordinarily beautiful moment.

Alexander Siddig and Patricia Clarkson in "Cairo Time"

What can you say about any of your upcoming movies? For example, you have the drama "Legendary" with John Cena, who’s mainly famous for being a pro wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment. How was it working with him?

I love John Cena! Seriously, his arm is larger than my body. So he could do damage. Thank God we got on. I love him. I just adore him. I think he’s a first-class gentleman, very lovely and emotional in this movie. We had very big emotional scenes — the biggest emotional scene pretty much that I’ve done on film was with him. So it was very emotional. He’s a lovely man. I had a beautiful time on that movie … It was cool working with a WWE man.

I have "Easy A" coming out, which is a great comedy that [is directed by] Will Gluck, whom I working with right now again [on "Friends With Benefits"] is this fabulously funny movie starring Emma Stone, who is such a star … She’s so gifted and so lovely. And we both have these deep, husky voices … Stanley Tucci and I play her kooky, eccentric, very liberal, open parents. I mean, you’re going to be shocked at what we say. It’s so radical and cool … It’s a modern adaptation of "The Scarlet Letter." So I have that ["Easy A"] coming out in September [2010].

You also did "Main Street" with Orlando Bloom, Colin Firth and Ellen Burstyn. What’s going on with the release of that film?

Who knows what’s going on? Let’s see where it’s going to go. But I’m working with Will Gluck again. He directed "Easy A." And he’s now shooting a movie with Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake [titled "Friends With Benefits"]. And there was the part of Mila Kunis’ mother, and Will rewrote it for me. I play this loser ex-groupie, rock’n’roll chick with a dark wig and T-shirts that are way too young [for her] and too tight.

Mila Kunis is yummy, and so is Justin Timberlake. [She says sarcastically] It’s so sad! I have to work with Justin Timberlake. [She sighs] Oh God! He’s tall and he’s very funny. He’s fiercely intelligent.

Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig in "Cairo Time"

What can you say about your "Cairo Time" co-star Alexander Siddig?

I don’t even know where to begin … Everything you think about him is exactly true. He’s everything a leading man should be — and not just that he’s tall, dark and handsome. I could never have taken this journey without him — ever, in a million years. I remember when I first saw him in the lobby, I looked at Ruba, and I just said, "Thank you!" He’s fiercely intelligent and gracious and kind and open. And he was ready to fall, ready to embrace everything about this movie. I relied on him on days I had so much to do — these very long, complicated days, he was there, 1,000 percent.

Me, Ruba and Alexander — we’ll just know each other for the rest of our lives. We will be very close. It’s kind of similar to "The Station Agent." ["The Station Agent" writer/director] Tom McCarthy, ["The Station Agent" co-stars] Peter Dinklage and Bobby Cannavale — I am bonded to them for the rest of my life. A very similar bonding happened with the three of us [Ruba Nadda, Alexander Siddig and me] on this film ["Cairo Time"].