Mira
Furlan ~ The Rebirth of an Actress
A
Centaurian Sentinel Interview
Copyright 1996
Conducted
at Babylonian Productions, Sun Valley, California,
January 10, 1996 by Michael Zmuda with Tom Bateman.
| CS: | When
you came to the United States you brought with yourself a list of
credentials as a critically acclaimed actress. Did you feel like
you were starting your career over again because many Americans
were not familiar with your work?
|
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MF: |
Yes, yes, I feel that I'm starting all over. It's a very disturbing
feeling actually. But it's the way it is. Some things can not be
taken away from you - your experience, your knowledge, your talent,
if you've got any. It's a feeling that my life has been broken,
the discontinuity is scary. You are kind of trying to glue pieces
together, and with your life some how get this feeling of continuity,
which is a very, very important feeling in life. It's a tiring thing
to be starting all over when you've done things, and the feeling
of people not really knowing what you have done and not really caring.
It's hard for people to see something in another language. I think
Europeans are much more aware of other cultures, other languages,
than Americans are. I guess that comes with the position of being
a superior power, the only one in the world. And we Europeans all
speak English, so why would they speak any other language. There
is a feeling of frustration, but that's the way it is. I am the
lucky one...I guess. I am one of the lucky ones because I can continue
my career and life. The war in the former Yugoslavia has done a
horrible thing to 22 million lives which have been broken, and there
is absolutely no continuity in their lives anymore. People are helpless,
people can not continue. So in that way I shouldn't complain too
much, although I do, That's human nature.
|
| CS: |
Your
presence on Babylon 5 has helped it to become a popular science
fiction show. Were you familiar with the genre before appearing
on Babylon 5?
|
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MF: |
I knew the basics of the genre. I read Asimov, I read Sturgeon,
Clarke, authors like that. I was not aware of the hugeness of the
whole thing. I did not know that science fiction had such a following.
I almost can say a parallel world to the so called normal world.
And I'm also amazed and beautifully surprised at the loyalty of
the fans, the real real interest. For me, who has lost an audience
and the appreciation with this war, it means much more. It really
is a big deal when people tell me what I do means something to them.
That was a big and wonderful surprise.
|
| CS: |
How
did you become involved in Babylon 5?
|
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MF: |
The most ordinary way. My agent sent me to an audition and then
I completely forgot about that audition as you do. The techniques
that you have to develop...that I'm learning, because we didn't
have that whole system in Yugoslavia. In Europe it's not that way,
somehow it's all smaller, people know you if you do something then
somehow the word of mouth gets around. But this is a huge country,
so this whole thing with auditions is a whole new thing for me.
So it was just one audition and I got the job. Nothing very interesting.
|
| CS: |
What
was your first impression of the role of Delenn?
|
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MF: |
I had to deal with heavy make-up in that pilot. That was such
a strange experience. I've never done anything like that. My ideal
as an actor is to get rid of all the 'devices'. If acting is searching
for truth then you want to be able to do it without any devices
like effects, make-up and so on. All at once I happened to be in
the middle of something completely different. I had to find the
truth, invent. That was hard for me, all at once you can't have
your face anymore, you don't know who you are anymore. What do you
work with? Where are you in all that, that is the question. Also
they wanted to change my voice. I was without my face, they wanted
to put lenses in my eyes, my whole face was covered....then they
wanted to change my voice. So the questions that you pose to yourself
is "where am I", "why me?", and "how can I reach myself through
all these obstacles?", because they are all obstacles. Although,
I have to say that Andreas Katsulas helped a lot. We talked about
it when I went through moments of crisis and doubt, thinking "God,
is that what they need me for?". All acting started with masks in
rituals, that's how they started. Through all these devices, through
all these obstacles, let's call them, actually you can free yourself
in a weird way. You believe in yourself and you are not limited
by yourself all the time. You go to another area, you can be in
a way freer. And that is really true, and he is proof of that. He
reaches such freedom in his acting. I am always amazed at what he
does through all that make-up, it's been interesting, I think. I
think I learned a lot.
|
| CS: |
Delenn
is a very dramatic role. How different is it from any role which
you have played in Yugoslavia?
|
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MF: |
I'm very familiar with drama, that was always what I liked doing.
My fifth major TV series that I did in Yugoslavia which brought
me popularity, was a TV series about life in a little town on the
coast. I played a woman who is very tough -- I really loved that
role because it was a tough woman who knew what she wanted, who
never said yes to her husband when she didn't agree, who was fighting
for her rights in every second. There were a lot of extremely dramatic
roles in the theatre. Drama is always something that I feel comfortable
with, which is strange. I think it is a perversity in a way. But
I need that, I need drama, I need heavy stuff, so to say. The emotions
and so on, it's a way to go deeper somehow, to feel deeper, to learn
more about human nature. Some people have it. I always had that
inclination towards drama. I did some comedies, I did some light
stuff too, but this is what I really feel.
|
| CS: |
The
timing that each episode has been filmed at must be very fast paced.
Do you find it an effort sometimes to keep track of the story arc,
especially since it is sometimes shot out of sequence?
|
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MF: |
That's true. Sometimes fans who follow everything and who know
everything ask you questions about certain episodes, and all at
once I don't know what was before or what was after. It's hard to
keep everything in your head at all times. You shoot of sequence
-- episodes get mixed up in your head sometimes I have to remind
myself, sometime I have to go back and read an episode. Sometimes
I do that in order to connect things and to understand things. Yeah,
that's hard. I think Joe has a miraculous mind. I'm trying to keep
all the pieces together in my head...he writes them. He imagines
the whole work, he puts them together, all these pieces. That's
amazing. I feel so much admiration for that.
|
| CS: |
Do
you think that in reality two totally different beings, like Delenn
and Captain John Sheridan, can have a relationship like theirs?
|
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MF: |
Yes, what does it mean different beings? Does it mean racially
different beings? Of course I do. I hate racism, that's why I left
my country, and my career, and my friends, and my family, and my
whole life. That is why science fiction is great -- it's anti-racist,
its essence is I think. Would you agree with that? I think that
is beautiful. Of course I do think that different beings, different
species, different races can live together, and should concentrate
on their similarities, not on their differences. Bonds between people
have been formed across any border. I am in a way proof of that.
I function, although it's another country, although it's a completely
different culture. You try to find similarities. To go back to my
country, what these people were trying to do was to concentrate
on the division, not of what binds them, and that created the war,
ant that created the killing. Yes, I do think it is possible to
cross the border and I think that is the more beautiful thing.
|
| CS: |
Are
you looking forward to working with Michael O'Hare when he returns
to appear in "War Without End"?
|
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MF: |
Sure, absolutely. It is going to be interesting. It's a very
very interesting two-parter, fans will be delighted.
|
| CS: |
How
do you feel that the character of Delenn has evolved from where
she was in the beginning to where she is now?
|
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MF: |
She is definitely opening up in many ways, which is interesting.
It is not only her dignity and her Mystery anymore, it is much more
than that. It's many more human characteristics. We have kind of
glimpsed into her world, much more than we have before, I like the
changes. I think the show in general is interesting and different
than anything else because everything changes all the time and nothing
stays the same, everything evolves, everything goes full circle.
We never know what to expect. The good guys are actually bad guys
and vice versa. That makes it interesting, and that's so true actually,
that's how I felt. You can never know, and you can never be sure,
and everything changes. That's the only thing we know.
|
| CS: |
Probably
the number one asked question for you is "what are your favorite
episodes?"
|
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MF: |
(laughing) No, no, no, you're wrong! The number one question
asked is "how long does my make-up take?" -- It's a pretty boring
question. What's my favorite episode, I can't really say. I had
interesting stuff to do in the "Inquisitor" episode. "Lamentations
and Confrontations", that was a good episode for me. It also
showed the gentle side of Delenn, and her poetic side. I liked the
scene with the little girl. "Babylon Squared" was an interesting
episode. Again I have to remind myself, it's something an actor
has to develop with time. If you work a lot you have to erase things
from your memory. It's like a boiler, water comes through, it comes
in and then it goes through. That is how I sometimes feel about
my brain. That, of course, is one of the highlights.
|
| CS: |
Who
has been the most memorable actor that you worked with on the series?
|
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MF: |
Oh, you ask me those questions. I hate comparing. That's always
another question I'm always asked: "who do you prefer working with
more?" I really don't believe in those things. If the acting is
very good then the beauty of it is that they are different. There
are so many different, interesting actors, and we had a lot of them
-- David Warner, Michael York, Brad Dourif, what a wonderful actor.
I learned so much in the tiny little thing I had with him. Sometimes
people can teach you so much and bring you back to the essence of
your job. You say, "Yes, I know why I am doing it"., I remembered
-- from time to time you forget. That is also something that you
cannot escape in a job like this. You work so often, all the time.
And that's the worst when it becomes a routine. I just pray that
it never happens to me.
|
| CS: |
What
have you been doing in your spare time?
|
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MF: |
We just finished a play that Goran (Gajic), my husband, directed.
It was "Antigone", which was kind of set in a very subtle
way in the war in the former Yugoslavia. It was something that we
had to do, like paying off a moral debt to that whole situation.
I did that, and now it's over so I have to think of something else.
Goran and I would like to work together a lot more. There is a script
we want to do, but it is always a question of money. What else?
I'm trying to enjoy the nature in California which is my favorite
part of living here. The weather and nature always amazes me. We
lived in New York when we came to America. I always wanted to live
in New York. I always thought that there was nothing better than
to live in New York, but this experience of living here has changed
my point of view. I'm not so sure anymore. It's also probably getting
older -- you learn to appreciate the other side, the calmness, the
space here. The fact that you see the sky, and the sun and moon
together, the ocean. Sometimes I say to myself, I'm so privileged
to live here. It's like a dream world in a way. On the other hand
that also can be disturbing, but that's the ungrateful human nature,
we always complain. And then it rains, and you say "thank God it
rains, I love rain." And then it rains for five days and you say
"I hate rain." So that's how it is. It's kind of strange to live
without seasons, it creates this status quo, the feeling of immobility.
And when things are not happening, that beautiful weather can be
disturbing.
|
| CS: |
I
remember seeing you at a convention in New York City in 1994. You
appeared a bit overwhelmed when you walked out on the stage in front
of the huge audience.
|
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MF: |
(laughing) Yeah, overwhelmed. I'm sorry you had that feeling.
It can be overwhelming. It can also be very moving. I did this convention
in Chicago recently, there were such moving moments. People who
really showed how much it meant to them. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed
by the emotions mainly, but that's good I think. That's nice. In
a way I enjoy it, on the other hand I'm afraid of it. It is something
that has to be dealt with, definitely. In Yugoslavia I had this
uncomfortable feeling about being recognized. With science fiction
fans I don't feel so threatened as I felt back home for some reason.
People are very nice, decent, considerate, kind.
|
| CS: |
If
you had the opportunity to choose a dramatic role of your choice
what would it be?
|
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MF: |
I guess you are asking about theater. (long pause) There are
many roles that I would love to play. I would love to play Miss
Julie. I would love to play Lady MacBeth. I want to play Masha in
Three Sisters. I would love to play Chekov in general. There are
so many things. Once I played Sonia in Uncle Vanya, and I adored
that play. I adore Chekov. This was at the Academy for Theater,
I was so overwhelmed by the importance of that piece, what I was
doing, that I wasn't relaxed. Again, that word overwhelmed. So it
wasn't really good. Sometimes you do a better job when you are not
very impressed by the quality of the piece that you are playing.
It is better not to love it so much and respect it so much, because
that respect can limit you.
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| CS: |
What
is the best part of your experience on Babylon 5?
|
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MF: |
I think the people are really good, a great group of people.
There are so many good people. It's a great cast and we are getting
along well. There are no ego trips, there are no little petty envies,
intrigues, gossips -- all that stuff I hate so much, the so called
politics. In the small sense and the the big scenes I think it's
that worst part of life. People are honest, people are good. I really
enjoy that. Of course Joe's writing, and (John) Flinn's camera,
and Bruce -- he's a wonderful actor. Billy, Andreas, and Peter.
It's Claudia. I mean everybody is so different. I really enjoy hose
different backgrounds. I from far away, Jerry Doyle worked on Wall
Street, somehow all these different worlds is kind of Babylon-like
I think. It all gets together on many levels, it's so strange how
it all matches up.
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| CS: |
Would
you rather be anywhere else right now?
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MF: |
(laughing) Hawaii!
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