Hilary Swank
She won two Oscars playing women who took it to the edge - transsexual Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry, and scrappy boxer Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby. Now Hilary Swank takes on Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) - the gutsy pilot who continues to inspire generations of women.
While Swank's new movie arrives in time for Oscar consideration, the end-of-year season brings different concerns for her. She is the spokesperson for animal charity Iams Home 4 the Holidays (www.iamshome4theholidays.com). Iams Home 4 the Holidays helps unloved domestic animals find happy homes with a website directing users around the world to their nearest animal shelter.
Hilary, tell us about Iams Home 4 the Holidays.
I've always been an animal lover, my entire life. Right now there are eight million homeless pets and approximately six million of them are put to sleep every year. So when I heard about Iams Home 4 the Holidays I thought it would be a perfect partnership in order to get the word out that if you want an animal - and usually during the holidays is when people want to bring a new animal into their home - then go to your local shelter and to experience the utter joy and unconditional love that I've experienced from all the animals that I've adopted.
Did you grow up with dogs?
No. Every Christmas and birthday I asked for a dog, a dog, a dog, a dog! We briefly had a cat that showed up at our doorstep that we ended up keeping. So now I've had four rescue dogs, two of which are still with us. I've had a couple rescue cats. I have a rescued parrot.
So when you make a movie, do your dogs get their own trailer?
No! That's pretty funny. But they are in the trailer with me. I do get the opportunity to travel with my animals, which is a good thing because I'm gone most of the year. We'd spend a lot of time apart that's for sure.
Are you able to take them to other countries despite quarantine restrictions?
Yup, I take them everywhere. If I know that there's a country that has really strong limits on animals, I try to encourage the [studio] to see if they can't get a tax benefit in another country or in another state so that my animals can come along with me. That's how important it is for me to have my animals with me.
Do your dogs know who's boss? Do they respect the Oscars?
That's the thing about animals - they're unconditional. They don't care about what you own, or what you look like.
Let's talk about Amelia. We hear you learned to fly for the part. What's it like to pilot a plane?
It's amazing. I didn't think that you could play Amelia Earhart and not learn how to fly. Getting to go up in a plane, I was just reminded of the exuberance and utter freedom that Amelia must have felt when she as flying as well.
What's the most important thing to remember when you're taking off in a plane?
How to land.
Did you get your pilot's licence?
I don't have my licence. It was against the movie's insurance policy for me to go up by myself, which you have to do in order to get your pilot's licence. So I don't have it yet, but I'd like to get it some day - I'd like to see it through.
What's your take on Amelia Earhart? Do you think she was a little foolhardy?
I don't think that she was foolhardy. I think that she was passionate and had a dream and she didn't do anything without a lot of thought. She was spontaneous, yet she wasn't reckless.
What else did you find out about her as you were researching?
I really appreciated the fact that she was a woman who was not afraid to follow her dreams in a time when only men did it. She made no apologies for herself and I think that that is still very challenging in life, in 2009.
You've played several risk-takers on screen. Are there people in your life who told you that you shouldn't take the risk to be an actress?
I had a teacher when I started acting that said "I don't think that it's something you should do, when are you going to give up your hobby?" And other than that, I've never had someone say "don't do it". There was a lot of discouragement, but I think more importantly there was a lot of encouragement and a lot of people that did believe in me. Nick Dent
Amelia screens from 12 Nov. To adopt a pet, visit www.iamshome4theholidays.com.
