Maggie Grace Jane Austen Book Club
She was bitten by the acting bug at a very young age, and started off in theatre and TV before landing the part of the self-centred princess Shannon Rutherford in hit TV series Lost. Since leaving Lost, Maggie Grace is making up for um, lost time (no pun intended) and has already shot four films with a fifth underway. Her latest one is The Jane Austen Book Club, an engaging tale of five slightly neurotic women and one man, (Amy Brenneman, Maria Bello, Kathy Baker, Emily Blunt and Hugh Dancy) who discover the novels of the English author eerily relevant to their own lives some two centuries after they were written. Gaynor Flynn sat down with the young actress at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
Gaynor Flynn: Were you a fan of Jane Austen before this film?
Maggie Grace: I was actually since I was quite young I loved Jane
Austen so it was a perfect film for me. My whole
family thought it was hysterical that I finally found
a film about Jane Austen. It’s a very contemporary
movie I think. People might not expect that from the
title but I loved the book when it came out. I read it
like as soon as it came out so I was excited to see
the script come across my desk.
Gaynor Flynn: It’s also not everyday that you get to play the
lesbian daughter of Amy Brenneman and Jimmy Smits
right?
Maggie Grace: [laughs] Yeah it was a great excuse to have a really
fun lesbian love story movie marathon all to myself,
it was fantastic.
Gaynor Flynn: Was it difficult to get the part?
Maggie Grace: Not especially. I came in and kind of clicked with
Robyn (Swicord) the director right away. We’ve both
Janeite geeks and then she thought I was right for it
so I was relieved.
Gaynor Flynn: Bit of a change of pace from Lost, was that part of
the plan? And you’ve also changed your hair colour.
Maggie Grace: Yeah, now I’m a brunette. The hair colour has changed
a few times since Lost but the timing of leaving was
so great for me.
Gaynor Flynn: Why?
Maggie Grace: Well it kind off launched me and now I have the
opportunity to pursue all sorts of parts.
Gaynor Flynn: Do you prefer film or are you planning on juggling
both TV and film?
Maggie Grace: I prefer film. I mean I feel like after Lost that was
a pretty special circumstance and I felt it was a
special show and I didn’t necessarily want to jump
back into a seven year contract so I’ve shot four
movies since then and I’ve got another film coming out
early next year called Taken. It’s a thriller
opposite Liam Neeson, and we shot in Paris so I’ve had
really good luck with locations, Hawaii, Paris.
That’s also why I lean more towards film I love to
travel and I love the gypsy lifestyle. I mean I’m 23
and it’s a great time in my life to jump from one
place to another.
Gaynor Flynn: It must make it difficult on relationships though.
Maggie Grace: Well I have other priorities right now.
Gaynor Flynn: When did you know you wanted to be an actress?
Maggie Grace: I was really young and nobody in my family is involved
in it. I’m from Ohio. I’m from a small community in
Ohio it was a kind of a ridiculous thing to want to do
there but I really loved it.
Gaynor Flynn: How did you get started?
Maggie Grace: I started doing plays when I was really little like
when I was five and I started getting into it more in
school and then I started working with more adult
troupes, like the local Shakespeare troupe and we did
a couple of Neil Simon plays and it was really fun,
like 13, 14, 15 I really got into it. It was like my
whole life, I hardly dated or had friends or did
anything else. It was like a play rehearsal after
school every day.
Gaynor Flynn: No time for boyfriends?
Maggie Grace: [laughs] Well that was then, this is now. Now we make
a little time. I’m continually seeking a sense of
balance with all things and I think I’m getting better
every year. But I kind of fell in love with theatre
and read a lot of plays. I’m an avid reader and then
moved to LA when I was 16 and worked in TV for five
years and live there and film for the last two.
Gaynor Flynn: It’s really amazing because you hear so many stories
about actors struggling for years.
Maggie Grace: Well I struggled. I was broke and definitely it
wasn’t the easiest thing. I worked my way up.
Gaynor Flynn: How broke?
Maggie Grace: I ate the crackers and it was a lot to swallow at 16
and everyone you meet when you’re in LA is in the
business so it’s a little crazy. Its not the
healthiest place but I’ve been very lucky and I’ve
been very grateful and I’ve certainly got friends who
have struggled for decades in a city that can
definitely wear away at you if you’re not careful and
if you don’t see enough plays and read enough books to
forget that its not all about the daily casting
announcements and the trade magazines.
Gaynor Flynn: What was it like working with this cast?
Maggie Grace: It was fantastic.
Gaynor Flynn: Did you know any of them beforehand?
Maggie Grace: Only through some mutual friends but I didn’t really
know any of them.
Gaynor Flynn: Was it better or worse with an almost all female cast?
Maggie Grace: Better like from day one rehearsals were just a blast.
Everybody really gelled and having a cast and a set of
women the producer, the writer/director it really
makes a difference, the whole vibe and the whole
process was just a different one and it was really
refreshing and they’re all very warm giving generous
women. Not one of them is jealous or bitter or any of
those awful qualities that we sometimes, if you’ve
been in the business too long, can rear their ugly
head. They’re just the most amazing women and such
great role models for me being the youngster. Its not
too often that I think people will be this encouraging
and shepherd you and Robyn especially is just so
encouraging its all so wonderful that they’re so
giving of yourself.
Gaynor Flynn: Are you finding it difficult to find roles where
you’re more than just the girlfriend?
Maggie Grace: Yeah and especially after Lost I got a lot of the same
sort of offers.
Gaynor Flynn: What girl survives plane crash and lives on a beach
sort of thing?
Maggie Grace: (laughs) No and I’m happy to have any offers really,
its flattering no matter what they are but I don’t
want to play the same role over and over. Even on a
silly superficial level, I came in to audition for
this as the little blond chick and seeing that I could
be Amy and Jimmy’s daughter, who both have dark hair,
and Robyn was willing to see past that because a lot
of directors can’t even picture a different hair
colour, something as simple as that.
Gaynor Flynn: So you don’t run around in bikinis all the time and
act like a spoiled princess?
Maggie Grace: (laughs) No, but my family might say otherwise. No I’m
kidding.
Gaynor Flynn: After the Lost thing, has your life changed
dramatically?
Maggie Grace: Not really. I try to keep everything on an even keel.
I want to be in this business for the long haul, so I
try not to get caught up in what’s popular or what’s
not right now because those things are fickle. I just
want to do good work I’m proud of.
Gaynor Flynn: Do you have a career plan?
Maggie Grace: Well not so much a plan, but I’m a big fan of lists.
And I like to make lists of people I want to work with
and of course there are vague ideas of certain genres
I want to do. I’d love to do a really great adaptation
and a historical drama some day. I’ve got a soft spot
for them.
Gaynor Flynn: What have you got coming up?
Maggie Grace: Well the ink hasn’t dried and I don’t want to jinx it
and its really dark and really lovely. Its exciting.
Hopefully everything will work out.
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB
Cast: Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Hugh Dancy, Emily Blunt, Marc Blucas
Director: Robin Swicord
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Six Californians meet on a monthly basis to discuss the novels of Jane Austen, one at a time. As they debate Marianne’s marriage to Brandon and whether or not Charlotte Lucas is gay, they reveal nothing so much as their own 'private Austen(s).' Based on the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by Karen Jay Fowler.
