Amelia
Amelia Earhart became a larger-than-life celebrity not only because of what she did although her record-breaking flights in an age when flying over oceans certainly grabbed international headlines -- but because of who she was.
It was her spunk, smarts, can-do optimism, coolness under pressure and unflagging tenacity that defined a vivid new picture of the American woman, indeed of a nation emerging from the Great Depression.
Tall and slim with short, windswept hair, the very image of her became synonymous with the soaring ideals of adventure, belief and accomplishment, all accompanied by sweetness and joie de vivre.
It went without saying that any actress willing to take on the role of Amelia would have to bring all of these qualities to the table and one woman seemed, from the get-go, to be a dead-on match with the fearless, freedom-loving vagabond of the air: Hilary Swank.
Having garnered two Academy Awards® for transformative roles in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby, Swank is no stranger at going to great depths for her roles. But she also possessed something more than just the technical skills and physical attributes to play Earhart.
"What’s most extraordinary about Hilary is that she masters all the outward stuff, but then she does something more and communicates the inner workings of Amelia her humility, her self-effacing goofiness, her sort of unexpected girlishness," states Nair.
"Hilary is a spiritual actor she really acts from within and she took great joy in finding Amelia in every way, spending close to a month just getting the look right. The hair, the walk, and especially the speech her performance was very particular and very deeply Amelia."
Swank also stunned the director with her talent for flying and daring deeds. "Hilary is an intuitive daredevil," observes Nair. "She loves the roller-coaster of life. She would happily jump out in a parachute and come down just like Amelia, with legs swinging wildly!"
For Swank, the role was irresistible. "Amelia was such a trailblazer and I think we have Amelia to thank for girls today feeling like it’s OK to follow a dream," she says. "She had a quality that I admire: the drive to follow her heart, no matter what, even in a man’s world.
"What I think the movie shows is that she lived life on her own terms, she believed in having fun and doing what you love and also in helping other people, and she accomplished a lot because of all of that."
Yet, Swank also knew the role was a risk. "There’s not a lot of liberty you can take with a character like Amelia, because she is such an icon and we have seen so many images of her that they are almost burned into our psyches," she admits. "I think the challenge for me was to just fully commit to what I believed she was like."
Part of that commitment meant taking to the skies, and as Swank began flying lessons, she had an eye-opening, personal insight into what drew Amelia towards the heavens. "I realized that she loved flying because she loved feeling free of the constraints she felt on the ground," the actress muses.
"I think she also loved being able to see the world and you have to understand in those days very few people had that chance and experiencing new cultures. Most of all, she was driven by the promise of always trying something new.
"That’s why she was always going after a new record or heading to a new place, and that’s something I could relate to."
She soon discovered how much Amelia has meant to today’s thousands of women pilots. "Almost every female pilot I met said Amelia was an inspiration to her," Swank offers. "Amelia would have loved that and she would have really loved to see that women are now flying commercial planes across the Atlantic."
Swank was also moved by the central romance of Amelia the relationship between Earhart and her husband, the public relations vanguard, George P. Putnam, who kept Amelia’s flights financed via a constant spate of public appearances, advertisements and sponsorships.
"I think they have a beautiful love story because George really did everything he could to see Amelia’s dreams through," she explains. "I think she understood that this was a part of her job, a part of being able to fly."
She also admired Amelia’s brutal honesty with George. "He asked her to marry him many times and she always told him that she didn’t want to be held to the conventional restraints of a marriage, which was so ahead of its time," Swank says. "But at the same time, she also expressed a great deal of love for him."
Working with Richard Gere in the role brought all the tenderness and conflict of their relationship to the fore. "Richard is an old soul who walks around with his heart on his sleeve, and I think those are also the characteristics of George Putnam," she observes.
Once Amelia and George did marry, biographers believe that Earhart carried on an affair with the aviator Gene Vidal, who would, with Amelia’s support, soon join the Roosevelt administration as head of the brand new Bureau of Air Commerce. Swank says it was easy to understand the attraction between them.
"With Gene, she had this shared passion, they both loved to fly and both wanted to advance the business of aviation in America and they saw the world in a similar way because of that," she explains. "Ewan brought a richness to the character that made him the complete opposite of Richard. Both men were an embodiment of what Amelia wanted in life, and yet they were so different."
For Swank, the international production filled with flights both real and simulated was a non-stop adventure, but throughout, she says she had another heroine, aside from Amelia, keeping her grounded: Mira Nair.
"I think Mira is a kindred spirit of Amelia," Swank concludes. "She’s a force of nature, a very strong woman who doesn’t apologize for being strong. It’s wonderful to see a woman command respect the way she does and have such a clear vision. It’s a breath of fresh air."
Amelia is released 13th November.
Amelia Earhart became a larger-than-life celebrity not only because of what she did although her record-breaking flights in an age when flying over oceans certainly grabbed international headlines -- but because of who she was.
It was her spunk, smarts, can-do optimism, coolness under pressure and unflagging tenacity that defined a vivid new picture of the American woman, indeed of a nation emerging from the Great Depression.
Tall and slim with short, windswept hair, the very image of her became synonymous with the soaring ideals of adventure, belief and accomplishment, all accompanied by sweetness and joie de vivre.
It went without saying that any actress willing to take on the role of Amelia would have to bring all of these qualities to the table and one woman seemed, from the get-go, to be a dead-on match with the fearless, freedom-loving vagabond of the air: Hilary Swank.
Having garnered two Academy Awards® for transformative roles in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby, Swank is no stranger at going to great depths for her roles. But she also possessed something more than just the technical skills and physical attributes to play Earhart.
"What’s most extraordinary about Hilary is that she masters all the outward stuff, but then she does something more and communicates the inner workings of Amelia her humility, her self-effacing goofiness, her sort of unexpected girlishness," states Nair.
"Hilary is a spiritual actor she really acts from within and she took great joy in finding Amelia in every way, spending close to a month just getting the look right. The hair, the walk, and especially the speech her performance was very particular and very deeply Amelia."
Swank also stunned the director with her talent for flying and daring deeds. "Hilary is an intuitive daredevil," observes Nair. "She loves the roller-coaster of life. She would happily jump out in a parachute and come down just like Amelia, with legs swinging wildly!"
For Swank, the role was irresistible. "Amelia was such a trailblazer and I think we have Amelia to thank for girls today feeling like it’s OK to follow a dream," she says. "She had a quality that I admire: the drive to follow her heart, no matter what, even in a man’s world.
"What I think the movie shows is that she lived life on her own terms, she believed in having fun and doing what you love and also in helping other people, and she accomplished a lot because of all of that."
Yet, Swank also knew the role was a risk. "There’s not a lot of liberty you can take with a character like Amelia, because she is such an icon and we have seen so many images of her that they are almost burned into our psyches," she admits. "I think the challenge for me was to just fully commit to what I believed she was like."
Part of that commitment meant taking to the skies, and as Swank began flying lessons, she had an eye-opening, personal insight into what drew Amelia towards the heavens. "I realized that she loved flying because she loved feeling free of the constraints she felt on the ground," the actress muses.
"I think she also loved being able to see the world and you have to understand in those days very few people had that chance and experiencing new cultures. Most of all, she was driven by the promise of always trying something new.
"That’s why she was always going after a new record or heading to a new place, and that’s something I could relate to."
She soon discovered how much Amelia has meant to today’s thousands of women pilots. "Almost every female pilot I met said Amelia was an inspiration to her," Swank offers. "Amelia would have loved that and she would have really loved to see that women are now flying commercial planes across the Atlantic."
Tagged in Hilary Swank