Actress Tomei wrestles with portraying aging stripper in Aranofsky's newest film

The Daily caught up with actor Marisa Tomei, of "My Cousin Vinny"(1992) fame, to discuss her upcoming film "The Wrestler," starring Mickey Rourke and directed by Darren Aronofsky of "Requiem for a Dream" (2000). The film, set for a Dec. 17 release, follows the life of ex-pro wrestler Randy "the Ram" Robinson, who makes his living by performing at amateur events. His career is unfortunately cut short by a heart attack, and the film follows his relationship with an aging stripper (played by Tomei) and his struggle to repair his relationship with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood).

Christopher Rivlin: Throughout the film, you are very good at conveying the distance your character tries to keep from Randy — what was the inspiration for this performance? Was it past experience or something else?

Marisa Tomei: Well, it was more Darren's [Aronofsky] views on that, though of course I drew from past experiences and my imagination, as well. I mean, I never thought it was a romantic relationship with Randy; I think she liked him but also saw him a little bit as a cash cow. She enjoys spending time with him, though: He is the client she likes dancing for most. Then, the more vulnerable he gets, the more vulnerable she gets. His opening up opens her up. It's clear to her that Randy is trying to lead the relationship in a romantic direction, but she's not quite sure whether she wants that. I get the feeling that she sees Randy as more of a comrade than a lover — they've both gone through these incredibly challenging lifestyles using their bodies … and now their bodies are failing them. But I think that because she's worked as a dancer for so long … when she's giving a lap dance … she has to cut off her real feelings. Then, when her real feelings start bubbling up, she's confused as to how she's supposed to channel it, so that's why the back-and-forth with Randy happens.

CR: It appeared to me that your character didn't actually hate what she did; indeed, she seemed to take a sort of pride or satisfaction from it. I was wondering whether you could talk about this, and how her job might affect her home life?

MT: Well, I think that she does like what she does, and that was a decision I made early on [pauses] because I wanted to [laughs] because I wanted to enjoy it. I found that the more women that I spoke to, well, they're connected to dancing. Dancing is just such a primal human expression; it can be a soulful thing. A lot of the women feel really empowered when they're dancing; they feel really beautiful — then there's a small bunch that are like, "I've gotta get out of this hole of a life." For the most part — and this is a totally gross generalization — but there's a messed-up-ness in the home life and then there's like a respite by being able to dance. It's like any art form: Highbrow or lowbrow, it's still that person's expression. I thought it was almost a transcendent thing for her.

CR: It seemed to me that the movie was about identity in a lot of ways, kind of how you reconcile who you used to be and who you actually are. I was just wondering if you, as an actress, have ever experienced that sort of identity crisis when moving forward with your career?

MT: Hmm, well, not so much in my public life, but definitely at transition points in my own life. And probably two big changes when I was like, "Who am I now if I'm not that person?" I had a relationship of like 15 years and when that was over, I thought, "Well, if I'm not that person anymore, who am I now?" It is about how much you can grow, not even just reinvention from the outside or a public persona thing, but just expanding yourself. And that's what Randy's problem is; he can't really expand past that wrestler — that's all he is. I think that because she has that child there, she has the hope of more breadth and possibility. Though in some ways, I think this movie is making that transition for me ... because this age [the early 40s] is an age where people say we can't act anymore — Hollywood hokum (laughs). I feel this movie has opened up another layer for me as an actor.

CR: Within your character there seemed to be two characters of Cassidy, the stripper, and Pam, the mom — how did you approach this?

MT: Well, it was super-super-confusing [laughs]. It took a lot to get into that mind-set of being one person, but also someone else. I mean, she'd never be a conscious enough person even though she's trying to say that she is to have two genuinely separate personalities. And, in many ways, she's screwed up. Every day she exercises the muscles of manipulation and deception and fantasy-giving. It's just a whole other persona; she's just wearing a mask all the time. I think she's slipped into something she's not in control of …. So when we were doing those scenes and we had real dancers from the club, I'd ask them, "What are you thinking when you're looking at these guys?" and they'd say, "Which one has more money?"

CR: I know this film is a lot about realism and you did a lot of research for it. How did the research you did for this film compare to one like "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead" [2007]?

MT: Well, I didn't really have to do very much research for "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead" — who was she really? Just a boring Upper East Side dodo head … I don't know, just a vapid person. I mean, that whole thing about research, I say it because journalists know about it and it's easy to talk about. But mostly, its imagination and just like whatever it is: dreams, intuition, osmosis, hanging around.

CR: How about in the performance itself? Did it affect the way you moved, or the subtleties of your motion, your physicality?

MT: This film definitely had a lot of physicality, definitely the physical carriage of her when she's Cassidy. I tried to be aware of and carry myself like that all the time. With this style, the camera comes to you, the DP becomes a part of you — he moves the way you move.