For Thandie, family is really important

A self-confessed ���little girl at heart���, Hollywood actor Thandie Newton says that her family life is a huge factor when it comes to deciding the kind of work she takes up.
In an interview with TOI Thandie who���s done films like Mission:Impossible II, The Pursuit of Happyness and Crash, admits that an actor has little control over the way the film shapes up. Excerpts from an interview:
You���ve constantly juggled between small films and bigger movies like Mission: Impossible II.Is it part of a grand design with your career?
Oh there���s no grand plan (laughs). But it���s nice to be able to do a little of both. I wouldn���t ever just want to do one kind of thing. When I was starting out on my career, if I did a movie about say, slavery like Jefferson in Paris, I���d then get sent every slavery script going. But that doesn���t happen so much anymore. Hopefully I���ve established that I can do lots of different things. And you know, the way I work and when I work is actually more to do with being a Mom than ���what do I want to do next?��� If I���ve worked on a big film, I don���t then want to go and do another big film because of the kids and school and that kind of thing. It���s a bit boring, but that determines the job more than anything else.
You played Condoleeza Rice in your last release W. Did you have to research a lot for a role like that?
Yes, absolutely, especially with regards to how she (Condoleeza Rice) was involved. And I read a lot, it was great, I haven���t researched like that for years for a role. And even though the movie was small and my role was fairly small as well, I���d done more work for that than I���d done on anything, practically. I knew that Oliver (Stone) would want to just be spontaneous. When you���re working on real life characters that are so firmly in the public eye, you don���t want to get it wrong as there are also facts that people know about. And also satire isn���t good unless you really mimic bang on. So I wanted it to be high satire.
So have you had any feedback from Condoleeza Rice after the film released?
No. But I hear she���s joined my agency William Morris. You never know what might happen. Maybe I���ll bump into her in the corridor.
Your forthcoming release sees you back in the Oval Office. How different is it this time?
I just made sure my accent was in good shape, because really, no matter whom I was playing, the story is about a world in disarray. I literally finished my last scene in W, which was with Josh Brolin in the Oval Office, and two weeks later I was on a different set for 2012, in Vancouver, on another set for the Oval Office, playing a president���s daughter. And obviously the Oval Office really exists and the production designers are very careful and they match everything up to make it look as authentic as possible. The only thing I noticed was that the carpet was a slightly different shade in our Oval Office in Vancouver, but everything else was exactly the same. My new movie is a popcorn crowd pleaser. Someone asked me ���do you think this movie is going to help people sort of be more aware about the environment?��� I don���t know. The characters had to be clearly drawn and they were.
The movie is based on the Mayan prophecies predicting the end of the world December 21, 2012. Does it scare you?
I was a bit nervous to be honest when I first heard about the Mayan prophecies. Reality can be shocking enough and things happen all the time. I think the film is about appreciating the moment and the challenges we face ��� like, for instance the economic crisis we���ve been going through ���hopefully make us appreciate the simple things and the value of relationships and the value of the people that we love.
Do you like watching your own movies?
Only if they���re good.
So which are the good ones?
I���m not going to answer that. I mean, there are lots that I really, really like, there are some I feel didn���t work in ways that I���d hoped, but then, you never really know, you have very little control as an actor really.