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American Morning
Interview with Kathleen Turner, Actress
Aired May 09, 2002 - 09:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: 20 years after her steamy screen debut in the movie "Body Heat," Kathleen Turner is still a hot ticket. She is currently on Broadway in the stage version of "The Graduate," putting her signature sultry voice to good use as the seductive Mrs. Robinson. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN TURNER, ACTRESS: Benjamin, would you please unzip the dress?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would rather not.
TURNER: Do you still think I'm trying to seduce you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't.
TURNER: With your parents just downstairs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ought to go down.
TURNER: You have known me you whole life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know that.
TURNER: Well, then, would you please? It's hard for me to reach? Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And if we had stayed with that shot a little bit longer you know what comes next. It all comes off slowly, and the actress is also drawing attention to a potentially devastating disease, rheumatoid arthritis, that has plagued her for many years. May just happens to be the National Arthritis Month, and Kathleen Turner is with us this morning -- Good morning, it is great to see you.
TURNER: Good morning, Paula. It is good to be here.
ZAHN: Congratulations.
TURNER: Thank you. It is going very well.
ZAHN: So, the show is selling out fast at a time when the critics are -- at times savaging you (ph)...
TURNER: Oh, it's been a little tough.
ZAHN: Yes, what is that all about?
TURNER: Well, I think -- well, to be quite frank, I think that we came into town with a huge advance sale of tickets and everything, and we were quite solid when we arrived in New York. And I think that upset a few people. I think, too, there really is a reaction against women -- against strong woman in this country, that we're still essentially a rather misogynist society.
ZAHN: So is it devine justice, in a way, to have the show sell out...
TURNER: It is rather nice.
ZAHN: ... in spite of the negative reviews?
TURNER: Absolutely. Now, going into the theater knowing that the house is full, and having a standing ovation every night suits me just fine.
ZAHN: Let's talk about getting naked.
TURNER: OK.
ZAHN: On stage. Now, in "Mrs. Robinson," the movie version...
TURNER: Yes.
ZAHN: ... we never saw anything but the silk stocking slowly come unrolled...
TURNER: Right. Yes, I don't really remember the film, it was so long ago, but I do -- certainly in the play, it's truly essential that we have that kind of impetus, that kind of shock to the character of Benjamin. Otherwise, I don't think the play would go anywhere.
When we first created it, they asked me -- the director/writer, Terry Johnson (ph) said, you know, if I could work it out, that I could be semi-dressed, or naked, or whatever, then he would -- he would do his best to accommodate that, but it was very clear through the rehearsal period that what we needed was the full impact.
ZAHN: So did they ask you, or did you volunteer?
TURNER: Well, I suppose I volunteered, in that I said, He's right, we should do it.
ZAHN: So what is the reality of this? Every -- plus-40 woman wants to know.
TURNER: It's cold. It's cold.
ZAHN: Yes, and how long do you have to suck your stomach in for? TURNER: Oh, honey, the whole play, of course. It's tough. It's tough. But again, as I say, it feels like the right thing to do, and you know, it becomes almost like being in costume in a funny way. It's just not me, so it's OK.
ZAHN: It's interesting that you see a great variety in the audience that comes to these shows.
TURNER: Oh, indeed.
ZAHN: And you have to play to the first laugh. But do you see distinct audiences on different nights of the week, and that sort of suggests to you how you calibrate your performance?
TURNER: Oh yes, absolutely. Like during the week, and probably on Sundays, we get more serious theater goers. People who make a habit -- and probably live in Manhattan and come to the theater. Friday nights and Saturday nights and maybe Saturday matinees, we get more tourists, more people from, you know, across the water, as it were. And date nights. Date people. And so it's -- it's a different level of attention, almost to us, you know. It's interesting.
ZAHN: Let's move on to something that really has occupied a lot of your time, besides the rehearsal of the play and living in the late night time zone to do the play. Rheumatoid arthritis is something you had to confront. You had this shock of noticing that you were gaining weight and you didn't know why.
TURNER: It was more than the weight. I think it was the pain, and the fatigue. What happens in rheumatoid arthritis is it's a constant level of inflammation in your body, so that it is almost like having the flu always. You are just exhausted, you just -- you have have terrible body aches and low fever, and you don't know why.
The most terrifying thing is finding out -- it was almost a relief when I was finally diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis to know what was going on, because by then, I thought I was dying. In this country, in the United States, it's average of three to five years before correct diagnosis is made.
ZAHN: Really, that long?
TURNER: Yes. People -- doctors don't necessarily look for it. People don't know what the symptoms are. They don't know what they may be experiencing. We have, now, what we didn't have ten years ago when I was diagnosed, I would have killed for then -- a web site. Which is www.raaccess.com. Look up the treatments, look up the symptoms, look up the medications available, look up alternative roots. It's a fantastic -- I had to try and sort out everything that was happening to me pretty much by myself. Looking up medications, looking side effects.
ZAHN: And look what you are doing today.
TURNER: It's fabulous.
ZAHN: You still live in pain, but you are able to control.
TURNER: There is damage that is permanent, that's done when the inflammation eats the cartilage and ligament and bone. The sooner you catch it, of course, the less damage will be done because I can control the inflammation now with the new medications, but it took several years for me to get it under control. So I will always have permanent damage. But every morning I wake up, and it is like -- this is fine. I can handle this, you know.
ZAHN: Well, it is great to see you back on stage. Congratulations, take good care of yourself.
TURNER: Do come.
ZAHN: I will come. I am going to come to the matinee. I will be your first laugh out there.
TURNER: OK.
ZAHN: And I will hold my stomach right alongside you. Everybody's worst nightmare when you're in your 40s, worrying about that extra poundage there.
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