Late Show with David Letterman (January 9, 2002)

DL: Our first guest recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in the motion picture A Beautiful Mind, currently in theatres nationwide. Here is the lovely Jennifer Connelly everyone.

::Dave shakes hand then kisses it::

DL: You look lovely

JC: Thank you

DL: You haven't been here in a long time have you?

JC: It's been about 10 or a 11 years...

DL: That's right, 1991 I was told.

JC: How are you?

DL: Well I'm Alright...but, but...But what's the deal? You were off doing other things weren't you?

JC: I've been working on and off through the years ya know...

DL: Did you go to school for a while? You got tired of making movies and you went to school? or you did both together?

JC: I kinda did both, I would take breaks and go to school and then go back and work and than had a son 4 years ago.

DL: Well Congratulations.

JC: Thank you.

DL: Well you were in school what were you studying, what did you want to do there?

JC: It was sort of for my own education. It was, I didn't really think I was going to go there to learn something else to do as a job. It just sort of, because I loved school. I was an English major.

DL: Oh good.

::applause::

DL: and...

JC: I think that's my family.

DL: People applauding the idea of an education, that's excellent I think.

JC: That's great, I loved school, and I love the schools that I went to...I went to great schools.

DL: Where'd you go?

JC: I went to a school called Saint Ann's in Brooklyn Heights here in New York because I grew up in New York. And uh...

::applause::

JC: Then I went to Yale and then I went to Stanford.

DL: Oh man, now were talking about the big leagues aren't we. What was your GPA?

JC: Ah...I don't want to talk about that! Come on...

DL: Was it like really impressive?

JC: I was kind of a tyrant with myself so I did okay with grades. But I drove myself crazy...

DL: Well good. And congratulations on the nomination for a Golden Globe award.

JC: Thank you.

DL: Have you had nominations before like that?

JC: Last year for a Requiem for a dream. Not like that no. Last year for Requiem for a dream, The Independent Spirts awards I was nominated for.

::applause:

JC: and I think that was...I'm getting a lot of claps here, what's happening? Are they being cute to clap?

DL: Believe me...If I knew...I don't know what's happening. Oh I think it might have something to with the dress.

::applause::
::Jen Laughs::

JC: I'm blushing now.

DL: How...I mean I think I know the answer to this question. Your 2002, I mean It's only over a week over. How's it going so far?

JC: It's fun. Ya know, I love the movie and so I'm really happy people are seeing it and enjoying it. It's kind of strange for me because I've been making movies that not necessarily a lot of people have been seeing recently so...It's kind of different for me. I've been being kind of recognized more.

DL: Is that good for actress, do you like that?

JC: It's okay but it's kind of disconcerting because It keeps happening in the gym. I'll be in the lockerroom, the other day I was at gym in the locker room and I'm naked and these two women next to me and one of them saying...

::applause::

JC: ...so the one woman saying, "Ya know I'm going to see this movie A Special Mind tomorrow", and I think oh my god just don't look at me.

DL: A Special Mind?

JC: A Special Mind yeah...Ah uh, they just don't notice me I'm here in my corner and this one woman comes up to me and says "you, i want to talk to you! I saw your movie!" and I'm sitting there thinking...Do I like feign that I'm so comfortable with myself that I can stand there naked and talk to this woman, or do I run screaming for the towel? What do I do? So I comprimise and got my sweaty gym clothes that I had just in my locker back out as if I was doing something with them.

DL: Well that's annoying. people should leave you alone especially when you're naked.

JC: It's kind of peculiar.

DL: Now does your son, Does he know that his mom's a movie actress and a star and stuff?

JC: He does..He knows..He knows the projects..He doesn't really care. He's like come home, no more TV, just be here and lets do the bedazzler or whatever.

DL: And when you have the young boy, already can you notice characteristics in him that you remember for yourself when you were that age?

JC: Yeah, he's much more outgoing than I am. He's very social. I was always a little bit more quiet. But anyway, I notice this one one thing about myself, I noticed this sort of family thing recently. My grandmother was kind of like, my maternal grandmother was kind of like from a different era. She used to carry around those little, remember those little sacrin tablets? that people used carry in those little thing

DL: Yes

JC: She's very spend thrift, you'd open up fridgator and she'd have those little ketchup things from resturants. And the sugar was like the little sugar packets and the creme was from the diner, you know what I mean?

DL: Yeah

JC: So I used to make fun of her for that. We'd go to the resturant and she had this hair bonnet she'd wear because if it was going to rain and she'd get her hair dyed and she wouldn't wash it for a week so she'd protect her hair. So we'd go to a restuarant and we'd go to this place, Cafe de Parie was her favorite resturant. She liked the rolls. So she'd whip out the nasty hair dye hair bonnet and like put the rolls in it and put it in her back. And I'd always make fun of her for it. So now I was staying at a hotel and I like to eat apples. But I can't fathom spending 8 dollars for a room service apple.

DL: No, that's ridiculous for God's sake.

JC: It doesn't make sense. So I've got a lot of ridiculing recently for doing basically the same thing which is I'd go some place else and I had a meeting with Harvey Weinstein who is the head of Miramax. He goes in the other room, he had a lovely fruit bowl and I'm thinking...Am I crossing the line if I take some of the fruit?

DL: I've seen this Harvey, this guy ain't eating much fruit.

::applause::

JC: So I did it.

DL: Believe me, He ain't going to miss it.

JC: Anyway, my son he does the same thing.

DL: Your son is doing the same thing?

JC: He was doing the same thing. So maybe it's like genetic. He was doing it with Power Bars.

DL: When you made the film, was that, intense? Interesting?

::applause/laughs::

JC: What was it.

::laughs::

DL: Yeah, making the movie. What was that like? A lot of fun? A lot of goofing around?

JC:It was great. It was pretty serious for me.

DL:It seems quite serious when you watch it. It's very intense.

JC:It was fulfilling. I loved it. I loved the movie. I loved the script. I loved doing it. I loved working on it. I didn't have much fun. It felt like I was chained to this hair dryer a lot because I had this very curly hair in the movie.

DL: A vierra.

JC: So they did this wet setup where they made little pin curls and I'd sit under that old fashioned dryer for like 50 minutes, so I was kind of stuck there a lot. I stole russel's, stealing again, 5 pound weights from his trailer. I figured he's not going to use those 5 pound weights. So I'd sit there in my trailer and do this and try and be productive. But they had fun while I was in the dryer.

DL: Do you have clip here to show people of the film?

JC: Yeah, this clip is, I'm a student of John Nash's, who's Russell's character, and this is the first time we ever meet and we're in a very hot classroom.

DL: Oh yeah this good, here we go. Take a look. A Special Mind.

::SHOWS CLIP::

::applause::

DL: Look at how nice you look there. Very nice.

JC: Thank you.

DL: A Beautiful Mind, based on a true story, and is now in theatres all over the country.

JC: It is.

DL: Nice to see you, Congratulations.

JC: Thank you, nice to see you.

DL: Good luck on the Golden Globe.

DL: Jennifer Connelly, we'll be right back everybody.

::Dave Kissed her hand again::

©2002 Late Show with David Letterman