Q: Kate Mullen. Where do we find her at the beginning of the story? Where is she, in life?

A: Well, I think life is pretty good. I mean, you never know how good it is until tragedy strikes. But, I think that Kate, right now, is pretty happy. I think it's like with everybody: You don't really appreciate everything that you've got. I mean, they probably fight. You know, Tom and her probably fight. They're probably, like, stupid, ridiculous things. I mean, this is, like, my back story. And she's probably where I am. And she's my age. I am Katherine Mullen. Maybe you could ask me another question. She's in a good place. She's really in a good place. Life is goin' along. It's great. I think that they're successful in every way you can be successful. I mean, in all those kinds of monetary ways.

Q: Life is pretty high-profile?

A: It is pretty high-profile. Tom is about to have a commercial come out where he was the spokesperson for his own airline. So, I guess that's high-profile. And I am the chairperson for Central Park. And yeah, we're high-profile, and they're doing their community thing, I guess. Sure.

Q: So, you said: Tragedy strikes. What happens here?

A: Well, our only son is kidnapped.

Q: But Kate and Tom, are they unified?

A: They're unified, initially, because it's like: Pay them and get your son back. It's clear. Then, at a certain point, we are not unified. It's a wonderful script. When the FBI comes in and begins to investigate you, a lot of things come up. A lot of nasty little things came up for Tom and Kate. So, it wasn't just the kidnapping, but, suddenly, we had to deal with the foundation of our marriage, and so there were a lot of things going on. It was pretty much as devastating as it could be to a family. Through all of that, it was probably the best thing that could have happened for their marriage, you know? Because those little lies and little secrets -- even if the other person doesn't know, I think in some way they do. And I think it's damaging in ways that we don't even know. So, I think that, in the end, it probably was better for their marriage. A lot of things happened that were hidden, were revealed through this kidnapping. Because they kind of come in, the FBI, and turn your life upside down and turn over every stone, and you find some unsavory things.

Q: What are the demands?

A: The demands. Money. That's pretty much it. Money.

Q: And do they change?

A: She changes. He changes. I think when your foundation -- boy, I know for me, in my life, anytime the rug has been pulled out from under me -- sure, I think a lot of changes happen. I know in their marriage things changes.

Q: Does Kate take action on her own?

A: Yeah, at one point Kate does decide to take action on her own when she feels helpless. That was an interesting part of the script, because I have to say I would just shoot my husband, get him out of the picture right away, if he said, "No, we're not going to pay." I would go, "Really? Oh, okay. You're dead." It was interesting, because, really, Tom has the money and the power, ultimately, he has the last word. And that didn't really sit well with me, as a woman, as a mother, or as an actress.

Q: Okay. It didn't sit well with you.

A: No. That part of the script didn't sit well with me, as a mother, or as a woman in a marriage, or as an actress, you know? So, I think that we all worked hard to include Kate. And part of that was that she did, at a certain point, at least attempt to go out on her own and do what she thought appropriate.

Q: Were they thinking about the kidnappers?

A: I don't think they really were thinking about the kidnappers. I wasn't. I was thinking, "I don't know who they are. I don't care who they are. They have my kid. Pay them. I want my son back." My focus was on the son. I mean, I obviously read the script, but, as the character, I didn't think about them one way or the other. It's interesting to read the script. I mean, you have a different perspective. But, I didn't.

Q: Why did you want this role?

A: Ron Howard and Mel Gibson. They're talented. Incredibly talented. And I trust them. And I liked the script, and I liked the part for me because it was different, and I hadn't done it. Frankly, I had no idea it was as dramatic as it is, and I can't tell you why -- it's all there on the page -- but when you get in front of the camera, and you actually have to act it out, it's different than reading it. And it was much, much harder. Much harder. I thought, "This is good. This'll be some drama. This'll be fun. I'd love to work with Mel again, and I'd always wanted to work with Ron. So, this'll be good." But, really, I tell ya, I got in front of the camera when I had to do it, and it was a lot harder. And Ron pushed me, and pushed me, and kept pushing me, and I kept thinking, "My God, you know, I don't want this to get into melodrama. I mean, aren't I there?" And he kept pushing, and pushing. And ruthless, really. And it's: Push more, you know, more. But he was so right, because it wasn't melodramatic. He got me to a place that was just raw. Whatever the emotion was, it was pure, and it wasn't melodramatic. And it wasn't until later that I realized -- after a few takes in, when he just kept directing and kept pushing -- that I realized I hadn't gotten there. I couldn't have done it without his direction. No way. I would've stopped much earlier.

Q: What was so raw?

A: Well, you know, you hear your kid shot on the other end of the phone. What do you do? Action. Right? I mean, I don't know, because it hasn't happened. I had no idea. What would you do? There's so many choices, too. And, in so many of the scenes -- there are those kinds of scenes where you look on e-mail, and you see your son bloody and handcuffed to a bed. How do you react? You hear your son shot on the telephone. What do you do? And you don't want to, in every single scene say, "Oh, I love you, dear. I so love you, dear." And it was difficult, because you didn't want to play it one-note. I said, when I went in to Mel, "Frankly, I gotta tell ya. My kid's kidnapped? You just give me drugs; I'm out." And he looked at me, and he said, "Really?" And I said, "No, probably not."
So, what we had to do was, like, pace our emotions. But what's tricky about that is that you don't want to pace your emotions so that there's nothing there. So, you get too clever and too intellectual about it, and you lose the heart, so, I mean, it really was hard. I think it was difficult for everybody. You don't want to just cry in every scene. You don't want to be hysterical in every scene, or frantic in every scene. And yet, every scene, really, you could have been hysterical and frantic. And who knows what you'd do? There could have been times, I mean -- suppose if it really happened -- of certain lucid moments. But, I didn't know where they would be. It might have been moments that you'd just be stunned, and there would be no emotion and no reaction. And, actually, Mel had a few of those moments that were just raw. But they were just so deep. I mean, I was hysterical, and he was just the opposite, in a way. And probably, in a way, maybe, a male would react. Not always. But, you know, you had to pick those moments, and that was tough. That was hard. It was a hard part of the script, the performance for all of us. We all really had to get in a room and say, "Where?" And pick your moments, but don't be so mechanical in it that you lose the emotion, either, you know?

Q: Great.

A: It was tough. It was definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. But I had a master. You know, I give Ron the credit for pushing me, and pushing me, and pushing me to that place. But, you know, once you're at that place, then you have to do it from five different angles, five takes a time, and Mel -- I would go in there trying to hold onto some kind of something, some kind of emotion. And Mel just said, "You know, Rene, you just gotta let it go." He's crackin' jokes, meanwhile, in between the takes. And I don't work that way, so I've gotta like, get away from him. And finally, he said, "Rene, you gotta let it go. You're gonna kill yourself doin' that." And I said, "Mel, that's the way you work. Hello. That's not the way I work, Mel." But I couldn't work that way, because, you know, it's like havin' a good cry? You have a good cry, and it's over. Meanwhile, I have to do it 20 more times, and it's over. And he said, "Just go onto the set with nothing." Nothing. And I did. I went on with nothing, until Ron said, "Action." And, somehow, I got there, and I cannot tell you how. But, I learned that from Mel. It's not like I've done that many films, but I have to say -- just for, for technique -- I hadn't learned anything working with anybody until I worked with Mel.

Q: Is there a genre that the film can be fit into?

A: I never understand that. I have to be honest with you and say I don't know anything about that. I guess it's a drama. A drama. I don't know. Maybe suspense. It's suspenseful, definitely. Drama. Suspense. It's everything that you want to see.