FILM INTERVIEW: MADELINE ZIMA

The Ever-Rising Hollywood Actress Climbs an Eccentric 'Family Tree'

By: Daniel Schweiger

August 23, 2011

Though she might have Connecticut roots in New Haven, the tall, enticingly lanky Madeline Zima has been making quite the climb up Hollywood in the company of her younger acting sisters Vanessa and Yvonne. Madeline’s own foothold started at the age of seven, when she made her movie debut (along with a slightly older Julianne Moore) dodging Rebecca De Mornay’s psycho sitter in 1992’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. For Zima, it’s been an ever-steady rise since, which has also included a long stint of being overseen by Fran Drescher’s nearly-as-frightening Nanny, as well as roles on Touched by an Angel, King of the Hill, and 7^th Heaven. On film, she’s been the evil stepsister of A Cinderella Story, and then menaced by an even worse home invader called The Collector. TV has recently offered Zima two of her most plum parts -- that of the mysterious roommate with the hots for Heroes’ invincible cheerleader, as well providing even more attraction as Mia Lewis for Californication’s burned-out author.

Now Madeline Zima’s ever-maturing talent for playing offbeat characters takes a leap into the stratosphere with The Family Tree. It’s a fun, black-humored look at family ties that re-bind in the most wildly eccentric ways, a la the culturally seditious humor of The Ref, Election, and Little Miss Sunshine. Debuting Finnish director Vivi Friedman, writer Mark Lisson (Bones), and a cast that includes Hope Davis, Dermott Mulroney, and Jane Seymour jump into the social satire with nutty abandon, as a bitchy wife (Davis) becomes a somewhat better person after a knock to the head during a heated tryst with her next-door neighbor (Chi McBride). But if there’s one character in a kooky ensemble (whose recreational activities include pot smoking, peeping, and home invasion), then it’s Zima’s Mitzi Steinbacher. Given a leg brace and a lesbian lust that’s for Selma Blair’s teacher (as well as Brittany Robertson’s high school friend), Zima helps shatter The Family Tree’s morally sacred cows with comic abandon and affecting humanity that’s continued to mark her as an actress to watch.  

Daniel Schweiger: What’s the trick in making Mitzi a believable yet still funny character in an outrageously stylized comedy like this?

Madeline Zima: You have to have someone who cares about guiding your performance in that specific direction. Vivi was really good at telling you which parts of the character to focus on, since the stylistic quality of the film came from her. This initially was very black comedy which then became more satirical and a little bit lighter. Vivi balanced all of that out.

DS: We’re never told just what Mitzi’s handicap is. How did you want to play that aspect of her?

MZ: I wanted to find the emotionally charged part of Mitzi. The leg brace is just something that she has. They’re like Forrest Gump braces. I took it home so I could work and feel comfortable with it. I never really played it like a handicap.  I just played it like something that happened to Mitzi when she was really young, and she’s just been dealing with it.  It’s kind of like the scars and handicaps that we all have.

DS: How about playing the lesbian side to Mitzi?

MZ: Initially I was going to play her as just tough and butch.  I thought my hair would be curly and that I’d be wearing these big baggie clothes. I imagined everything about her screaming, “I don’t care!” But Vivi had a totally different vision for Mitzi. She saw her as wearing these short dresses, because wearing tights with the leg brace looks like a feat in itself. I was just so shocked by the wardrobe, but it’s beautiful. While those new clothes didn’t really affect my performance that much, I internally had to make some adjustments to tone some things down about the way I was going to play Mitzi.

DS: You have some bizarrely hot scenes with Selma Blair in the movie.  Tell me about working with her.

MZ: She was so great -- kind, sweet, and very funny. Selma shared this very iconic kiss with Sarah Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions. That made me very nervous because this was the first time I’d ever had a female kiss on screen. But when the time came, Selma made it very comfortable. I think she may have ended up being more nervous than I was, actually, because it’s always uncomfortable to do a kissing scene with anybody, let alone doing it with two heterosexual women.

DS: What do you think of The Family Tree’s political satire, especially as it applies to religious rightists?

MZ: I don’t think it’s right to harpoon anyone’s views, because they’re something people hold on to to keep their whole world together. But as far as harpooning the kind of hypocrisy and greed that The Family Tree satirizes, I think there’s unlimited potential there, especially with the hypocrisy that’s going on in our country today.  The world just keeps getting more and more out of control, as far as politics are concerned. I try to not think about that because it makes me depressed. So I don’t know if there’s a limit on how much you could ever harpoon hypocrisy and greed.  I don’t think you could ever go too far.

DS: What’s the secret to growing from a child to an adult actress?

MZ: There’s no trick or secret. You either get the jobs or you don’t.  But I think, if there’s any trick to staying in show business, it’s having a heart that can mend over and over again after so many heartbreaks while still loving and caring about your work. It’s a really hard business to stay in. It will knock you down for sure.

DS: Do sisters and you ever find yourselves competing for the same roles?

MZ: It wasn’t until recently that one of my sisters and I both auditioned for this role on Glee. Neither of us ended up getting it, but it was a really fun audition.  It was just so wonderful to have somebody else who knows exactly what you’re going through and who can help you out, and vice versa. To have that familial support is probably one of the other things that keep me hanging on to this career.

DS: I thought Gretchen was one of the best things about Heroes toward the end of its run. Can you tell me about the experience of doing the show, especially as Claire’s sexuality was a subject for debate among fans of the show?

MZ: I auditioned for the role a couple of times.  The second time, I had a chemistry read with Hayden Panettiere. I was like, “Why am I doing a chemistry read with another girl?  Why does that matter?” But then I realized, “Hmmm. They’re going to make my character a lesbian.” I had never watched the show, but I knew it had a huge following. It was fun working on it, particularly when I got to go to Comic-Con with the show. Hayden was lovely to work with and just so supportive to run lines with.  She’s such a professional. I knew we would get along when we had the chemistry read, because we’ve both been acting since we were children. I’m convinced that the whole child actor into adult career takes a special breed of human being. We all seem to have humility toward each other and get along. It’s so rare to be on such a successful television show where the people aren’t all crazy egomaniacs on the set. Heroes wasn’t like that. It was like being part of a family, which is so rare for any show. I wish it could have gone on longer.

DS: What do you think would have happened to Gretchen if the show continued?

MZ: I don’t know. I wanted her to have a super power, which Gretchen originally was supposed to as a double agent for the carnival. But the producers changed their minds and made me human so I could be in Claire’s life longer, which was kind of cool. So I guess they liked me well enough to keep me on the show. I was only supposed to do five episodes and I ended up doing something like 14 shows. I felt really good about that because anything was possible on Heroes. Maybe Gretchen could have gotten a super power out of nowhere.  Or maybe she would have saved Claire’s life, I don’t know. Even if they had a relationship or not, she and Claire would definitely have been able to remain friends.

DS: This year was the 100th Anniversary of Lucille Ball’s birth. You actually got to play a teenage Lucy in a TV movie.  What would you say was the biggest thing you got out of playing such an iconic actress?

MZ: Just a lifetime of wonderful memories.  I was in New Zealand when I was 17 years old playing that role, and I kept telling the producer that I couldn’t get my head around how I got the job. I don’t look anything like Lucille Ball. My hair is brown, and I had to wear contacts for the audition because I didn’t have the blue eyes that Lucy was so famous for. Yet I did have her brunette hair, which is something most people don’t know about Lucille Ball, who dyed her hair red. But even with all of that, the producer told me I was right for the part. It was such an amazing experience, and I got to realize how my own wild youthfulness really set into her character, because Lucy had a very wild and rebellious life when she was 15 years old. Whenever I’m having a bad day, I always remind myself of the great experience I had on that movie.

DS: If there’s any actress you remind me of, it’s Joan Cusack...

MZ: That is such a complement.  I love Joan Cusack. She’s so funny.  Working Girl is one of my favorite movies. I’ve always felt that someday we’d work together, and maybe we will. 

DS: What’s ahead for you?

MZ: I did a movie called Crazy Eyes with Jake Busey and Lukas Haas. Like The Family Tree, it’s really independent, edgy, dark, and funny. I play a belligerent alcoholic in it -- a woman who’s just a mess. I’ve played drinking and doing drugs on camera before, but this is just over-the-top! I hope it finds some kind of distribution.

DS: It must be great that The Family Tree is finally coming out...

MZ: Yes, it’s so great, and I had such a fun time doing it. All the people in the cast were so great to work with. I just had a blast. 

Entertainment One's 'The Family Tree' opens on August 26, 2011.

Interview transcribed by Peter Hackman.