Tilda Swinton Covers 'W' Magazine, Talks About Bad Mother Roles And Value Of Awards

Tilda Swinton is not like other actors. She is an Academy Award winning actress, (though, she doesn't really care about that), style icon and she has a sense of humor.

If you just take her looks, a cropped 'do and milk-white skin, she's evocative but not a Hollywood bombshell. And from her movie roles, to her public persona, you get the idea that this actress marches to the beat of a different drummer.

As W Magazine's latest cover story, wearing a nude skull cap and antiquated aviation goggles, the actress talks about her newest role, motherhood and success; and we come to realize just how wonderfully different she is.

In her latest, "We Need To Talk About Kevin," Swinton plays a mother tortured by a disturbing and violent son. "Kevin" exposes the darkness of motherhood--a difficult theme to swallow--which Swinton describes as a "gag reflex."

The actress is no stranger to the unsavory role, in fact, she likes them. "Kevin" will be her third film the where she plays the imperfect mother, "We're working toward a boxed set," she jokes. In 2009's "I Am Love," Swinton plays a prized matriarch whose passion leads to her family's undoing and in "Julia," an strapped-for-cash alcoholic who hatches a kidnapping scam.

As a mother of 13-year-old twins, these roles are chilling to say the least. So why does she do it? Her fear, the actress said, interested her. After having her own children, Swinton said she felt misunderstood and wanted her next movie roll to reflect this classic and internal conflict.

In the article, she makes the distinction between the parts she "grows," laboring to create and finance, and Hollywood movies. She described her role in 'Michael Clayton' as a "holiday."

Sure, she won an Oscar for it-- and gave one hell of a speech--but for the native Scot and her children (who have never seen The Oscars on television), it was only meaningful professionally.

"When I brought my Oscar home and showed the children, nobody knew what it was. The thing sat on the kitchen table for two weeks."

For more, click over to W

Comments

[hema333]

12:19 PM on 07/13/2011

give your Oscar Tilda....
i will take care of it...
and know what it is...
:D :D :D

[hema333]

12:21 PM on 07/13/2011

sorry...
i mean give it to me...

[boscobear]

08:36 AM on 07/13/2011

Looks like she is trying out for a Living Dead movie!

[ccopas]

08:16 AM on 07/13/2011

LOVE HER!!!

[bichn]

06:24 AM on 07/13/2011

She is fearless.

[Jennifer Askew Coffey]

12:53 AM on 07/13/2011

Love Tilda Swinton, but hate this cliched, poorly written article.

[traceymarie]

11:03 PM on 07/12/2011

Tilda is a beautifully unconventional women who is lovely in a quirky and innovative way.

[Bluerainbow]

11:32 PM on 07/12/2011

Thus my crush.

[ZenSufi]

10:17 PM on 07/12/2011

She's a native of London, with Scottish or Scot (not "Scott") ancestry.

[dorisoyab]

09:55 PM on 07/12/2011

A white woman who is not afraid of looking like a white woman. I love it.

[Dawn Bassett]

08:25 PM on 07/12/2011

I NOTED IN COMMENTS EARLIER ON WHERE THIS WOMAN IS DESCRIBED AS A
"FREAK", PER HER PERSONAL LIFE? (FOR THE RECORDS IT TAKES AN INCREDIBLY
STRONG PERSON TO STAND UP, FOR WHAT THEY THEMSELVES, BELIEVE IN.
(I.E.) IT'S CALLED COURAGE. SOME ONE HAS TO HAVE THE COURAGE TO STAND
UP FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN. (NOT EVERYONE HAS THAT FOLLOW "THE TREND
SYNDROME"). THAT'S AS MOST PEOPLE HAVE TODAY.
AN "OSCAR" TENDS TO HAVE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT MEANING TO HER, AS
IT IS OBVIOUS SHE IS CONCERNED WITH PRODUCING THE BEST POSSIBLE WORK
IN HER CAREER. (SHE EVIDENTLY DOES NOT LOOK FOR WHAT SHE CAN GAIN IN
RETURN.)
REMEMBERING TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH IS EXPECTED......................

AS HUMAN BEINGS, MANY WANT TO BE REWARDED FOR THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS,
WHEN IN FACT, THAT WHICH WE DO, WE OUGHT TO BE DOING, ANYHOW.
SOCIETY OWES US ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!

[olafTheAwesome]

07:22 PM on 07/12/2011

I didn't think her performance in "Michael Clayton" was so outstanding as to merit an Oscar, but then, I didn't have to vote for her.

[mmerteuil]

06:17 PM on 07/12/2011

Woman, i love you.

[Nicolletta]

05:57 PM on 07/12/2011

She didn't deserve it anyway. Amy Ryan who was nominated from Gone Baby Gone, directed by Ben Affleck, deserved it. She was brilliant in it as the substance-abusing mother of the missing child.

[MsCanuck]

06:15 PM on 07/12/2011

Yes, Amy was superb in the role of Helene McCready, she played the despicable mother to a T. She was robbed.

[wzjussayin]

11:07 PM on 07/12/2011

I appreciated both performances and they're two great actresses, but I have to agree with you. Amy Ryan's character made my skin crawl.

[happycat]

04:42 PM on 07/12/2011

Swinton is a brilliant actress, but she is a freak show in her personal life.

[madame fate]

04:48 PM on 07/12/2011

That sort of comment makes it that much harder for people to be free thinkers. She follows her own lifestyle. Just because it doesn't conform to yours or mine does not make her a freak.

Being brave enough to be yourself and not conform to what everyone else is doing takes a lot of courage.Good for her. I don't think she's a freak. She's a free spirit. We need more of them in this world. Conformity s uc ks.

[Bluerainbow]

11:36 PM on 07/12/2011

Eh. A cup of tea with her would be infinitely more entertaining than a party with a hundred yous.

[happycat]

08:49 PM on 07/14/2011

Don't overestimate yourself, dearest. You wouldn't even make it to the B-list of one of my fabulous tea parties.

[madame fate]

04:37 PM on 07/12/2011

Some actors feel that the Oscar is the pinnacle of their careers and it's what they strive for, their reason for becoming an actor/actress.

Other people get into the profession for the challenges of wearing another skin, portraying a different life from their own and touching on emotions we probably would never acknowledge were it not for the role they play.

I've directed plays (and acted in them) for over 25 years and I truly believe that any role an actor/actress accepts for the stage is worth, at minimum, one year's worth of intensive mental therapy. You will discover things about yourself that you never dreamed of when you sign on to be in a play.

I have learned more about myself from theatrical work I've been involved in than anywhere else in my life's culmination of experiences. It ain't for sissies but it's a wonderful opportunity to know yourself better.

[LL NYC]

09:21 PM on 07/12/2011

That's so true. Acting has helped me in so many ways too. I agree it's similar to therapy if you are able to look your character deeply you will find part of yourself and others and be able to accept people for their differences. It's not anyone's place to judge. Open your mind to possibility.

[Johnny Fruckles]

02:21 PM on 07/12/2011

tilda is not from this planet; she is pleiadian.