(2007 - On what role stands out the most) There's absolutely no question that it's
La vita è un sogno (1993). I think of that as being my first real movie. Up until that point, I would get a job. It could be speaking barely - or not speaking, in the case of
Quattro donne in carriera (1986) - doing these little parts, and then I'd go back to my job at the bookstore.
La vita è un sogno (1993) sort of drew that line in the sand, where even though I didn't really make any money, I knew I could never go back into the bookstore, because it would seem strange. Beyond that sort of superficial, practical effect, I always feel bad for people who didn't have a first experience like that. I did that film with these kids, and a lot of them, it was their first time on location. It was definitely a fun movie, but it operated on so many levels, because there was the life outside the movie. It's this really abbreviated, condensed, high-octane equivalent of the college experience I essentially never had. And on another level, I think we all really felt that we were part of an incredibly unusual creative process, because it was a collaborative effort, and we were taken really seriously by Rich [
Richard Linklater]. He's one of those guys that for years, I wished was directing everything I'd been in. And it's sort of bittersweet, because it's the thing that breaks your professional hymen, and you're always trying to recapture that spirit. But the nature of the business doesn't normally allow for such a creative atmosphere in what was essentially a studio movie.
