Emmy Rossum

Talks About Her Poseidon Role, Her New Singing Voice... And Fishing

Interview by Chauncˇ Hayden

Oddly enough, Hollywood's brightest new star didn't get her start on a reality TV show or from a scandalous tabloid headline. New York City born and bred, Emmy Rossum, 20, got her start on Lincoln Center's prestigious stage, singing opera in six different languages...all by the tender age of seven.

Although gifted with a golden voice, Rossum's passion included acting, and in 1999 she created the role of Abigail Williams in the daytime soap opera As the World Turns. That led to roles in the made-for-television movies Genius and The Audrey Hepburn Story, in which she played the title character as a young teenager. Other television work included Snoops, Law & Order and The Practice.

By her 18th birthday, Rossum was the talk of Hollywood, thanks to her appearance in the films The Day After Tomorrow and The Phantom of the Opera. Emmy's performance in the latter gained her a Golden Globe nomination and led to many more acting opportunities, for which she has received critical acclaim.

You might recall Rossum's role as an aspiring songwriter in the romantic comedy Nola, and that as the ill-fated daughter of a small business owner in director Clint Eastwood's Mystic River.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Rossum about her latest role in the upside down ship adventure Poseidon as well as her thoughts on singing, Internet school and catching fish!

Chaunce Hayden: Without being biased, which film is better, The Poseidon Adventure or the new remake?

Emmy Rossum: I have never seen the original. When I signed on to do Poseidon, I thought it would be best to come to it fresh. Especially since our film is totally different.

How so?

It's much more contemporary, with a totally new group of characters. So I wanted to just come to it fresh and not be influenced by the old incarnation of it.

Is it true you also didn't see the Broadway play version of Phantom of the Opera before starring in the film?

[Laughs] Yes! It's becoming a habit. I just don't want an old image in my mind. I like to come into my projects fresh and start totally from scratch from my heart and soul.

But aren't you even curious, now that you've finished Poseidon, what the original film was like?

Yeah! I'd love to watch them side-by-side, but I'm sure they're so different. The Poseidon Adventure is on television all the time, so I'm sure I'll see it at some point.

What can you tell me about your Poseidon character?

I play Jennifer, who's 19 and traveling on the ship with her father, played by Kurt Russell. He plays the ex-mayor of New York and she's traveling with her secret fiancˇ. She's a contemporary woman. She's smart, courageous, strong, and feisty. But she's also vulnerable and feminine as well. So I was glad they didn't make me play the damsel in distress type of character!

You're known for taking your roles very seriously and doing extensive research beforehand. But how do you research a role where ship passengers are trapped upside down in the middle of the ocean?

Thank God in my lifetime I've never been through anything as disastrous as a ship turning upside down. So I really wasn't sure what the correct level of emotion would be. Especially since I felt I owed a lot to the people who have been through the recent natural disasters, like the hurricanes down south and the tsunamis. So I went to the museum of television and radio and did a lot of research and watched a lot of news coverage about those events. I also listened to the 9/11 tapes and heard this girl call from inside one of the towers. I'm a New Yorker, so that was especially affecting to me. To hear how much courage she had in that moment, but also how obviously afraid she was while trying to describe what she was going through and where she was so they could come help her. It just really hit home for me. Besides that, I also had to learn how to free dive and scuba dive, and they trained me inside this contraption called "The Cage of Death"! It was just an incredible, strange, bizarre experience.

There are a lot of scenes that seem dangerous to attempt. Did you do your own stunts?

I probably did 90 percent of my own stunts. It was pretty scary. But it's also a great adrenaline rush!

Why would Wolfgang Peterson [the director] have his stars taking those kinds of risks?

They had safety people standing by just in case. So if we gave the sign that we were close to expiring, they would rush somebody in to put oxygen in our mouths. But I agree, it was pretty crazy. But also, I had to show the guys that the girls weren't wimps!

It sounds like Fear Factor, only with a much bigger budget.

[Laughs]

Is it difficult trying to focus on acting when everything around you is upside down?

A little bit. Everywhere you look there's furniture toppled over and you're walking on the lights. It's a little bizarre. But you get used to it after a while, I guess.

There's a lot of hype for this film, which means there's going to be high expectations. Will you read the reviews when they come out, or is it best not to look?

I respect everyone's opinion, and I do read the reviews. I mean, I do like to know what other people's opinions are. But I know that at the end of the day, I'm my own worst critic. So if I'm happy with the work, I hope everybody else will be too. That's why I only try to work on things that I think will be really great and entertaining, as well as meaningful.

The million-dollar question is, do you get to sing at all in Poseidon?

[Laughs] No, I don't! I swim, though!

As a child, you got your start as a critically acclaimed classical singer. That seems so far removed from where you are now.

I suppose so. But I'm returning to it now. At least to the music. I'm working on my first solo record right now. That's really exciting for me. And it's not classical, actually. It's much more pop sounding. Plus, I'm writing a lot of it. So it feels much more youthful and edgy than when I was singing classical music. I don't really live my life in the media spotlight, so this is a way for people to get to hear what's really coming out of my heart. It's not me playing a character or just walking down the red carpet. It's the real me.

Did you just grow out of classical music?

Yes and no. I still have all the foundations that I learned from classical music. And so much of the training that I got from classical music helps me every day when I'm in the studio doing pop. But it's true that I did leave the opera when I was about twelve and started getting influenced by contemporary music. It definitely broadened my horizons.

When you say you're coming out with a pop album, are we talking about a Britney Spears type of sound?

My record is not going to be Britney Spears at all. It's going to be much more Sarah McLachlan and Annie Lennox.

Just out of curiosity, do you think Britney Spears can sing?

I don't know. I never heard her live. [Laughs] Is that the right answer?

Well, if it's not how you really feel, then no.

Listen, I don't think her music is very vocally driven. I think her talents are driven by being more of a show. She's pretty and sexy and has great songs. But that's not the type of music career I'm going after. I'm going after music that's vocally driven and lyric driven. [Laughs] I don't need a belly button ring!

A lot of singers are acting today, and a lot of actors are singing. But doesn't one ultimately end up diluting the other?

Only if you spread yourself too thin. I'm not signing on to another film right now. I'm just doing the record. Plus, I really wouldn't call myself a crossover because I really started in music. I think of myself as equal in both. I really don't think it will be confusing for people, because most people really know me from Phantom of the Opera, and that's when I was singing and acting. So I kind of got lucky that way.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I see the opera community as being somewhat snooty. If that is the case, I would think you would have gotten a lot of flak from opera lovers who feel you made a mistake by not continuing to sing classical music.

Not at all. Actually, the opera needs some publicity at this point. It's kind of a dying art. So if somebody can get out there and talk positively about it and introduce it to a younger generation, I think that would be something they would really appreciate. Yeah, they're an older generation, I suppose, and I guess they're a bit upper class. But I wouldn't call them snooty at all. I think they know that there's good music in everything. I think they can appreciate Dolly Parton because she sings correctly. She has a beautiful voice and you know she's singing correctly because she's kept her voice for this many years. So I think they can appreciate lots of different kinds of music. They don't look down on me for going into film at all.

Do you watch American Idol?

Occasionally. But I'm not a really big TV watcher. But if I really want to zone out and have a laugh, yeah, I'll watch it.

Considering your background in music, how critical are you of the contestants and the comments from the judges?

Simon is normally right. But I would never say the things that he does. But he's so brutally honest that I think people respect him.

Who's the best American Idol singer you've heard?

Carrie Underwood has a great voice!

Would it be fair to call you a brainiac?

[Laughs] A little bit! But I don't tell people that my favorite subject is philosophy because then they may actually think I'm a brainiac!

But ...

Okay, I am!

Isn't it dangerous to be such a deep thinker in a town like Hollywood?

Yeah, but it's also dangerous to think too little. But Hollywood really isn't my world. I'm a true New Yorker. I don't try to live my life in the media spotlight, and fame isn't anything that I've ever aspired to. I just try to do the best that I can, and stuff that I think I'll be proud of. That's my goal.

But how do you become a box office draw without the fame and all the things that put you into the spotlight?

Yeah, but I won't do that stuff when I have nothing going on. I'm on the cover of Seventeen this month and stuff like that. Yes, at the end of the day, you want publicity so people go see your work. Because that's why you're doing it. I'm doing it to make people happy and add something to society and culture. I'm just putting my little two cents into the big pot. But I don't live that kind of life that attracts the media spotlight. I don't live in L.A. or go to clubs or run with that fast crowd that goes out and drinks and stuff like that. That's just not my thing. I live a pretty normal and clean life. I try to go to school as much as I can, although recently I've been playing hooky.

Didn't you get your high school degree on the 'Net?

Yeah.

That's shocking to me.

Yep! Virtual classroom! It's pretty intense. You can virtually raise your hand by pressing control-return.

Is a high school degree online as good as any other?

Just as good! Whether or not you go to a public school or private school or Internet school, you'll get a good education if you seek it out.

Personally, I'd be too distracted surfing the 'Net while people like you were virtually raising their hand.

[Laughs] You can't do that! It's very interactive.

You went to the same all-girl grammar school [The Spence School] that Gwyneth Paltrow went to. Considering you had an Internet high school experience and an all-girl grammar school experience, are you at a loss when it comes to men?

I don't think so. Although my grammar school experience was a really catty experience, because all those girls are really, really affluent. My mom's a single mom and worked really hard to put me into that great school. But it was so catty! You definitely know your place when you're not as affluent. You're definitely aware of it. But it was a good education and I had my singing, which made me feel special and was my inspiration. It really made me happy, so none of that catty stuff mattered.

Would you send your own children to a school like that, even if the education were the best money could buy?

Probably not. No. Definitely not an all-girls school. I don't think I have a problem with boys because I went there. I think I used to be shy with guys, but I'm starting to be more vocal.

Have you ever been in love at your young age?

Yeah, once.

How about now?

No.

Tell me one thing about yourself that would shock me.

I'm a really good fisherwoman. I love to fish!

Ocean or lake?

Ocean! Deep-sea fishing.

You don't get seasick?

Sometimes. But it's worth it just to be out there.

Finally, you had such an amazing first twenty years of life. How do you top it the next twenty years?

Become an astronaut? [Laughs] I don't know! I just hope I can keep working on things that I believe in and that inspire me. The best advice I've ever been given is to just trust my gut. Be really picky and don't feel like you have to work one job after another just to stay in the spotlight. It's not about that. It's about longevity of a career. Only work on stuff that I know in my gut will be great.

You can e-mail comments to Chaunce Hayden at Chaunce100@aol.com

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