It seems like the beginning of every actor’s career includes at least one embarrassing job they took to pay the rent. Is that true in your case?
Actually no, I was really lucky. I am so frugal, I can’t tell you. At one point in Dallas I lived in a one-room place with a hot plate and half refrigerator and a sofa with rancid bacon grease on the rug. But I never had another job after I quite teaching. I had some help from my parents, but I could live on $150 a month. Well, that’s in Mexico that I lived on $150 a month.

I read that you were engaged to a bullfighter down in Mexico. Was that as adventurous as it sounds?
Well he was sort of a non-equity bullfighter. It was after we split that he became a matador. I actually have, this is so gross, but I actually have in my possession a bull’s ear that he gave me.

That’s kind of romantic, I guess.
What was very romantic is that when you sit ringside they spread the cape out in front of you to signify that you are their “novia.” So it was pretty amazing. But PETA would not be happy [laughs].

I understand that you initially turned down the role of Violet. Why?
I was so horrified by her brutality, the viciousness of the script and the stage direction, which described a fight with her daughter where they crash through the French doors, roll on the ground and she pulls my hair out. Also, there are descriptions where I’m crawling up the stairs on my hands and knees and I have bad knees and a bad back. Plus, it’s a gigantic role and I felt the brutality, the emotional costs, the physical demands and the stamina [were too much]. I just didn’t think I could do it.

What changed your mind?
I realized, first of all, that it’s Steppenwolf; everyone wants to work with Steppenwolf. The other thing was that I thought I could do anything for three months and if I didn’t take this part and it was as brilliant as they thought it was going to be, I would kick myself and be really sorry that I didn’t rise to the challenge. Of course, I didn’t know that it was going to be a year later and I would still be doing it [laughs].

Quite a few A-list celebrities have come to the show. Have any of these people come backstage afterwards and congratulated you?
Two of the most effusive people were Warren Beatty and Annette Bening. He just stood there and shook his head and he tried to speak and he couldn’t. He took my shoulders in his hands and he shook his head and finally he hugged me. Then he stepped back and then he hugged me three or four times and finally Annette said, “May I hug you, too?” And she said she admired my performance and Warren said, “I hope I get to work with you.”

It sounds like the praise parade is coming through your dressing room. That’s got to be a thrill.
It is. Oh and Ian McShane came back and I said to him, “You are one of my heroes.” And he said, “After tonight, you’re one of mine.” Oh and I chatted with Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren for half an hour. Leonardo DiCaprio came back and he was really sweet. And Haley Mills asked me for a hug. A lot of people ask me if they can hug me and I don’t know if maybe [onstage] I do remind them of their mothers. But it’s surprising to me how many people say, “You are my mother.” I can’t even imagine how horrible that would be.

(photo by Joan Marcus/courtesy augustonbroadway.com)