20 Questions: Sean Young

Sean Young is not so crazy. How could a woman who wouldn't even steal the bathrobes from a hotel possibly leave mutilated dolls and other horrors on the doorstep of actor James Woods--much less affix his penis to his leg with Krazy Glue? And just because the 33-year-old actress wore a latex Catwoman suit when she invaded the Warner Bros. lot to face off with "Batman" director Tim Burton, does this mean that she's unbalanced?

Sean Young's talent has never been in question. After noteworthy parts in films as diverse as "Stripes," "Blade Runner" and "Dune," she scorched herself into our memory while having sex in the back of a limo with Kevin Costner in "No Way Out." Young followed that performance with roles in "The Boost" (in which she met co-star Woods), "A Kiss Before Dying" and "Love Crimes," as well as with singing and dancing in the musical "Stardust." Recently she made her country-singing debut. Contributing Editor David Rensin met with Young in Santa Monica, California, when the Sedona, Arizona--based actress was in town lining up new projects.

"I'd assumed Sean would be reluctant to talk about her various travails--from James Woods to Warren Beatty to Catwoman and Tim Burton. Wrong. The woman is hurt and angry and won't stop until some apologies are made. Come on, guys. Bend a knee. Send flowers."

1.

[Q] Playboy: When director Tim Burton wouldn't meet with you about the Catwoman part in Batman Returns, you crashed the Warner Bros. lot to confront him. Burton hid in the bathroom. What possessed you?

[A] Young: It was just too much shit to eat. Apparently, somebody got to him between the first Batman and the second Batman and convinced him that I was like something out of Play Misty for Me. I know what I did was reckless behavior, but the option for me was to eat shit and say I loved it. So I went because I wondered if, after all that had happened, Burton had any concept of how rude it was to not allow us to meet for five minutes. It was unacceptable. I feel a lot better now that I got it off my chest.

2.

[Q] Playboy: If you had one day to be bad, without consequences, what would you do?

[A] Young: Twenty-four whole hours, with all the money and resources I'd need? I'd have a Spinner [air car] from Blade Runner built. I'd fly directly to Tim Burton's house and completely demolish it. I'd leave a little message saying, The Real Catwoman Struck. Then I would rush over to [Warner's former senior executive] Mark Canton's office and hold him at gunpoint until the four-foot-two-inch mouse shook in his shoes and hid under the desk and begged for forgiveness. I'd make him apologize for being a phony, fake liar. And then I would probably leave him tied up, hanging from the ceiling, like Dabney Coleman in Nine to Five. [Laughs] Then I'd visit the balding Bruce Wayne and make him apologize for causing my horse accident on the first Batman. We were on stable horses and were told to ride them back to the middle of the ring. Instead, he rode off to the stable and my horse followed. I wasn't an experienced rider, so my accident was directly related to his arrogance. I'd tell him to go get more hair transplants. Then I'd take Burton, Canton and the balding Bruce Wayne and lock them up in a room and let them argue and wave their dicks around at one another to figure out whose fault it was that they didn't make the right decision regarding me in Batman Returns. Then I'd visit Warren Beatty. I'd strip him down, tie him spread-eagle to the bed and walk away. [Laughs] Then I'd see [James Woods's ex-wife] Sarah Owen and I'd make her apologize to me for being a lying bitch. Then I'd tie her up, take her over to James Woods's house and tie them up together, since they're so fond of each other now, and then hang them over a vat of oil, like in Romancing the Stone. That takes care of all my revenge needs. These people should pay for their wicked behavior. I would also visit Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep, Whoopi Goldberg, Geena Davis, Julia Roberts and Madonna, because I really like them. It would be to say hi and to show them I'm not a monster. Everybody's convinced I'm a monster.

3.

[Q] Playboy: Why do people seem to want to believe that there's something crazy about you?

[A] Young: I am a little crazy. But to say there's something mean or malicious about me, or to suggest that I would ever try to harm another person on this planet, is outright crap. I fucking dare anybody to say that to my face. That's what hurts the most. You can't meet a nicer person.

4.

[Q] Playboy: You were replaced in Batman and in Batman Returns by blondes. What do brunettes know?

[A] Young: That there aren't very many authentic blondes.

5.

[Q] Playboy: Women complain, "Men don't get it." What is it that Hollywood men just don't get?

[A] Young: Do you have a week? Jesus. Men in Hollywood need to grow up. If I could, I'd replace all the men in power with women so that we could have more interesting movies to watch. I saw this comedian on TV--I don't recall his name--who said, "Women cooperate, men negotiate." If women were in power in Hollywood, you might find all of a sudden a new cooperation. In the past, people of culture from a European background ran the industry. There's nobody with culture running a studio today. They're in diapers.

6.

[Q] Playboy: Most people wouldn't criticize Beatty publicly. Why would you risk his displeasure?

[A] Young: His firing me from Dick Tracy looked very bad, and he was really callous. He had talked to me about playing Breathless Mahoney, though it turned out to be Tess Trueheart by the time we began the movie. He called me for a month before production--incessantly. And then, a week into principal photography, he took me home and tried to kiss me. He put his hands on my ears and tried to force me. I pulled myself away (continued on page 198) Sean young (continued from page 117) from him and asked, "What are you doing?" and he said, "I was just testing you." I said, "Well, are you clear on this issue now? I don't want to sleep with you, I don't want to suck your dick, I don't want to have anything to do with you on that level. I have enough problems." Two days later I got a call from the production assistant, who said, "Warren's rewriting the scene, you don't work tomorrow." I didn't hear from anybody for five days. Then my agent called and said I'd been fired from the movie and replaced with Glenne Headly. Then Warren issued a public statement about how concerned he is about me. Isn't he a sweet guy?

7.

[Q] Playboy: This hasn't been easy for you, has it?

[A] Young: It hurts. It's never fun being a warrior, but it's better than being a loser. Those are the options. You gain courage by being willing to fight for what you believe is right. I got the job in Batman. I got the job in Dick Tracy. The issue is not my talent. The issue is whether or not my behavior is sound. My behavior isn't ordinary. I can't argue with that. But is it insane? That question comes from horrendously uncreative people. And that's not my problem. I don't have to make my creativity stop at the level of their lack of imagination. And that's what it's like being an artist.

8.

[Q] Playboy: If things are so awful, why do you continue to act?

[A] Young: Believe it or not, I'm not trying to paint an awful picture. In all bad there is some good, and vice versa. I choose to act because it's something I can do and do well. And if I continue to get opportunities to do it, I will, and if I don't, I'll move on. But so far, enough people respect my abilities to put aside whatever they've heard about me.

9.

[Q] Playboy: When asked why he lived in the desert, Lawrence of Arabia said, "Because it's so clean." Why do you live there?

[A] Young: The desert was the farthest place from Hollywood I could find and yet be close enough to show up when things get friendlier.

10.

[Q] Playboy: As much as your reputation has hurt you, it has also thrust you into the public eye. Would you give up your notoriety?

[A] Young: I would. I told my husband, Bob, that I thought all this was ironic. My whole life I've always wanted to fit in, and yet my whole life has been one incident after the next where I couldn't. God won't allow me to be like just another actress, even though that's what I am, just another actress. I'm outspoken. I'm moral. I will always do what I think is right. If I have to be the first one to go down just because I'm willing to tell the truth, then I'm there. But sure, I would like to be able to walk into any office without having to prove all over again, every single time, that I'm not crazy. I could give that up in a second.

11.

[Q] Playboy: What's the last thing you took from a hotel or restaurant?

[A] Young: I don't steal. I know that sounds straitlaced, but even little things matter. Bob and I even bought the bathrobes at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki.

12.

[Q] Playboy: Tell us something about yourself that would really surprise us.

[A] Young: I'm a major trekkie. I love Star Trek and The Next Generation. I had a crush on William Shatner when I was growing up. I also really dug Spock. I like Picard and Data on the new show. I want to be on but turned down a script because it wasn't with my favorite character, Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg. I want to do an episode where Guinan is thrown for a loop. Maybe we could even tie in Rachael, the replicant I played in Blade Runner. She'd still be alive. Maybe a romance between Rachael and Data. Wild. I also asked about being a Vulcan, but they wanted to create a whole new species for me: a creature who can change gender at will. You're given as a gift and become what the recipient needs.

13.

[Q] Playboy: On a similar subject, your love scene with Kevin Costner in the back of a limo in No Way Out was a gift to us all. We heard he was a little nervous. True?

[A] Young: It wasn't an extreme case. His heart was beating really fast and he was kind of flighty, that's all. Nicolas Cage is the only person I've intimidated, but he had this huge ulcer on his mouth that day. I didn't mean to intimidate him, I just informed him we wouldn't be kissing. The nicest guy I ever did a love scene with was Matt Dillon, because he suddenly became very generous. Ungenerous is when Nicolas Cage brought his girlfriend on the set during the scenes where we had to make out. I felt uncomfortable, though I didn't mention it. Now I find it important to ask, "Who's gonna play the guy?" I check things out. I don't just say, "Oh, OK," anymore.

14.

[Q] Playboy: Jack Nicholson said that he approaches his characters through their sexuality. Care to comment?

[A] Young: [Laughs] I can see that being true for him. It's funny Jack would say that, because when Jack says it, it sounds like this really mysterious, wonderful approach to a character. But I don't know a man on earth who doesn't approach everything from a sexual point of view. Only Jack makes it sound so important.

15.

[Q] Playboy: You're now married to actor Robert Lujan. What stops with marriage and what doesn't?

[A] Young: Sex doesn't stop. You don't stop arguing, you don't stop eating, you don't stop going to the grocery store. Marriage can be terrifying. You get so close to your spouse that often it's more than you bargained for. You see every flaw and every good thing, and he sees you. It's important not to lose your independence. It's very easy to let your molecules intermingle. However, marriage is terrific precisely because of the intimate challenge. It's teaching me empathy, which I didn't know I lacked.

16.

[Q] Playboy: You keep a diary. Is there anything you won't tell it?

[A] Young: When I did The Boost, I kept a journal from the first day I read the script to the last day of the shoot. It's really intense. It's as if there were three people writing it: Mary--that's my real first name--the sort of withdrawn person; Sean, the actress; and Linda, the character. The writing jumps from one point of view to another. I called the journal "Dancing in the Woods." I even gave a portion of it to James Woods, as a friend. When I was sued by the pockmarked madman and his ex-wife, when they decided to blame me for all their co-dependent problems, they took that portion and used it against me in a deposition. He made me, through his lawyer, explain every line of writing. They tried to make it sound as though it was really weird that I would write so observant a journal. They tried to make me out to be a basket case. So I didn't write again until this year, because I couldn't. I was stunned. I couldn't believe someone would use my own writing against me.

17.

[Q] Playboy: Did you attach James Woods's penis to his leg with Krazy Glue? Did you leave dolls and pictures of mutilation on his doorstep? Give us the final word.

[A] Young: What did I do? Sneak into his room in the middle of the night, creep over, pull back his covers and start squirting glue on his dick? And he didn't wake up until the glue had dried? Brian Dennehy says he heard that firsthand from James Woods. That tells me Woods is a liar who created the rumor. People believe it because James Woods is an excellent salesman. But intensity does not mean honesty. Woods is smart but connected with dark forces. If James Woods had the courage and integrity to get down on his knees and be honest about his participation in that bogus lawsuit he and his ex-wife filed against me, he might have the chance in this lifetime to be forgiven and to forgive himself.

18.

[Q] Playboy: What matters in Hollywood?

[A] Young: Talent. Hollywood forgives people who are talented.

19.

[Q] Playboy: You spent years studying ballet. What is the fuss all about?

[A] Young: Ballet was commissioned by conquerors. It's not a natural form of dancing. It's contorted, though beautiful. Ballet is a lot like the wrapping of feet in China. The big challenge is to make ballet look easy, to make something that is not easy look totally effortless. It's weird to turn your legs out. Dancers get problems in their shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, toes. All from over-turning. I remember thinking during ballet practice, This isn't any fun at all, this is all work and no play. And that's why, at twenty, I switched to tap dancing. It took me a good five years to get down from the clouds, because the whole concept of tap dancing is down-into-the-earth, like a tree--the opposite of ballet. Tap dancing is a hybrid, and it is the only form of dance indigenous to America that isn't tribal Indian dancing.

20.

[Q] Playboy: Who's your favorite male Sean?

[A] Young: Sean Penn. He's good at what he does and he's not a bullshitter. Whether or not you like him, you get something real instead of prefab.

hollywood's renegade star defends her sanity, exacts her revenge and explains how to abuse krazy glue

"God won't allow me to be like just another actress, though that's what I am. I'm outspoken. I'm moral."