Gina Gershon: ‘Tom Cruise was tickling me in bed. I nearly broke his nose'
Gina, you are a spectacular and artistically brave woman and movie star. How do you rationalise – and, hopefully, enjoy – the fact that your audiences often encounter you as a beacon of beauty, sexuality and eroticism? Geroellheimer
People can see me in whatever ways they want. As long as what I do brings them joy or helps them think about things, I don't contemplate how they view me – it's too abstract. When people share their opinions about me with me, I wonder who they're talking about, but I go along with it to be polite.
How do you move on and decompress after playing such intense roles? mansurz
After Showgirls and Bound, I had so much residual energy that I ended up going to Greece, cut off some of my hair and released it into the sea. I thought: 'This is very Greek.' There was a lot of energy that came with playing Donatella Versace. When I played Nancy Sinatra, I don't want to say 'I channelled her', but I tapped into her energy. The next thing I knew, I had all these stomach ulcers. I asked her about it. She said: 'I've had seven or eight of those.' I thought: 'Oh my God, really?'
What do you think of your status as a gay icon? Kooooonan
I think it's fabulous. I'm just happy it's brought so many people so much joy. A lot of women have come up to me and told me how Bound helped them either come out or accept certain things. So that feels nice, you know?
Did the Wachowskis invite you to audition for The Matrix? Glozboy
They wanted to do The Matrix before they did Bound, but they needed to prove themselves. Once we started working on Bound, they told me about The Matrix. I said: 'That sounds insane – and great.' The storyboards all had my face on, so I naturally assumed I was playing Trinity. Then I guess they fell in love with Carrie-Anne Moss and I didn't do it. It was kind of heartbreaking.
Did 'the joke' of Showgirls go over the rest of the cast's heads, or were you all on the same page? Rjoepenk
I was a big Paul Verhoeven fan. I loved Turkish Delight and Spetters, so I knew it was going to be very heavy and intense. I went deep down into Cristal, thinking I'd be playing Margo instead of Eve [in All About Eve], thinking about Aphrodite. It felt as if I was preparing for a Wagner concert or something. When I walked on to the set, it was a Technicolor pop concert of jewels and feathers. There was a moment when I was hanging on a rope in an S&M outfit, looking down at a load of naked bodies dancing around me, where I had this weird existential moment. I thought: I studied the classics! I wanted to play Medea. I wanted to do Chekhov. How did I get here? I thought: I better be really, really good in this, or else my career is over before it begins. As it turned more campy, I decided not to take things so seriously and thought: the drag queens will love me and want to dress like Cristal on Halloween.
Your cameos in Curb Your Enthusiasm were hilarious. How hard is it not to laugh? Galdove19
Playing Hannah the Horny Hasid, as I like to call her, was some of the most fun I've ever had. I had no idea what I was getting into. When they called, I was sitting with [the music producer] Rick Rubin. I said: 'I don't really have time. I'm doing a movie. I'm doing a TV show.' He said: 'If there's only one thing you should do all year, it's Curb Your Enthusiasm.' When I got on set, I assumed I was playing myself. They said: 'No, we want you to play the Hasidic Jew.' Larry [David] said: 'Can you think of an accent?' I thought about my waxer, Rochelle – a French-Israeli woman who lived in the Bronx. I always loved her voice, so I just did her. Larry was laughing so hard. Any time you do something that makes Larry laugh, you feel great. But it's not so great when you're shooting, because they say: 'We have to do it again because you laughed.' But then you just want to make him laugh, because it feels so satisfying to make him break.
What was it like working on the truly absurd Face/Off? If you could swap faces with anyone, who would it be? Bauhaus66
I'd like to swap faces with my cat, because he's so handsome. He's called Lord Louis. Lord Louis Zuzu the Magnificent. He's a 28lb [13kg] bundle of handsome love. He's part African savannah domestic and looks like a lion. I wouldn't mind having Benicio del Toro's face; I just saw him in the new Wes Anderson movie [The Phoenician Scheme]. I could watch his face all day long.
Did you feel you were on track to become a femme fatale after your guest stint on Melrose Place? Kal_85
Can I tell you the only thing I remember about Melrose Place? I was in Toronto with a bunch of people and we went to a strip club, like you do in a weird location. It was pretty tame and actually quite sweet. This dancer came walking down the runway, doing her bit. She looked at me, pointed her finger and went: 'Melrose Place!' I thought I was going to die. I'd never been pointed out like that before. I can't even remember who I played on Melrose Place. Is that terrible?
What was it like being part of a typically alpha-dog Michael Mann environment working on The Insider? leroyhunter
I always thought I was too young. I said to Michael at the audition: 'I'm too young to be believable. We're talking about a 40-year-old woman.' She seemed so ancient to me. I thought: should I have grey in my hair? I walked on to set with no makeup, looking like a kid. I remember Al Pacino looking at me, as if to say: 'What the fuck? How is she going to play this person?' I said: 'Don't, worry. I'm gonna age up quickly.'
My first scene was with the great Christopher Plummer – the scene where he yells at me right in the face. He was so intense. It was the first time I felt: wow, I don't even really have to act. When you're working with someone so great, you just stay present and it becomes electric.
What was it like ordering a multiple orgasm from Tom Cruise in Cocktail? TopTramp
I almost broke his nose. I had never done a love scene before and it was going to be with Tom Cruise. I thought: God, I get paid for this. He was so cute. I had a crush on him immediately. He was very protective and very much a gentleman, saying: 'Let's keep you covered.' He was very concerned.
Originally, we were supposed to be running around naked, but I thought: I don't wanna do that. That seems dumb. I suggested: 'Why don't you go down on me under the covers? Then when you pop up, it'll be a surprise.' He loved the idea, but I'd told him I was very ticklish, because he had started to tickle me earlier. I said: 'Just don't do that. I lose control because I was tortured as a child by my brother.'
Right before the take, he was down there and grabbed my waist in a tickly, sweet manner. I didn't mean to, but I had a kneejerk reaction right into his nose. It was full of blood. I thought: I just broke Tom Cruise's nose. I will never work in Hollywood again. I was mortified because I really kicked him good. I didn't mean to. He said: 'Nope. My bad. You warned me.' I remember thinking: this guy is a movie star. He deserves everything he gets. He was just so kind and so sweet with me in a situation where I was quite vulnerable. I'm glad he was my first.
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