‘WIDOW’S’ THERESA RUSSELL: ‘I HATE THOSE NICE GIRL ROLES’

“I’ve tried to avoid being typecast but it seems that I haven’t succeeded,” concedes actress Theresa Russell, co-star of the current noir -ish murder mystery “Black Widow.”

“I’m always described as this sultry, sensual vamp, and I don’t know why because I’m not that beautiful,” she protests, “but it’s true that I’ve repeatedly portrayed a certain type of woman. The reason why is that those are the most interesting parts I’ve come across. I’ve been offered tons of ‘nice girl’ roles--you know, there’s a male lead and your function is to show that he also has a nice side. Well, to hell with that! I hate that stuff!”

Though something of an unknown quantity to mainstream movie fans, Russell is nothing short of an avatar of eroticism on the art-film circuit. She’s also a woman with definite ideas about what she wants. And for a someone raised in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, she’s done a remarkable job of getting most of the things she’s set her cap for.

Just 18 when she was cast in director Elia Kazan’s 1976 film adaptation--screenplay by Harold Pinter--of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Last Tycoon,” Russell found herself in the enviable position of playing opposite Robert De Niro. Even more fortuitous was the fact that British director Nicolas Roeg, known for the classic cult films “Performance” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” saw her in the film and was mightily impressed.

Thus began a partnership that’s yielded three films--”Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession,” “Eureka” and last year’s “Insignificance.” And despite an age difference of almost 30 years, Russell and Roeg share what appears to be an unusually solid marriage. After seven years together, they both still seem a bit dazzled by each other.

Though Russell has worked with other directors--Ulu Grosbard for “Straight Time” in 1978 and John Byrum for the 1984 remake of “The Razor’s Edge”--she’s primarily known for her work with Roeg, particularly for her portrayal in “Bad Timing” of a reckless girl caught in an obsessive relationship that degenerates to a dangerous extreme of passion. This controversial movie encapsulated many of the themes that repeatedly surface in Roeg’s films, most of which explore the dark side of romantic love, the dichotomy of pain and pleasure and the exquisitely ironic way these opposing impulses intermingle. Russell, whose alluring sensuality is matched by an aggressive intelligence, is the ideal vehicle for Roeg’s themes.

“I’m often asked if my relationship with Nic makes it easier for us to work together and the answer is yes and no,” said the 29-year-old actress during an interview at their recently acquired home in Coldwater Canyon. “Knowing each other as we do, I can’t get away with much with Nic. It’s harder to surprise him and he always knows if I’m bluffing or avoiding certain areas I may not want to go into.”

“One of the reasons we’re able to work together successfully is that neither of us feels the need to incessantly talk about our work,” Roeg observes. “Life would be hell if that were the case. There’s a superstition among writers that if they talk about their novel too much it will be talked out and there’ll be nothing left to put on the page, and Theresa and I are both of that mind. When we’re working together we talk about film even less, and Theresa never solicits my opinion when she’s working with another director.”

“Nic has very advanced ideas about what film can be--and people resist it so terribly,” Russell continues. “Many people find his movies upsetting, but film is an art form and film makers should have the freedom to take it where they need to. Great art is frequently very disturbing. . . . Euphoria can be disturbing.”

Moviegoers should be adequately disturbed by “Black Widow,” which finds Russell cast as a beautiful sociopath who undergoes three complete changes of identity in order to marry, then murder, a series of wealthy husbands. Directed by Bob Rafelson and co-starring Debra Winger as the FBI agent determined to bring the killer to justice, “Black Widow” may prove to be the commercial blockbuster that has thus far eluded Russell. The film also marks the return of Rafelson--best known for the critically acclaimed film “Five Easy Pieces”--who hasn’t made a movie in six years. He has a reputation for being a temperamental maverick, but by all accounts everyone had a swell time making “Black Widow.”

“I’ve never worked with a more dedicated and cooperative actress,” enthuses Rafelson. “Theresa has an extraordinarily open and strong aesthetic, but at the same time she’s one of the least complicated women I know. There are hundreds of performers who can’t talk unless one of their ears has been torn off, but Theresa comes from a completely different place--and that’s pretty amazing for such a young woman.”

“Mutual admiration is a good starting point for a working relationship and I’ve always admired Bob’s films,” Russell says. “His style on the set is to encourage everyone to contribute ideas, yet he remains very much in control. As far as my relationship with Debra, we’re both strongly opinionated people and both share the attitude of ‘Why don’t you have a mind of your own and think my way?’ That can make for a creative situation or you can end up hating each other. Luckily, it worked between us and we became friends.”

Next up for Russell is her fourth film with Roeg, “Track 29,” which is based on a screenplay by Dennis Potter and is set to begin shooting this spring, probably in South Carolina. In the meantime she occupies herself with their two children, practices the piano, takes jazz and vocal lessons and reads. “It takes about seven months of not working for me to get antsy and I’m basically happy to make one or two pictures a year,” she says. Scheduled to leave the following day to scout locations for “Track 29,” Russell was feeling no particular urgency to be in Los Angeles because of her career. The Roegs have maintained a home in London for the last five years, and Russell prefers life abroad.

“When I first left L.A. people told me I was crazy and I’d never get any work,” she recalls, “but I figured that the kind of people I want to work with would find me wherever I might be. And that’s proven to be true. Nic and I bought this house so the kids can know their grandparents, but I don’t feel I have to be here because ‘the industry’ is here. In fact, it depresses me to think of movies in ‘industry’ terms. Most of the films that are box-office smashes leave me thinking that no one will ever like the kind of work I do. But then, if no one does . . . well, what can you do?

“I’ve maintained a degree of control over my career because, for some odd reason, there’s a certain kind of approval I’ve never needed and I was never willing to buy into the fantasy,” she says. “It all depends on what you want. If you’re interested in fame and fortune rather than the actual work of acting, then you don’t have any control. Hollywood is notorious for exploiting people who’ll do anything for fame and fortune. Of course, having money is nice. It gives you freedom--specifically, the freedom to tell people to stuff it. But then I was doing that when I didn’t have a cent to my name. Still, you feel more comfortable doing it when you’ve got money for your next meal.”