From jumbo shrimp to big fish

Narnia’s notorious ice queen defrosted for a quick Q’A session in Oakland last week.

At the… Narnia’s notorious ice queen defrosted for a quick Q’A session in Oakland last week.

At the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Screening Room last Tuesday, actress Tilda Swinton, seen most recently in “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” discussed topics ranging from her early career in the United Kingdom to working while raising twins.

“I was told I was an art house superstar,” Swinton said, regarding her status as an independent film star, “but that’s a little bit like being called a jumbo shrimp.”

Swinton, whose film credits also include “The Beach,” “Vanilla Sky” and “Constantine,” sat with two panel members, Professors Colin Maccabe and Isaac Julien, first taking questions from them and eventually from the audience.

The panel’s questions primarily focused on Swinton’s early career, from studying at Cambridge to her work with English film director Derek Jarman. She included how Jarman was not only the first true artist she met, but also a continued influence even after his death in 1994.

“He was a public artist. [It’s] not enough to just say he was a director,” she said.

Tilda Swinton spent nearly 15 years working on films in the United Kingdom, in such credits as “Edward II” and “Orlando,” before becoming involved in mainstream American movies, taking on the role of Sal in “The Beach.” Swinton proclaimed that she knew she was in a major American film when she was in the presence of Leonardo DiCaprio’s bodyguards.

Since “The Beach,” Swinton continued to flourish in other films, playing minor roles in some (“Adaptation,” “Vanilla Sky”), and leading roles in others (“Young Adam”).

Before the panel opened up questions to the audience, Swinton spent the rest of the Q’A speaking about her experiences playing the evil ice queen in “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

“[Narnia] was a good myth to make,” she commented. “With all that is going on today, it is good to go to the back of the wardrobe.”

In addition to directly answering the questions from the audience, Swinton also made sure to incorporate her own personal sentiments. She admitted being one of the few people – especially in the United Kingdom – who hadn’t read “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” when she was a child.

Swinton, who was very relaxed as the center of attention, continually gave the impression that she was never overtaken by her success in filmmaking. She also discussed the process of “having a hand” in producing the films, although her first credit as a producer was just given in her recent film “Thumbsucker.”

“It was more like an outing,” she said.

It came as a surprise to hear that she wasn’t highly aware of the Christian undertones in “Narnia.” She claimed that some of the film’s themes, including sacrifice and forgiveness, were aspects of many religions, and not limited to Christianity.

Swinton’s best moments were her down-to-earth responses to the questions posed by the audience. Her positive outlook on her movies – “I always felt like my films were comedies” – as well as her commentary on art – “Necessity is the mother of invention” – stood as inspirational sentiments to anyone involved in acting.

As a woman who began by starring in low-budget British films and progressed to the position of lead actress in the 25th highest grossing film ever made, Tilda Swinton proved on Tuesday that it is possible to move to the top. But she still stated that when she continues to make choices in movies, she “chooses the filmmaker, not the role.”

Toward the end of her appearance, she discussed how impossible it was to make a successful movie without taking chances.

“In films, you have to make friends with chaos,” she said.