PLANET OUT Beautiful "L Word" star Jennifer Beals recently sat down with PlanetOut entertainment editor Jenny Stewart and show producer Ilene Chaiken to talk about the Bette-Tina breakup, celebrity crushes and, of course, the jail scene. Director Rose Troche apparently made a videotape of various onscreen love scenes for the cast to watch. Was this helpful? Yes, she made a cassette for us of a series of both lesbian and heterosexual love scenes, and she thought some of those scenes worked and some of them didn't. She wanted us to see and judge for ourselves which ones worked and which didn't -- and why. So what were some of those movies? "Bound," which worked really well, "Claire of the Moon," "The Hunger." And when we watched them, the ones that worked, regardless of the director, were the ones where the actors weren't fearful. When somebody was fearful, you could see it right away. It takes you out of the story, and that's to be avoided at all costs. So this tutorial helped you? Well, it wasn't a tutorial. However, there was an "alleged" tutorial given to us by a woman named Iman, and interestingly enough, we talked about sex for about three minutes, and the rest of the hour was spent talking about politics and class. Which is very telling! Ilene Chaiken: She was supposed to be a "sexpert." We were there to talk about lesbian sex because we were just starting the pilot and we were a bunch of people who, presumably, had questions. We wanted to have an open forum. And what happened was, we got there and I think we all realized we knew everything there was to know about sex! [Laughs.] Jennifer: [Laughing.] Yeah, pretty much! OK, well I want to talk about your performance in the jail scene. Was that hard for you to do? No, because I just watched the Genet movie and I just imitated the guy in the movie! What's the name of that film? It's called "Querelle," and it was clear that the episode, or at least the jail scene, was an homage to that film. I had watched the film and I said to the director Lynne Stopkewich, 'See this guy, and see what he does to the wall? I want to be that guy, I want to do this. What was the most challenging episode for you this season? The finale. Absolutely the finale. A lot of people were surprised when you took a lesbian role, but you actually do have a gay background -- you were in "Twilight of the Golds," and you played a transvestite in a movie called "Sons." Yes, I loved doing "Twilight of the Golds," and "Sons" was a lot of fun. Is that movie available on video? I'm sure that's something that everyone's going to want to see. I think "Sons" is available on video. I hope so. Do you think Bette and Tina are a good couple? Bette and Tina are an excellent couple. [Looks at Ilene.] And I think you are a hussy for making me have an affair! Wait, Bette hasn't had the affair yet. Hello! What do you think the jailhouse scene was? No, because you didn't technically have sex! Oh, listen to Bill Clinton over there! I don't want you to have an affair! Oh, well. OK, what do you think attracted Bette to Tina in the first place? I think at first, when Bette met her, she fell in love with Tina's beauty. And then I think ultimately, as far as being in love, I think that she's so different from Bette, she's so grounded and very big-hearted and so generous with people so easily, you know? And I think that Bette is so much more judgmental, and things like that are a little harder for her. And I think that [looks at Ilene again] they should be back together![Laughs.] OK, are you ready for some personal questions? Yes, I'm having fun. What is your current relationship status? I'm married to a man. What's the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for Jennifer Beals? My husband does so many romantic things for me, it's absurd. But I remember one day I was on my way home and I had called him on his cell phone and he knew that I had not had a great day. And when I got home, he had a gazillion rose petals in the doorway that spelled out "I love you." Yeah, and he made the entire doorway this mandala to love, you know, before I had gotten into the house. Well that's pretty impressive. How about you? What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for someone? Hmmm -- I don't know. I guess you'd have to ask them! When was the last time you had a crush on someone? A couple years ago I had a big crush on Eddie Vedder. I told my husband, "Do not let me be in the same room with Eddie Vedder." He said, "Don't worry, I won't." [Laughs.] Is there one particular characteristic that you have consistently been attracted to in a person? A sense of humor What is your least favorite physical feature on your body? [Laughs.] I'm not going to tell you. Only my costumer knows for sure! You've played a wide variety of characters throughout your career. Which are your favorites? Daphne Monet from "Devil in a Blue Dress" -- she's way, way up there. And I like Bette a lot. She's hard sometimes, so I like that. What are the favorite films you've done? That's really hard, because they're all so different. I like "Devil in a Blue Dress." I love "Twilight of the Golds." I like "A House Divided" a lot. "Vampire's Kiss" I think is really good -- it's hard. Getting back to "Twilight of the Golds," if you were to become pregnant and you found out your child was going to be gay, what would your main concerns be? What thoughts would be going through your head? Making sure that when my child went to school people were enlightened enough not to torture them, you know? And I wouldn't want them to feel lonely or outcast ever in any way. And no matter where they were in the world, I'd want them to always feel incredibly confident about who they were and proud. That's a great answer. Thanks, Jennifer. Thank you!
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