BeatBoxBetty Interviews Hilary Swank

For an actress, the chance to play a man is always a welcomed challenge. But when Hilary Swank landed the role of Brandon Teena in the gripping but true-life story Boys Don’t Cry, it was a bittersweet victory.

In playing such a role, she’d be pushed to her limits as an actress, but what she was about to enter, would change her life forever.

Recently I got the chance to speak with Hilary on how she prepared for the role of a lifetime and what she‘s learned from the whole exhausting experience. Here‘s what she had to say:

BBB: Congratulations on your amazing portrayal of Brandon. How on earth did you prepare for such a challenging role?
Hilary: When I was offered the film after I auditioned it was very important for me to be able to pass as a boy on the streets, so I lived my life for four weeks strapping and packing which meant strapping down my breasts and packing a sock in my pants. There was a total physical transformation, which entailed cutting my hair off - it was originally down past my shoulders. We went into the barbershop and the woman just wouldn’t cut it off. She kept saying, "Are you sure? You have such beautiful hair." Eventually she cut it, but she wouldn’t give me a full boy haircut, so somebody else had to finish chopping it off.

So that was the first thing.Then I did voice work deepening my voice and working on the accent I’d use. Then I looked in the mirror and wondered what on my face was most masculine, which was my bone structure, so I made that protrude by losing body fat. Then I read all of the transcripts and all the articles I could get about Teena Brandon when the whole thing went down in 1993. I really needed to see what worked. When I walked around passing as a boy, I wanted to know what people believed and what people didn‘t believe. That‘s pretty much how I started prepping for the role.

Betty: Well, it really paid off. You are absolutely riveting to watch.
Hilary: Thank you.

Betty: Since you‘re not gay, did you have any reservations playing this type of role?
Hilary: No. I had no qualms whatsoever. When I read that script I thought, what an amazing role for an actress to play and to stretch myself artistically and I thought it was such an important story to share with the world. I just really wanted to be a part of it somehow. Later, it was scary because I was hoping I could pass as a boy, and because it‘s not just a movie. It‘s someone’s real life and his family is still alive, that was scary.

Chloe Sevigny and Swank in "Boys Don't Cry"

Betty: What was it like those four weeks when you passed as a guy?
Hilary: I thought in L.A. not that many people would gawk at me and they‘d be more accepting, but to be quite honest with you, I found myself feeling hopeless at times and very lonely and sad. People couldn‘t figure out what I was and if they couldn’t fit me into their stereotypical definition of a boy or girl, they didn’t want anything to do with me. Sometimes I‘d go home and just cry the whole day because I‘d realize that I was just an actress, but for people living out there like this, what a sad place. I was the same person I was when I had long hair. All I did was cut my hair, strapped and packed and all of a sudden I was treated differently - yet I was the same person with the same dreams and needs.

Betty: Did your husband (Chad Lowe) help you during those times?
Hilary: I have to say, I couldn‘t have made this movie without him. He‘s an actor so he understood what I needed to do to get where I needed to go. When we‘d go out, he‘d introduce me as Hilary Swank‘s brother. He was my only salvation. I could go to him and he’d see past my physical appearance. Even my close friends had a hard time with it all.

Betty: What did you learn from all of this?
Hilary: I‘ve been very inspired from Brandon. He‘s changed my whole life. I‘ve also been inspired to live my dreams, to be myself and to live every moment. In society, everyone tells you what you should be and we‘re all trying to figure out who we are. Now I‘m living every moment fully. Brandon had a fuller life in those twenty-one years than a lot of people who live to be fifty. So I‘ve been lucky.

Betty: Any other similarities between you and Brandon?
Hilary: This is pretty weird, but I‘m also from Lincoln, Nebraska. I was actually born in the same hospital he was born in.

Betty: You know that people are saying you deserve an Oscar for this.
Hilary: Although it‘s nice when people respond to your work, I didn‘t do it to win an Oscar. That would be icing on the cake, but ultimately it’s not why I did it. I try to take roles that inspire and challenge me.

Betty: Because of playing Brandon so truthfully, you‘ve also become sort of an icon in the gay and lesbian community.
Hilary: It makes me feel really good that you say that. I feel that we’re all the same no matter who we choose to love. [Tears well up in her eyes] To be seen as a role model or someone people respect means a lot to me. That makes me feel really good.

Betty: Well you deserve every bit of the praise. Thanks for talking with me and I‘m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of Hilary Swank on screen.

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