INTERVJU / INTERVIEW
formed around a code of conduct that could be called aristocratic. She found it inconceivable that the First La- dy would share a toilet with the staff, or that the Presi- dent wasn’t a gentleman. And the Clintons brought that “folksy” spirit to the Oval Office, and the worst thing of all was that she was among the first victims of that rev- olution. I spent a long time thinking about what the re- al driver of her struggle was. Were they her convictions, or her wounded vanity? I'm still not sure.” Your role in this series was also a major fash- ion excursion for you. The transformation in-
fear that people wouldn’t understand her in the right way and wouldn’t give her a second chance. I don’t be- lieve in dividing between good and evil. Linda is the villain in this case, but people like her aren’t made ge- netically. Evil cannot be innate. It has to be created. People are puppets of destiny. It places them in sit- uations that test their character. I believe that Linda didn't even know how grave the consequences of her actions would be. In a way, she exposed one ugly side of the American administration. In the respect she’s a hero, but the way she did it is contentious. If you be-
to Linda Tripp, but also accepting everything that the ‘90s brought with them, is a great challenge. How did you like yourself back in the ‘90s? “There's not much to consider there.
tray someone in the belief that you are doing good, then what are you - a hero or a villain? That’s that Hamlet dilemma I mentioned at the start.” Do you trust people? Do you forgive treachery? “Let’s understand each other. This sit- uation is a textbook example of female betrayal. You have a best friend who gal- vanises you at the moment when you’ve opened your heart up to her complete- ly and revealed all the most hidden little things that you keep there. Why – that’s not even important. The female temper- ament is very strange. The point is that we've all had that kind of situation in our lives. I consider betrayal a useful thing. It makes us wiser. It’s sad that wisdom implies absolute distrust, even in those closest to us, but I believe everyone who’s gone through something similar has come to the same conclusion. Secrets are called by that name for a reason. If you betray them yourself, you can’t blame the oth- er person more than yourself.”
Simply, there are some decades that should be banned [laughs]. It was a great challenge to accept the fashion of that period. The hairstyles were the most striking for me. When I first tried on the mask, I really didn’t recognise myself. It’s as though the aim of the 1990s was to make people older. But even that’s not so bad. It seems to me that people have more and more courage and willingness to take risks as they get older. Both when it comes to fashion and when it comes to some important life decisions. I just haven’t yet figured out whether that’s down to an abundance of self-confidence or a lack of concern for excessive stretch- ing. Looking at myself, it seems that I find it much easier to make some decisions, and that’s what brings me joy in my maturing.” Was that also the case with your role in season three of American Crime Sto- ries? “In this case, it was the role that was decisive. When Ryan (Murphy), who is the author of the series, suggest- ed that I portray Linda Tripp, I thought he was crazy at first. And then, when I’d read the script, I realised that I would be crazy not to accept the role. There's some- thing Hamlet-esque about Linda's character. Perhaps the question “to be or not to be”, which is summarised in her personality like a complete life philosophy. Yes, we can say that Linda is a traitor, a synonym for the worst friend you could have in life, but when you delve a little deeper into the past and her reasons for deciding to press the record button and document Monica day- dreaming about Bill Clinton over the phone, you discov- er the entire mechanism of social revenge in her act.” Which aspect of the transformation into Lin- da was more challenging for you – physical or mental? “I had a duty, as an actor, to justify Linda in some way. I built my relationship with her on the basis of em- pathy. The toughest thing for me was overcoming the
How much has the position of women changed over recent decades?
“The fact that we’re still fighting for that position says enough about that topic. In recent years, the “me too” movement has been strong, and a lot is being done on the demarginalizing of women in society. The sto- ry of Monica and Bill is the classic story of a manager and a secretary. At its root is the abuse of power. That hasn't changed much since the Clinton-Lewinsky scan- dal. The talk about everything is just a little more and louder. It seems to me that Clinton's impeachment was the trigger for that change. It is interesting that it was initiated by a strong woman with a life philosophy that was essentially that a woman should use her strength to strengthen her man. There is a lot of absurdity in that situation. Linda wasn’t a feminist. Nor did she overly believe in the ideology of women's lib. She was an old school desperado who was derailed by injustice.” What do you see as the strongest impressi- on of this scandal? “The fact that an American president was impeached by a secretary. Power is a very debatable concept.”
Monika Levinski je bila naivna devojčica kojoj je predsednik Amerike poklonio pažnju. A ona je svoje poverenje zatim poklonila najpogrešnijoj osobi na svetu Monica Lewinsky was a naïve little girl who was given attention by the President of the United States. And she then placed her trust in the most erroneous person in the world
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