Sheepdog: Meet Virginia Madsen

 

Virginia Madsen is a legend! I grew up watching her on shows like Frasier and Unsolved Mysteries and loved her in projects like Sideways and Monk. In short, I am a huge fan and am absolutely excited for the world to see her new movie Sheepdog.

 

In a recent interview to promote Sheepdog, Virginia was more than happy to talk about the movie and more!

 

Tell me a bit about yourself and career.
Well, as far as this project, I was looking for something, as I always do, a woman who’s got something to say. And not always easy in my younger years as an actor, but now I’m getting more three-dimensional characters.

And in Sheepdog, boy, did she have a lot to say and do that was meaningful, that was
important. What was important for me is to make sure that it was truthful. And I think it was, I
know it is.

How was the character described to you when you first were brought onto the
project?

Stephen, our director and writer and producer and star, showed up with a script
backstage after a play that I was doing. And he said, I don’t really want to tell you anything
about it. Could you just read it?

And he had this, like, stack of books on the subject. And I was like, well, I don’t know that I have time to read all this, but I will read your script. And he was just so kind.
I mean, he’s very compelling and he’s a very sincere person.

So, I read the script and it was just beautiful, and listen, it’s not always like that. Everyone’s  hopeful about the movie that they want to make and it’s just the writing isn’t there. No matter how much they believe in it, it’s just not going to be there for me. But it was all there in this script.

Like there wasn’t a, there wasn’t rewriting when we were shooting. It was just, it was all there. And he wanted my personality, you know, what he felt from me on screen. He really wanted that in his film and I think he believed that I really understood and I did.

So, you know, I took the risk. I took the leap and went with him and Matt and then Vondie Curtis Hall.

I was like, well, you can’t go wrong if Vondie’s going to be in it. So, yeah, so we went forward
and made a beautiful film.

How do you relate to your character personally, and if you don’t, which characteristics maybe do you wish that you might have?

I have a lot in common with this character. She’s been through a lot. She has very deep personal experience and grief, and she is driven to try and do something to help. So was I.

And I didn’t know how, because what I do is I’m an artist. I’m an entertainer.
Like what am I going to do to make a difference for veterans? How can I honor my nephew and
my family? Boy, it better be right.

So I just felt like she was so much like me. And I really loved that during the film, she also tells her own story.

A lot of times they don’t really give women that space in a film. And he really, Stephen’s writing
really was so truthful. And as I found out later in meeting veterans, their families, their friends,
their partners, they said, you got it right.

And that was why it was very, very rewarding.

What was it like working with such a great crew, and do you have any favorite memories of
working on the set with everyone?

Well, when you get a job, first you’re just so glad to be there, and so is everybody, and for the filmmakers, it was finally happening.

So, there’s a lot of positive energy. But you have to go in believing that somehow, against all
odds, they’re going to put it together and make a good film. But all I could concentrate was
really my work and my experience on the set.

And I was like, I think I got it. I think it went well. And then you leave and you don’t hear
anything for months on end while they’re editing.

And so, when I first got to see it, I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I really couldn’t speak for a short
period of time, uh, because it was beautiful.

And every time I see it, I can’t watch it most of the time, but you know, the audiences that we have met at the various film festivals, predominantly veterans, their families, their friends, and some active duty, um, they really were so supportive.

And they said that this is our voice. You gave us a voice in your movie. You got it right.
And that just assured me that we did.

What are you watching on TV these days? What interests you?

Well, I’m in the Academy. So right now, all of my screen time has been watching movie after movie after movie for the big awards. Um, and I really, I try and see most of them on the big screen. Um, and, and, and then some that I really liked to rewatch them and, um, but I haven’t found a television series that I’m really hooked on since Ripley.

Thank you, Virginia!