What was it like to return to the role she originated in ‘‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’’?
Maybe you only caught up with it last week on DVD.
She andHarrison Forddefined on-screen chemistry (their ship-board kiss scene, their bantering arguments).
Credit: David James/ © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved
We caught up with the actress for a chat about getting back in adventure-movie mode.
And from time to time, Id get e-mails and phone calls.
And then nothing would happen.
Honestly, I think for the last couple of years, it hadnt even crossed my mind.
So when didCrystal Skullfinally become a go for you?The phone just rang in January of 2007.
And I thought,Oh, its a friend of mine being silly.
Somebody playing a joke.So I went to the phone and Steven said, Hi!
Ill bet you know why Im calling.
And I said, No, I dont.
And he said, Havent you been watching television?
And I said, No, guess I havent.
He said, Its been announced!
Were gonna makeIndiana Jones 4!
And guess what?Youre in it.
How did you react?I was actually kind of jumping up and down in place.
I really didnt know what kind of role theyd written for me.
I didnt know if it was a little cameo.
In fact, he came in sort of when I was in the middle of it.
He came over and said hi and said, Nonono dont stop reading!
I was pretty blown away by it, I have to say.
Like, not asoul.
And six months went by and hestilldidnt want me to tell anybody.
The secrecy thing has gotten to be more and more prevalent in films, and maybe thats good.
Its nice to go see a film and not know anything about it.
Sometimes I feel like we know too much about films.
And Frank said something like, Are you kidding?
It cant be anybody but Karen Allen playing Marion Ravenwood.
And Steven said he took a moment and thought,Yeah, I guess youre right!
Eventually David Koepp wrote the script that got greenlit.
When I read it, I thought,Theyve written this for ME!
What if youd said no?
[Laughs heartily] Oh, yeah, like anybody thought I would say no….
I would have been a complete and total fool to say no to this.
I always thought all three of them went backwards in time!
Im getting jealous on my characters behalf, as we speak!
I always thought she was before me…
Trust me Ilsa came after Marion.All right.
Well, Ill try not to hold that against Harrison.
Ive done that in the theater a number of times.
And I dont think Ive ever had the same leading man twice.
So theres something so liberating about working with people you already have a relationship with.
And I include myself in that list.
It just felt so joyous.
We get to do this again!
We were just like, Aaaaaaah, yknow?
Were putting on pads and hoping we hit the pads instead of hitting some bruisable part of our bodies.
I just remember, the very first day, kind of looking up at him.
I was so glad I was there and so glad I was working with him again.
It felt even better than the first time.
I think the first time around, it was all a little intense.
[OnRaiders] Id never done a film of that nature before.
I found myself sometimes thinking,What am I doing?
But I was really a duck out of water.
At my age, because Im in my 50s, the roles are just few and far between.
And I come from a generation of wonderful actresses.
And I include myself in that list.
So it didnt feel like I was saying no to fantastic things.
It just felt like it was kind of a natural time to put my focus elsewhere.
