Nineteen-year-old Leelee Sobieski doesn't
make a big deal of the fact that she is a descendant of the King
of Poland on her father's side. The blonde New Yorker identifies
more with French father who is a painter, and her American mother,
an author.
Since being discovered as an eleven year-old, by
Woody Allen's casting agent in her school cafeteria, Sobieski has
had a big dose of stardom, Hollywood-style. She wore fabulous dresses
in Merchant/Ivory's "A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries,"
tempted Tom Cruise in "Eyes Wide Shut" and died a defiant
virgin in the TV movie "Joan of Arc."
But there's something the actress felt was missing:
an education. So, until the new year she will be attending Brown
University in Providence, Rhode Island where she will major in Fine
Arts. This year Sobieski has been especially busy.
She starred in "Joy Ride" in a love-triangle
with Steve Zahn and Paul Walker; in the independent movie "My
First Mister" opposite Albert Brooks, and the mini-series "Uprising"
about the Jewish ghetto. Most recently, she finished filming the
French film, "L'idole" where she acted in French.
What are the advantages of your multi-cultural
background?
I've done an all-European production. That's something
that American actresses don't have the opportunity to do because
a lot of the time they don't speak another language. The first half
of the Merchant Ivory film I did was also shot in French and the
second half in English. I definitely think any mixing of cultures
can only be a really wonderful thing.
What is it like being a famous face on campus?
"It's a little strange. You walk into a room
and feel a lot of eyes staring at you when you probably would like
a little bit of anonymity. But at the same time it's okay because
everybody's really nice and friendly and considerate. Everybody's
treated me the same as them, which is perfect.
" The down-to-earth Sobieski, says she could
see herself dating a fellow student more than a co-star: "That's
not to say everybody in university is more interesting than outside.
But there are a lot of fascinating young people here that aren't
probably as caught up with their images -- their clothes, their
hair, or if they've been to the gym Á all that stupid ridiculous
Hollywood stuff. That can be very refreshing."
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