Bonnie Bedelia

Women over 35 have great stories, and the actresses are there, but you can't get the movies made.

I've had some interesting roles along the way, but they tend to be cause-driven. They're always about something. There isn't time for character work as an actor because you're fighting the cause or mourning the child or fighting the disease, etc.

I'm from New York; I've been in show business all my life. I'm a wild and crazy gal, yet I always play these soft, warm, loving earth mothers. It's a pain in the butt. I'm a femme fatale!

Unless you burst into movies as a sex goddess, you're likely to play wives and mothers. I came into movies as a teenager in 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They' (1969) playing a pregnant waif from the Ozarks. I didn't get a chance to burst into movies in 'Body Heat.' My career isn't based on having a 23-inch waist and a big bust, though I do.

Whenever there's heavy-duty emotional work to be done, they call me. As for playing the completely off-the-wall, sexy, gorgeous lady that I am - no, they don't think of me.

I have two children - could I ever choose between them? Never. That's what 'Sophie's Choice' was about. If you have 50 children, you don't love one less.

I don't take the roles home with me. I don't work that way. I don't understand that; I mean, I really don't when I hear that.

If I spoke Italian, I'd be in Italy in a minute. I love the food, I love the way people live there. I mean, it really is my idea of paradise.

If someone were to come from another planet and see the world through movies, they'd think that the world was populated by white men in their 30s who shoot a lot.

We need children to play the parts in movies. I'm just glad it's not my kids.

I didn't even know how to judge 'Die Hard 1.' It's not anything I know how to judge. I'd never seen an action movie. I'd never seen a Sly Stallone movie or an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie or a Charles Bronson movie. And that is the truth.

I don't consider roles like in 'Die Hard' what I do. This is like a hobby. It's fun. I had a good time. And I love being in a movie that people actually go see. But it's about things getting blown up. It's not about great character development.

When I was 14, my mother died. My father, who had always had ulcers, came apart. He had a series of intestinal operations, and was in the hospital for nearly a year. So the four of us teenagers lived by ourselves in the apartment without a guardian.

My grandfather had been on the New York City force with his 11 brothers around the turn of the century. He was killed in the line of duty. My father, who was 16, was the oldest son, so he had to quit school and go to work to support his mother.

I grew up in a slum neighborhood - rows of tenements, with stoops, and kids all over the street. It was a real neighborhood - we played kick-the-can and ring-a-levio.

I like to do a movie, to be on it 8, 10 weeks. It evolves as you're working on it. Little things come to you every day. It's a slow process, and when you have to pack it into a short period of time, which you do for television, the experience is not one that I cherish. So if it's going to be television, it's really got to be the right thing.

It's hard to think it's important to try out as cheerleader when you're starring on Broadway. But you do kind of miss the things that I now see my children doing. I'm just happy they are not actors. The Valentine's Day dance is really important. Pitching in Little League is very important. And the medals and the scouts are really important.