"You know what? I think you’re about my 587th
interview," she says laughingly. It’s been a hectic few
weeks for Party of Five star Lacey Chabert, on the promotional
road trip flogging the big-screen incarnation of the sixties tv
series, Lost in Space One. One gets the impression that
she’d rather be doing something else. "God, it’s
exhausting to talk about yourself for so long; I’d rather
talk about someone else." But such is the price one pays for
success. And you know you’ve made it when you have at least
a dozen Internet sites devoted to you. "That’s so
weird. The other day one of them really went to town imitating
me, and seemed to know more about me than I do", the actress
says. Impeccably attired in a neat, black dress, Chabert acts
well and truly beyond her youthful years. Refusing to play the
Hollywood game as much as possible, she keeps as grounded as
possible "because of my family who wouldn’t have it any
other way."
"Oh, I think
we’ve all got a bit of the rebel in us, don’t you
think?"
In Lost in Space, which she filmed in London, Chabert plays
Penny Robinson, the youngest of two teenage daughters of the
Robinson clan, who’d rather be anywhere but hanging out in
space with her obsessive dad (William Hurt), doting mum (Mimi
Rogers), older scientist sister Judy (Heather Graham) and bratty
science whiz kid, younger brother Will (Jack Johnson). The
family’s mission is to explore and colonise an uncharted
part of the galaxy, and are flown to their intended destination
by an unwilling Don West (Matt Le Blanc). Of course things go
awry when the cowardly Dr Smith (Gary Oldman) ends up trapped on
board, determined to destroy the family.
Though Chabert saw the old series, as written, the all new
Penny Robinson was a nineties creation. "She’s far more
independent and feisty than the tv character", she observes.
"There’s no way it would have worked had we modelled
her on the original." Chabert DID meet Angela Cartwright,
however, who played Penny in the series. "It was very brief,
but she was so nice and thought it cool that Penny was allowed to
be this little rebel, which she was never allowed to be on
tv." Perhaps that was why the young actress could identify
with this character. "Oh, I think we’ve all got a bit
of the rebel in us, don’t you think?" Chabert spent
some time in London shooting the film, and admits to being
nervous working with the likes of stars Hurt and Oldman. "I
talked a lot to Gary who’d discuss acting with me. He was
amazing." As was the process of relying on her imagination
for key scenes. "So much wasn’t visible when we were
shooting, so I really had to play at make believe. It really does
challenge one as an actor, but it’s real fun at the same
time."
"This has much to do
with family as space."
Chabert is not surprised that the film has been successful:
she says it’s more than just special effects. "If
that’s all there was, the movie would be boring, and
ultimately, audiences want more out of a film. This has much to
do with family as space. I think audiences can identify with many
of the problems faced by these characters."
Chabert was born in the small town of Purvis, Mississippi, not
the most likely environment for a burgeoning actor. "I used
to always sing around the house and took part in school plays
when I was a kid. It was something I always had a passion to
do."
After making her professional stage debut in Les Miserables,
Chabert auditioned for and won the role that turned her into a
star at age 13: violin prodigy, Claudia Salinger, who, along with
her brothers and sister, takes on adult responsibilities in an
attempt to keep her family together in tv’s award-winning
Party of Five, a character that she finds more difficult to
relate to than Penny Robinson. "She has come from a much
darker place than I, and she’s far lonelier than I am. To
play her, I would often sit on my own in a dark corner of my
trailer, imagining her life, before going out and doing it."
"It’s great; I
don’t have to worry about how I look or remembering
lines." on
animation work
Chabert continues to be busy, not only working on her hit
series, but providing voices for animated characters, such as a
new tv series, The Wild Thornberries. "It’s great; I
don’t have to worry about how I look or remembering
lines." Chabert is also one of the featured voices in the
upcoming animated feature, Anastasia.
Chabert has another two years on her Party of Five contract,
but hopes to cram in as many good films as possible, though
conceding "that to find teenage characters who are not
cliched and simplistic, is pretty tough." Yet for young
Lacey, it seems the party is just beginning.
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