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| Liv Ullmann |
LIFE AND STYLE
Q&A
Liv Ullmann
"The movie wasn't good and I felt it from the first line"
Rosanna Greenstreet
Saturday 29 December 2007 23.34 GMT
Liv Ullmann was born in Tokyo in 1938 and spent most of her childhood in Norway. She is one of Scandinavia's most respected actors, and is best known for her work with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, with whom she had her only child. She later became a film director herself, most notably of Faithless in 2000. She has homes in Norway and the US.
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| Liv Ullmann |
When were you happiest?
When the miracle happened and my daughter, Linn, was born.
What is your greatest fear?
Abandonment.
What is your earliest memory?
My daddy's hand squeezing my hand - I was three or four, and we were walking along a road in Canada.
Which living person do you most admire and why?
Nelson Mandela, because he allowed his forgiveness and ability to overcome to change a nation.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I sometimes try to avoid conflict, so I agree instead of saying no.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
That they choose to be a victim.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
When I was 13, I put gloves in my bra. My dancing partner felt them and commented. It was horrible.
What is your most treasured possession?
My cottage in Norway, which is high on a cliff overlooking a fjord. It's the most expensive thing I ever bought.
What would your super power be?
Flight.
What makes you depressed?
When people who make decisions for others are ill-informed.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I'm OK. I am 69 and bear it with pride - it's the way God wanted me to look.
What is your favourite smell?
My grandmother's neck. I'd sit on her lap and lean my head towards her neck - it was such a wonderful smell.
What is your favourite word?
'Love', when it's not misused.
What is the worst thing anyone's ever said to you?
'Goodbye.'
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Why would such a picture be shown?
What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Chocolate.
What do you owe your parents?
All the things I had to be older to appreciate. I didn't see it before it was too late to thank them.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Everyone involved in my child's birth. God, the child, the father of the child, my mother and my father.
What does love feel like?
When you feel that you're free to say yes to whatever is best within you.
What was the best kiss of your life?
He knows.
Have you ever said 'I love you' and not meant it?
Yes - I live in America.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
My mother and father.
What is the worst job you've ever done?
The Night Visitor with Charles Bronson - the movie wasn't good and I felt it from the first line.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
That I wasn't the best mother, actor, writer... the best this, the best that. Lots of disappointments.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
More quiet time with my daughter.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
To when my daddy was alive, just to get to know him. He died during a brain operation when I was six.
When did you last cry, and why?
Right now, thinking about going back to say hello to my father.
How do you relax?
Reading, listening to music, watching a DVD and meditation.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
That I could act, write books and scripts, direct movies - everything that I loved - and support other people with the money I earned.
What keeps you awake at night?
Worries that are really easily solved one way or another by life.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Old Man River.
How would you like to be remembered?
By my two grandchildren, that they took some comfort in me being alive with them.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
To live in the now.
THE GUARDIAN
