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AE: What lesbian movies do you think are good, besides Mango Kiss?
MW: Tipping the Velvet is probably one of my favorite lesbian movies of all time. Not just because the lesbian content is great, but because it's just a really good movie. Some of the other lesbian films I think have been very important were Go Fish, Clair of the Moon, and Deserts Hearts. The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love was a movie I thought was wonderful.

AE: Any TV shows you think have done a good job with lesbian characters?
MW: I liked the fact that All My Children had a lesbian character that was very likeable, and to have the first daytime lesbian kiss was huge. I'm not a big All My Children fan--I don't have time to watch soaps--but they are putting that in the middle of America. It's not Will and Grace, it's a show where the base audience is housewives in middle America, and they see a really lovely gay lesbian character that has crushes on women and kisses her girlfriend. Did they go far enough? Not as far as they do with straight couples but they are going somewhere and I appreciate that.

AE: Do you run into many out lesbian actresses?
MW: No. When I'm on sets, it's very rare that I will encounter an out lesbian actress. I meet lots of gay crew members--most of the lesbians on the crew are out, because they don't care. They're not going to not get a job because they're gay. But I think actresses are still terrified, just as the men are, and that's too bad. I think that when men do come out, it does hurt their career. People have a hard time seeing a man kissing Naomi Watts if they think he's gay in real life.

Hollywood has a stereotype of what the gay women looks like. It's not the cute little tight-body blonde, it's not that super-feminine thing, even though there are plenty of feminine lesbians out there who are working actresses, too. It's almost like, if they were to come out, they would be seen differently, because people have an idea of what a lesbian looks like. I think that is one of the things that needs to get shattered first, this idea of the stereotypical lesbian. We don't look the same, we just don't.

AE: What would help get more actresses to come out?
MW: I think if there are more really good lesbian films out there, more actresses would be willing to come out and do those roles. People are afraid that if they come out, they are only going to be able to get lesbian roles--and there are just not many good ones out there. That might be part of it. If we bring up the level of lesbian films, we will tend to get more actresses who are willing to do the parts. There are plenty of actresses that people talk about and rumor about who still play only straight roles. It might tip the scale where they finally go. The whole thing with Portia--everybody knew Portia was gay. Everyone in the gay community did. She was at the bars; we knew who her girlfriend was, and all of that. It took her dating Ellen for people to go, "Oh she's a lesbian."

AE: She's an example of somebody who counters stereotype and it is still working. We'll see what happens now.
MW: So far, she's doing great. She can play that high femme, and I think that people won't have a big issue with it. I think the more that happens, the better it will be. If there are better roles, people will be a little less likely to say, "I'm going to be stuck with crappy roles if I make this career choice." It just doesn't need to be like that. For me it is the only way, it's the only way I want to be, it's the only way I am going to be because if I were in the closet and I ended up being a big star, I guarantee you someone would out me real quick. (laughs)