Academy Award-winning actress Rachel Weisz made a guest appearance in her friend Barnard Professor Polly Devlin's class on essay-writing on Wednesday, March 22, giving 14 students the chance to sharpen their interviewing skills by posing questions to a Hollywood celebrity.
Weisz, who won a best supporting Oscar as the courageous but doomed activist in The Constant Gardener, revealed that when she prepares for a role, she does "tons of research and interviews and then lets instinct take over" to get into character. "I really think the reason we love to watch actors is because of their personality," said Weisz. "So as much as I can, I think you should just be yourself."

The British-born Weisz, who studied English literature at Cambridge University, also talked about her favorite author, the American novelist Carson McCullers (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter), what she would be doing if not acting (making social documentary films), why the role of the Tessa in Gardener was contrary to her own character ("I'm definitely not brave enough to be Tessa") and why women actors have it so much harder than men ("I think it's just particularly hard for women because of the looks. I mean we can't make ourselves look really ugly, can we?")

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