Wright on Redford and Congo conflict

Robin Wright has praised Robert Redford’s abilities as a director.

The actress, who stars in the Hollywood legend’s new film “The Conspirator”, told Austrian magazine Live: “He’s not the kind of director who says a few adjectives before the shooting of a scene to describe how he wants it to be. He sits down with you to talk the whole story through – and I appreciate that. I think this shows that he knows what he is talking about.”

The cast of “The Conspirator” – which portrays Mary Surratt, the first woman executed by the United States’ government – also features “The Last King of Scotland” star James McAvoy, Justin Long (“Jeepers Creepers”) and Evan Rachel Wood (“The Wrestler”).

Speaking about how Redford got in touch with her about starring as Surratt, Wright said: “He didn’t say anything about that I was supposed to take a leading role. He rang me, asking whether I could come over for five minutes. ‘I’d like to sell a story to you,’ he said.”

The ex-wife of Sean Penn (“Dead Man Walking”, “Mystic River”) added: “He didn’t even hand me a script. I signed the contract without reading it.”

Wright, 45, revealed she “would not become an actress again nowadays.” The “Forest Gump” star told Live: “That kind of today’s paparazzi hysteria, this permanent penetration into people’s private lives did not exist when I started. (…) I don’t like being in the centre of attention. Red carpets and photoflash are a real pain for me.”

Asked why she got engaged in a humanitarian project, Wright explained: “I could not go on doing nothing against the violence against women in Congo. I asked myself what I could do and found that shooting a documentary was an option.”