Swinton feels alien in the US
Award-winning actress Tilda Swinton has revealed she still feels like a tourist in the United States of America.Swinton told Austrian magazine Live: “Im a European at heart and feel honoured about invitations to make movies in the USA. But I go there with a tourist visa and I feel as such.”The London-born Scottish actress won an Oscar for her performance in thriller “Michael Clayton”.Asked what kind of memories she has on the night of the 80th Academy Awards in 2008, Swinton said: “None. I dont know what happened after my name was announced whether my dress dropped to the floor and if I was breathing. I dont even know what I said anymore either.”Swinton also claimed she was not born to act. “I was born to tend my garden,” the 50-year-old said.Speaking to the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper, the “Orlando” star revealed that cooking was one of her favourite hobbies.”I just love to cook,” she said, adding: “I enjoy to cook very rough and rural. That means I dont read any recipes but try everything during the process. If I cook for my family, they always ask me to do fish pie or rhubarb and ginger crumble.”Swinton plays a Russian woman who falls in love with a new chef in her new film “I Am Love”. The movie directed by Luca Guadagnino is in cinemas across Austria from today (Fri).Swinton most recently visited Austria in October 2009 to attend the Viennale film festival.Managers of famous Viennese Hotel Sacher praised the actress as a “perfect and totally uncomplicated guest”.Hotel director Reiner Hellmann told Austrian newspapers Swinton had not made a single special request of the hotel.The film star revealed in an interview two years ago that critics in Austrian newspapers had put her off theatre more than 20 years ago after they savaged her for a performance at the Burgtheater in Vienna.She said: “I played (composer Wolfgang Amadeus) Mozart in (Alexander) Pushkins one-act Mozart and Salieri in 1988. The critics were devastating, because I was a woman and not Viennese.”