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say that 2003 has been an amazing yearfor Catherine Zeta-Jones would be a massive understatement.
Not only did she razzle-dazzle as murderer Velma Kelly in Chicago, which earned her a clutch of honors including an Academy Award, she and husband Michael Douglas successfully sued for damages in a groundbreaking legal spat with British gossip magazine Hello! after the publication printed photographs of the couple's 2000 wedding. But nothing could top the joy she feels at becoming a mom again - her second child, daughter Carys, was born this past April.
Now, Zeta-Jones, who is undeniably one of the hottest actresses around, stars opposite heartthrob George Clooney in the Coen brother's comedy, Intolerable Cruelty. Clooney plays Miles
"I can't give too much away," Zeta-Jones told reel.com about the role. "But she is a fun character. She is kind of the eye of the storm. She just swarms through life without realizing how much chaos she creates in her wake."
Here's what Zeta-Jones had to say about her career, her drive to succeed and her life as a mom.
Wow, you look amazing - and very happy.
CZ-J: I am, I am.
Were you surprised with the success of Chicago?
CZ-J: Well, I knew it was a great film. I
hoped that
people would like it.
I
heard you had a tantrum on the set one day because the crew fell asleep during
one of your numbers. Is that true?
CZ-J: Yeah, I was furious. Renée and I
were shooting this big number at like 3 a.m. one morning, so the guys set up
the lights - these big old hairy light boys - and we'd be breaking sweats
getting our butts kicked and they'd be snoring loudly at the back. I looked at
the back of the theater and I saw them and just lost it. I went, 'Stop, stop,
excuse me!' I mean we were screaming and dancing, shooting off the lights and
then they're sleeping. It drove me nuts. It was like, 'We're working here! You
wake up and go home and sleep.' After that, they were very polite - they'd
give us like little claps at the end. It was so awful.
Just how tough has it been to achieve all
you have?
CZ-J: I sacrificed a lot of things. I've
always been the first person to hold my hand up and say I'm ambitious. That's
why I came from Wales and that's why I'm here. If you're not ambitious or you
don't have a drive, it just doesn't happen. I was always ambitious but never
ruthlessly ambitious. The only time I ever had a problem was when I was an
unknown actress and I had a small part - that's when I'd get the wrath of some
actress. I was terrified like she was the wicked witch.
What
do you mean?
CZ-J: Well, I can't name names, obviously,
but you try and be nice and then you go, 'Why am I wasting my time?' There are
some actresses out there that I can't wait to bump into and say, 'Oh, I can't
remember you. What is your name again?' There's one particular actress I can't
wait to be cast in something with.
Are you competitive?
CZ-J: Oh yes, definitely. I was always put
in swimming meets and in school competitions and talent competitions and was
never forced. I genuinely wanted to do it and I've always been competitive.
I'm terrible. I'm a nightmare at Scrabble, Yahtzee, and Trivial Pursuit. I
have to win. If I don't win I'm a nightmare. I have that thing where I want to
get it right, be good and I want to be in it. I want to win it. It's been
something from swimming to judo to dancing to singing. I was always like that
as a kid, still am. But I've grown up a lot and now I want to be a good mom
and a good wife too.
Were your parents ever concerned that you were too driven?
CZ-J: Of course. When I left school at 15
they were really dubious - I was a 15-year-old girl going to London to pursue
a career in acting. They set a lot of rules to abide by but they supported me.
I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I couldn't imagine looking back at 
my
life and saying, 'Oh, if only I had the balls, the guts to get up there and do
it, maybe this would be different. Maybe my life would be different.'
Can we talk briefly about your role as a mom? You have a newborn and a toddler
(Dylan, 3) to look after at home. How do you cope?
CZ-J: I'm just trying to be wonder woman,
which is impossible. I don't sleep well because I have a little boy running
around the corridors all night long and he's talking so much. I spent so much
time trying to get him to say a word and now it's like he's a broken record!
What it does for me in life is it puts
everything into perspective. I love my work and I dissect and I'm
critical, and all those
I
made movies, I used to date, and then I got married and had a child. What did
I used to do with those hours to fill up the day? I have no idea. I just
moaned a lot.