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This site was created February 16, 1997
It was last updated June 1, 2001 

These are some online articles about Rachael that I have found. Some include interviews and articles on some of the films she has done. Enjoy!  
 

"The former model and current Get Carter pixie is all that and much more"
Jane Wollman Rusoff
http://mrshowbiz.go.com/

Minnesota is so far away from Hollywood, according to Rachael Leigh Cook, that when the locals refer to a pilot, they're talking about the person who flies a plane. That might say more about Hollywood than Minnesota, but despite the cultural divide, the diminutive actress leapt from her native Twin Cities to Tinseltown with such ease that she never even had to wait tables.

A model at 12 (one job had her on the Milkbone dog biscuit box) and an actress at 15, Cook has made 17 features in the six years she's been in Hollywood, including Miramax's top grosser last year, She's All That. Up until then, she'd been most famous for an anti-heroin public service announcement in which she emphatically trashed a kitchen with a frying pan. Now, in her highest-profile role yet, she plays a troubled teen opposite Sylvester Stallone's avenging uncle in Get Carter, a remake of the classic l97l action-thriller — and she's got half a dozen other films scheduled for release in the next year.

Cook, who brings to mind Winona Ryder, is undoubtedly one of cinema's busiest and fastest-rising young actresses. Coming off an all-night shoot recently in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she's the lead in the live-action adaptation of Josie and the Pussycats, Cook found time to phone Mr. Showbiz and engage in some charming chitchat. Though she occasionally sounded scattered (from fatigue, no doubt), Cook is actually analytical and levelheaded, and she was refreshingly candid about her career, her quirks, and her single status.

You spell "Rachael" in an unusual way. Your idea or the parents'?

From what I'm told, the discussion went something like, "So how do you want to spell 'Rachel'?" This was in the hospital. My dad said, "What do you mean? Is there another way of spelling it?" They said, "Yes, people put a second A in it. So my dad asked if it would cost extra, and they said, "No." Henceforth came the A.

Is Leigh your middle name?

Yes. I know when I see "Rachael Leigh Cook" that it's probably a work thing. [Most] people just know me as Rachael Cook. I'm just Rachael. It makes for a very nice separation between work and real life.

Tell me about your character, Doreen, in Get Carter.

She's troubled, but not so much through her own choosing. Mostly she's a victim of circumstance. She's really looking for a father figure. Her dad passed away, her mom doesn't really understand her, and she looks for a father of sorts in Jack Carter, played by Mr. "Sly-vester." They become friends in a very roundabout way. Not buddy-buddy, but they form a bond.

Do you relate to Doreen?

We were wearing the same socks, literally and figuratively. What I wanted to capture was that person who sits in her room and doesn't want to come out and would rather deal with angst on the inside than talking to somebody. She does reach out and make the leap that I think people need to make in trusting others.

Are you like that?

I'm a lot more open. When something is troubling me, people know about it. I'm more of a whiner! But I don't think I ever completely separated myself from Doreen. It's not possible. It comes from the same well inside you — God, I hate extended analogies — but they're different buckets. Oh, God!

How was it working with Stallone?

He's hilarious. I hope people haven't forgotten how great he is. He's charming and weird at the same time.

How is he weird?

He's random. Like, we were doing reshoots in Toronto a couple of months ago, and I had a cold and he didn't want to get sick, so he was hovering about 20 feet away from me. Just sort of wandering around the lawn. We were shooting in a cemetery. Then he came over and said [Imitates Stallone's Philadelphia accent], "I read an interview where you called me 'scary.' Am I scary?" I was like, "Yeah, you're kind of scary!" It was so funny! So now I call him Scary, like, "See ya, Scary!" I mean scary as a compliment because he's funny-scary.

Is it true your father, Tom Cook, was a stand-up comic?

He gave that a try for a while when I was young. He doesn't do it so much anymore. He works for the public school system as a social worker for abused kids. He's a really funny guy. He writes a column for our local paper called "Sand Upon the Waters." He must be very proud of you.

Oh, very. I tie my own shoes, my parents pat me on the back!

Is your younger brother, Ben, an actor, too?

He wasn't until very recently. A friend of mine, Tyro, who lives in Minneapolis, whose last name happens to be Ventura — he's Jesse's son — is an aspiring director and [is] making a short film. So without knowing that Ben was my brother, he cast him. … I guess Ben is kind of in acting now.

Do you miss your hometown of Minneapolis?

Oh, very much so. I had some friends from there visiting recently, crashing on the floor of my [Hollywood] apartment. One night we invited a bunch of people over and had sort of an eighth-grade party. We ordered pizza and watched Wayne's World. It was great!

After Get Carter, you'll be in a movie about a hairdressing competition called Blow Dry. Do you blow-dry your hair?

Never! People always give me styling products and stuff. I just can't do it at all. That's probably obvious! I wash and go.

What's your worst hair experience?

Oh, where to begin? In the sixth grade, my friend Kelly highlighted it. She'd done her cousin's hair and said it looked just great. But she made mine look like straw. It was really terrible. I was pretty mad. Once I tried highlighting my brother's hair, but I think I mixed it wrong. It was as if someone poured kerosene on his head. … But, um, I'm good with the scissors. I really am! I cut my friends' hair.

I heard you were terribly shy as a kid?

Uh, yeah, that would be true. I don't know about "terribly," but definitely more shy than most. I was very cautious, careful, checked things out before jumping in.

If you were so cautious, why did you get into modeling?

I'm not really sure. I just wanted to try it. My parents always said, "We'll encourage you no matter what you want to do, and you can do anything you want." So I gathered my courage and told my mom I wanted to try modeling. I think she was a little disappointed, to be honest. But she absolutely encouraged me, and I got some jobs.

Was it difficult to get work because you're so petite?

My height was never a factor. When you're 12 and you look about 10, it's not really a big deal. I just stopped growing at about 15. I have no interest whatsoever in being a high-fashion model, nor is it possible.

Not now, but you had wanted to be a career model.

I don't think I ever thought of it as a long-term goal. And then acting came around shortly thereafter. I was very involved with school by the time I was 15 and wasn't working much as a model. I didn't have time. But acting just sort of happened and I found that I loved it. It was such a challenge.

How did acting, to use your phrase, just happen?

When I was 15, I was [still] on file with my print modeling agency, and they asked if I wanted to audition for a short film that was shooting in the area. I got the role. … The film turned out beautifully and somehow got into little festivals. A manager was looking for talent in Minneapolis and had seen my picture at the agency when I wasn't acting. She said to give her a call if I ever did. When I made the short, [we] sent her a copy. She asked if I wanted to come out to Los Angeles to try auditioning, and I just started working right away. My very first audition was for a film I did five years ago, Baby-Sitters Club.

Did you and your family then move to L.A.?
At first I didn't officially move there. I'd come out to audition and then I'd try to rush back and go to school. It was getting difficult to keep up with assignments. But I just kept working, and my mom would go everywhere with me. I'd stay in L.A. for stretches of two weeks here and there.

Was there ever a rough patch?

When I came into the business, things changed a lot, and my life was in a real state of flux. I didn't know where I fit. I wasn't sure if I'd make it. Even though I was working quite a bit, I didn't know this is what I was supposed to do [in life]. I never really believed it was permanent. But at the same time, it was all happening and really removed me from the life I had going in Minneapolis. So I didn't know where I belonged. I had, maybe, one close friend at that time, who I never got to see. I was just working a great deal. I love my mother, but you have to have friends at that age!

How did you surmount those hurdles?

Work sort of ended up winning out. It's strange. You can grow apart from people very quickly. I mean, whether or not you're there, people change from junior high to high school and from high school to college. They're all great people who I still hold very close to my heart.

How do you feel about being famous?

I don't think I'm that kind of actor, not like Julia Roberts-recognizable. I'm not sure how that will go. I think I'm a million different faces. You wouldn't recognize me from one project to the next. Since She's All That, I've done Anti-Trust and Get Carter, which are suspense. Blow Dry is a comedy. I did a western called Texas Rangers. So it's across the board. I want to try everything. I'm not ready to be put in a box.

Do you have a special guy?

No, can't say that I do. People say, "Why aren't you seeing anybody? Come on, Rachael. You're normal enough."

Do you ever think about marriage?

Well, it's strange because I've actually been thinking about that a lot lately, which I shouldn't because I don't even have a boyfriend. But my mother and father were married when my mom was 20 and my dad was 24. Soon I'll be 21 and will be passing them by. Crazy! Yeah, I definitely want to find that right person and fall in love and have kids someday. That's part of the plan. But I don't know where it fits in or when.

Have you come across anyone interesting lately?

The other day I met a very nice boy, really great. But he's four days younger than me. I can't deal with that. [Laughs] I mean, I can, it's just a little odd. I'll get over it!

Do you consider yourself eccentric?

Oh, some people would say so, yeah! I have a pair of lucky socks. When I was 8, I collected toothbrushes. I don't want to tell you any more, you'll think I'm really weird! [Laughs]

Were the toothbrushes used or new?

A little of both, but the used ones were mine. I can't believe I just told you that!

Do you still have them?

I do know where my toothbrush collection is. It's in a blue, zippered vinyl pencil case with pictures of cats on the front in my parents' attic in Minneapolis. You never know when you're going to need a toothbrush collection!

What's a character trait of yours that's helped you through life?

I would have to say being a realist. It helps protect me from disappointment in both my business and personal life. I can't say I recommend it, though.

Anything about yourself you'd like to change or improve?

You don't have that kind of time! [Laughs] I always get keyed up worrying about things that don't need to be worried about. I'm a master of over-analyzing things that are completely insignificant, and I won't realize this till days later. I can be incredibly self-conscious and erratic when I'm not comfortable with somebody or a situation. Sometimes I say things that I can't believe came out of my mouth. Or I won't mean something and it will come out completely nonsensical. Sometimes I'm just a disaster! Other times it seems like I'm one of the most normal people I know. But I think I know that's not true.

How do you relax?

When I have time, I do nothing. Like, I crave boredom at this point. I just do as little as possible. Hours fly by while I'll just be in my apartment, and somehow it will be messy later. I'll clean it up and eat cereal and watch Ricki Lake and call friends I haven't talked to. Just do nothing and have a really nice time!

Did you have to audition for Josie and the Pussycats?

No, and I'm learning to play guitar. It's very difficult, but I'm determined to do it right so I don't make anybody mad. They scanned us for dolls a few weeks ago. It was madness! You're in this seat and this thing swings around your head. It looks like a cross between a microwave oven and a makeup mirror, and it makes this humming sound. It's hooked up to a computer, and you have to sit very still and smile. In about 45 seconds, your face in full color — exactly proportionate — comes up on the computer screen. It's wild. Just like Face/Off!

Did you watch Josie and the Pussycats when you were a child?

I was a PBS kid! We were only allowed to watch Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers and 3-2-1 Contact!. So [the film's producers] got me some tapes of the cartoon. Our characters are similar, but a lot better developed. Otherwise, it pretty much goes on its own thing. They had to create a plot for us. It's really about their friendship and the whole adventure that their newfound celebrity takes them on

What's the most challenging part about being an actress?

Having it perceived as so much of what you are. Before [people] even meet me, they know what I do. I feel that I'm not what I do. I'm Rachael, and I just really, really like to act. But I don't think it's who I am.

--Jane Wollman Rusoff  

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