VENICE MAGAZINE October 1999

ELAINE HENDRIX
Superstar in Waiting

By Luis Soto Photography Darryle Redalieu Hair/Make-up Alma Cardenas

High school can either be the best years of our lives or material for future therapy sessions. Freaks and geeks and budding superstars try to shine through the din of the popular crowd. That’s the gist of Paramount’s latest comedy, the Saturday Night Live-inspired Superstar.

Molly Shannon is the budding star in question, Mary Katherine Gallagher, and the lovely Elaine Hendrix’s Evian is her rival for the man of her dreams, played by SNL’s Will Ferrell.

“We were laughing all the time,” Hendrix says about working on the film. “It was constant silliness. I love to be silly and really playful. I feel that I got to bring that out in this role.”

Self-described as “very grounded,” Hendrix’s high school experience was very much unlike that of her character’s. “I went to a very liberal performing arts school, so that doesn’t really lend itself to similar experiences at a Catholic school. I was very involved in my high school. That gave me the opportunity to be a part of many different groups.”

A native of Tennessee, Hendrix was a cheerleader, ran track, and was an ice skater during her high school years in Atlanta. When told that many of the film’s actors don’t look like high schoolers, the actress quickly retorts, “Well, neither did the people in Grease!”

Hendrix turned heads last year with breakout performance in Disney’s remake of The Parent Trap. “I was thrilled that people responded to my role,” the actress admits, “because I loved every single second of making that movie. That film was a nice step for me.”

Taking advantage of her time to shine, movie-goers will have their chance to see Hendrix in a number of future projects. There’s Fox 2000’s drama Here on Earth where Hendrix plays Leelee Sobieski’s older sister. “I’d describe it as Romeo and Juliet meets Love Story. I’m one of (Leelee’s) voices of reason,” Hendrix explains.

Then there’s MGM’s drama, Molly. “I play Aaron Eckhart’s girlfriend,” the actress reveals. “Elizabeth Shue is an autistic savant who is living in a home and Aaron is her only surviving relative. They call him to get her and he’s not prepared to take care of this child in a woman’s body, and I’m not either.”

Currently the actress is working on the independent film Wish You Were Dead. “It’s a really groovy independent film with a phenomenal cast, if I do say so myself. It’s me, Carey Elwes, and Christopher Lloyd, and we have all these great cameos by Gene Simmons, Lynn Shaye, and Sally Kirkland. It’s a dark, wacky comedy. I play a hit-woman who ends up falling in love with Carey Elwes. Independent films are so less political. The director’s hands aren’t usually as tied as they are in a studio film.”

Next, she plans to direct her own “Fosse-esque” short film, called It’s Showtime, starring David Faustino. Hendrix admits that she has dreams of producing and directing.

Having made the move to Los Angeles, the actress admits getting used to L.A. life is not easy. “I’m still adjusting. I’m really a country girl, and living in this city is hard on me. I get out of it as much as I can. There is nothing like the hills of Tennessee, which is where I’m from. I hear a lot of stories of people who get caught up in the whole ‘drinking, drugs, sex, going-out,’ and that just doesn’t work for me. I maintain a pretty full life. I have adventures in different ways.”