"Bonnie's running out of time." I hung up and called the casting agency in charge of Oliver Stone's visit. "Couldn't you make it another day?" I asked, panicked. So you can imagine how I felt two days later when one of the Make-A-Wish ladies called to give me the date for my appearance at the hospital. I promised them I'd be available the day they needed me. The part felt right and the cause was good. And Bonnie's wish is to meet Snow White." I gave them an answer before I'd even handed them their menus. Our foundation grants wishes to terminally ill children. She doesn't have much more than a month to live. A seven-year-old girl named Bonnie is dying of pediatric cancer. "Georgetown University Hospital," the first woman said. "Snow White? Where's the production?" I asked. "Probably not what you think," the other woman said. When is an actress not happy to hear those words? I asked what the part was.
You were wonderful! We'd like to offer you a job." "We saw your performance in And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson last week. Two women came in, sat down at a table in my section and smiled like they knew me when I came up to take their order. I guess you could say I was in one of my optimistic periods. The way I figured, Oliver Stone would notice me, pull me out of the lineup and lo and behold, I'd have my big break. The call was just for crowd-scene extras, but I didn't care.
Plus-and more important-Oliver Stone was coming to town to do a casting call for his upcoming movie Born on the Fourth of July, the story of paralyzed Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic. We packed a small house every night, and I was confident that I'd done a good job. First off, I'd just finished a production of And They Dance Real Slow in Jackson for a local theater. One day, as I was finishing up a long hard lunch shift, I found myself in a particularly upbeat mood. I was paying my dues, doing what all young actors did. Of course, most days found me hustling through a pair of swinging restaurant doors with a stack of hot plates on my arm. When I was blessed with a role I was really passionate about, I felt like I was doing something I was truly meant to do. It may sound funny, but the feeling I got when I was playing a role I connected with was that God was using me for something good. From the first part I'd played in high school (in Up the Down Staircase, thanks for asking!), there was a quality about acting that made me feel in touch with something big and mysterious and meaningful…. It was an uncertain time in my life, but one thing I was certain of: Acting meant everything to me. When I did, then I'd make the big move to NYC. I was based in Washington, D.C., where I was waiting to get my Screen Actors Guild union card. Just about the only acting cliché I wasn't fulfilling at the time was living in New York City.
Rushing to open casting calls in between waiting tables, always worried about how to make the rent. Look up "struggling young actress" in the dictionary and you might see a picture of me, circa 1982.