Q&A WithReese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo

Q&A With…Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo

By Susan L. Hornik

Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo

By Susan L. Hornik

The stars of Just Like Heaven talk about why you should make more time for love — and their craziest romantic gestures.

	In this movie, your characters fall for each other in spite of their differences: He’s alive, she’s a ghost! What do you think draws these characters together?
	Mark: It’s that odd couple romantic thing. There’s a lot of heat between them that seems to come from disagreement. And then they finally realize , oh my God, I actually think that person is cute! I like to think these two characters are destined to be together. I believe in romantic destiny, why not? Reese: I love when characters have an antagonistic relationship at the beginning—being equally as strong as each other and bull-headed. I loved the beginning where they fight like cats and dogs. We had so much fun doing it. I don’t know if Mark enjoyed it as much as I did!

	What do you think is the message people will come away with after watching this movie?
	Mark: Make time for love and life. These characters are both missing something from their lives—he’s still grieving and she’s a workaholic. So they both wake up…and learn how to live more. Reese: This movie has a nice spiritual message: how important it is to nurture oneself. I see so many people working so hard striving to get more, achieve more. A lot of women and men I know are sort of putting life off, putting life on the shelf for later. It’s an interesting idea to contemplate the evanescence of life, that everything can be gone in just a blink of an eye.

	Your characters do some pretty crazy things for love in this film. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done in the name of romance?
	Mark: I’ve done lots of things…I drove to San Francisco from Los Angeles to spend an hour with a woman that I loved. I had to go back to work right after that, so I ended up not sleeping for 20 hours. Reese: I flew across the country to see my husband Ryan after only knowing him on the telephone for two months. The whole time I was saying, “What am I doing? I’m really crazy.” I kept calling my mother saying, “I think I’m insane. What if he’s a serial killer?” But it all worked out. I think you really know in your heart who is right for you. That thing they say, you just know? Well…I just knew.

	Mark, what does your wife think about your work?
	Mark: I tell my wife I am going to work and she says, “Yeah, right. You’re going to sit around and drink lattes.” And I tell her, you don’t get it, I’m working; this is really hard! She’s a jewelry designer. I’m going to retire on her. I’ll stay home and take care of the kids—that’s cool with me.

	Reese, is there a healthy competition between you and your hubby Ryan Phillippe?
	Reese: We almost never talk about the business. We just have so much going on as far as the kids are concerned, and just the logistics of who is going to do what, where, and when. Life takes precedence in our house.

Contributing Entertainment Editor Susan Hornik has always believed in relationships that are “meant to be”—only the guy didn’t quite agree…!


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