Q&A with Catherine Zeta-Jones
Source: eonline.com
By: Chris Schlegel 

You look amazingly pregnant in Traffic.
[Laughs.] Thank you. It's wonderful what they can do with special effects these days.

Did the film's director, Steven Soderbergh, know you were pregnant when he offered you the part?
No. And I wasn't sure he'd want me. I called him and said, "I'd love to do it, but I have to share some confidential information with you. I'm pregnant. But I think it would be great to use that in the role."

The part is that of a privileged woman who discovers her husband is making his money dealing drugs. Me being pregnant gave the character a vulnerability and heightened the stakes. Looking at the movie now, I can't imagine not playing her pregnant.

Did those surging hormones add to your performance?
I was six months along, so I definitely had the heightened emotions. When you get to that point in the pregnancy, it's all so new, especially when it's your first child. I think it added to the intensity. There was one time I was doing a scene in a prison cell. I was really emotional, and halfway through one of my lines, my baby did a complete somersault, and a foot came out of the side. Steven thought I'd forgotten my line. I said, "No, I'm just having a bit of a foot thing going on here."

Would your feet swell up by the end of the day?
Oh, yes--just like every other pregnant woman. But I must say, they looked after me very well. They were running around with stools and hot tea and giving me foot massages and back rubs at every given opportunity. So, I'd suggest to any actress to be pregnant when you're doing a movie.

Did you have that same energy level even after you stopped doing the movie?
It was incredible. It's not normal to be up at 11 at night lining shelves with paper and being obsessive that the paper is perfectly straight. Michael thought I was crazy, but for me, it was serious stuff.

Did you have an easy go of it in the delivery room?
From some of the stories other women have told me, I can't complain. It was relatively quick, and Michael was there from the beginning. There was some serious pain, but it was a magical experience. No one can prepare you for it.

I'm guessing you'd say the same thing about motherhood?
It just blows my mind when I look at my little boy. This year has gone by so fast. I mean, there was that point--and I think every woman feels it--where you feel like you've been pregnant for years. That last month was just the longest in my life. But now, he's four months old, and I can't believe it's the end of the year.

Parents are famous for giving new parents advice. What have people been telling you?

Everyone says, "Enjoy it now, because before you know it, they're grown up." And it's true. I've been wallowing in it. They grow up so quick. Another thing people have told me is you spend the first two years desperate for them to talk and then the rest of their lives telling them to shut up.

I can't see that happening. I love hearing his voice right now--and that facial recognition; it's just the best thing that has ever happened to me. Between my husband and that, it makes everything else just click.

What has changed in your perspective?
It's just amazing how you can fall in love so quickly with something that's yours. You have this whole preservation thing. I used that in Traffic, playing this woman who would do anything to protect her family.

And now it has really kicked in. I have a profound protection instinct for this little one. I look at him now, and for the first time in my life, I have something that I would do as much as I possibly can to protect and preserve and nurture.

Does it alter the way you look at your career?
Well, I wouldn't turn down a role just because I'm a mom. But I'm doing an animated film for DreamWorks now so my son can see it. It's hard to explain to your son what your mom and dad do if you can't show them a lot of your movies. So, I thought it would be good to do an animated one if the option came up. They take so long anyway; he'll probably be four when it comes out. As good as the project is, I'm doing it solely for Dylan.

Any lingering memories from your wedding day?
It was just the best day of my life. My mother said we got it backward, that the baby is supposed to come after the wedding. But I was very secure early on about our relationship. And then when we knew Dylan was on the way, it was just the best news we could have possibly had.

I didn't want to get married just because we were having a child. I do believe in marriage, and it is a big statement for me. But I also wanted to fit into my wedding dress, so getting married when I was eight months pregnant wasn't that attractive an option. As it was, it turned out perfectly.

Michael says you are a fantastic dancer. Did you give him some tips for that first dance?
[Laughs.] Michael is a really great actor. He can look like he's Fred Astaire--you just can't look at his feet. So, I just have to maneuver him myself and get my feet away from his so he doesn't step on my toes. But from the waist up, he's sensational.