StarsEntertainment.com - Joan Benedict Steiger

Published Saturday, 22 May 2010 21:55 It all started as a dream and eventually with hard work and determination, it became reality. Joan Benedict Steiger went from a little girl, tap dancing, to an acclaimed and versatile actress. She seems to have done everything possible in the entertainment industry and still wants to do a lot more. You have worked on a variety of projects from Broadway to different genres of film, television and theatre. Is there anything that you have not yet done and would still like to do? For the first time, a couple of months ago I did a show that I wrote called The Loves of My Live and I did this a cabaret in Hollywood and I sang. Now that was the first time I'd ever done that. I've done 40 plays and I've been acting since I was fifteen. I've done television and movies and I started out as a dancer when I was seven. I would love to be in a play on Broadway. Was being in the film and entertainment industry everything what you had thought it would be? Acting and being in entertainment everything I expected it to be? Yes it’s wonderful. I was married to an academy award actor, Rod Steiger and I did do two films with him and thought, "Oh gosh what is it going to be like when I work with Rod"?. It was because he was so excellent, like everything else when somebody is very good; it's easier to work with them. It was just wonderful and simple and great. He was so supportive of me of course. Did you ever feel like maybe acting wasn't for you, or did you always want to be an actor? Well yes. When I was seven I was going to be a dancer and I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that my turnout , you have positions in ballet, and my turnout for first position was pretty pitiful. My mother sent me to Rome when I was nine and I was with the Royal Opera Ballet School and realized quickly that ballet wasn't for me. I'm a tap dancer at heart anyways and I still tap dance 3 times a week. I always say you can't tap dance without smiling. I quickly changed my mind about ballet. All dancing is very athletic but ballet really combines acrobatics and is a tremendous physical thing. You have been acting and in the entertainment business for a long time, who would you say are some of your influences or people that inspired you to keep doing what you were doing ? My favourite actors or actresses were Betty Davis, and Barbara Stanwyck. Film Noir is one of my favourite films. For me, black and white really gives you the sense of escape. As soon as you add colour and everything you’re into realism and it's not as much a fantasy land. As a child I thought, I've got to be a part of that, sort of a whole other world. Going into acting, what was the most important piece of advice that was given to you? Don't ever listen to what people say. They say it’s so hard and you'll never do this and you'll never do that but always listen to your heart and be prepared to work hard and if its something that you really want, you will make a success of it. What do you think about the changes that the film industry and Hollywood has gone through the years? I always tell people that when I started in New York, things were so much more intimate. You were able to have access to big advertising agents and agencies and it was a lot easier. Right now there are triple the amount of 'so called' actors, and where you had one producer and a director that you might audition for, now everything is more corporate and its corporations. It’s not as intimate, not as fun and much, much harder.