Good Golly, Miss Whalley

Is Joanne Whalley-Kilmer the 21st-century Scarlett?

It's like a crazy superhero cartoon—Scarlett O'Hara and Batman living together! Joanne Whalley-Kilmer is Hollywood's nouvelle belle in this month's Scarlett on CBS, and her husband, Val, just got cast as the caped crusader. GEORGE WAYNE wants to know how this dynamic duo handles life off the set.

George Wayne:You know, the critics are waiting to slay you if you are a subpar Scarlett O'Hara. Are you worried?

Joanne WhaUey-Kilmer: No. This is one particular type of role, but what can you do? If they don't like it, they don't like it. I've never really sat down and analyzed how [my Scarlett] would be received. It's just a fantastic role.

G.W.So you really sank your teeth into it? J.W.-K. I had a ball.

G.W.I bet you were a tigress on the set! J.W.-K. Oh no, I was too damned busy.

G.W.And what about the chemistry between you and Rhett Butler [Timothy Dalton]? J.W.-K. Oh, he's fabulous. He was great, a real gentleman, which isn't to say he was a kind of milksop.

G.W.You're from Manchester, England—that's kind of chic.

J.W.-K. It's kind of dark and industrial, but it is an exciting place. Places like Manchester and Liverpool, there has always been an awful lot going on.

G.W.You once told me you used to work in a gay bar in Manchester.

J.W.-K. Yeah, it was kind of a gay/punk hangout.

G.W.You used to pick up the bottles.

J.W.-K. Yeah, glass collector.

G.W.You've come a long way, Scarlett! [Both squeal.] How did you prepare yourself to play Scarlett?

J.W.-K. I deliberately chose not to watch the film, although I've seen it many times.

I read the script over and over again, to be completely familiar with it, and I read Gone with the Wind the book for the prehistory, and I read the book Scarlett. The script was good and solid, and that's why people like Sir John Gielgud agreed to be in it.

G.W.You supposedly beat out thousands upon thousands to nab this role, supposedly Demi Moore and Kim Basinger.

J.W.-K. This is what I hear.

G.W.Tell me about your audition.

J.W.-K. Well, I didn't have one, they just called me. It's really a dull story.

G.W.Now, do Batman and Scarlett live under the same roof?

J.W.-K. Absolutely. Imagine our poor child, Mercedes: "This is my mother, Scarlett, and this is my father, Batman."

G.W.It's not like some other Hollywood marriages I know, leading separate lives?

J.W.-K. Our theory is that if you get married you want to be together. So you should be together, but there have been periods when that is completely impossible.

G.W.I think Val is the perfect postmodern Batman.

J.W.-K. Did you see him in Tombstone? He's amazing in it. He's really, really good in it. G.W.Didn't Val propose to you on a cliff in New Mexico?

J.W.-K. Kinda.While we were making Willow. G.W.Was it love at first sight?

J.W.-K. Yeah, it was. It was a very powerful thing, and I really didn't quite want to believe it. We spent so long together on Willow—six months—it was the worst possible thought that we would not be able to see each other, so I ended up coming back to New Mexico and stayed.

G.W.Tell me your disguise when you have to go shopping for Stayfree maxi pads at the neighborhood Rx.

J.W.-K. Well ... I don't get recognized. I haven't had that happen yet. It will be interesting to see what happens when Scarlett comes out. But I am not like a recognizable person.

G.W.And how about the fake names you and your husband use when checking into hotels? J.W.-K. We only have one, but it's a secret.

But we do have one fake name, but then I always forget it. It's boring. It's not Smith, but it might as well be.

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