Uma Thurman on 'Kill Bill 3,' 'Motherhood' and Paparazzi at Playgrounds

Uma Thurman literally danced her way into moviegoers' hearts in 1994's 'Pulp Fiction,' scoring an Oscar nomination for her turn as a milkshake-sipping gangster's wife who does the Twist with John Travolta's hitman -- and she's never looked back.

Since then, Uma has played a sports-and-whiskey-loving beautiful girl in the comedic gem 'Beautiful Girls,' donned a corset for Merchant-Ivory period piece 'The Golden Bowl', showed off her pipes in the big-screen adaptations of two Broadway musicals ('Les Miserables' and 'The Producers'), and been Quentin Tarantino's blade-wielding muse in two epic 'Kill Bill' movies (yes, a third is on the way). A few duds aside (Batman & Robin,' we're looking at you), she's turned in quite an impressive and varied body of work. With the indie dramedy 'Motherhood' in limited release this week, Thurman braves new territory on-screen (but familiar territory off-screen) to play a frazzled New York City mom just trying to get through the day.

In an exclusive interview, the 39-year-old mother of two opens up about braving the paparazzi to take her children to the playground, dealing with hostile New Yorkers, dancing her heart out on film ... and picking up her Hanzo sword once more to play the butt-kicking Bride in 'Kill Bill Vol. 3.'

Being a mom, have you ever had a day like the one Eliza has in 'Motherhood'? Or perhaps it's more appropriate to ask: As a mom, do you have days like that all the time?
I've had so many days like that. Moms always try to do it all themselves -- and it'll get ya! [Laughs] It's a bugaboo, that one.

Like the character in the movie, is it sometimes hard to balance your career with being a mother?
I find it very personally fulfilling to be a mom, so that helps with the balancing [laughs] -- because you don't have to balance one against the other. It works out that it's the same thing. But I think it is always difficult to have high expectations of yourself or anyone else. It is what it is.

A recurring theme in the movie is the often unwarranted hostility of New Yorkers rearing its ugly head. As a New Yorker, do you encounter that hostility on a regular basis?
I think that also people bring it out, when you're not in a good place. It's always when you get tense that stuff just starts to break -- you know what I mean? -- that things get worse. I find that if you relax and look at it a certain way, you make problems go away rather than catch up to you.

'Motherhood' Trailer


'Motherhood' showtimes & tickets

What was your favorite part of the movie shoot?
I loved getting to play a mother. I loved working with the kids. Like Anderson Cooper says, "They were keeping me honest." I loved them, and it was great. The character really amused me because she's sort of volatile and has flaws, but she really tries and she gets it in her own way. I really related to that.

The Jodie Foster cameo, where she gets hounded by paparazzi when she takes her kid to the playground, was pretty funny ...
Wasn't that funny? I have to say, that playground was so important to us. It was so important to get into that playground because I went there myself. I used to go to that playground with my kids, and the same thing happened to me. You're there, you know, you're a new parent, the kids are there, and all of a sudden someone's like shooting pictures at you. And you're like, "Ahhhhh!," and you kind of freak out. It was all exactly true.

You've had quite a few memorable dancing scenes over the course of your film career, and there's another one in 'Motherhood.' Is it something that just seems to happen ever since 'Pulp Fiction'?
I'm lucky. I guess somehow I got a reputation of being able to dance. I loved doing 'The Producers,' too -- that was like more formal dancing. But I dance in this movie, and I just dance like the character. She does some wild pogo dancing. It was a great relief for the character, to sort of see her trying to remember herself. It was a good moment.

Watch Uma's dancing scene from 'Motherhood':


Quentin Tarantino recently said that he's looking to make 'Kill Bill 3' in the next couple years -- have you guys discussed that?
He has talked to me about it, I do know what the premise is ... and I won't tell you. [Laughs]

Does it have anything to do with Vernita Green's daughter coming for revenge, perhaps?
[Stroking her chin, contemplatively] Revenge? Hmmm ... [Laughs]

Is there a movie that stands out as your favorite to have filmed?
I had a wonderful time on this film, 'Motherhood.' But I've appreciated every single one, including the hard ones. Sometimes. In hindsight. [Laughs] When it's over, you can say that you love it. But each thing makes you stronger, richer, hopefully smarter -- though not in my case! [Laughs] But hopefully one of these days it's going to work out.