First lady reveals naked ambition

By Victoria Lindrea
Entertainment Reporter, BBC News

What do you get if you cross former first lady Laura Bush with a wannabe porn star?

"We are examining a life and a family, a political dynasty", says W. actress Banks

The answer, it appears, is Hollywood actress Elizabeth Banks - "the best kept secret in the business", according to director Kevin Smith.

This month sees the 34-year-old actress reveal her diverse talents, taking centre stage in Smith's indie comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Oliver Stone's W.

"It kind of represents a full picture of me," explains Banks.

"On one level, I'm a very studious person, a type-A personality and a devoted wife. But then I also love to get the funny on, and just be silly and outrageous. "

Poised and glamorous, Banks is not an automatic fit for the homely Mrs Bush, yet director Oliver Stone sought out the actress after seeing her in hit comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

"I think he just felt there was an essence to me that somehow matched what he wanted on screen for Laura."

Armed with a bouffant wig and conservative wardrobe, Banks nonetheless hit "a bit of a roadblock" while researching the first lady.

"Laura is very clear that the role of first lady is a private person. I don't think she is interested in being a public figure at all."

There is no research that I found that says that she is a raving lunatic Elizabeth Banks on Laura Bush

But unlike most of her W co-stars, Banks had the good fortune of having met Mrs Bush - at a White House screening of 2003 film Seabiscuit.

"It was very insightful," says Banks - though she can have had no idea that five years later she would be portraying the first lady on screen.

"She was a very gracious hostess in one sense, but in another sense she was a little uncomfortable having us all there."

"A lot of it is duty."

It's clear from the way that Banks talks about her character, that the actress admires Mrs Bush - and it comes across on screen.

The character and her relationship with George Bush bring a human dimension to the much-maligned 'Dubya'.

W received a gala screening at the London Film Festival

"Laura Bush has the highest approval rating of anyone in the Bush administration. She remains above the fray and I wanted that to be what is on screen," says Banks.

"What you see is what you get. There is no research that I found that says that she is a raving lunatic behind the scenes."

"She's a great mum, a nice lady, and she cares about her husband."

"Laura is quoted as saying: 'When we met, we knew we wouldn't take each other for granted'. And I think that says a lot about the formula that they laid out for their relationship."

'Deeply underhand'

Her views are in sharp contrast to W co-star Toby Jones, who plays Karl Rove, Bush's deputy chief of staff.

"When Stone offered me Rove, I thought, it's a huge responsibility to play someone who is that loathed by that many people," says the actor, the voice of Dobby in the second Harry Potter film.

"He is like that classic American, shadowy figure that you find in politics - deeply underhand," explains Jones.

I don't think any film can change the way that people think politically Toby Jones

"What annoys people about Rove is how good he has been at his job - which was getting Bush elected at whatever price."

It's a small role that only suggests the pivotal place Rove has had in the past decade of US politics.

"I felt very flattered, as a British actor, to be involved in such an important film about American culture," says Jones.

"I don't think any film can change the way that people think politically."

"But I think it can reacquaint people with stuff they take for granted - and hopefully give them pause for thought - to think about what they want a president to be."

As Elizabeth Banks puts it: "In America, anybody can become president."

Cautionary tale

"These are very ordinary people who were thrust into extremely extraordinary circumstances."

"The movie is partially a cautionary tale, I think, about how we elect people in our country.

"We are complicit in everything that Bush did because we put the guy there."

"It's a great tool for debate about what we want out of our president, and what the future holds," says Banks, speaking ahead of Barack Obama's recent victory.

Josh Brolin is being hailed for his humanising portrait of Bush

Maybe it is because Bush's political platform is finally coming to an end, but - for all its mockery - Stone's portrait of Bush is surprisingly sympathetic to the outgoing president, if not to his adminstration.

"We don't need another piece of art about what an idiot Bush is," says Jones. "That's what people expect to see."

"I think it's right and proper that we have very mixed feelings about Bush the man. There aren't many human beings that you wouldn't have mixed feelings about."

"When I met Bush - it was very clear to me how he got elected," says Banks. "He was very charming, very self-depracating."

"I never thought, 'this guy is evil, he's trying to ruin the world'."

"Bush got elected because the majority of people thought: 'That's a guy like me, that's a guy I'd like to have a beer with' - and look what happened.

"In America we don't have kings and queens, we have celebrities and politicians - and they have legacies that are very much lasting."

W. is released in cinemas across the UK on Friday 7 November.