Norah Jones Now an Actress

There is a nice story behind Norah Jones’ first acting gig.

“I was at home, kind of bored, not knowing what the heck I was going to do,” relayed Ms. Jones, who had just finished wrapping up a very long tour. “And for at least a month, my manager had been telling me, ‘This guy Wong Kar Wai’s been wanting to meet with you, and here’s a DVD box set of all his movies.’”

“I didn’t even know who he was,” said Jones, who only learned of Wong Kar Wai that summer of 2005 by watching his hit DVD’s.

When she finally got to watch his critically acclaimed romance “In the Mood for Love” she decided to return his call – still not knowing what he wanted of her.

“In the Mood for Love” is a Hong Kong art film that starred Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung. The film’s original Chinese title means “Our Glorious Years Have Passed Like Flowers” – kinda cheesy and long for the international audience. The English title is based on a Bryan Ferry cover of the song of the same title.

“I thought maybe he wanted music,” said Jones. She was way off.

Wong Kar Wai wanted her to do a movie with him – but not as a musician. He wanted her to play the lead role of Wong’s first English-language film, “My Blueberry Nights.”

“He’s got these dark sunglasses; he’s very mysterious, very tall, doesn’t say much,” Jones said of Wong during their first encounter. “He said, ‘Sooo, Noraaah . . . do you want to act?’”

A week later, she received another call: “‘Sooo, Noraaah, do you want to be in my movie?’”

Aside from the director’s persistence, a lot of factors definitely persuaded Norah to do it. Who could resist? Her supporting cast was made up of none other than Jude Law, Natalie Portman, David Strathairn and Rachel Weisz.

She described the project as a nerve-racking but ultimately rewarding experience.

It was a once in a lifetime chance, actually.

In the film, Jones played Elizabeth, a young New Yorker who takes a road trip across the American West. In her journey she encountered other “lost souls” - a cheeky poker player (Natalie Portman), an alcoholic cop (David Strathairn), and his estranged wife (Rachel Weisz). All the while she shared her stories with an admirer she had left behind (Jude Law).

It’s not hard to imagine Norah Jones as an actress, as she is stunningly beautiful. She exudes an aura of mystery and tranquility through her eyes.

But Wong wanted her to play lead not because of that mysterious glow; he wanted her exactly because of her inexperience as an actress. He even prevented her from taking acting lessons. And not once did she rehearse with him before shooting began.

“He didn’t see me act at all until the first day on the set,” Jones said. “He told me not to take acting lessons. He just wanted me to be raw and natural. So in many ways the entire movie was one big acting lesson.”

“I try not to analyze my instinct,” Wong revealed in an e-mail correspondence. “In a way, why I chose is a mystery, even to me.”

“[Wong] welcomed my natural reactions,” Jones added. “Honestly, I don’t know if I could be a great actress in a different situation, but it worked for this movie. It was such a unique film with a unique director that I just trusted him.”

“Then on set, I try to rediscover the quality that first attracted me to each of my actors,” said the director. “When Norah first cried on camera, I said to myself, ‘Yes, this is why I cast her.’”

According to the report, the script often changed as the shooting moved forward. Norah developed into an actress as they progressed.

“I was hoping she wouldn’t seem too naive and weak,” Jones said of her character. “I’m kind of like that, too, yet I’m very strong underneath it all. I’m not really as naive as I seem sometimes.” – she may not be aware of it but she was already characterizing.

Norah Jones is indeed very lucky to be offered the part. Her “inexperience” played well for the film.

The scenes were shot almost chronologically so you could imagine how she was in the earlier scenes. The first scene she shot, she dashed into a SoHo cafe to meet Jude Law’s character.

Norah revealed that the anxiously awkward look on her face for the first scene was mostly real.

And when it came to the scene where Jude Law was going to kiss blueberry-flavored crème off her cheeks, she was thankful the script required her to sleep.

“It made it a lot easier for me,” Jones revealed. “It was a lot of me laying there and him licking cream off my face, because that’s what they made him do - which was weird for both of us.”

The character Norah played, Elizabeth, spends her nights at an all-night diner eating blueberry pie with the handsome store owner, Jeremy (Jude Law).

“It was an interesting situation and it was just plain weird,” revealed Jones. “I had to kiss Jude about 90 times and I didn’t want to laugh, but it seemed so ridiculous. What in the world am I doing kissing Jude Law? He’s Jude … and I’m … me.”

Not only did she have her fill of Jude Law, she also had to down two to three slices of blueberry pie for weeks.

“I’m honestly not sick of pie,” Jones says. “The film has made me kind of fond of blueberry pie for life. And I have to admit that I like the crust, although I never cared for the filling. Now I’m so nostalgic about the pie because of this movie.”

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