Ghostbusters to Dory: Sigourney Weaver is friend to animals
If asked to describe what Dian Fossey looked like, many people might paint a picture of Sigourney Weaver, who played the primatologist in the 1988 movie about her life, “Gorillas in the Mist.” But that film did more than bring Fossey and her work to the attention of millions. It also transformed Weaver into a lifelong advocate for animals, especially gorillas.
On Tuesday the Indianapolis Zoo announced that Weaver would become the second person to win the Indianapolis Zoo’s Jane Global Alexander Wildlife Ambassador Award. Alexander herself was the inaugural winner of the award the first time it was bestowed in 2012.
In addition to her roles in movies such as "Ghostbusters," the "Alien" series and "Avatar," Weaver narrates the BBC hit television series “Planet Earth.” A new generation of moviegoers will be introduced to her through the cameo role her voice plays in the animated film “Finding Dory.”
Weaver, who serves as honorary chairwoman of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, will receive her award in October at the Indianapolis Prize gala. Conservationist Carl Jones, the winner of the 2016 Indianapolis Prize, also will be honored at the event.
Weaver discussed with IndyStar how she was swayed to portray Fossey, her surprise appearance in "Finding Dory" and what it's like to sit down with a gorilla.
Question: Have you always loved animals?
Answer: I was enormously privileged to grow up in a part of Long Island that was very underdeveloped. I spent a lot of time by myself, exploring the tide pools on the beach and walking through the forest and pretending I was in the Amazon and all the kids that things do. But I think the crowning event certainly for me was playing Dian Fossey and spending months over in Rwanda. I spent almost every other day with her study group in very intimate surroundings. That experience, if you only have it for one day can change your life, let alone spending two months.
Q: How did Fossey exert an influence on you, even in death?
A: Dian changed me. You couldn’t play Dian (Fossey was murdered in 1985) without coming to understand that for her, the animal citizens of our planet and the human citizens should be treated equally, and I think for Dian, she thought the animals should be treated superiorly.
I went to see author Farley Mowat. He was writing a book about Dian for Warner Books, and I was making a movie for Warner movies. But Warner Books wasn’t going to allow me to read the manuscript. He left the room, and I saw that he had left a letter on the coffee table. It was a letter from Dian to someone named Cindy, and it was clearly a letter written to Cindy after her death. It wasn’t until the end of the letter that you realize Cindy was her dog. For Dian an absolutely basic tenet of her existence was that animals and humans had the same value.
Q: Did you have an inkling this might happen when you accepted the role?
A: I tried to convince the producer I wasn’t a good fit for this, not because I didn’t want to do it but because I have always been one of those actors who says, "You know who would be good in this part." Looking back, I think I was the best person for the part. I was intimidated by playing a real person. I read her book and thought how sad it was we would never be able to have a movie like this because it’s logistically impossible. You can’t do it with a bunch of guys in suits, and you can’t do it with gorillas.
Q: What helped change your mind?
A: They sent me over to meet the gorillas before the movie started. I don’t know what they were worried about, if I would take a look at our cousins and run screaming. It’s such a magical place Rwanda. You’re in another world completely. Talk about Pandora in "Avatar," you are there.
This little gorilla, Josie, came over and sat down beside me and leaned her arm against my arm and looked up. I can’t even begin to tell you what an amazing experience it was. I’m tearing up just talking about it. She was leaning against me, and I felt the tremendous heat of her body. She was so relaxed; she wasn’t afraid. I had been trained in basics, not to make eye contact, and to make noises, and all of that — which I still do every now and then around the house. There were times when I think I knew Dian was watching over me. She really wanted this movie made.
Q: Fossey was not a big fan of zoos. Is there something ironic about receiving an award from a zoo for the work her organization does?
A: I haven’t been to a lot of zoos. I went to the library in the Bronx Zoo to research Dian, and her book wasn’t there. I asked why, and they said she doesn’t have a PhD. I still don’t go out of my way to see primates in zoos. But I think the Indianapolis Zoo is so extraordinary; just the fact that they have had so many births. I think that’s the sign of a place that’s working well. I do visit zoos, and I understand that that may have to be a part of what in a way ensures the survival of certain species. But I certainly don’t think we should say, "It’s going to be OK — if they go, they go — because we have the zoos."
Q: You – or at least your voice – plays a cameo role in “Finding Dory.” How did that come about?
A: I feel so lucky. (Director) Andrew (Stanton) didn’t tell me what he was going to do with my little recording. He got in touch with me, and I didn’t know how he was going to use it. I went to see the movie, and it was a total surprise to me. I was thrilled to be a friend of the fish. It was such a charming movie for so many reasons and an important movie because of what it says for different mental states.
Q: What would you say if you could meet Fossey?
A. I don’t think I would ask her anything. I would say, "Dian, thank you, thank you for the years you spent in Rwanda and sharing these magnificent animal citizens with us and protecting them and studying them so that we could carry on your work." I would just hug her.
Call IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Twitter: @srudavsky.