Henry Edwards talks to

Sherilyn Fenn

The Twin Peaks temptress is back for fall

Is Sherilyn Fenn as manipulative as Audrey Horne?

Playing Audrey allows me to play with the power of being a women - to explore it, embrace it, love it, and not think it´s bad. If a woman does certain manipulative things, she´s called a bitch, or that bad four-letter word. At the start I felt a certain amount of guilt. Some people would pass me on the set and whisper, "The bad seed." But the more I did it, the more fun it became. I think America is getting ready to accept the fact that women aren´t toys. I´ve been manipulative at times, certainly, to get what I´ve needed, what I´ve wanted. Most people are. To deny it is bullshit.

Do you manipulate men?

[laughs] Sure.

Is it easy?

Depends on the man. Some are easier than others.

Were you a precocious child?

I´m from Michigan. My parents were divorced when I was pretty young. My aunt was the rock singer Suzi Quatro, and my mother played keyboards in her band. So we moved to L.A. I felt tied up on some level. I sometimes envy people who talk about this free-spirited attitude they had when they were young, running in the rain and doing those kinds of things. I did them in my mind.

Before Twin Peaks you achieved cult notoriety in Two-Moon Junction.

A lot of people said some really bad things about me for doing such a sexy movie. But I decided to do it because I wasn´t comfortable with the material. I´m not this string-bikini, exhibitionist type person. So I thought, Oh, my God, what would happen to me if I did behave this erotically? And that excited me.

Did you like the movie?

It wasn´t what I hoped it would be. I felt exploited - more emotionally than phyically. I mean, all women have the same things. I don´t have a third breast that´s about to pop out.

You´d make more money. Who manages your finances?

Me. I´m very wary of handling that power over to anyone. I want to know where every penny, every dime is going.

Are Audrey Horne´s saddle shoes the foot fetish of the ´90s?

Aren´t they great? I love my saddle shoes, and my plaid skirts and tight sweaters. Audrey is a woman-child who dresses like the girls in the ´50s and shows her body. But she´s Daddy´s little girl at the same time. Her clothes say, "This is who I am." That to me is a better fashion statement than "I´ll have the latest $20,000 dress from whomever."

Are the "Twin Peaks" really bosoms?

The title is the perfect touch.

Do you think it´s Lynch´s joke about the male obsession with breasts?

Sure. And that´s great, too. I think that women´s breasts are beautiful. Maybe some are more attractive than others. Really, what´s the problem? I mean, I can´t think of a better existence than when you´re a baby. You have a faceful of titty. It´s beautiful. There´s nothing wrong with that. Hang it up, America. You know, get over it.

So you don´t mind the male obsession with breasts in general and yours in particular?

I do when an idiot says to me on the street, as one did just two hours ago, "Nice breasts." I turned my head and said, "Yeah," and it´s like, Give me a break.

What else annoys you?

People always ask, "Who killed Laura Palmer?" I says, "Who cares?" People want the instant gratification of knowing the answer, and they´re not going to get it on this show. They get that gratification in real life but at a real price. If they want to cook a fucking turkey in a microwave, it´s not going to taste the same.

What do you think would happen if Prince moved to Twin Peaks?

Oh, God! Audrey would drop Special Agent Cooper like a hot rock and she´d be all over that little prince, honey.

Why?

Because he´s exciting, he´s intelligent, he articulate, he´s funny, he´s an incredible musician, and because he´s my friend and has been for a long, long time.

So this is a friendship, not a romance or a former romance.

A former romance, but we´ve maintained a friendship, and that´s the basis of everything, isn´t it? Prince is so special. He´s in touch with a feminity within himself that´s really great. He´s always encouraged me to be happy. He won´t tolerate me being sad.

Suppose Johnny Depp lived next door to Prince.

Oh, God, I knew that was coming. I guess Johnny would ride around on motorcycles with James Hurley. I don´t know what to say about that. Johnny was the first person I was ever in love with, my first real boyfriend. I will always love him, so for me that´s a little bit painful. I got engaged because I loved him. He´s been engaged a couple of times since and probably will go on being engaged. I don´t know. I just wish him the best, but that one´s a little bit more painful.

If your next lover is a professor of anthropology, you´ll be spared these questions about celebrity romances.

The problem is that all the people I meet are actors.

Do you think about marriage?

Absolutely. I desperately want children - when I´m ready for them., when I´m with somebody I´m in love with.

Are those around you pleased that you´re having your moment?

When the show came on, I thought more of the people that I loved would call to tell me, "We really liked your show." I got one or two calls - from my family. It really did hurt my feelings. I though, Shit, you know, you don´t even call me and say what you thought. O.K., fine, fuck you, because I would have called you.

Has success spoiled you?

I´ve gotten out of some strange woods and am about to enter some more. The trees may be higher, but I´m stronger. I´m like a Tasmanian devil. I´m going to drill through them all.