iVillage Entertainment

These days it seems like every celebrity who rolls with an entourage of fewer than five people or says "please" and "thank you" during an interview is described by the press as "down to earth" or "grounded." But when we arrive at the Warwick Hotel bar in Manhattan to meet French actress Julie Delpy, now starring in Before Sunset, we find her sitting -- gasp -- alone, sipping tea and people-watching. Suddenly it hits us: This is what "down to earth" must really mean.

Delpy's stunning looks -- often described as ethereal -- make her stand out from the crowd, but a glamour-puss she's not. Today, her long, wavy blonde hair is swept back in a loose, almost messy ponytail. The only trace of makeup is a hint of eyeshadow. And a bulky black blazer hides what looks like a striped dress. Oh, and did we mention that she's attending her New York movie premiere immediately following this interview? Yup! All she does is shed the blazer and go.

Perhaps it's the honest sense of humanity that Delpy infused into her character, Celine, that made the 1995 original, Before Sunrise, a chick-flick classic. Fans will remember how French student Celine and American traveler Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meet on a Vienna-bound train and fall in love over a 14-hour period. As the film closes, they promise to meet again in six months, and the audience is left agonizing over their fate.

Sunset, which has received rave reviews, picks up nine years later (in both reel and real time) and clears up some questions -- while posing a few new ones. After contributing to the Sunrise script without receiving a writing credit, Delpy cowrote the sequel with Hawke and director Richard Linklater and crafted Celine as even more quirky, spontaneous and unafraid than the first go-round. And, ensuring that Delpy really earned her paycheck, she also sings in the film. The song? "A Waltz for a Night," which appeared on her self-entitled 2003 album and is about a one-night stand with a guy named... Jesse. ("It was so perfect, how could we not use it?" Julie laughs.)

As we settle in at the table to chat, Delpy casually tucks her legs beneath her and gets comfortable. Sneaking spoonfuls of honey from a jar, she speaks candidly about the sequel, her friendship with Hawke and why so many Hollywood actresses have "tragic" futures.

iVillage: When you finished Sunrise, did you ever think you'd make a sequel?
Delpy: I really didn't. We started talking about it as a joke, then as we went along we were asked that question so many times. I was the one in the first film who wrote that bit about Jesse and Celine promising to meet six months later. I didn't want just a one-night thing -- I thought that was too much of a male fantasy. Slowly we had more ideas for a sequel. Then we shot that bit in Waking Life [another Linklater film in which the characters briefly appear], and that's when we decided we'd do a sequel no matter what. Rick went to write a script on his own, which didn't work. Then he decided to throw it away and write with the two of us. We wrote everything from scratch, and it was great.

iVillage: After Sunrise, women across America debated whether or not Jesse and Celine reunited. What did you think happened?
Delpy: In my head, they never showed up. Actually, I always said to Rick and Ethan that she showed up and he didn't because all men are pigs [laughs]. That was a long time ago, and I don't think that anymore. I think men are pigs, but so are women [laughs] -- on that subject at least. The idea of Jesse and Celine meeting six months later was maybe too romantic to me. It didn't capture a reality that I know, which is that life's not easy. The "it's nine years later and it's not so simple" situation made me feel good because that's how I see life.

iVillage: And the audience isn't being spoon-fed the typical Hollywood ending.
Delpy: Right, it's not Hollywood. It's reality. They meet nine years later. He's not available; she's not really available. Can they work it out anyway? It's not a movie that resolves every problem in life. We want to touch on two people reuniting and how hard life is. When you get into your 30s you realize that you've made mistakes. Maybe things didn't work out the way you thought they'd work out. You're disillusioned. You're more cynical. Celine has become way more cynical. Reality is tough, but it has some very beautiful moments, and that's what it's capturing. There's still hope.

iVillage: Like the first movie, there's so much dialogue in this film. Was it difficult to learn, or did it help that you wrote it?
Delpy: It was the hardest job I've ever done. Writing it helped slightly, but not when it came down to learning the lines exactly. It's not just learning the concept, like, Let's talk about the subject of love. People think it was improvised. No. Every word was written. Every gesture was rehearsed. It was hard to learn because we had a tremendous amount and we knew that Rick doesn't like to cut takes. You'll notice it's all really long shots.

iVillage: How has your relationship with Ethan changed over the years?
Delpy: I really enjoyed working with him on the first film, and I have to say that I enjoyed working with him on this film much more. We became very good friends through the years. We really get along, but we don't hesitate to tell one another to go f**k themselves [laughs]. He gets mad at me sometimes, and I get mad at him -- we have little fights. With my male friends I have a natural competitiveness that I don't have with women. I get along 100 percent with women. With men I think there's something about seeing women doing a lot of things that they find frustrating. So Ethan and I sometimes have that, but we love each other. I love him. And we get along so well on the work level -- we can work and write together nonstop.

[Delpy's phone rings -- it's one of her friends asking to bring a guest to the evening's festivities. Instead of saying yes -- it is her premiere -- she politely excuses herself to make a phone call to inquire. Not surprisingly, the writer and star of the film was told, "Of course!"]

iVillage: In one of your previous interviews, you said, "I may move from everywhere and spend two or three years in total isolation. I like being alone a lot. I enjoy that more than anything." Do you consider yourself a loner?
Delpy: I love being alone when it's a chosen thing. I have the greatest friends that you could dream of -- the very best people. I don't surround myself with people who think they can get something out of me. I see a lot of that -- people whose friends have ulterior motives. I mean, some people only have their assistants as friends. People they pay! I'm the opposite. But I enjoy being alone. After [promoting Sunset], if I could choose, I'd be entirely alone for two months. Maybe see a friend once a week, but basically spend my life alone. I love that. I need that.

iVillage: What do you think about the Hollywood scene? It seems like you exist in that world as a normal person.
Delpy: I try to avoid the Hollywood thing. I'm really into keeping my own friends and avoiding people who just want to hang out with me because I'm whoever. That helps me stay real and attract real people. My parents are theater actors and I've seen them go through ups and downs in their careers. I know there are downs -- I'm 34 and I've experienced some already. But I wonder how some of these people will feel when they're down and there's nobody around anymore. I see a lot of actresses and think: Oh, my God, their future is tragic. It's sad, but it's a choice. I've always wanted to be an actress, not a movie star. Actresses I respect work when they're 55 or 65 -- it doesn't matter. And I've made the choice to be an actress or writer or director, but I'll be active till the end of my life. I'm not going to suddenly say, "I'm not as pretty anymore. I should quit." Or, "Nobody wants me in a movie." Well, too bad. Nobody wants me in a movie? I'll write a movie, or I'll direct one myself. I'll figure out ways. I see my future as much brighter than my past.

iVillage: A lot of actresses might also balk when learning that their new movie will include footage of them from a decade earlier, as was the case with Sunset. Did you mind?
Delpy: I don't care at all. That's the thing: I don't care so much about the way I look. I'm a little careful in public because I have to be. Otherwise I'd be a slob. I'm careful with food, even though I just ate a burger. But I don't make much effort past using a night cream and getting a massage once a month. Those are basically my beauty tips, which are very limited [laughs].

iVillage: What's coming up -- besides some alone time?
Delpy: I have a British film with Robert Carlyle [The Full Monty]. Then I have a little break, which is nice. I'll be able to write a few songs. In early spring I'm going to shoot my feature that I'm also directing. Chris Hanley, who did American Psycho and Virgin Suicides, is producing it.

iVillage: Any last words on Jesse and Celine? Will we ever see them again?
Delpy: Jesse and Celine are on a boat... No, I love these characters. They're old friends. But we had to create them --Before Sunrise was very little of what was created of them. It's really created this alternate, parallel person that could be you but isn't you, which is fun. I don't know if we'll do a third because we were so lucky to do a second one already. It's amazing -- for something that wasn't a blockbuster, it's unheard of to do a sequel. But you never say never.