NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Indiana Jones. Karen Allen always knew he'd come walking back through her door.
Since 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark," Allen has been only a sporadic presence in the subsequent sequels. But the glow of the freckled, big-eyed actor who so memorably played Marion Ravenwood has only grown stronger over time.
Indiana Jones may be one of the movies' most iconic characters, but he's always needed a good foil. It was Kate Capshaw and Ke Huy Quan in 鈥淭emple of Doom鈥� and Sean Connery in 鈥淭he Last Crusade.鈥� Yet none could top, or out drink, Allen's Marion, a wisecracking, naturalistic beauty and swashbuckling heir to screwball legends like Katharine Hepburn and Irene Dunne.
Allen's place in the latest and last 鈥淚ndiana Jones,鈥� the just-released has long been a mystery. Now that the movie is in theaters 鈥� spoiler alert 鈥� we can finally let the cat out of the bag. Allen returns. And while her role isn't large 鈥� tragedy has driven Marion and Indiana apart 鈥� it's extremely poignant in how she figures into
鈥淪ecrets,鈥� Allen chuckled in a recent interview, 鈥渁re not my specialty.鈥�
Allen, 71, was a magnetic presence in some memorable 1970s and 鈥�80s films, including 1978鈥檚 鈥淎nimal House" (the performance that caught Steven Spielberg's eye), 1984's 鈥淪tarman鈥� and 1988's 鈥淪crooged." But while she's steadily worked ever since, the era's male-dominated Hollywood often seemed to squander her talent. Allen has lived for decades in the Berkshires, where she opened and has frequently performed at Tanglewood.
Allen also returned to Marion in 2008's 鈥淚ndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.鈥� But as much as 鈥淒ial of Destiny鈥� signifies the end of Ford's run as Indy, it's also Allen's goodbye to her most beloved character. This time, Indiana's sidekick went to Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the 鈥淔leabag鈥� creator and star. Allen, praising Waller-Bridge as a strong woman, approves.
鈥淚f it wasn't going to be me,鈥� said Allen, 鈥淚'm glad it was her.鈥�
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AP: Did Spielberg or reach out to you about returning as Marion?
ALLEN: There was a period of time when Steven was going to direct the film. It was my understanding 鈥� although I never read any of those scripts 鈥� that it was being developed very much as a still-ongoing Marion-and-Indy story. When Steven decided to step down and James took over and brought in new writers, I knew it was going into a different direction. Having not even known what it was before, it was even more mysterious after they took it over. So I really didn鈥檛 know anything for a long period of time until they had a script. And I have to confess, I was a bit disappointed that she wasn鈥檛 more woven throughout the story and didn鈥檛 have more of an ongoing trajectory. However, the way in which she does come back into the story was very satisfying. I just thought, 鈥淥K, I鈥檓 just going to embrace this.鈥� I certainly would have been wildly disappointed had Marion just sort of vanished into the ether.
AP: Did you always think Marion and Indiana were destined for each other? You don't exactly get a sense of permanence between them in 鈥淩aiders.鈥�
ALLEN: It鈥檚 funny. When I first started working on it, I just decided that Indy was the love of her life. I just decided to make a deep commitment to that and to play through 鈥淩aiders of the Lost Ark鈥� with the feeling they鈥檙e soulmates. When we end up married in 鈥淐rystal Skull,鈥� I wept when I read that script.
AP: 鈥淚ndiana Jones鈥� could be a boys world but you were such a spirited force of nature.
ALLEN: Well, Steven and George had this experience as young boys with these Saturday afternoon matinee serial films. They were just a little bit older than I am, so I kind of missed that. I don鈥檛 have a reference point for that. So I don鈥檛 think that I necessarily understood the genre of film we were making. I thought we were making 鈥淐asablanca.鈥� I really, truly did. So I sort of defined my character in that sort of genre 鈥� which I think weirdly enough works quite well for the film. I never imagined Marion as a damsel in distress in any sort of way. I was always pushing back against that, and in the end, Steven was supportive of that.
AP: Do you ever wish you had gotten the chance to star in more Hollywood films?
ALLEN: I make movies all the time, although I have tended in the last 10 or 15 years to focus more on indie films. In truth, the kinds of roles I鈥檓 really hungry to play, particularly for someone my age, they鈥檙e written more in the indie world. People kind of think, 鈥淲here have you been?鈥� There were times I was raising my son but I often do at least two films a year. They鈥檙e very satisfying, probably more satisfying than the sort of roles I would be offered. A lot of times I turned down things. There鈥檚 a lot of thankless roles for women in bigger budget films.
AP: What has Marion meant to you?
ALLEN: She鈥檚 sort of at the core of my growth as an actor and certainly my relationship to the world. As I move through the world, I鈥檝e become very identified with that character. There was maybe a brief period of time where I found it annoying. But that passed and now it鈥檚 just this character that I love. I can鈥檛 imagine anything more satisfying to have had the chance in life to create a character that has some meaning for people.
AP: What was it like to shoot your scenes with Ford in 鈥淒ial of Destiny鈥�?
ALLEN: It was fantastic. We shot it all in one day or maybe two days. To just imagine these two people that have been wrenched apart through grief and loss and then she鈥檚 coming back with this hope that they can move forward. When we played the scene, that was very, very affecting. We were both very affected by it and a little teary. And the crew was a little teary.
AP: How has it been keeping your role in the film secret?
ALLEN: It鈥檚 been excruciating. (Laughs) I never have to do anything like this again. People have come up to me and they鈥檝e been so upset because they didn鈥檛 see my name on IMDb. People would be so mad I鈥檇 have to stand there and just be like, 鈥淲hat do I say? Do I say, 鈥榊eah, isn鈥檛 that a drag?鈥� or 鈥榊ou never never know 鈥� wink, wink.鈥欌�� I鈥檝e had to say I just can鈥檛 answer any questions about 鈥淚ndiana Jones" 鈥� which I feel like is sort of saying that I鈥檓 in the film. It鈥檚 a lose-lose situation. (Laughs)
AP: Does playing Marion one last time cap anything for you?
ALLEN: More so for Harrison than for me. He鈥檚 such a fully developed character and has done all five of these. With Marion, I鈥檝e kind of come and gone. But she will always be a character that moves through life with me. I don鈥檛 know if I really have a sense of it being over. There always was a sense that one more would be done, even if it took 20 years. Now, they鈥檝e been very clear that this is the last one. So it is a letting go.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
