Forgotten prodigy

Leelee Sobieski is ready to reclaim her place in young Hollywood

As a young ingenue poised to be the next Jodie Foster — with roles in Stanley Kubrick and Merchant Ivory films, Golden Globe and Emmy nominations and plenty of media buzz—in 2001, Leelee Sobieski surprisingly put her career on pause.

“I needed that break just to be centered,” says Sobieski about her three-year “sabbatical” from Hollywood during which the actress attended Brown University. “I needed to spend time with my friends and be young and do all those things that you’re supposed to do when you grow up.
It was important for my soul to be away from it for awhile.”

After all, the 5-foot-9 actress started working at age 11 when a casting director discovered her in her school cafeteria. But even before that, she had a not-so-regular bohemian childhood in New York’s Upper West Side — her writer mother and painter father often ushered her and her younger brother to SoHo art galleries, only allowed them an hour of television per week and actually hung out with their kids. “We were like a traveling band of wonderful gypsies,” Sobieski exclaims. In turn, she was a wildly creative child whose quirks included asking male co-stars such as Peter O’Toole for locks of their hair to save, instead of an autograph.

Today, the 24-year-old is making her big -screen reintroduction in the crime drama “88 Minutes,” starring Al Pacino (her reason for taking the role). But don’t expect her to hold onto any strands from the legendary star. “I stopped collecting hair years ago,” says Sobieski.  “It was charming when I was younger, but it’s not as charming now when people say, ‘Where do you want the hair from?’”

These days, Sobieski, who’s starring in an upcoming action movie and rom-com, isn’t getting the serious, meaty roles she started out with. “I came back as a young woman, which was a new adjustment for me,” says Sobieski, admitting that her return  hasn’t been all that easy.
“Sometimes, there’s not as much control as one would think as far as what [roles] you choose. It’s just what you get,” she says.

Yet the actress insists, “I’m really in love with my job again, and I feel really blessed to have it.”

In 2001, it was Sobieski’s heartbreak over her parent’s separation that played a big part in her reclusion from showbiz.

“I didn’t know if I necessarily wanted to continue acting actually,” she admits. Sobieski even considered working in a totally different field. Ultimately, it was a romantic relationship that kept her in school.

“Well, I fell in love,” she says, pausing and laughing. “And because my parents split up, I really wanted to believe in love more than anything. And so I don’t think I’ve really said this before, I just wanted to make sure it was possible, that love existed, so I took the time out for that.”

Although Sobieski and her then boyfriend (who she met at Brown) broke up, she believes living her life instead of acting out fictional parts was worth it.

“But not necessarily for my career,” she says laughing. “But I’m getting back in there slowly.”