The making of 'Whatever Works'

Patricia Clarkson on relating to her character's Southern upbringing…

"I was born and raised in New Orleans. I had a similar trajectory: I was a nice Southern girl from a more formal, progressive family than [my character] had. At 19, I came to New York to pursue my art, and I arrived with very big hair that wouldn't fit through a door, and slowly it collapsed, and slowly the clothing became black. That's what happened to me, albeit at 19 and not middle age."