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When asked how she prepared for the role, Collette says, “To tell you the truth I don't really ‘prepare' for any role, unless there's some kind of activity I have to perform that I've never done before, like flying a helicopter or something.” She laughs,“I tend to gravitate towards roles that I can emotionally connect with or at least connect with on some kind of human level—something with an element of truth.”

She continues, “With this script—it was just so brilliantly written. That's the best starting point you can have. When something is so well-written, there is an element of clarity, so you don't really have to travel far to make it real.”

Collette had her hands full playing such an extreme character as Night Listener's Donna, a surreptitious, overprotective, emotionally disturbed guardian who is also blind (or perhaps just pretending to be blind). Wearing special contact lenses to create the illusion of Donna's blindness was particularly challenging. “Depending on the lighting,” Collette says, “they would completely black out or wash out my vision. It's interesting that when you lose one sense, the others really do become heightened. So we would be shooting and I could hear every single noise—even a pin drop.”

Collette possesses a remarkable gift for different human vocal stylings, and in The Night Listener she's called upon to create a deadpan, Midwestern American accent, as well as mimic the voice of an adolescent male. Collette seems as amazed as anyone regarding how she acquired her abilities. “I think it's because I have a musical ear, specifically with American accents,” she reflects. “Accents are just obscure sounds sewn together. It's about the rhythm. It's like remembering a song.”

Asked if she is aware of her iconic stature and popularity among gay film fans, Collette acknowledges with a broad smile, “Yes, definitely! It's a wonderful position to be in. It's actually quite lovely.”

She recalls, “Last week, after I'd had my nails done, I was walking downtown in New York, and all these beautiful men were smiling at me and saying ‘hello.' I know they didn't want to have sex with me.” She laughs. “It's fantastic! I am very aware of it—it is so lovely. It warms the cockles of my heart.”

Stettner jokes, “Hey, aren't you going to ask me about being a gay icon?” Maupin and Stettner (whom Maupin lovingly describes as "a thoroughly heterosexual guy") made sure that they did not compromise the film's gay content, even if it might negatively affect the box-office figures.

“The producers are gay,” Stettner says. “The writer is gay. It was not an issue at all. The gayness of the film's characters is matter-of-fact. It is an advancement for gays, and Armistead is very proud of that. Here is a film that is being widely released, and it's not about his gayness; it's about the quality of the relationship.”

Maupin adds, “I'd like to say that I'm very proud of the fact that The Night Listener is probably the first mainstream feature, starring a mainstream movie star, in which the homosexuality of the central character is not, in any way, an issue. I'm very happy his gayness is so matter-of-fact.”

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