Director Bryan Singer casts his mom, Grace Sinden, in all of his hit films
By: Jennifer Potash
PRINCETON – To many, Grace Sinden, a Princeton Township resident, is the mild-mannered vice chairwoman of the Princeton Regional Health Commission.
But she has a secret life – as a walk-on actress in her son’s movies.
Ms. Sinden’s son, director Bryan Singer, has directed the Academy Award-winning film, "The Usual Suspects," as well as the critically acclaimed "Apt Pupil" and the recently released sci-fi extravaganza, "X-Men."
Mr. Singer, 34 – who grew up in Princeton Township and graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema – puts both his parents (father Dave Singer lives in Lawrence Township) in his films. But that doesn’t mean they’re immune from landing on the cutting-room floor, as is the case in "X-Men."
"Martin Scorsese used to put his mother in his movies, so I think it’s appropriate," said Mr. Singer during a phone interview from Los Angeles.
The director said his mom has a good time and "it’s always great when she comes out to the set."
A cinema buff who enjoys good movies, Ms. Sinden called her participation in her son’s films "great, great fun." He first cast Ms. Sinden in a party scene in "Public Access," which won the 1993 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize.
Having his parents on the set is often a tension breaker for the whole crew, the director said.
"Everyone’s always nice to the director’s parents. As much as I drive them crazy, they’re always nice," he said. "It humanizes me too for a few days."
"X-Men" is based on the popular Marvel Comics series, and stars Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan (who also starred in "Apt Pupil"), Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Bruce Davidson and Famke Janssen.
In the film, the X-Men are a group of genetic mutants with superhuman abilities, brought together and trained by Professor Charles Xavier (Stewart), who envisions a world where mutants and humans can live together in harmony. Xavier’s nemesis, the mutant, Magneto (McKellen), having been wounded by human brutality and discrimination, believes the mutant race is superior to humanity, and should rule over them – and develops his own army to accomplish that goal.
Mr. Singer cast his mother as a United States Senator from New Hampshire, Lauren Grayson – a play off of her middle name, Laura, and former home state.
Under Screen Actors Guild rules, actors are permitted to speak a brief number of lines in a movie without having to join the union, but cannot remain nonunion and have speaking parts in subsequent movies.
To compensate for the lack of lines, she got a lingering close-up shot, Ms. Sinden said.
"People probably wonder why is he focusing on that face of all the faces," she said.
Unfortunately, the portion of the film with his parents had to be cut, Mr. Singer said. But he may resurrect that portion in later versions of the "X-Men" movie.
"I’ll put both the parents on the DVD," he said.
Ms. Sinden laughed when she heard of her son’s intention.
"Only a son would do that for a mother," she said.
It was on the set of Mr. Singer’s breakthrough 1995 movie, "The Usual Suspects," that Ms. Sinden witnessed the tedious routine associated with capturing the perfect shot for the film.
She was to play a nurse/receptionist in one of the last scenes of the movie and had to hand a fax to the actor when he asked for it. She was not, however, supposed to speak under union rules.
But at 11 p.m. and after 20 takes, Ms. Sinden couldn’t help herself.
"When the actor asked me if I had a fax for him I said ‘Anything for you,’" she said.
After her son admonished her, Ms. Sinden reminded him that he had 20 shots and to just use one.
"Everyone on the set laughed and said only a mother could do that," she said.
The experience – long hours spent in costume and makeup, dispelled any romantic notions she had about filmmaking.
"Everyone thinks that moviemaking is glamorous, but it’s actually very hard, tedious work," she said. "But the results on the big screen is where the magic begins."
In Mr. Singer’s follow-up film, 1999’s "Apt Pupil," which is based on the novella by Stephen King, Ms. Sinden played a secretary at a high school and, owing to a change in the union rules, got to speak 11 words.
"I was so nervous that I would blow my lines that I came on the set with a little piece of paper with my 11 words," she said.
The director soon noticed the cheat sheet and ordered his mom to put it away, which she reluctantly did.
And Ms. Sinden nailed the scene in two takes.
An early interest in still photography led to her son’s love of moviemaking, Ms. Sinden said. He used to write scripts and make short films starring neighborhood kids, she said.
Whether Ms. Sinden is playing a nurse, a secretary or a U.S. senator, her greatest reward is to watch her son work at a profession he loves.
"For a parent to see their child at work is a very special privilege because most parents do not get to see their children at work," she said.
While Ms. Sinden is very proud of her son’s accomplishments, the director is also impressed with his mother’s work to make Princeton smoke-free.
"I’m incredibly proud of what she’s doing in that area, tremendously proud and completely thrilled," Mr. Singer said.
The Princeton Regional Health Commission adopted an ordinance last month that banned smoking in most indoor public places and workplaces, including bars and restaurants. A smokers’ rights group and three local bars and restaurants have filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction. The suit is scheduled to be heard in Mercer County Superior Court July 20.
Mr. Singer said California has a ban on smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants, which makes those places more enjoyable and appears to work.
"The social scene on Sunset and any of these places is overloaded and overwhelming, so apparently the law hasn’t affected business at all," he said.