Interviewee: Claire Danes
Interviewer: David Letterman
Date: March 6, 2007

On October 24, 1996, Claire Danes was interviewed by David Letterman on his Emmy award-winning show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Prior to Letterman’s show on CBS, David Letterman previously hosted the Late Night with David Letterman on NBC.

The 1996 interview of Claire Danes was to promote her movie, Romeo + Juliet, which co-starred Leonardo di Caprio. Danes, who was just 16 years old during the interview, spoke about turning 18 years old. The actress and Letterman talked about celebrating their birthday, as the two share the same birthday.

When asked about the movie, Claire Danes replied that she was pleased with her work and was proud of being able to present a modern day version of the Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet, considering that several versions of it have already been done in the past. Danes spoke of their movie as hip and accessible, citing that the character of Romeo rode in cars, something that was far from the classic and conservative version of Romeo and Juliet. Danes also shared about finally getting her driver’s license, after three attempts to obtain one.

The late night talk show host also asked Danes about her boyfriend and she replied that when she broke up with her boyfriend Andrew Dorff the press was in frenzy. She was amused that in a magazine column, it was written that Danes was desperately looking for a boyfriend.

Claire Danes is an American actress who became popular for her roles in the short-lived television series, My So-Called Life, and the movies Romeo + Juliet and Stardust.

The actress was born Claire Catherine Danes on April 12, 1979 in Manhattan, New York City. At an early age, Danes had studied modern dance and knew early on that she wanted to be an actress. Danes attended several schools including the Dalton School, the New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies, the Professional Performing Arts School, and the Lycée Français de Los Angeles.

She also attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and her acting career began in off-off-Broadway productions.

In 1992, Danes made her television debut when she appeared as a guest in the NBC series Law & Order.

In 1994, she got the role of Angela Chase in the My So-Called Life television series and her stint earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nomination. In the same year, she also starred in the film, Little Women.

Her other movies include Home for the Holidays, Princess Mononoke (voice), Brokedown Palace, U Turn, The Rainmaker, The Mod Squad, and Les Misérables.

In 1998, Danes left her acting to pursue her studies at Yale University. Two years after, she returned to acting and landed some roles in movies such as Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, The Hours, Shopgirl, Stage Beauty, It’s All About Love, and Evening.

In 2007, she made her Broadway debut in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.

In April 2008, it was announced that Gucci named Claire Danes as the new face of their fine jewelry.