Writing a biography of an actor is strangely like acting itself. At least that’s how I see it. You do your research. You immerse yourself in the world of your character, gathering every precious piece of the intricate puzzle that makes up a complex person. You empathize with them, try to understand what drives them, try to feel what they feel. This is a very intense process and can take many months; at some point, though, you have to just start writing. It’s like jumping off a cliff—you hope that the wind of creativity will carry you and let you soar through the process.
Along the way, you find out things you never knew. For no matter how well you think you know your subject, they always manage to surprise you. Writing about someone as multifaceted and elusive as Jessica Lange was always going to be a one-of-a-kind experience.
