When you think of Thora Birch, do words like sexy, edgy, cynical and rebellious come to mind? Do you picture her as Enid in Ghost World or Jane in American Beauty? Or, like me, can you still see her as young and innocent Dani in Hocus Pocus or Eva in Monkey Trouble? No matter how you picture her, I’m sure one word that comes to mind is talented.

I am a big follower and fan of Thora Birch and can remember watching her for the first time as a young child in All I Want for Christmas in 1991 and loving her character of Hallie so much. A few years later, I saw her in Hocus Pocus, again as a little sister, and remembered how much I liked her. Next came Monkey Trouble and Now and Then, which is when I began to keep track of Thora and look out for movies she would be starring in. Four years later, in 1999, when Thora played Jane Burnham in American Beauty, it was a very different role from what I was used to seeing her in, but she was amazing as Jane and deserved the many awards she won for best young and best supporting actress.

Two years later Thora also gained critical praise and many well-deserved awards and nominations for her portrayal of Enid in Ghost World, my favorite of her movies. That awkward chemistry she has with Steve Buscemi is what makes me want to still watch that movie again and again, more than 10 years later. Even though I’m such a big fan of Thora Birch, I really only know her as her characters, and the images I have in my mind of her are associated with her films. I just picture her as a girl who doesn’t care what she wears, doesn’t care what people think of her and is completely confident in herself and everything she does.

Photography by Aaron Stipkovich

The picture I had in my mind was somewhat altered and enhanced when I watched the outtakes with Stipko.

The attached video shows Thora in a new light. She appears very real, down-to-earth and vulnerable. In the video, Thora looks pretty and sweet, not overdone—which may be the one thing that didn’t surprise me. I can tell that Thora doesn’t try hard to look beautiful. She has a natural sultriness that doesn’t require primping. In the clip, she is very soft and feminine, wearing a simple cream top, with her hair down, and wearing little jewelry, just a soft gold bracelet. As I paused the clip at one point, Thora reminded me of Marilyn Monroe in her infamous white dress, elegant and classy. This caught me off-guard a bit, as I usually think of Thora as being edgy. It was a welcomed glimpse into her day-to-day style.

Another aspect of the clip that shows another side of Thora that I didn’t expect was how she was very silly and playful. She tried out different voices when introducing herself, using Broadway and opera themes. She later also threw in the robot dance and some Ali G references, showing us a lighter side of herself. Again, due to the nature of the roles she usually chooses, I often envisioned Thora as being somewhat dark and reserved, but this clip really showed me a softer fun side of Thora that made me like her even more. She seems like a very down-to-earth person, as she talks about Napoleon Dynamite and comments on the upcoming Presidential election.

As fans of celebrities, we never truly know who a person is other than glimpses of them on talk shows or interviews, as we base our characterizations on the roles they choose. Watching this clip allowed me to see Thora in a different light and showed another side of her that is not often seen in her acting. I hope you enjoy Thora’s movies as much as I do and that you take a minute to view the clip and outtakes. Whenever you get to see actors and actresses behind the scenes or in a more natural environment where they don’t have a script, it really reminds us that even though they live a very different life than most, they are just people like we are and relate to others in a genuine way. Thora proves this here, and I hope to see more glimpses of her as both an amazing actress and a fascinating person.

SOURCE