What sort of nicknames did you have growing up? Mira, Mira on the wall?
That drove me nuts.

What do you see when you gaze in the mirror, Mira?
My flaws. I'm not comfortable with myself, but I try to get over it.

You are flawless in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite. How did you manage to look so voluptuous?
I was three pounds heavier. If I gain weight, I instantly look like a very curvy person. All my outfits were really tight -- I was wearing Barbie's dream schmatte -- so we put the radio-mike pack in the side of my bra and softened the edge of it with a pad. Lo and behold, great cleavage and perfect sound.

What did you wear to the Mighty audition to knock Woody's socks off?
A Junior Gaultier dress -- black spandex with fluorescent green bumblebee stripes. And mules with plastic flowers. I wore it to the Dorchester Hotel -- Mr. Allen's room, please. Everybody looked at me like I was the biggest whore.

What sort of research did you do to play Judy Cum, porn actress?
I talked to some porn actresses. They have a sweetness and professionalism. It's something I locked horns with my mother about: Do we have to label sex evil or sinful? Isn't it like pizza -- when it's great it's amazing and when it's okay it's still pretty good? She objected to this idea. But I've always felt it's a human and animal thing to be sexual. Why should we make a porn actress the fallen woman when it can be an exuberant thing?

In Whit Stillman's Barcelona you played a thieving, two-timing drug dealer. What was the last crime you committed?
Doing ninety-five on the road James Dean died on.

Did your exposure to promiscuous Barcelonans alter your own beliefs about monogamy?
In a way. They seem to have marriages that last longer with infidelity built into them. It was a little upsetting. I'd meet these people, be really fond of the wife, and the husband would be coming on to me. It seems to be more reasonable, but I'd still like to think you could stay with one person forever.

Have you broken more hearts or had your heart broken more often?
Broken more hearts. I'm the sort of girl people want to marry, but I'm so wary of marriage because my own parents broke up seven years ago. I expected them to live into old age together.

You were a Chinese-studies major at Harvard. What was your thesis on?
Anti-Africanism in the People's Republic of China. There were these African students there and the Chinese hated them. I was stunned by the similarities between their racial conflicts and ours, but they have no history of slavery, no ghettos. The real sticking point was interracial dating. The Chinese regarded a woman who dated Africans as a prostitute or rape victim. She was a worn-out shoe.

How does the intelligent Ivy League graduate in you feel when you see yourself portrayed in the media as this sexy bombshell?
I think there are two sides to me: the serious, academic side that thinks I should be in the Peace Corps, and this other side that wants to be Marilyn Monroe.

Were your Harvard friends shocked when they started seeing you in movies?
Nobody ever believes that you're going to succeed as an actress until you do. When I was in college I turned down a lead in this horror movie, Deadly Obsession. There were not one but two nude shower scenes, and a lesbian love scene in the pool. The director was like, "What? Most actresses would cut off their right arm for a part like this!"

It must have been helpful to have an actor father [Paul Sorvino] who knows everybody.
I'd have to say: Not very much. I shunned it. I really have this terribly independent streak and did not want any handouts. I waitressed for a year and a half and didn't get a single part.

How was your first sexual experience?
Mom, don't read this. I was almost twenty. It was a real choice, not a backseat-of-the-Chevy situation. I'd been with him for seven months. It was wonderful, beautiful.

You were a bit of a late bloomer.
I had a Christian upbringing -- it was all about sin and guilt. I was very happy just kissing people. I was like the make-out queen -- not even second base. People have forgotten how great kissing is. It can be the most exciting thing. If someone kisses well, it's intoxicating.

What's your favorite place to be kissed?
The first two things that come to mind I wouldn't want to see in print. The third would be on the neck, behind my ear.

Name something about men that remains a mystery to you.
The fact that a man can be so easily attracted to so many women. If I think someone's attractive, it doesn't mean I have a physical response to them right away, like some men.

Are we talking about an erection?
Some men have told me that. I find that a little strange. It seems so sudden. (pauses) Details is just like porn. My mother threw it away when we had it in the house.

What's the most embarrassing thing you have in your purse?
Brown sugar I stole from Starbucks.

If you had one day left to live, how would you spend it?
I'd go to some beautiful, natural place and swim naked with people I love. Then do something incredibly fast, on skis or in a car. Then I'd visit all the people I love and tell them how much I love them.

What do you wear to bed
I get cold -- big old sweatshirt, sweatpants, and socks.

That's attractive.
It's pathetic.

Details, November 1995