The writer, director and star of Hedwig and the Angry Inch on turning down David Bowie, falling off a Broadway stage, and a cringeworthy moment with Nicole Kidman
The film adaptation of Hedwig and the Angry Inch has such a cult following. What’s been your most memorable interaction with a fan?
It’s interesting, Hedwig wasn’t famous, it was a film that so many people found because a friend told them about it. So people don’t come up to you because you’re famous, it’s because they were touched. The most intense interaction was when I was on the subway platform and a kid gave me a tiny piece of paper and hopped on a train. I opened it and it said, “Thank you. Hedwig saved my life”. I don’t know what happened – maybe they felt lonely and then the film made them feel like “There’s other people for me out there”.
