NEW DIRECTIONS: Williams now works in independent films.

TAKING THE CAKE: Michelle Williams, with The Station Agent co-star Peter Dinklage, has been praised for her role in this award winning drama.

Life After the Creek

Former star of Dawson's Creek Michelle Williams talks about her new movie.

By: Erika Batey

Posted: 11/14/03

On Friday, November 7, actress Michelle Williams participated in a national college conference call to talk about her career achievements so far and promote her new movie, "The Station Agent."

Known by many as Jen Lindley on the TV show Dawson's Creek, the twenty three year old actress is breaking away from that image by working in independent movies.

"I respond more to independent movies," Williams says. After Dawson's Creek, which she describes as "one huge blockbuster movie," she feels ready for change.

The young actress has come far since her early years, born and raised in Kalispell, Montana.

She moved to San Diego when she was ten and began acting in the local community theatre. After commuting to L.A. for auditions, Williams received her first role at the age of twelve, starring opposite James Earl Jones in an independent short film called Friends. Shortly after, her career took off.

She starred in the movie Dick with Kirsten Dunst, and appeared in Halloween: H20 and A Thousand Acres. More recently she starred in the off-Broadway play, Smelling a Rat, written by Mike Leigh.

This past year has been a successful one for Williams. In addition to The Station Agent, she has appeared in The United States of Leland, and A Hole in One.

The Station Agent, directed by Thomas McCarthy, was released in theatres a month ago and centers around the story of Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage), a 4 ½ ft dwarf who chooses a life of isolation and separation from society.

His singular passion is trains, so he retreats into his own world and takes up residence in an abandoned train depot in rural New Jersey.

However, he soon finds himself involved with neighboring station agents, including a forty-year-old struggling artist (Patricia Clarkson) and a thirty-year-old man with a talent for cooking (Bobby Cannavale). Michelle Williams plays the role of the librarian, Emily, who falls in love with Finbar.

The four form an unlikely bond, their only common desire being solitude.

However, they soon come to realize that even isolation is better shared.

The film has already won several awards, including three at the Sundance Festival.

Being a part of The Station Agent has been one of Williams' favorite projects so far in her career. "It has been my dream to do a film like the one I have just done," Williams says.

To prepare for the role of Emily she talked to Tom, the director, and asked him why he felt her character was important.

Making The Station Agent also provided many memorable moments. "We all stayed at the same hotel in New Jersey," she laughs, "so there was a little bit of drinking going on - offset, not onset!"

As far as the future goes, she is "not sure where to go from here." She hopes to continue working in independent movies, and prefers close-knit ensemble work.

"I like working in a small and intertwined way with other cast members."

Her motivation is "a love for what I do. I have had to have faith and trust in being given the chance to do the things I wanted to do, especially at the beginning of Dawson's Creek, when opportunities were limited."

A love for her work is what has helped Williams become so successful.