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Tavis: It has been a very busy year for actress Marcia Gay Harden, and it's only February. This month, you can catch her in the Lifetime original movie “She's Too Young.' The Oscar-winning actress is again nominated this year for an Academy Award for her role in the highly acclaimed film “Mystic River.' Here's a scene from “Mystic River.'

Dave Boyle: You've barely looked at me since you found out Katie was dead. In fact, you seem repulsed by me.

Celeste Boyle: Dave!

Dave: What?

Celeste: I don't think anything. I'm confused, OK? Even your friend Sean asked about you.

Dave: He's not my friend, in case you haven't figured that out yet.

Celeste: He asked me about you. What time you came home.

Dave: What'd you tell him?

Celeste: I said I was asleep.

Tavis: If she wins an Oscar for that role, her twin Oscars will go nicely with her twin children due next month. Marcia, nice to see you.

Marcia Gay Harden: It's nice to see you, too.

Tavis: I'm so proud of you, and I'm proud for you, but I feel so bad for you 'cause you got all these interviews to do, all the rounds to make, and I'm delighted to have you here, but you got to be, like, “Uh!'

Marcia: Are you saying I waddled onto this set?

Tavis: Well, I wasn't gonna say it, but since you went there.

Marcia: Admit it. Stop it.

Tavis: How you feelin'?

Marcia: You know what? I feel really good, knock wood--if it's in here. I so far feel just great, and there's just a little more activity going down, like when you said waddle, they kicked. They're protecting me already.

Tavis: Yeah. I get mail all the time from people who say, “Wow, I love your show, but you talk so fast.' And looking at you, I feel like I should talk even faster to get you out of here.

Marcia: You're afraid you're gonna have to do some delivery work, right? Suddenly, and the ratings went up!

Tavis: That would be good for ratings. So can you do this now?

Marcia: A live delivery for you?

Tavis: Yeah. Can you do this now? All right. Is there anybody in this film who's not nominated? This film is so good that everybody, from you to Clint to Robbins to Sean Penn. Everybody's nominated.

Marcia: You know, a lot of us were, and then you look at Laurence Fishburne and Kevin Bacon and Laura Linney, also gorgeous, gorgeous performances, then they weren't, but probably should have been. But you look at it, and Clint's direction and the writing and the theme of the film are so beautiful and so resonant that its actors, who joined this ensemble--and that's really what it felt like, an ensemble, we're all kind of theater-trained... And I felt like everybody was there on the day just really working together, really working to do the best they can do. And it was such a pleasure because so often when you're in a film, you shoot the scene and you're out of there, and you never meet half of the other people in the film. And in this case, everyone was really working together.

Tavis: So here's the part of the conversation where I ask you a question and you get a chance to suck up to the director.

Marcia: All right.

Tavis: All right? So you get another job with Clint Eastwood. You ready for this? All right, so this is the second time you've worked with Clint Eastwood. So what is it about Clint that you so enjoy working with him?

Marcia: He's phenomenal. He's a gentleman. He's a man's man.

Tavis: There you go. Very good.

Marcia: You can tell I've sucked up to a few directors before.

Tavis: Ha ha ha!

Marcia: But it's all true, you know? Like, Clint is notorious for not saying “Action,' and he doesn't say “Cut.'

Tavis: How do you know when to start and when to finish?

Marcia: 'Cause he says this. It's a little weird the first time, but he says, “Go ahead...'

Tavis: Ha ha ha!

Marcia: “...whenever you're ready.' And the first time, you're like, “Me? Hold on here.' Your first scene is completely insane, but then you get used to it. What it does is it provides this atmosphere of...he doesn't intrude on what's getting ready to happen between you and the actor. He's, “Go ahead,' and the crew is ready, and it's kind of this beautiful space that he creates. I think of that kind of as allowing us to do our work, and then guiding us through it, rather than manipulating and “Do it again!' And “Think about ice cream!' Or whatever, you know, when you deal with those things.

Tavis: He just says, “Go ahead and make my day.'

Marcia: There it is. Ha ha ha!

Tavis: A friend of mine--and I'm not gonna do justice to this story--but a friend of mine tells a great Clint Eastwood story, which I'm sure you can relate to, having worked with him twice now, about how Clint was on the set of a movie somewhere one time doing something. And he apparently does not like to do a bunch of takes. He doesn't do multiples. Is this a true story?

Marcia: That's true.

Tavis: He doesn't do multiple takes, I'm told. So he was actually acting in this film, not directing, till the director says, “Clint, great scene. You did a wonderful job, and I liked when you did this, and I liked when you did that, but I want to see if we can just do it one more time to tweak it this way.' And Clint says to the director, “Was I in focus?' The director says, “Yes.' He says, “Moving on.'

Marcia: Yes-siree-bob.

Tavis: So I guess that's a true story about how he likes to keep this thing moving.

Marcia: No, that is true. You'll get 2 takes, and one usually for safety. But if he can get it on the first take, he's perfectly happy. And the first film--I did “Space Cowboys' with him--Clint, actually, on the rehearsal, he put a little piece of tape over the red light on the camera so I didn't know it was going, and he'd say, “Go ahead.' And that was so you go ahead and you do the scene. And he said, “All right, that was great. Moving on.' And I fell on the floor. And, of course, the crew laughed because, you know, I was the rookie actor who didn't know this about him. But I think he figures that if you do it too many times, you just get jaded. You're manipulating the performance, and you're not spontaneous and real anymore. So he wants you to be right there and be real. It's kind of wonderful because it's not exhausting. Especially if you're doing really emotional scenes, it's not exhausting and it's alive.

Tavis: One of the things I love about your work is that you are so wonderful and so great at this character thing. I mean, you develop these characters--

Marcia: See, now you're sucking up to me. We can have a little date after this.

Tavis: I can do more of this. You are so good, though, at playing these characters. I want to know whether or not you enjoy the work you do as much as I enjoy the work you do given that this leading lady thing is not what you've become famous for? It is for playing these characters. And now, if you win this second time for supporting actress. You're cool with that though?

Marcia: I absolutely love it. I love being a character actor. I love, kind of, transforming and trying to leave myself behind. Not to say I wouldn't love do it in a more responsible way for the film, or have more to do, more to say. You'll never hear me say I wouldn't want to be that and be a leading lady. But also I think the place I am right now in life has been also really good for me and my private life because I don't have to carry a film, which means I have more time. And so I can spend time at home with my family, and that's also quite huge. You know, you don't know yet because you're still single--which I just found out when I came in, girls--but it's very important to have that healthy family life. For me it's quite important. So maybe, you know, maybe next year the other will come, too, and I'll be able to balance that. But so far, so good.

Tavis: You're gonna need a lot more time, 'cause how do you manage two of these at the same time?

Marcia: I have no idea. All my girlfriends who've had twins are writing me in about how to do it. And there's books that show you the positions for taking care of kids at the same time. And I think you just do it, you know, a wing and a prayer, and believe you can.

Tavis: I don't mean to get too esoteric or philosophical about this, but does being pregnant with twins at this point in your career put your career in a different light for you? Is there a different context, a different perspective about your work brought on by this at all?

Marcia: No.

Tavis: You just want to do this and get on back to work.

Marcia: Well, do it and go back to work with it, in a way. Not deny one for the other, but go back to work with it, and that's... I think you have to embrace all of what you do. And there's no separation for me. It is what I do, and I do have this family, so let's see how we can balance it and blend it together.

Tavis: I just had Carrie Fisher on this program, who you know is a wonderful screenwriter in this town. And we had an interesting conversation--at least I thought it was interesting--about the roles, or lack thereof, for women in this business. Particularly as women start to age in this business. Your success would seem to indicate to me that maybe there isn't such a shortage of quality roles for women because everything you do you seem to get nominated for.

Marcia: You're so sweet. I think that there are certainly less roles for women. I mean, just when you look at the amount of roles, let's say, in “Lord of the Rings,' and then the few women's roles in that. Or even in “Mystic' there were more male roles. The males seem to be a more thriving audience, have been in the past.

But you do see that shifting, and you see cable networks now, Lifetime, like the “She's Too Young.' It's geared toward women and there are many, many things geared towards women. And I think as women are in the marketplace--and this is really what it's all about. As women are in the marketplace, you want that dollar. And so we need to make films that are appealing to women in the marketplace who will go and pay to see that film. But it's happening. It's definitely happening.

Tavis: Let's talk about the Lifetime movie “She's Too Young.' I had a chance to study this. This is some serious stuff.

Marcia: It's pretty scary. The film's about teen sex, and there have been a lot of examples lately in film and also in news shows about the kind of a lack of relationship at a much younger age where teens are engaging in sex. And we're not talking just in two children who are in love. We're talking about multiple partners at the same time and a lot of drugs, a lot of alcohol--what seems to me to be kind of very violent and a very unsafe environment for children. And I was concerned about that because I thought, “Well, my daughter's gonna be 5. I don't really have to deal with it for her right now, but I will.' And I'm a part of this society, and the messages of violence and sexuality are pervasive for the girls.

I want and I hope my daughter is able to decide who she wants to be and who she is, whatever it is, and not who the media is telling her to be. And that's very, very difficult, especially in the music world. You know, they're telling you to be boopita-bappita, you know, always. Always. And I think, “What if that's not what you want to be?' There's no messages telling you that you can be something different. And then how do you keep them safe? How do you keep your kids safe? That's always a question.

Tavis: With that said, what is your greatest hope and your greatest fear for your 5-year-old and these two that you're about to bring into the world? In this world that we live in now, it's a strange and crazy place, uh, to paraphrase what you've just articulated. What's your greatest hope for your children and your greatest fear for your children in the world that we now live--that you're bringing these kids into?

Marcia: That's a great question. The fear is easier to talk about because we're at war, really, still, and we've just witnessed an insane abduction a couple days ago, and my fear--my hope...

I want them to be safe, and my fear is that our leaders in the country aren't showing us, especially like Enron, and... I know it's a circuitous answer, but when I think about what our leaders are showing us, there's a lack of dignity. There's a lack of integrity. There's a lack of honesty. And I don't want my daughter to grow up believing that it's OK to cheat, that it's OK to cheat the little man, that it's OK to be a corporate head and steal. And yet, I feel there are those messages from society that are saying it is.

My greatest hope is along the same lines. That they're safe and live in this wonderful world--and you know, I don't mean naive. I don't expect them to sing “I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.' That's not real, but I want her to be the woman that she can be. You know, we live down the street--I live in Harlem in New York, and down the street is Maya Angelou. And if you look at any of Maya's work, and she's talking about “phenomenal woman' and this gorgeous woman that you can be. That's what I want my daughter to be, and that's what I want my children to be. Really, um...integral to society. I don't care if they're leaders. I just want them to be honest, good citizens--and I know I sound like Pollyanna, but you know what? I think they're really important values.

Tavis: That was the most wonderful circuitous answer I've ever heard.

Marcia: Thank you.

Tavis: I love you 'cause you're a great actress, and I love you 'cause you live in Harlem.

Marcia: All right. I love Harlem. It's the best.

Tavis: Nice to see you, and all the best to you on the Awards.

Marcia: Thank you very much.

Tavis: My pleasure. Up next, Grammy-nominated neo-soul duo Floetry. Stay with us.