"You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering." -Ernest Hemingway
"Alright, Miss Brando, you're hooked up," the assistant said, attaching a microphone to Daphne's shirt.
She smiled. "Just call me Daphne. Miss Brando makes me feel ancient," she said. The assistant nearly fainted when she smiled at him.
"Daphne are you ready?" Oprah Winfrey asked, sitting opposite her in an arm chair.
Daphne nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be," she laughed lightly.
"Alright, we're rolling," the cameraman said, pointing at Oprah.
"Alright, Daphne tell me your full name," Oprah said, glancing at the cards in her hand.
"Daphne Juliana Brando," she replied.
"And when is your birthday?" the older woman asked.
"May 8th, 1988," Daphne said.
"So you're turning twenty-six soon," she said. Daphne nodded with a smile. "How does that feel?"
Daphne smiled again. "It feels like I'm so old, but I'm really not at all in comparison."
"So tell me about your family as a child. You have a very interesting story that most people aren't aware of, so share that with us," she asked.
Daphne sighed before speaking. "I was a child of a loveless relationship. My parents would go back and forth often," she spoke slowly and hesitantly. "One day they'd be together and the next they'd be apart and separating. And then they'd change their minds. I don't think they really knew what they wanted from each other in terms of how they wanted their relationship to function," Daphne paused as she spoke, trying to find the right words. "It was a very volatile relationship."
Oprah nodded. "People know your father because he was famous-and infamous. Tell me about your mother."
"My mother wasn't really a true mother. It didn't seem as though she wanted to be a mother. She wasn't ever really involved in my life. She didn't seem to have any problem dropping me with my father and leaving me for days, even weeks," Daphne said, picking at her nails. "The custody agreement meant nothing to her. Even after my father was sent to prison when I was three, she didn't waste any time in dropping me at my grandfather's house and disappearing." Daphne looked away because it was kind of difficult to talk about her mother. "I think I spoke to her four times over the five years that my father was absent. I haven't spoken to her since I was twelve."
"I can see it's bothering you to talk about her. Are you angry with the way she treated you?" Oprah asked.
Daphne blinked as she thought about her answer. "I was. I used to be," she said as she swallowed, trying to keep herself from getting too nervous. "But then I realized that not every woman is meant to be a mother. Not every woman should be a mother, and not every woman wants to be a mother."
"Right," replied Oprah.
"I can't exactly fault her for not wanting me. I've never heard her side of the story, but I'm sure she had her reasons for leaving me. What upset me more was the lack of interest she showed overall," Daphne said quietly. "I like to think she was just trying to protect me from something. Maybe from the lack of care she could provide. Needless to say, there's no love lost there. I don't see her as my mother. I don't see her as my parent."
"Would you welcome her into your life if she showed interest in you again?" Oprah asked, folding her hands in front of her.
"I don't know," Daphne started. "It's not as though I don't know who she is. I'm positive she knows who I am. But it's a two-way street, you know?" She looked over at the woman sitting across from her as she nodded. "The time for her to step up and be a mother was twenty years ago. The time for her to step up and be a friend is on-going. But I don't know if I'm open to it or not. That's something I just don't think I'm completely healed from. Because it hurts."
"And what about your father?" the older woman asked. "What about your relationship with him?"
"He was the only parent I kind of knew. He was an alcoholic. He drank a lot," Daphne paused for longer than she had before as she tried to configure what she was going to say. "Especially after he got out of jail. It was one of the main reasons why I continued to stay with my grandfather afterwards. But he'd come and visit me often. Several times a week. But he never felt like a parent. More like a crazy uncle you invite over to a party when you want to liven things up." Both women laughed at the image. "But for all of his faults, I have no doubt he loved me. My mother, too. Every parent loves their child, I think. But it varies for some people. Not everyone is meant to be a parent. But even after he got out, my dad never petitioned for custody of me." Daphne took a drink from her water bottle as Oprah shifted through her interview cards.
"Your grandfather was of course the late Marlon Brando," she started. "Tell me about your relationship with him?"
Daphne smiled as she spoke. "My grandfather was an amazing man. He taught me a lot as a child. He was one of the most open-minded people I've ever met in my life. He was a fierce fighter for equality for everyone. That was the Marlon Brando I knew. I didn't know the larger than life actor. I knew the philanthropist and the man who cared more about others than himself," she paused, letting her words sink in. "He was a great man, there's no question of that. And it's because of him that I am who I am today. He instilled so many values in me that still ring true today. He was incredibly shy and self-conscious at times. But he was always open with me and used every chance he got as a chance to educate me. He was incredibly smart and in many ways, I think he was ahead of his time in terms of affiliating himself in politics and using his name to further different causes."
Oprah nodded. "Now, it's completely normal for celebrities to affiliate themselves with politics and political issues like gay marriage or racial equality or what have you. But he really was a part of it long before it became a 'cool thing'," she put up air quotes as she spoke. "Why don't you ever speak about him? You've done so many different interviews, but you never speak about him. Why is that?"
"I have a hard time speaking about him because he was my biggest inspiration. He was my best friend when I was growing up. We had an incredible relationship. It's hard to talk about someone you know so well, especially when you had to share them with the rest of the world. Plus he was intensely shy. He didn't share much about his personal life and I feel bad talking about him when he hardly ever spoke about himself," Daphne said. She shifted in her seat and crossed her legs.
"He claimed in several interviews that he named you," She asked. "Is that correct?"
Daphne nodded. "Yes. He named me. 'Daphne' means laurel branch. And my middle name was originally Julia after his mother. My father added the 'Ana' at the end in honor of his own mother. My grandfather was a big nature fan. He loved to watch trees and just be outside. He could name every single tree that we would pass. He loved to be outside, so that's where that name came from. And he idolized his mother. He loved her, even with her problems and her alcoholism she was his greatest inspiration."
"What about the rest of your family? Are you close with any of them? Do you have a bond with any of them?" Oprah asked.
"It's nonexistent. I was never close with Maria-my grandfather's partner- or her kids. I often felt like she was jealous of how much time I got from my grandfather. This could be true or not, but that's just the way I experienced it," Daphne said quickly. "I wasn't very close with my family in Tahiti, either, but Tuki-my cousin- and I are communicating more now. We didn't have the stereotypical Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving dinners or even family dinners. My grandfather had so many kids and grandchildren it became hard to keep track. But once he died I pretty much cut ties with them all because there was this overwhelming sense of jealousy from all of them and I just didn't have time or space for that in my life."
"You two were so close that he left you nearly half of his estate upon his passing. That caused a big stir," Oprah asked, taking a sip from her water bottle.
"I think he often looked at me as if I was his child, instead of his grandchild," Daphne started. "He was an intensely giving man. He tried to involve me in everything he did. I think he was partially trying to make up for my father's poor parenting ability. It caused quite a controversy in my family because they felt like I didn't deserve it. I was his grandchild, not his child and somehow that made me less deserving of it."
"Many people stated that you already had a successful career and it wasn't fair for you to receive such a large amount of money when you already had massive earnings," Oprah said, filling in the gaps.
Daphne nodded. "I understand that, but I think the reason he left it to me was because he wanted to make sure it went into something good. My grandfather's estate and my earnings are kept separately. I've actually supported several different causes that he would have been proud to be associated with using the money I got from him. I didn't view what he left me as a payday, I viewed it as a way to help others and be charitable like he had taught me to be."
"As a child, were you aware of who your grandfather was?" Oprah asked.
"Oh definitely," Daphne insisted. "It wasn't anything like it is now though. I think if he was still alive today, he'd still be hunted by photographers, not to the extent that I'm hunted as it were, but he'd definitely be a draw for them." She paused and thought. "But we'd go out and go places and people would come up and ask for autographs and photos and all of that when I was younger, so I knew. I don't think I fully understood the magnitude of who he was and what he meant to Hollywood until we got to the set of 'Rings' in New Zealand. When I saw how people responded to him and how they greeted him-people I was working with-I began to understand just how famous he was. These were people from all over the world treating him the same way and just looking at him in awe. It was a big eye opener for me."
"Everyone wants to know, have you seen all of your grandfather's works?" Oprah asked with a smile.
"No. And I don't intend to. 'Last Tango in Paris' is not one I'd enjoy seeing I don't think, for obvious reasons," Daphne laughed. "I don't really watch his work because I had the real thing in front of me. I never had to watch him in anything because I only ever saw him as my grandfather and making that disconnect to 'grandfather/film star' was always hard for me."
"Tell me about when your grandfather died. You've never spoken about it to this date," the other woman asked.
Daphne sighed, feeling the weight of the interview resting on her response. "I was filming in London at the time. Working on 'Goblet of Fire'. I had just turned sixteen," she spoke in halting bits, trying to make sure she kept her emotions in control. "It came as a huge shock to me because no one had told me of his failing health. Maria hadn't told me about it. If I had known I would have backed out of filming immediately," she said quietly. "I remember Mike Newell coming to my trailer and telling me what had happened. I was heartbroken. Just completely heartbroken. It happened right as we were shooting a really happy scene for my character and I just had to deal with it. That's probably the first time I had to really act. I had to act happy and as if everything was fine when inside I was breaking into a thousand tiny pieces."
Oprah nodded. "But he lived a very full life, which allows us to look back on his life and know he didn't regret anything."
"Let's take a break and retouch makeup," one of the producers said.
A flurry of activity brought several different people around Daphne. A makeup artist retouched her face while a hair stylist retouched her hair. She sat quietly, letting them do their jobs. It always bothered her when she did interviews and they were interrupted to fix things. It seemed like she always had to look perfect. After a few minutes the director called for everyone to clear out of the shot and the interview resumed.
"Moving on to your career, did you always want to be an actress?" Oprah started again.
"No. Never," Daphne shook her head. "I originally wanted to be a dancer. I was really involved in ballet and it was something I excelled in. My grandfather even wanted to keep me from the business. It was one of the few things he and my father actually agreed on together. They didn't want me to become this spoiled Hollywood child star, which is why they kept me from auditioning and kept refusing to allow talent agencies to represent me."
"That's interesting. Several agencies were interested in representing you for modeling, correct?" she asked.
"Originally, yes. I was doing a show with the Los Angeles Ballet and somehow my head shot had gotten out and a modelling agency became interested in me. But I never really pursued it. I was really all about dance at that point," Daphne stated.
"The story of your 'discovery' is an interesting one. Tell me about that," Oprah said.
Daphne laughed at the memory. "It was through ballet, originally. Like I said, my head shot had gotten out and it was circulating through agencies around town. I guess it caught the eye of the agency that was doing casting for 'Rings', so they sent it to Pete. He flew out to L.A. as soon as he could and actually came to see a performance of the ballet. He came up to my grandfather and me after the show and introduced himself and everything. He told me about the role and how he thought it would be perfect and asked if we'd come in for an audition. He fought really hard for me to audition. I think my grandfather eventually felt bad for him because he was working so hard, so he finally let me audition. It was really nerve-wracking for me. But I guess he liked it because a few weeks later, we were going to New Zealand."
Oprah laughed. "That does seem like something your grandfather would have done. He was notorious for making directors' lives difficult."
Daphne smiled. "He made sure that Pete really wanted to work with me. And I guess it's a good thing he did because it changed my life."
"Tell me about your experience filming 'Lord of the Rings'. It was arguably the film that changed your life," Oprah asked.
"I remember arriving on set the first day for the read-through of 'Fellowship of the Ring'. At that point, we had only spoken with Pete and Fran Walsh. We hadn't spoken with anyone else involved in the film besides the casting director and she knew me as 'Daphne Christian'-which was the name I had chosen to use to avoid people lumping me in with my grandfather." Daphne replied. "When we came in the room-it was filled with all the lead actors in that film except for Liv I think- it was silent for a good sixty seconds. Literally people's jaws dropped-I mean, properly dropped to the floor. I was in this room of actors who all literally adored my grandfather and had nothing but respect for him. It was one of the craziest moments in my life so far."
"And then filming was an interesting experience. I was enrolled in a standard school while I was in New Zealand. That was one of the stipulations my grandfather had in letting me be in the film-I had to go to a regular school. And Pete arranged for it to happen. I literally had to spend at least 12 hours a week in school and the rest of the time I had a tutor," she continued. "But I was that weird kid with the American accent who missed a lot of school and sometimes showed up with weird clothes on. It was a huge learning experience for me. I stayed with Sean Astin and his family most of the time. But I think having to juggle school and filming was a good lesson for me."
"Is there any project you're particularly proud of so far in your career?" Oprah asked.
"There's a few, but none that stand out to me completely just yet," Daphne started. "You know, my career is still going and I don't think I've reached my personal best yet. I think I still have a lot of growing to do as a person and as an artist before I can say one single project is better than any other," she paused. "I think that I'm proud of 'Rings' for the sheer fact that it happened. It was a massive undertaking on Pete's part-and everyone's part for that matter- and it really could have gone either way. To be a part of something that broke records and changed cinema as a whole is incredible. But it's even more incredible to say that I know everyone who worked on the films and I know how hard everyone worked and how badly we all wanted it to do well."
"I think I'm the most proud of 'Risk' so far because it was the first time I really acted. Playing a character like that one was such a departure from my previous work and it was such an incredible change to me and my personality. It's not an easy thing to do to enter into that head space and stay there for so long, so it was probably one of the most difficult roles I've done, at least for me as a fifteen year old," she continued.
"What about projects you're not so proud of? Do you regret taking any roles you have taken?" Oprah asked, resting her chin on her hand as she watched Daphne.
Daphne shook her head. "Not really. Every time I join a project I look at it differently. I try to see how much I can bring to the character and what I can do for the director and everyone else involved, to make it an enjoyable experience."
"What about typecasting? Ever experience that?" the other woman asked.
"I have been typecast in a way as the girl who only does series and only seems to do projects she can cash in on. And that's really not how it is at all. I choose characters that I want to bring to life. Sometimes they are part of a series and sometimes they aren't. In many ways it's a lot harder to do film series because it is such a large time commitment and very rarely are they filmed the way 'Rings' was filmed where it's back-to-back-to-back. Usually it's like 'Harry Potter' where you take time off and return. And its fun to return to the same group of people with the same family atmosphere, but it can be hard to know that you have to maintain a certain look for a certain period of time. Like Emma in 'Harry Potter', she wanted to chop her hair off so badly while filming but couldn't because she was restricted by her contract to keep in a certain length for the film. Its things like that that can cause some problems. Sometimes the time commitments are hard. Once you get in, it's really hard to justify leaving."
"You've had one of the longest careers in Hollywood for someone of your age. Have you ever considered leaving it behind and doing something else?" Oprah asked.
"I did. Honestly, I did," Daphne said nodding. "When Pete asked me to do 'The Hobbit' and come back and play my character's mother, I thought it was the perfect time to stop. I was back at the beginning, right back where I started and it was full circle. I really contemplated it. I had finished 'Harry Potter', I had wrapped up 'Lost'. There was no other series that I hadn't finished yet. And it was tempting. Really tempting."
"Do you think you deserved the Oscar for 'Risk'? You were quite young," Oprah asked.
"Initially I didn't. I felt that I was too young. Even now, looking back I feel that it came too soon. I wish I was a little older than I was. I often wonder if my career would have gone as far if I hadn't won," Daphne responded.
"Do you think you'd still be acting if films like 'Lord of the Rings', 'Harry Potter', and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' hadn't done so well?" Oprah asked.
"Probably not. I wasn't ever interested in acting. It's sort of something I stumbled upon. And once I started doing it I enjoyed it," Daphne said. "Because to me as an eleven year old kid, filming for 'Rings' was fun. I got to dress up in costumes, I got to play with swords and do all sorts of fun stunts and it never seemed like work to me. But then again, I think Pete made sure it never seemed like work to me. I really do credit him with my entire career for that reason. I think if things had been hard for me I probably never would have been in another film again."
"You're getting ready to shoot 'Suicide Squad', which involves the character of the Joker. When Heath Ledger died, you were openly devastated. Explain your relationship with Heath to me," Oprah said, changing the tone of the interview.
"He and I were very close," Daphne answered, biting her lip. "He fought Christopher really hard to let me have the role. He just saw something in me and knew I'd be perfect. The same way Pete did when I was younger. It's hard to explain. We had a very close relationship."
"Your dating life has been really big paparazzi fodder and kind of controversial at times. You caused quite a stir when you dated your 'Lord of the Rings' costar, Elijah Wood, at sixteen. Tell me about that," the other woman asked.
Daphne smiled at the mention of Elijah. "He was a great first boyfriend," she said with a laugh. "He was sweet and kind and we had so much in common. We really were close when we were filming together and we just got closer as we did press for the films. But it's really that he was there for me when I needed someone." She paused and thought. "I realize that some people may have seen it as inappropriate, but we were both consenting and I was definitely not a child. I hadn't been a child for a long time just because of how crazy my life had been-even up to filming for 'Rings'. We were only together for six months or something. And honestly, it wasn't really dating in terms of how I see it today," she said. "It was more just go out together, spend time together, and maybe kiss once or twice. It wasn't the way everyone was making it out to be. People were acting like we were filming sex tapes or whatever and it wasn't like that at all. It was actually pretty innocent to be honest."
"What about Daniel Radcliffe?" Oprah asked.
"Everyone was so determined to create a relationship there between us. Like they hunted for signs and tried to edit photos so that it looked like we were together. They wanted that to happen so badly. But it didn't. Dan and I are more like brother and sister than anything else," Daphne laughed.
"Let's take another break," the producer called.
Oprah turned to Daphne. "Are you alright? I know this is difficult to talk about some things."
Daphne nodded. "It's no big deal. I'd rather tell them my side of the story than sit here and let someone else make it up."
She nodded in response, allowing the makeup and hair people to do their job. After a few minutes, they were rolling again.
"Is there one person in Hollywood you haven't worked with yet, but would like to?" Oprah asked, starting the interview up again.
"I don't know," Daphne thought for a moment. "I'm excited to work with Jared just because I've seen his other work and I want to see how he does things, but I generally get excited with everyone I work with. I don't have a list or something of people I want to work with. I have people I enjoy working with more than others, but most of that comes because I've worked with them a lot more than others."
"Tell me about your charity, 'Leelah's Hope," Oprah asked.
"Leelah's Hope was originally an organization called the LBGTQ Collective that I got involved with a few years ago. We recently renamed it in honor of a seventeen year old transgender girl who committed suicide last December. She wrote several suicide notes explaining why she felt it was the only option for her and it really spoke to me in a sense that someone could think that throwing them self in front of a semi-truck going sixty to seventy miles an hour was the only way to make things better," Daphne said, pausing.
"Her family refused to acknowledge Leelah as a female, even in death. And Leelah wrote in her suicide notes that she wanted her death to mean something. And since Leelah's parents won't keep her memory alive, someone has to," she continued.
"Leelah's Hope basically offers counseling and support to transgender, lesbian, bisexual, gay, and questioning individuals and their families and friends. It operates across the United States and we are trying to get it to expand into other parts of the world. It's also an organization that is working with lawmakers to improve and change laws for the LBGTQ community as a whole. We are heavily involved in the gay marriage issue as well as working with lawmakers to pass Leelah's Law, which would outlaw conversion therapy. It started out being focused to teenagers and young adults and it has now expanded to offer services to children as well as established adults and their families," Daphne finished.
"And every year you do a big fundraising event, correct?" Oprah asked.
"I do. In the past, I've auctioned off possessions of mine to raise money for Leelah's Hope but this year I'm auctioning off a date with me-essentially someone gets to spend the entire day with me. The only thing is you must be over eighteen, have a passport, and be legal to travel wherever I'll be on that date. I cover all the costs of getting you to see me," she stated. "In addition to me auctioning off a date, I'm able to add several other people to the list: Jared Leto, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Daniel Radcliffe, Ian McKellen, Michelle Rodriguez, Dakota Fanning, Darren Criss, Avan Jogia, Josh Hutcherson, Lee Pace, Anthony Rapp, Neil Patrick Harris, Orlando Bloom, Green Day, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Sam Smith, Beyonce, John Mayer, Katy Perry, Russell Brand, and so many more are all involved this year," Daphne continued.
"They're all either donating their time or personal items to be auctioned off. All the bidding is done online between October fifteenth and November Fifteenth which is Leelah's birthday and we are working on planning an event that will occur on that same date this year to honor those who are strong examples for the LGBTQ community as a whole and those who support it," she finished. "It's really important to me that Leelah be remembered and that her death not have been in vain because it shouldn't," Daphne added.
"Alright, that's a wrap," the producer said.
Everyone applauded as assistants scurried around to collect belongings and organize things for transport.
"Thank you so much for doing this," Oprah told the younger woman. "It really was a pleasure to talk to you. You're so sweet and kind."
Daphne blushed a little. "Thank you for doing what you've done. It was no big deal."