Sigourney Weaver on Pole Dancing and Prop 8

Actress reveals she tries to show off some sexy moves in upcoming flick You Again; plus, she weighs in on gay marriage

By Marc Malkin Aug 28, 2009 2:20 PMTags
Sigourney Weaver, Ryan Kelley, Prayers for Bobby, Defend Equality, Proposition 8 PosterLifetime Networks

Move over, Miley Cyrus!

Sigourney Weaver is giving you a run for your pole-dancing money.

The Alien actress, 59, reveals that she not only dances the samba but also gets down with a pole in You Again, her upcoming comedy costarring Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis and Betty White.

"I didn't learn that at Yale [School of Drama]," she laughed with reporters during a recent media set visit to the movie. "Although it would have been useful."

No, Weaver does not strip down to, well, stripper clothes. "I wear the same thing [I did] for the samba," she said. "I have a little kind of Carmen Miranda costume."

On a more serious note, Weaver said she's been "very heartened" by the response she's received for Prayers for Bobby. Her role in the Lifetime movie, in which she plays a Bible-thumping mother whose son kills himself because he's gay, earned her an Emmy nomination.

"A lot of parents come up to me on the street and say how much they appreciate the film," Weaver said.

It may be hard to tell whether Prayers has had an impact on the way people think about gay marriage.

"I was very disheartened because I love the movie and I do think it will do some good, but when I read that the poll numbers in California hadn't changed at all since the referendum, I was just shocked."

But Weaver was encouraged to learn recently that one of the two lawyers fighting the legality of Prop 8's ban on same-sex unions in California is well-known Republican attorney Ted Olson.

"The fact that there is even a Republican saying, 'This is completely illegal, everybody has equal rights to happiness,' it's like, 'Oh good! I thought the world was round, and it is!' " Weaver said.  

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Of course, Sigourney wasn't the only one with an Emmy nomination. Get a look at last year's biggest night in television in our 2008 Emmys: Arrivals photo gallery.