In her new movie, Manhattan Night (in theaters May 20), Jennifer Beals got to experience life as only the luckiest of New Yorkers do: The suspenseful film noir is partially set in an idyllic house in the middle of the city. “It’s like a little Hobbit cave,” says Beals. “It was cozy—like someplace you’d expect to find in the Vermont countryside.”
The home serves an antidote to the sordid drama Beals’s reporter husband, Porter Wren (played by Adrien Brody), becomes ensnared in when he meets a complicated woman with a mysterious past. “The house is where his family is,” says Beals. “It’s the epicenter of his heart; it has all the chambers of Wren’s emotional life.”
In that way—and only that way—the scenes resemble the happy home life the actress enjoys with her husband, Canadian entrepreneur Ken Dixon, and young daughter. “I don’t know where I live,” jokes Beals. “I have a place in L.A. and another on the west coast of Canada, but I’m in New York, Toronto, Albuquerque—I am definitely a nomad. I love traveling, but I do wish I could be home enough to plant bulbs and have a proper garden.” Still, she’s managed to put down some solid enough roots—read on for a glimpse into her peripatetic life.
Describe your homes in five words or less.Cozy, eclectic, and perhaps temporary.
Do you collect anything?I wouldn’t call it a collection, but I have a lot of photography. There’s an Édouard Boubat of a woman on a ferry that I really love. And I have a collection of Haitian voodoo flags. But usually I collect things without knowing I’m collecting them: All of a sudden I’ll look up and there are all these little tiny paintings of the Virgin Mary around my house, and I’ll think, I guess I was really attracted to that image for quite some time.
What’s your favorite room in your home?It’s become really important to me to create an alluring guest room. My mom was coming to visit, and I wanted to make sure the room would make her feel really welcome. I have quite a few pieces from India in there, and I got a really beautiful dresser at Nadeau that anchors the room and works with the Indian elements.
What’s on your bedside table?Several books, a picture of my family, a little Ganesh statue, and an antique lamp from Japan that my mom gave me. I also have an alarm clock—not a digital one, the old-school kind.
Most nights you eat dinner . . .Either I’ll cook, or my husband will cook, and we will eat together on an old rustic table in the dining room.
My home away from home is . . .Probably the Chateau Marmont—I’ve been staying there since I was 17. I usually don’t like to stay in hotels, though. I prefer to rent an apartment or a house, which allows me to cook for myself.
My home decor philosophy is . . .Nonexistent. I do love holding an object in my hand and thinking, Does it bring me joy? But do whatever makes you happy, for God’s sake! Why should anyone dictate to anyone else what to do in terms of decor?
You get home after a long day, the first thing you do is . . .Take off my makeup, meditate for a little while, or lie down on the floor with my dogs for a bit, which immediately lowers my blood pressure. Then I’ll cook dinner and do my “homework.”
What was the best-designed set you’ve ever worked on?Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle. It was so beautifully designed and so interesting because there were no marks on the ground for the actors. You could go anywhere, and it was ready. The set was part of the story and part of your character in a seamless way. It was inspiring.
What was the best movie prop you’ve gotten to take home?I really wanted the Bible Gary Oldman’s character is searching for in the The Book of Eli. The Bible that they used was so beautiful, and I really, really wanted it, but I think the director has it.
If I could save one object in my house . . .It would be my wedding album. It was all shot on film, and I’m not sure where the film is, but the album has all of these images our friends took and letters people wrote to us. That’s what I’d save.
