Behind ''Dead Man Walking''

While some of the movie was shot at Louisiana's Angola prison, most of the filming was done on a New York City soundstage, including Penn's execution by lethal injection. In the final version the actor is effectively shown going to sleep. But at the time, Robbins wasn't sure the scene would be dynamic enough, so he decided to shoot it a second way. ‘‘Sometimes what happens with lethal injections is that if they haven't taken the antihistamine, there's an allergic reaction. They go into convulsions. So Sean very graciously—’‘

‘‘Maniac,’‘ Susan interjects.

‘‘—did 20 takes of convulsions, on and off camera.’‘

The scenes were grueling for the actors (particularly Penn, who says of the work, ‘‘It wasn't fun, but I'd work with them again in a flash’‘), and Robbins asked Sister Helen to come to New York to be on the set full-time. ‘‘I affirmed the heck out of them,’‘ she says. ‘‘Poor Sean Penn was executed all week long.’‘ At one point, ‘‘we took a break and Sean didn't want to get all unstrapped from the gurney, and I noticed that Susan went in to talk to him, and she just took ahold of his hand. I remember thinking to myself that even acting out dying like that is hard.’‘

For all of the actors' courage, one of Sarandon's simplest choices was also one of her most daunting. Despite forging a career on her sexual appeal, whether playing a prostitute in 1978's Pretty Baby or rubbing lemons on her body in 1981's Atlantic City, Sarandon faced the camera with no makeup, a move she had inched toward as Marmee in 1994's Little Women. ‘‘That felt really naked,’‘ Sarandon says, chewing on a nail. ‘‘I wasn't brave enough to go to dailies. The first couple of times I saw the film I was pretty devastated, but I knew the point was to find some kind of inner light, to empty myself of vanity.’‘ When told that Penn calls her ‘‘the most present actor I've ever worked with,’‘ Sarandon laughs. ‘‘That's all I had, to be present.’‘ Next time, she says, ‘‘I want to try to get some mascara on.’‘

Sarandon hasn't decided on a new project, but with the success of Dead Man Walking (it has earned $26 million to date), she finds herself in great demand, dispelling the myth that youth equals desirability. Even so, says Mount, ‘‘she will always be sexy, but obviously her role as a sex object is limited.’‘ The Client director Joel Schumacher disagrees. ‘‘When did this occur, that women have time clocks on their sexuality? Men don't. Even Walter Matthau gets Sophia Loren in [Grumpier Old Men].’‘

Despite her enviable position, Sarandon has no illusions about her status in Hollywood. ‘‘They always find a way to humiliate me,’‘ she says. ‘‘I've gotten calls recently offering me a part that's already been given to someone else.’‘

‘‘No matter how successful you are—’‘ Robbins chimes in.

‘‘—as an actor,’‘ Sarandon finishes, ‘‘you're vulnerable.’‘

The downsides to acting haven't deterred Robbins, who, as Sarandon puts it, ‘‘has the market cornered on playing a--holes,’‘ after roles in The Player (1992), Short Cuts (1993), and Bob Roberts. ‘‘I really enjoy acting,’‘ Robbins says simply of his decision to follow up a starring turn in 1994's The Shawshank Redemption with the upcoming comedy Nothing to Lose. ‘‘He's got to make some money now,’‘ Sarandon says. ‘‘We've got mortgages to pay,’‘ adds Robbins, referring to their Manhattan and Westchester County homes.

The couple have one more part to play together — their joint appearance at the Academy Awards. (Sarandon plans to wear a gauzy Robert Danes dress; Sister Helen, the couple's date, says, ‘‘I borrowed a nice black dress from a friend.’‘) Robbins and Sarandon say they haven't given the ceremony much thought, but will admit to anxiety at the prospect of having to wait for the outcome. ‘‘You put on your smile and pretend you're Miss America,’‘ Sarandon says of the moment when the nominees' names are read. Still, this year's best bet is hedging hers. ‘‘I'm very good at losing. The thing I'm not used to is winning. For me, the fear is having to get out of my seat.’‘