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Fresh from big win, Melissa Leo goes to Big Easy By Jacqueline Cutler © Zap2it The most famous im- age of Melissa Leo is at the Academy Awards, letting the F-bomb drop while accepting her Oscar in a gown that de- fined old Hollywood. A far more typical image of the actress is of her on a recent blustery day. She’s in well-worn jeans, a gray sweatshirt, plain boots, no makeup and hair pulled back. Leo strides into a hotel on New York’s Bowery, and it would take a sharp-eyed fan to recognize her, which suits Leo just fine. Leo, who travels without an entourage, picks up borscht from a Ukrainian restaurant and offers to share. Just stop- ping by Vaselka proves what a downtown woman she is. Leo grew up in this neighbor- hood before it was chic. Settling into a club chair, Leo happily discusses playing a mule her first time onstage, what happened at the Os- cars, and the return of HBO’s “Treme” Sunday, April 24, in which she plays Toni. “I have to say, I don’t think she’s a civil rights attorney,” which is how Toni is often characterized, Leo, 50, says. “She is a bleeding heart not just for left-leaning politics but American vernacular, and I am sorry to offend. Network televi- sion is not the time and place. The time delay is wonderful.” With a glint, she adds, “Thank f... goodness!” As for the rest of that glamour-soaked evening, Leo adores the dress created for her, which isn’t as heavy as the 70-pound dress she wore to the SAG Awards. And Kirk Douglas is still a sexy man, she says. They’re meeting for tea in Los Angeles. Some of her recent char- Melissa Leo stars in “Treme” Sunday on HBO. for music, the sacred music of that city.” That city is post-Katrina New Orleans, and Leo refers to it, without malice, as “a beautifully backward town.” She had shown up for work with her Oscar in her luggage, but airport security found it troublesome. Leo won her Os- car for her portrayal of Alice Ward in “The Fighter.” “It’s very powerful,” she says of the statuette. “It’s not just an icon that we use as a term. It’s an actual, not a virtual, icon. Security in New Orleans didn’t know who he was or how I got him.” Stutzman MOTOR SALES , INC. 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Just after the Oscars, in a separate interview, Winslet tells Zap2it, “I sent her a text message and said: ‘Is that f... you, Melissa, you motherf... cow?’ And the b... hasn’t called me back! Everyone dumps all this s... on me, all the f... time!” Yes, the great Kate speaks like a drunken sailor, but in a plummy British accent. Incidentally, Leo did not receive the text message be- cause she does not text. Leo apologizes again for what she said, and adds, “It is acters — Lucy in “Mildred Pierce” and Toni in “Treme” — are the sort of women other women want for a best friend. There’s an iron core of loyalty and a can-do spirit about them. The common thread between them is that “both of these characters are inwardly happy,” she says. “They are living the lives they had envi- sioned for themselves.” Leo also emanates that. As a child, attending nearby P.S. 122, which has since become an arts space, she knew she wanted to act even before she knew what to call it. She loves to work, which is why she’s hoping “Treme” is renewed and she continues working with series creator David Si- mon, for whom she worked on “Homicide: Life on the Street.” Leo has been incredibly busy the last couple of years, racking up 24 credits. She downplays that number, ex- plaining some were student films or two-day gigs. If she could have her pick, Leo says, she would work “in European film,” she says. “That’s a pretty broad state- ment. No particular language, no particular country.” Her other goal is to learn to play the guitar. Despite being tone-deaf, Leo bought Ani DiFranco’s guitar at an auction to raise money for New Orleans schools to buy instruments. Though offers GLASSES • CONTACTS • EYE EXAMS • SUNGLASSES EYEWEAR GALLERY 56028 Parkway Ave., Suite E - Elkhart • 574-970-7444 EXPIRES APRIL 30, 2011 50% OFF * EYE David R. Britzke , O.D. *Offer not valid with insurance or other offers. Does not include contact lens fitting fee. www.drbritzke.com Allergies? 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