Trivia: Leelee Sobieski

Here’s some fascinating trivia about Leelee Sobieski that even many of her fans might not know:

1. She Turned Down Harvard for Acting

Leelee was accepted into Harvard University but deferred enrollment to pursue acting. She later admitted in interviews that she never ended up attending because her career took off with roles in Deep Impact (1998) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999).

2. She Almost Played Queen Amidala in Star Wars

Sobieski was one of the top contenders for Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). The role ultimately went to Natalie Portman, but George Lucas reportedly liked Sobieski’s regal presence and even considered her for another Star Wars project years later.

3. She Quit Acting Because of Typecasting

After gaining fame in the late '90s and early 2000s, Sobieski grew frustrated with being offered the same "innocent girl in peril" roles (The Glass House, Joy Ride). She stepped back from Hollywood in the mid-2010s to focus on painting (her artwork has been exhibited in galleries) and raising her family.

4. She Was Discovered in a Grocery Store

At just 12 years old, Sobieski was spotted by a talent agent while shopping with her mother in a New York grocery store. Within a year, she landed her breakout role in A Horse for Danny (1995).

5. She’s Fluent in French & Studied Philosophy

Sobieski’s father is Polish, and her mother is American, but she spent much of her childhood in France. She speaks fluent French and even studied philosophy in her spare time during her acting career.

6. She Played Joan of Arc Twice

Sobieski portrayed Joan of Arc in both a 1999 CBS miniseries (for which she earned an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination) and in The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones (earlier in her career). She called it a "spiritual experience."

7. She Rejected Blockbuster Roles

Besides Star Wars, she turned down major franchises like Spider-Man (the role of Mary Jane Watson went to Kirsten Dunst) and The Lord of the Rings (she was considered for Éowyn).

8. She’s a Published Poet

In addition to painting, Sobieski has written poetry, some of which was published in literary journals under a pseudonym.

 

Leelee Sobieski as Ruby Baker in The Glass House (2001)

Here’s an intriguing and lesser-known story about Leelee Sobieski’s role as Ruby Baker in The Glass House (2001):

The Real-Life Fear Factor

During filming, Leelee Sobieski developed a genuine fear of driving after performing the movie’s intense car crash scene. The sequence, where Ruby and her brother (played by Trevor Morgan) are nearly run off the road by their sinister guardians, was shot practically with stunt drivers and rigged vehicles. Sobieski, who was only 17 at the time, admitted in an interview that the realism of the stunt left her shaken—so much so that she avoided driving for months afterward.

A Hidden Tribute

Director Daniel Sackheim incorporated subtle visual homages to classic thrillers like The Shining and Psycho in The Glass House, but one of the most obscure references is tied to Sobieski herself. The glass-walled Malibu house used for filming (which was a real, privately owned property) had its interiors modified to include eerie, reflective surfaces that distorted characters’ faces—a nod to Sobieski’s earlier role in Eyes Wide Shut (1999), where mirrors played a symbolic role.

The Alternate Ending That Never Was

Originally, the script included a darker ending where Ruby’s fate was left ambiguous, implying that she might still be in danger. Test audiences reacted negatively, so the studio reshot it to give a more definitive resolution. However, Sobieski reportedly preferred the original version, feeling it was truer to the film’s suspenseful tone.

 

Four sides of Leelee

The image of Leelee Sobieski is a collage of four different scenes featuring her. Each scene is a close-up and medium shot, focusing on her face and upper body. The scenes vary in setting and her apparent emotional state, suggesting different moments or contexts.