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.