Polish actress tapped for "JFK" Pozniak gratified with work as Oswald's widow

A very pretty young woman sat next to me on the plane to Hollywood last week. She introduced herself as Beata Pozniak, a Polish actress currently working in Dallas. It turns out she is the actress Oliver Stone selected to play Marina Oswald in his next movie, "JFK," which co-stars Kevin Costner as New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison. She was returning to her Hollywood home after two weeks on location. Pozniak was reluctant to talk about the movie but was quite charming about it. "Oliver asked us not to," she explained. "The movie is about Kennedy's assassination and is based on Jim Garrison's book. But that's all I can say right now." She did say she went to Dallas to "hang out with Marina Oswald Porter and get into character ." Then she asked me more questions than I asked her. "What do people in Texas think about Marina Oswald?" she asked. "How did Texans react to the assassination?"

Secretive

No doubt these questions are posed in the film, but only the assassination during the motorcade in front of the Texas School Book Depository has been filmed thus far. That scene has been extensively covered by the press, but Stone is keeping the rest of the movie a secret. This is typical of the man who wrote and directed "The Doors," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Talk Radio," "Wall Street" and the Oscar winning "Platoon." His movies make profound political and social statements that provoke some and please others. He tackles his most controversial subject thus far with "JFK" as his source material boldly suggests that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone as the Warren Commission reported in its official report. Stone's movies may cause controversial comments from the public but not from his actors. Working with Oliver Stone is wonderful," Pozniak said. "He is always open to ideas from the cast and crew. He listens intently and thinks everything through to see if it will benefit his movie. He never puts anyone down for making a suggestion. That's why he gets such good performances from his actors." Pozniak is enthusiastic about movies in general and the way they are received In America. "My background is in theater, but I also made movies in Poland, she said. "I was born in Gdansk and studied film and theater in Lodz. I also studied theater in New York and now want a movie career in America.Most movies made in Poland aren't seen in the West other than at film festivals." She graduated from the Roman Polanski Film School in Lodz, then appeared on polish stages and television in plays by Shakespeare, Gogol and Moliere. "I auditioned for Oliver Stone and did two screen tests for him before getting the part of Marina Oswald." Pozniak looks very much like pictures taken of Marina Oswald in 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated. Oswald was 23 at the time, and her activities were documented extensively by the press. If Stone's movie is true to history, Pozniak's role is a major one, probably bigger than many of the big-name cameos in the picture. Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Glenn Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Lolita Davidovich and Sally Kirkland have walk-ons. The main cast also includes Sissy Spacek as Garrison's wife and Bill Murray's brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, as Jack Ruby. Gary Oldman plays Lee Harvey Oswald.

Arrival in Hollywood

When she first arrived in Hollywood she established herself in the community by writing, directing and acting in live theater. "I wrote and directed two plays in Los Angeles," she said. "Both are avant-garde theatrical pieces with poetry. The first was called 'Poetry Discordia.' The second was 'Return of Umbilicus.' Both are expressions of my dramatic feelings. Her stage productions were reviewed favorably in Los Angeles newspapers. How does this qualify her to play the dramatic role of Marina Oswald Pozniak doesn't say, but her looks alone make her a dead ringer for Oswald's Russian-born bride. She also has a national heritage to maintain. Polish performers have made indelible contributions to Hollywood. One in particular was longtime San Antonio resident, Pola Negri "Pola Negri, my idol, was a major star in silent and sound films in both Europe and America," Pozniak said. She did not know that Negri lived in San Antonio during her retirement years and was the first celebrity to appear at HemisFair in 1968.

While we talked, she flipped through the pages of Liv Ullman's book, "Changing."

"Marina gave me this book", she explained. "She said it influenced her greatly and I remind her of Liv Ullman. Marina wanted me to have the book so I could benefit from it as well. "

Daily Star, Apr 25, 1991 Photo : Joel Levinson