BY DR . JOSHUA SHERMAN
Elizabeth and Tom Hanks pose in a promotional photo for the smash hit , Big
Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Elizabeth Perkins : Small Town , BIG Dreams
Elizabeth Perkins shares memories from her childhood in Vermont , discusses the movie Big , and plays the celebrity name game .
Elizabeth Perkins is a celebrated actress who spent the majority of her childhood in Guilford , Vermont . Perkins ’ extensive resumé includes films such as Big , About Last Night , Avalon , Indian Summer , The Flintstones , 28 Days , and Must Love Dogs , as well as prominent roles in television shows that include Weeds , The Moodys , and The Afterparty . I talked with Perkins recently about her life , her favorite Hollywood memories , her deep ties to Vermont , and her past and future hopes and dream .
Sherman : In one of my favorite scenes in Big , your character asks Tom Hanks , “ What were you like when you were younger ?” He replies , “ I wasn ’ t much different .” Elizabeth , what were you like when you were younger ?
Perkins : I was a tomboy . I was raised on my grandfather ’ s 600-acre farm in Southern Vermont , so I learned to drive a tractor by the time I was 10 or 11 . We had animals and fields and streams , and my stepfather was a hunter . We had dogs , and it was nothing for us to go snowshoeing , catch fish in the pond , or catch frogs or salamanders . I loved being outside . I was precocious , and I was brave and fearless . Then I went to New York , and then Chicago , but moving to the city was more complicated . I was always really comfortable being alone in nature or in a rural environment . Moving to the city was a much bigger deal for me . On a farm , you learn skills that other kids , either in suburbia or in the city , don ’ t really understand or have .
Sherman : Where in Southern Vermont did you grow up ?
48 VERMONT MAGAZINE