Hollywood Royalty

Security was tight. For the first time, NEWSWEEK'S annual roundtable was held in public, at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. We made sure to keep a few of the celebrities' names secret, and arranged for all of them to arrive via an inconspicuous side entrance to the theater. So imagine our surprise when Brad Pitt--the most paparazzi-hounded star on the planet--was dropped off on Hollywood Boulevard and strode blithely through the theater's front doors, disguised only by a pair of sunglasses. Onstage, Pitt was joined by five other remarkable actors of 2006: Cate Blanchett, Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, Penelope Cruz and Leonardo DiCaprio. Needless to say, the audience was buzzing. But so were the stars, who listened with obvious delight as their fellow actors discussed their lives, their craft, their passions and their fears. Pitt teased DiCaprio, who said he didn't appreciate being seen as "a piece of cute meat" after "Titanic." "That you are ," Pitt told him. Blanchett, who played Brad's wife in "Babel," took some friendly potshots at Pitt's work ethic. They all schmoozed and laughed and asked each other questions for more than two hours--yes, bathroom breaks were permitted--and when time ran out, they didn't seem to want to stop. Neither did we. Excerpts:

What did your parents think when you told them you wanted to be an actor?

HELEN MIRREN: My parents were very against the idea, so I trained as a teacher for three years. I was a horrible, really bad teacher. I didn't become a professional actress until I was about 22.

FOREST WHITAKER: My parents really wanted me to go to West Point--something practical like that. Ten years into my acting career they were still trying to get me to go back to school. I wasn't making much money, and sometimes really struggling, but I was, like, "No, Ma. This is what I want to do." Those were difficult conversations because I had my own doubts. It took me a long time to feel comfortable thinking, "I'm an actor. I can do this."

Cate, is it true that your first acting job was as an extra in an Arabic boxing movie?

CATE BLANCHETT: I was at university studying fine arts, and I took a year off and went traveling. I had 2,500 Australian dollars, which is nothing, and I traveled for a year on that, so I ended up in places like a bunker in Istanbul with water dripping from the ceiling. Later, I was staying in this place in Cairo. I literally had no money, and some Scottish guy who was printing money and passports in the foyer said, "Do you want to earn five Egyptian dollars?" It wasn't to sleep with anyone. It was to be an extra in this boxing movie, so I said, "Sure." They had free falafel.