What did you know about the novel and the 1975 Stepford Wives movie?
I knew the term Stepford Wife, and I knew what that meant. I never read the book, and I think before I started filming I watched the movie. I thought it was very dated. I thought it was interesting. I didn't think it was terribly scary. I thought it was astounding that a woman was censured for wanting to just take up photography. I thought, my, how the world has changed.

And the appeal in this version was that it was a wicked black comedy?
Yes. Smart, funny, you know, witty.

What was it about your character that grabbed you?
It was fun being the queen of Stepford, and kind of being the energy behind all the activities, and being worshipped and married to Chris Walken, which is funny. It was just fun. I like the whole idea of trying it out.

You looked as if you had a great time working with Christopher Walken. Your chemistry is great.
I love him. He's my friend in life. And we did, years ago, a series for Hallmark called Sarah, Plain And Tall out in the prairies of Kansas. So this is kind of a wonderful coming back together with him.

You mentioned that your character is the queen of Stepford. Was her costume part of the fun of playing the part?
Annie Roth, who I've known since the beginning of my career, is one our best, most inspired costume designers. And she's a full collaborator in constructing a character. She brought me a picture of an actual woman who was in Town & Country magazine. I said, this is how I see Claire, and that's basically - a little heightened - what we went for.

Do you still keep costumes? I seem to remember you've almost created a museum for them!
Well, that's my dream. I have lent them out for various things, different exhibits, which always makes me very happy. Because if I hadn't kept them, they'd be all decimated, and rented out, and changed, and torn apart.

How many outfits you have kept?
It's all catalogued. But it's, oh, my, it must be at least 300 things. I think my favourite one is from Dangerous Liaisons. And then I have the extraordinary costumes from Sunset Boulevard, which represent some of the best costume building ever by Barbara Matera.