Betty Confidential has a new exclusive interview with Naomi Watts, in which she’s promoting her role as outed CIA agent Valerie Plame in the film Fair Game. I thought this movie was out and gone already, but I guess that’s because it’s been shown at several film festivals. It’s out in the US on November 5. As part of her preparation for the role, Watts had to go through actual CIA special agent training and she says it was grueling and she didn’t get any leeway. The way she described it reminded me of that Colin Farrel movie The Recruit, where his character goes through CIA training and thinks it’s a drill at first when his girlfriend (or colleague, I can’t recall) is kidnapped but then believes that it’s real by the end. Those scenes were pretty brutal from what I remember. Watts probably got the “light” version, but she says it was incredibly challenging although they gave her breaks to nurse her son every few hours. She had to watch videos of people being murdered and even suffered a little abuse. In this interview, Watts also talks a little about her home life with partner Liev Schreiber and their sons. While she shares a bit she’s very low-key about it, as is typical for her.

You went through real CIA training. How tough was it while breastfeeding?
The first half an hour, they showed a video of people being killed in the most gruesome ways just so you would get used to it. The next thing I knew they had me handcuffed with my hands behind my back and thrown into a truck. My job was to get out alive.

So no pampering for the movie star?
I was allowed to have my baby every few hours to feed him, but it was clear that they were going to be mean the rest of the time. The minute my director Doug walked out, they kicked me in the shins and threw me to the ground. When I winced, I was warned, “Don’t say ‘ow’ again unless you need to go to the hospital.” I did incredible things I would never wish to do like setting off explosives, ramming cars without a seatbelt on and fighting. I couldn’t be even a little bit soft. I did one thing I’m not even allowed to talk about with you. They didn’t want anyone to know what people in the CIA are trained to do.

Is there an extra responsibility when it’s a true story and the woman you’re playing is on the set?
When you play someone who is a true, living person, it definitely ups the ante. The pressure is tenfold. Everyone in America is familiar with this story. I just wanted to tell it as truthfully as possible.

Valerie didn’t hide out after her identity was released. Could you believe that she didn’t just disappear?
The thing about Valerie that you learn very quickly is that she doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. She’s not an emotionally driven person. She was a brilliant covert agent, so she’s quiet and reserved. Nothing broke her as an agent and having her identity revealed didn’t break her. She’s not a victim or a martyr. She just formulates a plan and deals with things.

Did Valerie have a soft side?
I never got to see her with her kids, but she talked about them endlessly. She came into my hotel room in Cannes and she was such a natural mother. My kids were there and they don’t really pay attention to anyone unless they’re holding some fantastic toy. They did pay attention to Valerie. She’s commanding.

How do you and Liev combine work and a private life?
We are just a normal couple. We like to walk around the city with the kids and go to the beach on vacation. At home, we do talk about our work. I help him and he helps me.

Do the kids ever worry when you do dangerous movie scenes?
I’m filming The Impossible with Ewan McGregor. It’s another true story based on the tsunami. This was quite different because now the boys see Mommy in a very bad position. I had to explain that my “owies” were just pretend. I had to take fake blood and put it on the boys. They loved their fake owies.

[From Betty Confidential]

That’s cute that she let her kids try the fake blood and they liked it! Naomi is mom to sons Sasha, 3, and Sammy, who turns 2 in December. I’m really curious to know more about how she was trained, and maybe some of it will be shown in the film. Fair Game is getting very positive reviews, and is currently at an 88% aggregate rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I hope it’s a box office success as well.

Here’s a trailer for Fair Game. It looks good and this trailer is better than an earlier version that was out.